Citizen empowerment: a developmental perspective.

TLDR

Empowerment has been increasingly discussed since the late 1970s, yet its application remains constrained by persistent conceptual ambiguity. The study aims to propose that empowerment is a long‑term process of adult learning and development among emerging citizen leaders. The framework defines empowerment as the ongoing construction of a multi‑dimensional participatory competence that entails cognitive and behavioral change. The article discusses practical implications for empowering citizen leaders.

Abstract

Since the late 1970s, the notion of empowerment has appeared with increasing frequency in discussion of preventive social and community intervention. While the idea of empowerment is intuitively appealing both for theory and practice, its applicability has been limited by continuing conceptual ambiguity. Based on a small N study of emerging citizen leaders in grassroots organizations, this article proposes a view of empowerment as a necessarily long-term process of adult learning and development. In this framework, empowerment is further described as the continuing construction of a multi-dimensional participatory competence. This conception encompasses both cognitive and behavioral change. Implications for practice are also addressed.