About The Council on Education (COE)

Vision

There will be an expanding global network of community psychologists and allies who work collectively in ongoing efforts to create new knowledge, resources, guidance, support, and welcoming settings to all who seek to participate in education, in research and practice reflecting the principles and values of the field of community psychology.

Mission

The mission of the SCRA Council on Education is to help create, support, and advocate for educational settings that actively embrace those from every background – especially  those who have been historically excluded from educational participation – and nurture the many varied and unique professional identities, perspectives, and skills of community researchers and practitioners. We do this through facilitating access to knowledge, tools, and resources for community psychology research and practice, strengthening collaboration among educators and practitioners, and recognizing the achievements and experiences of those contributing to our shared vision and goals.  

History

In the late 1970s the Council of Graduate Program Directors in Community Research & Action (CPDCRA) was formed to encourage excellence in education in community research and action within SCRA.  In late 2005, the group was reactivated at the initiative of Cliff O'Donnell in his role as President of SCRA as the "SCRA Council of Education Programs" in order to emphasize our commitment to excellence in education at both undergraduate and graduate levels. It has been in operation since then. I​n 2016, the group renamed itself to “Council on Education” (COE) to reflect the Council’s concern not just with “education programs” in community psychology but, more broadly, the issue of education in community psychology. This includes education not only within specific programs, but also efforts to increase the number of graduate students in the field and various opportunities for people to learn about community psychology outside of traditional academic settings.

What we do:

• Maintain the education resource exchange on the SCRA website;
• Keep the list of educational programs and training opportunities in community psychology up to date;
• Facilitate communication between educational programs and the SCRA membership;
• Create promotional and explanatory materials about education opportunities in our field; 
• Encourage the inclusion of community psychology information within the wider field of psychology education.

You can contact the COE through this email address: Coe@scra27.org

Current Members:

Past Members: