*Y.C.* Promoting women’s health literacy through dialogue-based education
Location
We think that one of the best ways to prevent maternal mortality and improve maternal health is to increase women’s health literacy through education. The model we propose is dialogue-based education derived from Paulo Freire’s educational model. In our opinion, the fifth MDG can be achieved by using the above model.
About You
Section 1: About You
First Name
Faatemehzahraa
Last Name
Ahmadi
Website
Organization
Al-Zahra University
Country
Iran, TEH
Are you an individual between the ages of 18 and 35 who would like to apply for a nine month Young Champions Program mentored by an Ashoka Fellow?
Yes
Section 2: About Your Organization
Organization Name
Al-Zahra University
Organization Website
Organization Phone
(98 21)88044040
Organization Address
Al-Zahra University,Vanak Avenue,Tehran,Iran P.Code: 1993891176
Organization Country
Iran, TEH
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Your idea
Name Your Project
*Y.C.* Promoting women’s health literacy through dialogue-based education
Country your work focuses on
Iran, TEH
Describe Your Idea
We think that one of the best ways to prevent maternal mortality and improve maternal health is to increase women’s health literacy through education. The model we propose is dialogue-based education derived from Paulo Freire’s educational model. In our opinion, the fifth MDG can be achieved by using the above model.
Website URL
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
In the current educational models, mother is a container filled by the health professionals. In our proposed model, education is a horizontal relationship fed by love, humility, hope, faith and confidence. Based on Freire’s methodology which is against the "banking model and for the problem posing model, at first we will form a working group to assess women’s felt needs. This group consists of:
The local leader of target community and a number of local people who are active in different issues for passing the cultural barriers.
A curriculum specialist.
A specialist who produces educational materials for adults.
A professional writer.
A professional photographer.
A specialist in health promotion and of course the local health staff.
In the second step, the photographer with the writer goes among the community to make posters (or films) and write stories about inhabitants' life related to health. Working group’s local people pick up the word related to health among people’s everyday dialogue.
Based on collected words, written stories, and produced films and posters, curriculum specialist and producer of educational materials will select the words, films and posters can generate dialogue.
The third step is implementation. The place can be local schools, churches, homes, or any other place that people feel relaxed in it. For opening up the dialogue the health care provider will present one of the posters or films. Then asks the participants to describe what they see and feel about that. Through brainstorming the different aspects of the problem which is seen in that is discussed by participants. Then they analyze the problem, its causes and consequences and the planning of the strategies to resolve the problem through dialogue. The goal is to develop a sense of individual and group empowerment in participants.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
This project has not started yet.
Problem
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Actions
Approximately 150 words left (1200 characters).
Results
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What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
Year 1: Dialogue-based education among the largest population possible.
Year 2: Pilot study followed by implementation.
Year 3: Evaluation and improvement.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Nothing.
How many people will your project serve annually?
More than 10,000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
Don't know
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Yes
Sustainability
What stage is your project in?
Idea phase
Is your organization a
Government
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Yes
If yes, provide organization name.
Al-Zahra University
How long has this organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Yes
Does your organization have a non-monetary partnerships with government?
Yes
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Approximately 150 words left (1200 characters).
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
Approximately 300 words left (2400 characters).
The Story
What was the defining moment that you led to this innovation?
When my professor talked about Freire’s critical pedagogy and literacy work in Brazil.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
Approximately 300 words left (2400 characters).
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
College or university
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
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Comments
This is a really intriguing idea, but I am unfamiliar with Freire's methodology. Could you please explain in a bit more detail what this means?
Paulo Freire was a Brazilian adult educator. He worked hard to provide commitment, love, and hope to American educators. He was against the education system he classified as the "banking concept of education". Instead, he supported "problem posing model of education.
Banking model of education positions students as empty vessels to be filled by the teacher. According to Paulo Freire in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, education is traditionally framed as "an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor" (Pedagogy of the Oppressed). In this framework, the teacher lectures, and the students "receive, memorize, and repeat". Freire explains that banking education is generally characterized by the following oppressive attitudes and practices:
• the teacher teaches and the students are taught;
• the teacher knows everything and the students know nothing;
• the teacher thinks and the students are thought about;
• the teacher talks and the students listen-meekly;
• the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined;
• the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply;
• the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the action of the teacher;
• the teacher chooses the program content, and the students (who are not consulted) adapt to it;
• the teacher confuses the authority of knowledge with his own professional authority, which he sets in opposition to the freedom of the students;
• the teacher is the Subject of the learning process, while the pupils are mere object
Problem posing model of education rejects banking education, or education as the process of transferring information, and embraces a view of education as consisting of acts of cognition that take place through dialogue. Students and teachers become critical co-investigators in dialogue with each other (Pedagogy of the Oppressed). According to Freire, with problem posing education, "no one teaches another, nor is anyone self-taught. The teacher and student become one, “Each teaches the other and both have the chance to think critically as well as give one’s interpretation of the subject”.
