#CSAM18 Day 12: Helms & White Identity Development

The next set of theories is going to look at racial identity development. I’m going to look at Helms, Cross, Horse, Kim, and Barnel & Knight. I think it’s important to dedicate some space to these identity development models, and I think it's important to look at white identity development given the current state of things.

The basic gist is: white people start by not recognizing the differences in the experiences of white and black people, either due to ignorance or due to being so immersed in the culture that it is accepted. They then travel through phases, including wanting to believe oneself is not racist while still holding racist ideology, beginning to understand or recognize differences, exploring personal meaning of racism, and then becoming increasingly aware of how one's Whiteness plays a role in cultural beliefs and increasingly knowledgeable about the differences of others.

https://mss.boisestate.edu/tunnel-of-oppression/inside-the-tunnel/helms-white-racial-identity-development-model/ has a really great, easy-to-read explainer.

Title of theory: White Identity Model

Year theory was published: 1995

Students originally studied:

Background of the author: Janet E. Helms is the Augustus Long Professor in the Department of Counseling, Developmental, and Educational Psychology and Director of the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture at Boston College. She was born in Missouri. She created a series of racial identity development models, a scale to assess Blacks’ racial identity attitudes, the people of color model, and the racial interaction model. Helms is the founding director of the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture at Boston College. She was a President of the Society of Counseling Psychology.

How theory can be used now: Helm's first stage describes white people who may not have had a lot of experience with black people. This may properly describe new students, from predominantly white geographic areas, arriving on campus. Helms described the Pseudo-Independence stage as one that may be entered through a jarring experience, and we should be aware of the support students may need to help process if that happens to them. As a white educator, I think it's also important for me to understand where I am in this process, and where my colleagues may also be, as I work with black students.

Words of warning: I don't really have any, except that we should be using this theory more often than I feel we do.

https://mss.boisestate.edu/tunnel-of-oppression/inside-the-tunnel/helms-white-racial-identity-development-model/

https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/lsoe/faculty-research/faculty-directory/janet-helms.html

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

#CSAM18 Day 29: The Four S’s of Transition

#CSAM16 Day 16: Development of Mexican American Identity

#CSAM18 Day 10: Kolb and Learning Styles