Conceptual Framework for a Curriculum in Social Change

Abstract

Colleges, universities, and many high schools are expressing their mission in terms of creating social change or contributing to the common good. Such a mission suggests that if they are going to graduate students who will fulfill this mission, they will need to consider how they will best prepare students to do this. The conceptual framework for a curriculum in social change in this article offers a holistic approach, taking into account what a student should know, be able to do, and what values and attitudes should be nurtured. To that end, the article identifies three competencies in the knowledge domain (scholarship, systemic thinking, and reflection), four in the skills domain (application, advocacy, collaboration, and political engagement), and three in the affective domain (ethics, commitment, and courage). Each of the competencies is supported by theory and illustrated in practice.