The Best Diagnosis Is the Autopsy,But It Comes Too Late

Abstract

Citizens, through social movements and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), have expressed a clear message to researchers on the contributions of science to the fight against poverty and exclusion. Many investigations have carried out diagnoses of poverty in specific areas, though at times, this work was regrettably too late. Citizens in fact clamor for solutions, not a diagnosis. Notably, the project Successful Socio-Educative Actions to Overcome Poverty, funded by the Spanish government, has not been another diagnosis on poverty in deprived territories of Spain but rather a communicative case study developed in one of the most deprived neighborhoods in this country, in which researchers, neighbors, and different social actors have contributed to analyzing actions that are successfully improving the living conditions in this community.

Introduction

If you have just one person, only one, saying that you can dream and you can do something, that is all you need. In addition, if you can have a school or community saying that you can dream, you can do something, their effects are astonishing.

(Kostic-Cisneros, 2011)

This is how Rosamaria Kostic Cisneros, a member of the Roma women’s association “Drom Kotar Mestipen,” ended her speech in the closing conference of the INCLUD-ED Project: Strategies for Inclusion and Social Cohesion from Education in Europe (Flecha, 2006–2011).

INCLUD-ED analyzed both the educational strategies that contribute to school failure and social exclusion, as well as those that overcome social inequalities. Thus, INCLUD-ED identified a set of educational successful actions (SEAs), which are defined as those educational actions that achieve the best results in instrumental learning and coexistence in any context in which they are applied (Flecha, 2015).

The project also identified integrative successful actions (ISAs), which focus on improving one or more areas in society (employment, health, housing, and/or social and political participation) through SEAs (Flecha, 2015).

The improvement and benefits of the SEAs, as well as of the ISAs, have already been proven in numerous scientific publications (Aubert et al., 2017; Garcia Yeste et al., 2018; Ruiz-Eugenio, 2016).

In line with the results of INCLUD-ED, the RTD project EXIT-Poverty: Successful Socio-Educational Actions to Overcome Poverty (Valls, 2012-2014), also financed by the Spanish government, has analyzed what socio-educational actions are contributing to overcoming poverty in the most disadvantaged urban areas in Spain. In this regard, the project has succeeded in demonstrating the specific impact of SEAs and ISAs on overcoming scarcity among the most vulnerable groups, such as the Roma people (Sordé-Martí & Macías-Aranda, 2017).

The social impact achieved by both projects is largely due to the methodological design because both projects have been based on the principles of communicative methodology (Gómez et al., 2011), which has been applauded by the European Union because of its ability to overcome the social exclusion of the most vulnerable groups (The European Union Spanish Presidency, 2010).

However, research on social sciences (Elboj, 2014) has tended to carry out diagnoses of the realities that people and communities live without providing clear pathways to overcoming poverty. Therefore, causes and consequences of poverty have been deepened thanks to the people’s participation in research, including qualitative research. However, there are still some studies that use the voice of people to assess the social impact of actions that seek to fight against poverty, thus going beyond diagnosis and contributing to overcoming these issues.

Therefore, in this article, we delve into the communicative methodology and qualitative techniques used by the EXIT-Poverty project to show that this methodology is an excellent opportunity to evaluate the social impact of interventions aimed at combating poverty by using the voice of those affected.

From Diagnosis to Solutions for Overcoming Poverty

The measurement of poverty has been evolving in recent years, with a view to providing a more comprehensive measurement of this phenomenon. Initially, its measurement was based on economic aspects (Feres & Mancero, 2001). Therefore, the first investigations were mainly of a quantitative nature (Odhiambo et al., 2005).

At the end of the 20th century, these studies began to consider poverty as a multidimensional phenomenon in which both the economic and material resources of a family should be taken into account, as well as the factors that increase or decrease life expectancy, educational level, employment options, or access to health services (Kallio & Niemelä, 2014). This approach led to the emergence of studies that began to use qualitative or mixed methodologies, helping to understand the causes and effects of poverty in different parts of the world and from different social spheres.

