ABSTRACT
The field of community psychology encourages liberatory approaches focusing on ethical values in psychology such as social justice, attention to difference, prevention, ecological frameworks, empowerment and participation. It also focuses on how we may achieve these aspirations by addressing structural inequalities that hinder optimal human development. Yet in practice, many psychology students unwittingly construct ‘community’ and ‘community psychology’ as racialised and gendered knowledge and therefore less desirable than mainstream individualistic psychology which dominates normative psychological discourse. This chapter explores students’ understandings of enablers and constraints for participatory parity in a community psychology classroom. Data were generated from participatory action learning techniques and online discussions among 17 Masters students during a two year period between 2014 and 2017 in a Community Psychology module that aimed to engage students on social justice, one of the concepts in community psychology. Data were analysed using thematic theoretical analyses. Results are discussed in terms of redistribution, recognition and representation, the core pillars of Nancy Fraser’s theory. Maldistribution occurred in terms of excessive demands on students’ time to do the programme and access to the programme. Misrecognition was evident in terms of misrecognition of multiple (gendered) roles that students have and misframing, reflected in the professional discourse about psychology. Students viewed constraints as personal and interpersonal, seldom structural. Implications for possibilities for change are discussed and the importance of curriculum design for participatory parity is highlighted.
