Advocacy: It's part of your job

By Jill N. Reich, PhD
APA Executive Director for Education

Midwinter meetings of various educator groups always make this time of year a particularly informative one for us. It is an important way for us to know what is on your mind, what are the important issues facing psychology education and what is it that folks need and want--or don't want--from their national association. We can then take this information to APA's Board of Educational Affairs for their consideration and deliberations.

After three years of doing this, it strikes me as odd that these meetings and the discussions they spawn are the main way that we learn this information. Rarely do we hear collectively from our education groups. As a membership organization, APA has its own discipline-based system for raising and resolving issues central to the discipline much akin to any democratic, political structure. Our colleagues are elected to represent constituencies who have interests and needs. These folks become the governing body that influences how resources are allocated and spent, what issues are addressed and how. Yet, often, educators are strangely silent. Sometimes, even folks who are vocal around other issues central to research, practice or public interest are quiet about education.

The last couple of meetings I have attended provided opportunities for reflection on this phenomenon: The National Council of Schools of Professional Psychology (NCSPP) had advocacy as one of their topics for discussion and consideration in the curriculum. At the meeting of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology, the topic appeared as a recurring theme, mostly in the form of how to make known their needs and desires as the first step toward action and resolution. Both groups asked for training workshops on federal advocacy--something APA's Nina Levitt and Sheila Forsyth do wonderfully.

What is advocacy?

What can we learn from these situations? First, there is much mystique about just what is advocacy, who "does it" and why. My colleague Karen Anderson and I were asked to speak about the topic at NCSPP where we proposed a broad definition of advocacy. This definition encompasses activities undertaken to plead a cause, promote an interest, and educate for the purpose of advancing an issue, as well as the more usually considered activities of lobbying. Put into this context, educators have not engaged in advocacy, whether it be to find support for a destitute student, garner resources to bring the physically challenged person into our program, fight a curriculum battle with our colleagues or win funding for our graduate programs. What happens then when we face broad interests or issues relevant to education--broad advocacy activities that may, just may, directly benefit us--as educators, as psychologists? Certainly, we grumble that the resources are not forthcoming. But, we do little to ensure that they are. We do little in our national association or in our state or federal legislatures.

I keep wondering why. Why is it OK to push the graduate school dean's office to give the department more assistantships or fellowships, but not OK to advocate for graduate student support from state legislatures or in Congress? Why is it OK to discuss, sometimes for days, important and needed changes to the curriculum and ways of training, but not OK to advocate for the national data systems needed to make good decisions? And why is it OK to believe in the discipline of psychology so much that you build your career in it, but not OK to bring your expertise and passion to the public and to elected representatives who would make better decisions if they had the benefit of our knowledge?

Speak out on what's important to you

It is important to recognize that we do advocate--all of the time, in many ways and very effectively. Yet, we haven't done so around those issues and interests that support our work as educators. It is time that we do. There is no means of escaping one's role in policy-making. Decisions will be made whether or not your viewpoint and expertise are represented. In areas of your expertise, the power of these decisions to effect good is lessened for lacking your input. In areas of your interest, decisions may not address your needs or may even undermine them.

The choice each of us has in any political system is whether or not to participate. Decisions, policies, allocation of resources will happen. We can participate and have a fighting chance to make the outcome better; or we can not participate and certainly lose. Join us; advocate for what is important to you, to education and to psychology.



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