Welcome to Foundations of Community Psychology!

This course builds on PSYCH302 (Community, Culture and Diversity) and is required of all students in the Community Psychology programme. It provides an outline of the origins of community psychology, an introduction to some important theoretical models, and a critical examination of a range of applications. We pay particular attention to the emergence of Aotearoa/New Zealand as a bicultural nation. You are strongly recommended to enrol also in PSYCH575 (Kaupapa Māori Psychology).

This paper focuses on history and context in Aotearoa New Zealand, examining the influences for cultural and social justice in communities, organisations, and government agencies, as community psychology works to address inequity and disadvantage. Understanding how structures and systems can sustain and perpetuate injustice, unfairness and hardship in communities is canvassed across the course content, as is identifying strengths, assets and positive qualities that can be strengthened and utilised in communities. Specific attributes that successful students will acquire are:

• An understanding of Community Psychology values, principles and applications in relation to social justice
• Understanding how the multiple levels of structures and systems can affect cultural, social and economic justice, and the role of the Treaty of Waitangi
• Experience in applying social justice to formulating policy.

Through in class and online discussions, group work, assignments and reflective writing, we will use critical multi-level analysis to explore the influences of politics, power, socialisation, colonising activities, and community function, and how these can combine in the development of policy.

This paper is taught via a combination of on-line learning (Moodle) and three face-to-face workshops.

Each of the three full-day workshops, 9am – 5pm, provides an opportunity for meeting face-to-face for this paper. Attendance for the full day of each workshop is compulsory as course content, assignments and assessment are covered through allowance for questions and discussion to aid your learning. Student presentations (15% course credit) will be scheduled for delivery during Workshops 2 and 3.

Students are expected to organise their own notetaking and learning across the online course work and in-person workshops. Presentation slides will be available on Moodle with other resource material.