Scholarly Paper on Empowerment

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Scholarly Philosophy Paper: Empowerment Ahmad Yousef Alafafsheh University of Jordan 2012/2013 Introduction The concept of empowerment emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s as a result of the self-help and political awareness movements (Ryles, 1999). Empowerment is a concept that is shared by many disciplines such as psychology, education, social movements, community developments and others but how this concept is interpreted and understood is vary among these disciplines. In the recent literature, the meaning of the term empowerment is often assumed rather than explained or defined. Rappaport (1984), has noted that it is easier to define empowerment by its absence but it will be difficult to define it in action because it has different forms in different people and contexts. Also the definition of the concept of empowerment is debatable. Zimmerman (1984) has stated that asserting a single definition of empowerment might make it much formal, and thus contradicting the very concept of empowerment. According to Bailey (1992), how we precisely define empowerment within our projects and programs will depend upon the specific people and context involved. Definitions of Empowerment The term empowerment is related to the word power. To empower is to give (someone) the authority or power to do something. Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, educational, gender, or economic strength of individuals and communities (Oxford Dictionary). Empowerment is also defined as a social process of recognizing, promoting and enhancing people's abilities to meet their own needs, solve their own problems and mobilize the necessary resources in order to feel in control of their own lives (Gibson, 1991, p.359). Another possible definition of empowerment is that it is the process of increasing the capacity of individuals

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