Walker et al. (2013) conducted 317 in-depth interviews with adults and children in various settings in seven countries (rural Uganda and India, urban China, Pakistan, South Korea and the United Kingdom, and small and urban towns in Norway). The paper concludes that, in all the analyzed countries, poverty leads to depression and suicidal thoughts. Hansen et al. (2014) carried out a longitudinal ethnographic study in two areas in New York City between 2005 and 2012. Participant observations and interviews were conducted with 127 patients and staff at three outpatient clinics in Manhattan, together with an ethnographic follow-up with poor Puerto Rican families in East Harlem. The results concluded that these poor patients were treated, in the majority of cases, as having mental problems.

Other qualitative studies also analyze the cause and effects of poverty to understand, for instance, ethnic inequalities in the Brazilian Amazon (Weinhold et al., 2013); the relationship between masculinity, employment, and poverty in Israel (Strier et al., 2014); the relationship between informal employment and poverty in Turkey (Eroglu-Hawksworth, 2017); and the impact of poverty on children in Ethiopia (Camfield & Roelen, 2013).

As far as education is concerned, there are numerous qualitative studies focused on poverty and its educational implications (Arnold & Doctoroff, 2003; Phillips & Lowenstein, 2011; Thompson et al., 2014). For example, qualitative research has shown that poverty is especially severe for children (both boys and girls) in the early years of life (Arnold & Doctoroff, 2003) and that minority social and cultural groups are at greater risk of suffering school failure as a result of poverty (Phillips & Lowenstein, 2011).

These studies provide a useful analysis of the causes and effects of poverty, but the qualitative approach is not used to assess the impact of measures and actions against poverty. As a matter of fact, in many cases, research has not been carried out to improve the situation of poverty, and in some cases, it has negative consequences for the researched groups (Gómez et al., 2011). A clear example of this fact is the case of Roma people, as the scientific literature has on numerous occasions codified stereotypes and prejudices toward this group (Amador, 2016).

In this connection, Giddens stated that “sociology is a subject with important practical implications. It can contribute to social criticism and practical social reform in several ways” (Giddens, 1997, p. 15). By adhering to this idea, many authors (Gómez et al., 2011; Puigvert et al., 2012) affirm that can be an excellent tool for social transformation and the inclusion of all groups excluded from today’s society.

For this purpose, we should start with the idea that we are living in a time of a dialogical turn in all areas of society (Aubert & Soler, 2007), in that it is essential in research, as elsewhere, to have the voice of all people involved. Communicative methodology allows people to participate on an equal footing during research, contributing and evaluating both the research results and the reality we analyze (Puigvert et al., 2012).

In this sense, through communicative methodology, the collection of qualitative data not only allows us to collect the voice of the people but also allows us to assess the impact of our work and the analyzed actions. In fact, the impact of communicative methodology has already been proven in several research topics, such as education (Aubert et al., 2017), social inclusion (Alvarez et al., 2018), and ethnic minorities, such as the Roma people (Aiello et al., 2013).

Successful Socio-Educative Actions to Overcome Poverty: A Case Study

The EXIT-Poverty project identified a set of socio-educational actions that helped people to overcome poverty in different situations in Spain, as well as the benefits of such actions. One of the case studies was in the neighborhood of La Milagrosa (Albacete, Spain), one of the most disadvantaged neighborhoods in Spain, with high poverty rates (Brown et al., 2013) and home to almost 50% of Roma, as well as more than 10% of immigrants (Aubert et al., 2010). It is estimated that 89.7% of people between 25 and 64 years of age in this neighborhood have no degree or have not passed secondary education (European Anti Poverty Network, 2008). This social exclusion was also reflected in the neighborhood school, where there were high rates of absenteeism and school failure, as well as serious problems of cohabitation (Díez-Palomar et al., 2013).

