Helping People Help Themselves : Toward a Theory of Autonomy-Compatible Help
If development is seen basically as autonomous self-development, then there is a subtle paradox in the whole notion of development assistance: How can an outside party ("helper") assist those undertaking autonomous activities (the "d...
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| Format: | Policy Research Working Paper |
| Language: | English en_US |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2014
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/10/1615019/helping-people-help-toward-theory-autonomy-compatible-help http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19514 |
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okr-10986-19514 |
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| recordtype |
oai_dc |
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Digital Repository |
| institution_category |
Foreign Institution |
| institution |
Digital Repositories |
| building |
World Bank Open Knowledge Repository |
| collection |
World Bank |
| language |
English en_US |
| topic |
ACCIDENTS ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES AID AID AGENCIES CLASSICAL ECONOMICS COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK CONSUMER CHOICE COUNSELING CROWDING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DONOR AGENCIES ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC RESOURCES ECONOMIC THEORY ECONOMICS LITERATURE ECONOMISTS EMPATHY EXCHANGE RATES EXTERNAL INCENTIVES EXTREME POVERTY EXTRINSIC INCENTIVES HABITS INCOME INCOME EFFECT INSURANCE INTERVENTION LEARNING MORAL HAZARD MORAL HAZARD PROBLEMS MOTIVATION OPTIMIZATION PEDAGOGY POLICY RESEARCH PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOTHERAPY SUBSTITUTION EFFECT SUPPLY CURVE THINKING |
| spellingShingle |
ACCIDENTS ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES AID AID AGENCIES CLASSICAL ECONOMICS COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK CONSUMER CHOICE COUNSELING CROWDING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DONOR AGENCIES ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC RESOURCES ECONOMIC THEORY ECONOMICS LITERATURE ECONOMISTS EMPATHY EXCHANGE RATES EXTERNAL INCENTIVES EXTREME POVERTY EXTRINSIC INCENTIVES HABITS INCOME INCOME EFFECT INSURANCE INTERVENTION LEARNING MORAL HAZARD MORAL HAZARD PROBLEMS MOTIVATION OPTIMIZATION PEDAGOGY POLICY RESEARCH PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOTHERAPY SUBSTITUTION EFFECT SUPPLY CURVE THINKING Ellerman, David Helping People Help Themselves : Toward a Theory of Autonomy-Compatible Help |
| relation |
Policy Research Working Paper;No. 2693 |
| description |
If development is seen basically as
autonomous self-development, then there is a subtle paradox
in the whole notion of development assistance: How can an
outside party ("helper") assist those undertaking
autonomous activities (the "doers") without
overriding, or undercutting their autonomy? This conundrum
is the challenge facing a theory of autonomy-compatible
development assistance - that is, helping theory. Starting
from a simple model of non-distortionary aid, the author
explores several themes of a broader helping theory, and
shows how these themes arise in the work of
"gurus" in different fields - John Dewey in
pedagogy and social philosophy, Douglas McGregor in
management theory, Carl Rogers in psychotherapy, Soren
Kierkegaard in spiritual counseling, Saul Alinsky in
community organizing, Paulo Freire in community education,
and Albert Hirschman, and E.F. Schumacher in economic
development. That such diverse thinkers in such different
fields, arrive at very similar conclusions, increases
confidence in the common principles. The points of
commonality are summarized as follows: 1) Help must start
from the present situation of the doers. 2) Helpers must see
the situation through the eyes of the doers. 3) Help cannot
be imposed on the doers, as that directly violates their
autonomy. 4) Nor can doers receive help as a benevolent
gift, as that increases dependency. 5) Doers must be in the
driver seat. One major application of helping theory is to
the problems of knowledge-based development assistance. The
standard approach is that the helper, a knowledge-based
development agency, has the "answers", and
disseminates them to the doers. This corresponds to the
standard teacher-centered pedagogy. The alternative under
helping theory is the learner-centered approach. The teacher
plays the role of midwife, catalyst, and facilitator,
building learning capacity in the learner-doers, so that
they can learn from any source, including their own
experience. Development assistance is further complicated by
the local, or tacit nature of much relevant knowledge. A
knowledge-based development agency might function better,
not simply as a source of knowledge, but as a broker
connecting those who face problems with those in similar
situations, who have learned to address the problems.
