Revivals Among the Urban Poor: A Look at Civic Participation and Collective Efficacy in Churches

Author: Julia M. Wesley

Dissertation School: University of Illinois

Abstract:

Strengthening communities is very much about building the collective form of human agency. Scholars refer to this as collective efficacy, where individuals share the belief that by combining knowledge, skills, and resources, desired outcomes can be achieved. By definition, collective agency is a “group-level” property. Related research shows that increases in interdependence within social systems leads to higher perceptions of collective agency (Bandura, 2006). Regrettably, Bandura (2006) states that as occasion for collective social and political action arise, perceptions of collective efficacy are dwindling.

Aggregate assessments of urban, predominantly poor African-American communities appear to confirm this finding, but there are considerable amounts of unexplained variation within these distressed communities. History, anecdotal information, and personal experiences indicate that some variation might be attributed to the grassroots efforts of local churches.

My dissertation research was developed to examine this possibility. The dissertation research that I propose will attempt to generate knowledge within social work and related disciplines that will help identify local institutions that can serve as facilitators of community collective efficacy. The purpose of my dissertation research is to examine whether church and civic participation among urban, predominantly poor African Americans is related to strong perceptions of neighborhood mutual trust and a shared willingness to engage in efforts to resolve the problems affecting their communities.

Spanning over a 12-month period, I plan to use both focus groups and cross-sectional survey research methods to better understand the attitudes, views, civic efforts, and needs of individuals attending church activities in four urban, predominantly poor African-American Chicago communities: North Lawndale, Douglas, West Englewood, and East Garfield. Research participants will assist with the development of a number of open-ended questions, which will be added to a structured questionnaire. The refined questionnaire will be administered in a group format via face-to-face interview to a maximum of 600 participants selected from no more than 12 churches in the four Chicago communities.

Back to Search Result of DDRG Dissertations