In this context, in the 2006–2007 academic year, a new school called La Paz opened. This school was set up as a Learning Community, an educational project based on the application of SEAs (Ríos et al., 2013). At La Paz, from the participation of all agents involved, first-level scientific knowledge from the INCLUD-ED project with the awareness of the community was put into practice to offer an education of the highest possible quality in response to school failure and social exclusion (Díez-Palomar et al., 2013).

This research methodology was not just limited to the school, but through the dialogic inclusion contract (DIC) and based on a permanent and equal dialogue during the participation of the community’s members, a process of transforming of the whole neighborhood began with the application of ISAs (Brown et al., 2013).

The EXIT-Poverty project used communicative methodology to identify and evaluate the impact of the SEAs and the ISAs in this neighborhood. Some of the actions to overcome poverty identified in the educational field have included turning the educational center into a Learning Community (Díez-Palomar et al., 2013), the socio-educational center FINDE, that provides educational and social activities during the weekend (Brown et al., 2013), and the creation of an adult school on site following the principles of a specific SEA: the development of family members (Girbés-Peco et al., 2015).

On the contrary, the project also identified actions in the areas of employment, housing, and health, such as the creation of the Miguel Fenollera Cooperative, and the improvement of neighborhood infrastructures and solidarity networks (Valls, 2012-2014).

Qualitative Techniques From Communicative Methodology

The participation of the community in identifying and analyzing the actions transforming their lives was possible thanks to the use of qualitative techniques of a communicative orientation. For the purpose of this article, three of these techniques are explained.

We should note that the communicative orientation of these qualitative techniques established a dialogue based on horizontality with the people who participated in the research. The research team provides previous theoretical knowledge about the subject matter, while the participants provide the knowledge of their own experience (Gómez et al., 2011).

First, four in-depth interviews with communicative orientation were conducted. Those interviewed included two politicians and two heads of public services in the neighborhood. In addition, 19 neighborhood residents (eight neighborhood youths between 14 and 18 years of age and 11 adults) participated in the research through Communicative Daily Life Stories in which neighbors explained the processes of change and improvement of the neighborhood through a reflexive narrative constructed from the egalitarian and intersubjective dialogue between the interviewee and the researcher (Puigvert et al., 2012).

Finally, five Communicative Focus Groups (two with residents of the neighborhood, two with professionals, and one with entities) were also carried out. Both youths and adults from the neighborhood, as well as teachers and professionals of the social action, participated in these groups.

Communicative Organization of the Research

To ensure community participation throughout the research process, apart from the previously described techniques, an advisory committee was created by the project. The advisory committee guided the research group in the development of the aforementioned project and provided the necessary knowledge to reach consensus regarding its results (Gómez et al., 2011). The advisory committee consisted of three female and five male members of the neighborhood, guaranteeing representativeness in terms of age, gender, and culture, among others.

Communicative Analysis

All techniques carried out were recorded and transcribed after the agreement of the participants was secured. This allowed the analysis of the information collected via communicative methodology, namely, by considering both the elements that perpetuated situations of inequality (exclusion dimension) and those that enabled it to overcome said inequality (transforming dimension) (Gómez et al., 2011).

Including Community to Assess Social Impact of Actions for Overcoming Poverty

The propositions on which the communicative methodology is based allows the establishment of an egalitarian intersubjective dialogue between researchers and the community, from which new knowledge is created to transform situations of inequality and social exclusion (Gómez et al., 2011).

In the EXIT-Poverty project, the incorporation of community voices through qualitative techniques of communicative orientation made it possible to identify a set of successful actions for overcoming poverty, as well as to evaluate the social impact of these actions. Based on the field work previously mentioned, for this article, we analyze the data obtained in two interviews with social service managers, three reports to youths, five reports to family members, and two discussion groups (one for the adult residents and the other one for professionals).

First, the project recognized that transforming the educational center into a Learning Community was improving the neighborhood’s poverty situation (Sordé-Martí & Macías-Aranda, 2017). During the fieldwork, neighbors and professionals evaluated the social impact of this action, assessing the reduction of absenteeism and school failure as fundamental aspects for combating poverty (Camilleri-Cassar, 2014). Roberto, the person in charge of Public Services, explained the situation as follows:

The level of education, especially among the younger population does, has improved considerably. Some very important issues like absenteeism or schooling have been addressed that needed to be solved. I think that these issues are practically solved, and as for the younger population, I do think there is a major positive evolution. (Roberto)

Lucía, a Roma volunteer mother of the La Paz school, also explains how the SEAs have contributed to the improvement of the educational quality of the center:

It is obvious that the situation has improved, as now there are children who attend school whereas in the past they didn’t. Now even the mothers attend school (laughs). [ . . . ] besides you see they are learning and they can obtain a degree. That was unthinkable before. (Lucía)

These improvements in the performance and quality of the center have been evaluated by the community as one of the main reasons for the growth in coexistence in the neighborhood. Ainoa, a volunteer Roma mother from the school who obtained a certificate as a youth activities instructor thanks to her participation in SEAs, explains that now at the school, despite having more and diverse children, conflict has decreased. In fact, Ainoa explains that thanks to the SEAs, families can actively participate, something that was previously impossible:

We Roma parents now come here from all races and there are no fights, right now we go to school and if we have to tell a child off, the mothers do not take part, even if she is present. See if you understand me: if a child does something wrong, the mother passes by telling the child off and vice versa, saying, “No, you scold the child, so he will carry on studying and learn to behave properly.” [ . . . ] this kind of situation did not happen before at all, all they did was fight each other. (Ainoa)

These improvements are evident throughout the entire neighborhood. As the community explains, children are no longer on the streets during the day, they are at school, something that has improved coexistence, while allowing more businesses to be opened and the number of jobs and neighborhood services to increase. Ricardo, a neighborhood professional, explains it as follows:

[ . . . ] the fact that people dare to open their business here is an obvious improvement. It is because at present the neighborhood is far more peaceful. I believe that the reduction of absenteeism has been a very important factor, as it generates for children a lot of social unrest, and now they are at school [ . . . ] and in the end you notice it in everything, in employment, in security—in short, in everything. (Ricardo)

Maria and Jorge, Roma school volunteers, explain how school improvements have reduced drug trafficking in the neighborhood:

The level of coexistence has improved considerably. There is not as many drugs as before, with so much crime; the situation overall has improved a lot. Before it was inconceivable to see a man going to school and sitting with his son to help him with math, but, now you see it. (Maria)

There was a lot of drugs in the past, [ . . . ] there were groups of people trafficking with drugs, as I myself had been, back then . . . and there were a lot of drug addicts . . . now, since parents come to school, you do not see anything like that near the school. (Jorge)

Other quotes show that the transformation of the center into a Learning Community has brought with it an improvement in living conditions thanks to the participation of the community. This active participation of the community is fundamental for SEAs (Flecha, 2015), and a key aspect for the educational and social success of vulnerable groups (Epstein et al., 2011). This participation, connected to the social impact of the SEAs and the ISAs in the reduction of the poverty, is one of the neighborhood residents’ most appreciated aspects. Natalia, responsible for public services, stresses that community participation in the SEA Family Training is crucial to combating poverty:

[ . . . ] Regarding adults, we had a very high level of functional illiteracy, and people have launched different training resources . . . There has been an obvious improvement. [ . . . ] at the moment, apart from being motivated, which is extremely important, they realize that obtaining academic degrees opens doors and possibilities of employment. (Natalia)

Young people also assess the social impact of family involvement at the center as a key aspect of the improvement of neighborhood conditions. Cayetana, a young Roma in the neighborhood who managed to finish ESO thanks to the SEAs of the La Paz school, is now continuing her post-compulsory studies. As Cayetana evaluates his performance,

Since the arrival here of the learning communities, everything has been . . . completely different because parents could not enter the school in the past except to pick up their children, whereas now they can come whenever they want . . . They can attend the classes, which is the best for the children, as they learn more when their parents are present in the classroom. (Cayetana)

