Political Learning in Nonprofit Human Service Organizations

Abstract

Extensive scholarship finds that nonprofit associations can play an important role in democracy by providing opportunities for their constituents to learn civic and political skills necessary for active citizenship. Critical to this learning is an organizational structure that is non-hierarchical, participatory, and where individuals have equal standing. Less attention has been given to political learning in nonprofit human service organizations (NPHSOs) because these organizations are unlikely to meet these conditions. Rather than assume NPHSOs foreclose opportunities for political socialization, the study set out to ask, what kinds of political learning take place among clients in NPHSOs? The study focused on nonprofits serving people coming home from prison, a field known as reentry. Data were gathered from semi-structured interviews with leaders, staff, and clients in three case organizations in a Midwestern city. The study found that clients not only learned how to navigate the relationship with their probation officers, who acted as an extended arm of government, but also were also influenced by the messages embedded in the organization’s formal social change strategy and informal culture about what they needed to do fully participate as members of society. These implicit and explicit messages created distinct learning environments that influenced clients’ sense of self with important implications for agency, a fundamental component of citizenship. The study identified three distinct learning environments, each with its own vision of citizenship that influenced clients’ self-recovery and agency. In one case (“engaged citizen”) clients learned about their rights, and their passions to help others were not only recognized but they were given opportunities to develop and act on them. In another (“self-sufficient citizen”), clients with severe mental illness were supported in their recovery and in achieving independence by directing their agency toward goals developed in partnership with staff. In a third case (“responsible citizen”), clients were re-formed by channeling their agency into character development and employment. The study demonstrates that NPHOs, despite inhospitable conditions for supporting civic and political engagement, play an important but underappreciated role in citizenship development by influencing client agency.