Changing to the approach of helping theory, entails changing
the helping agency itself, transforming it into an
organization that fosters learning internally, as well as
externally - as in a university, where professors engage in
learning, and foster learning in students, but the
organization does not adopt official views on the complex
questions of the day. This means fostering competition in
the marketplace of ideas within the organization, and taking
a more Socratic stance with clients, who will then have to
take responsibility for, and have ownership of their decisions. |
| format |
Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper |
| author |
Ellerman, David |
| author_facet |
Ellerman, David |
| author_sort |
Ellerman, David |
| title |
Helping People Help Themselves : Toward a Theory of Autonomy-Compatible Help |
| title_short |
Helping People Help Themselves : Toward a Theory of Autonomy-Compatible Help |
| title_full |
Helping People Help Themselves : Toward a Theory of Autonomy-Compatible Help |
| title_fullStr |
Helping People Help Themselves : Toward a Theory of Autonomy-Compatible Help |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Helping People Help Themselves : Toward a Theory of Autonomy-Compatible Help |
| title_sort |
helping people help themselves : toward a theory of autonomy-compatible help |
| publisher |
World Bank, Washington, DC |
| publishDate |
2014 |
| url |
http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/10/1615019/helping-people-help-toward-theory-autonomy-compatible-help http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19514 |
| _version_ |
1764439927421927424 |
| spelling |
okr-10986-195142021-04-23T14:03:43Z Helping People Help Themselves : Toward a Theory of Autonomy-Compatible Help Ellerman, David ACCIDENTS ADVERSE CONSEQUENCES AID AID AGENCIES CLASSICAL ECONOMICS COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT COMPREHENSIVE DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK CONSUMER CHOICE COUNSELING CROWDING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATIONS DEVELOPMENT POLICY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS DONOR AGENCIES ECONOMIC ANALYSIS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC RESOURCES ECONOMIC THEORY ECONOMICS LITERATURE ECONOMISTS EMPATHY EXCHANGE RATES EXTERNAL INCENTIVES EXTREME POVERTY EXTRINSIC INCENTIVES HABITS INCOME INCOME EFFECT INSURANCE INTERVENTION LEARNING MORAL HAZARD MORAL HAZARD PROBLEMS MOTIVATION OPTIMIZATION PEDAGOGY POLICY RESEARCH PSYCHOLOGY PSYCHOTHERAPY SUBSTITUTION EFFECT SUPPLY CURVE THINKING If development is seen basically as autonomous self-development, then there is a subtle paradox in the whole notion of development assistance: How can an outside party ("helper") assist those undertaking autonomous activities (the "doers") without overriding, or undercutting their autonomy? This conundrum is the challenge facing a theory of autonomy-compatible development assistance - that is, helping theory. Starting from a simple model of non-distortionary aid, the author explores several themes of a broader helping theory, and shows how these themes arise in the work of "gurus" in different fields - John Dewey in pedagogy and social philosophy, Douglas McGregor in management theory, Carl Rogers in psychotherapy, Soren Kierkegaard in spiritual counseling, Saul Alinsky in community organizing, Paulo Freire in community education, and Albert Hirschman, and E.F. Schumacher in economic development. That such diverse thinkers in such different fields, arrive at very similar conclusions, increases confidence in the common principles. The points of commonality are summarized as follows: 1) Help must start from the present situation of the doers. 2) Helpers must see the situation through the eyes of the doers. 3) Help cannot be imposed on the doers, as that directly violates their autonomy. 4) Nor can doers receive help as a benevolent gift, as that increases dependency. 5) Doers must be in the driver seat. One major application of helping theory is to the problems of knowledge-based development assistance. The standard approach is that the helper, a knowledge-based development agency, has the "answers", and disseminates them to the doers. This corresponds to the standard teacher-centered pedagogy. The alternative under helping theory is the learner-centered approach. The teacher plays the role of midwife, catalyst, and facilitator, building learning capacity in the learner-doers, so that they can learn from any source, including their own experience. Development assistance is further complicated by the local, or tacit nature of much relevant knowledge. A knowledge-based development agency might function better, not simply as a source of knowledge, but as a broker connecting those who face problems with those in similar situations, who have learned to address the problems. Changing to the approach of helping theory, entails changing the helping agency itself, transforming it into an organization that fosters learning internally, as well as externally - as in a university, where professors engage in learning, and foster learning in students, but the organization does not adopt official views on the complex questions of the day. This means fostering competition in the marketplace of ideas within the organization, and taking a more Socratic stance with clients, who will then have to take responsibility for, and have ownership of their decisions. 2014-08-20T19:37:01Z 2014-08-20T19:37:01Z 2001-10 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2001/10/1615019/helping-people-help-toward-theory-autonomy-compatible-help http://hdl.handle.net/10986/19514 English en_US Policy Research Working Paper;No. 2693 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research |