ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. Throughout the book it has been established that wellbeing is feeling good and functioning well, and that it is inextricably linked to social justice, which is defined as equality, equity and the ability to use capabilities to function freely in the world. The book argues that the process of empowerment enables people to use their agency (comprised of awareness, choices and actions) to minimise the impact of constraining structures, and to lever the possibility of enabling structures. It is by working with people in a critically pedagogical way that people can support empowerment and agency. Dialogue is often supported by the existence of a safe space, a third space. This links these two key concepts together. The groups of people who engage in dialogue in a critically pedagogical way were traditionally called 'culture circles'.