Freire’s pedagogy begins with the teacher mingling among the community, asking questions of the people and gathering a list of words used in their daily lives. The teacher begins to understand the social reality of the people, and develop a list of generative words and themes which could lead to discussion in classes, or "cultural circles". The year 1962 saw the first experiments in Freire’s method when 300 farm workers were taught to read and write in just 45 days. So we can apply this method to promote women’s health literacy in a short time. We just need to replace the teacher with the health care provider and the student with the women. That’s it!
That's really interesting! What does that look like on the ground? How do you train health care providers to adopt this method? Do you plan to create physical spaces where it will be taught and spread, or will you have health workers wandering the community, looking for generative themes to fuel their cultural circles? Or is there maybe another way I'm not thinking of?
Also, don't forget to add all of these updates to the entry itself, so the judges will see it :)
I just wanted to say that your idea is really great and after reading about freire's model ( I never heard about this model in Nursing , I think it's really interesting ) I would like to answer again the question that Claire Bangser asked me about:" how will midwives work with respect with traditional healers?" Now I will answer this: "By learning from each other and by teaching each other because together they will be stronger"
Knowledge is power.
Maria Pedro, you are on the right track! And I also answer the question that Clair Bangser asked me about "How do you train health care providers to adopt this method? Do you plan to create physical spaces where it will be taught and spread, or will you have health workers wandering the community, looking for generative themes to fuel their cultural circles?" in this way: The Freire’s model is such a flexible model that can be applied for anyone, in anywhere, and at anytime
I like all of the comments going on around this topic, and I agree that the model sounds like it could be effective, but I'm still having a hard time understanding what it will look like in practice. You say it could take place "anytime" and "anywhere"... so how, when, and where do YOU want to implement it?
It would also be very helpful if you could give more of a step-by-step explanation of what the project will look like. Do you plan on hiring people to participate? Will there be a facility? A school? Will this be a campaign? How do you plan to promote and scale the idea?
It's a great start but I believe you can go further!
Thanks for a great entry! Your idea sounds really interesting and we’d like to learn more. In your entry you have discussed the theoretical aspects of Freire’s educational model, and now we’d like to hear about how you plan on implementing the model since many of our community members may be unaware of these methods. You briefly mention Freire’s 1962 experiments with 300 farmers and how they were taught to read and write in 45 days. Could you possibly mention some of the specific methods used, and describe how you plan on using these methods to promote women’s health literacy? This sounds like an intriguing model and we look forward to your response. Please remember to filter your additional comments back into your entry form so that the team can better evaluate your submission!
- Naveen Shakir, Ashoka’s Changemakers
Did you know your idea was recently the subject of a blog post? Check it out here: http://marketcopywriterblog.com/2010/02/26/can-we-talk-how-dialogue-base...
Hi Claire & Naveen
Thank you for your comments and please accept our apologies for the delay in answering your questions. This is a step-by-step explanation of our project.
The First Step:Forming Working Group
In the beginning we will form a working group to assess women’s felt needs. (As stated by WHO, felt needs is one component of a comprehensive needs assessment. The other components include normative needs, comparative needs, and expressed or observed needs). Working group consists of the following people:
• The local leader of desired community (because people have chosen him, they respect him, and he is a member of this people) and a number of local people who are active in different economic, social, cultural, and political issues. The reason of this election is their familiarity with the culture of the people (for passing the cultural barriers), their customs and traditions, existing relationship between them, their health literacy level and their health problems.
• A curriculum specialist.
• A specialist who produces educational materials for adults.
• A professional writer.
• A professional photographer.
• A specialist in health promotion.
The Second Step
In this stage, the local people who are the members of working group will return to their respective communities to pick up the word related to health among people’s everyday dialogue. Professional photographer will make posters and videos about inhabitants' life scenes related to health. Professional writer will write stories about people’s life related to health. At the end of this stage, working group will understand the level of people’s health literacy and accuracy of people’s health beliefs. Based on collected words, written stories, and produced videos and posters, curriculum specialist and producer of educational materials will select the words, videos and posters that can generate dialogue.
The Third Step
In this stage the program will be implemented. The place of program implementation can be local schools, mosques, churches, homes, or any other place that people feel relaxed in it. For opening up the dialogue and stimulating conversation among the participants the health care provider (who gets familiar with Freire’s methodology in a workshop) will present one of the posters or videos. In order to initiate the dialogue, the health care provider asks the participants to describe what they see and feel about the presented posters or videos. Through brainstorming the different aspects of the problem or problems which is seen in the posters or videos is/are discussed by participants. Then they analyze the problem, its causes and consequences and the planning of the strategies to resolve the problem through dialogue. The goal of this action is to develop a sense of individual and group empowerment in participants.
This is INCREDIBLY helpful... thank you for explaining. Don't forget to put all of this information in the application itself (perhaps in the "Your Idea" section) as the judges do not look at the comments made here in the discussion section.
Thanks,
Claire
Ashoka