Goodbye to a skeptical visionary

January 30, 2010 12:39 PM

Seymour Sarason, a man considered to be one of the fathers of community psychology and one of the most influential U.S. researchers in educational psychology and educational reform, died on Thursday at the age of 91.

Although most Mefites will likely have never heard of Sarason, his death is an opportunity to introduce others to his work and the field of community psychology as a whole.

In the context of attempting to determine how our educational systems can best serve those they are meant to help (he introduced the concept of test anxiety), he developed the idea of “sense of community,” which can be thought of as the subjective perceptions of the community by community members, rather than the objective features of the community.

Rather than focus on the minutiae of the school environment, he took a holistic view of the school’s culture and used that lens to target his interventions. This is an early example of one of community psychology’s core principles; specifically, that social problems should be addressed by examining the multiple systems in which they exist, rather than solely the individual-level variables traditionally addressed by clinical psychology.

Out of this dissatisfaction with a limited breath of analysis and “band-aid” solutions to social problems came an entire field, which today focuses on prevention rather than intervention, and takes a systems approach to analysis.

posted by emilyd22222 (7 comments total)

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posted by iamkimiam at 1:09 PM on January 30, 2010

No snark intended, but isn't it generally accepted that American schools and community have collapsed in the last half century?
posted by codswallop at 2:02 PM on January 30, 2010

codswallop, to put it into perspective, its also generally accepted that the state of the environment has collapsed in the last half century. It doesn't mean we can't honor people who work in the field of environmentalism.

Sarason made the world a better place by demonstrating the usefulness of "community". Good on him.
posted by hal_c_on at 2:18 PM on January 30, 2010

.

This man's work is a lot of what has inspired me to work in teaching. I don't know what to say
posted by Blasdelb at 2:22 PM on January 30, 2010

codswallop, to put it into perspective, its also generally accepted that the state of the environment has collapsed in the last half century. It doesn't mean we can't honor people who work in the field of environmentalism.

That's a good point. Thanks.
posted by codswallop at 2:53 PM on January 30, 2010

isn't it generally accepted that American schools and community have collapsed in the last half century?

From what I understand, Sarason was pretty unhappy about the progress made in the U.S. educational system. He was a big proponent of reform, but there are a lot of other forces (political, primarily) that slow down reform or approach reform in a way that (IMO) does more harm than good.
posted by emilyd22222 at 2:59 PM on January 30, 2010

Update: Text from the obit that's being passed around on a community psych listserv:

From Ken Pope:

Seymour Sarason, a giant in American psychology, has died at age 91.
One of the pioneers of community psychology, he was a great influence on
(and critic of) how the field conceptualizes institutions and
interactions. No one was more insightful on how organizations --
whatever their original mission or reason for being -- tend to begin
focusing more on maintaining themselves and their bureaucracy, and the
problems in bringing about true institutional change (one of his
favorite aphorisms being "The more things change, the more they remain
the same").

Personally, he was warm, open, very funny, and exceptionally generous
and supportive, though not hesitant to challenge you every step of the
way and offer very frank and thoughtful critiques. He was one of my
most influential grad school professors.

Here's the citation from his 1996 Gold Medal Award for Life Contribution
by a Psychologist in the Public Interest:

"Seymour Sarason changed the nature of the conversation in mental
deficiency, community psychology and public education, as well as about
psychology's embeddedness in time, place, and era. His research and
writings changed traditional conceptions of mental handicap and exposed
the iatrogenic consequences of institutional segregation. Throughout
his career, he has been a steady but friendly critic of psychology's
tendency to rivet on the individual organism at the expense of social
context. Long before the inadequacies of the public schools were
understood, he predicted that schools would continue to deteriorate in
quality and outcomes. More than anyone else, he has clarified the
difference between productive and unproductive school contexts for learning."

And here's the citation from his 1985 Award for Distinguished
Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest:

"As a true pioneer in clinical, educational, school, and community
psychology, Seymour Sarason has received widespread recognition for his
creative contributions to the development of each of these disciplines.
Few psychologists have combined a restless scientific curiosity, an
abiding concern for the needs of people, and a commitment to social
action in the public interest as effectively as Professor Sarason.
Whether involved with new approaches to problems in mental retardation,
anxiety and learning in school children, creation of a sense of
community, public policy and human services, or education, Professor
Sarason has consistently been a step ahead, serving as a kind of
psychological early warning system for society. His recent book,
Schooling in America: Scapegoat and Salvation, has properly been hailed
by critics as 'one of the seminal books of the decade.' Yet he remains
the 'practical idealist'--a warm, caring, committed human being who
believes, and strives enthusiastically to demonstrate, that with a
modicum of goodwill, workable solutions to society's urgent problems can
be achieved."
posted by emilyd22222 at 3:31 PM on February 1, 2010