Women as Change Agents and the Influence of Education on Their Approach to Social Change: Illustration of Four Female SIT Graduates

SIT alumni are engaged in creating, leading and developing social change issues in international development organizations around the world. This paper presents an illustration of female graduates and the influence of SIT education received on their approach to social change. This study is based on field data gathered from four female SIT graduates from the PIM program all with local and international experiences in global issues related to social change. This research was made possible through the use of a qualitative research approach facilitated with the use of interviews and focus group discussions. The four participants in the research formed the basis for comparisons of trends and patterns after coding of my data. Findings of this research reveals that; even though participants had varied views on the concept of social change all views revolved around social change being about shifting power in the society and within social structures. Approaches to Social Change range from: education, dialogue, listening, personal life style, community organizing, relationships building to the use of journalism. Three of the participants see education received at SIT as primary motivation to their social change involvement. Participants with previous exposure to experiential learning tend to acquire more from SIT experience; this is evident in the reflections of two participants whose perspectives were transformed during their on-campus phase. However, all the practitioners interviewed in this study acknowledged the importance of experiential learning to their social change experience