The application of SEAs in the school has also prompted the extension of educational and social activities beyond school hours. This action occurred in the FINDE center, whose social impact has already been highlighted (Sordé-Martí & Macías-Aranda, 2017). This center is open on weekends and allows residents in the neighborhood to enjoy a space where educational, social, and/or cultural activities are carried out for the whole community. Juan, a young Roma from the neighborhood who managed to finish ESO thanks to the SEAs of the La Paz school and who is continuing his post-obligatory studies, explains how the FINDE center is helping to combat poverty:

Juan:

There’s a lot, but a lot of drugs. There are many bad things . . .

Interviewer:

More or less now than it was before?

Juan:

Considerably less. In the past, everybody in the neighborhood took drugs; unfortunately my brother died from drugs. I see that there is less of it now. When I was a kid, I remember that my brother always joined everyone in the neighborhood, and they were injecting drugs and doing other bad things, and now I don’t see anyone in the neighborhood doing that . . . (Juan)

On the contrary, the recreation of the SEAs in the neighborhood through the DIC enabled the creation of a set of ISAs that are also helping to combat poverty in La Milagrosa (Flecha, 2015). Regarding employment, the creation of the Miguel Fenollera Cooperative has been one of the pillars for the social improvement of the neighborhood, particularly for labor creation and income growth issues. The residents of the neighborhood value this contribution as a clearly positive action for combating poverty in La Milagrosa. Roberto, the head of public services, explains further:

The Cooperative Miguel Fenollera is generating the lion’s share of new employment, which is absolutely logical, isn’t it? Right now it is giving work to many people in the neighborhood and beyond. So far the Cooperative has signed agreements and contracts with entities, including the city council. I know they also have contracts with other entities and that they give work to residents in the neighborhood, but I say they are also giving work to people from outside our neighborhood. (Roberto)

Families also favorably view the social impact of the cooperative. Antonia, a young Roma from the neighborhood who managed to finish ESO thanks to the SEAs of the La Paz school and who now continues with her post-obligatory studies, tells us about the benefits of the cooperative in her home:

Yes, my parents are members of the Fenollera cooperative. Before that, they were forced to go out to the so called “market,” something no longer needed as now they work and bring enough money home, not to have luxuries, but to eat on a daily basis. (Antonia)

In addition, the importance of improving the neighborhood’s infrastructure for the neighbors’ lives was highlighted. This ISA developed in the framework of the ICD has also been highly valued by the residents. According to Remedios, a Roma mother who volunteers at school,

Yes, improvement is so obvious, especially in the hallways. A lot, if not all of them, have been refurbished and that is a big change, because now it seems that you live a little bit better. In the past, my vestibule was in a terrible condition. Now it is far more praiseworthy. (Remedios)

Finally, in relation to the health area, the community underlined the impact of solidarity networks between neighbors (Aubert et al., 2010). For example, different religious associations (Evangelists, Christians) are collaborating with residents in the neighborhood, especially to overcome drug addiction, gender violence, and famine. Fernando, a Roma volunteer at the FINDE Center, is currently in third grade and sleeps in prison on weekdays and at home only on weekends. Fernando was a drug addict, and now he helps other Evangelists to give up drugs:

We work a lot on that issue too (to help drug addicts recover), and then when we find people who want to go to a center, we call this Pastor when we are looking for a center quickly, and we send him there. We go to the door of the methadone clinic, as I know everyone and others . . . from my time in that life . . . and we offer help. [ . . . ] This is good for the neighborhood, as before people fell like flies here, but now at least they have a chance. (Fernando)

Conclusion

Federico Mayor Zaragoza, who has been director general of UNESCO for more than a decade, said on more than one occasion in relation to research and studies on poverty, “The best diagnosis is the autopsy, but it comes too late.” This blunt statement illustrates how the scientific community is not providing real solutions for combating poverty and social exclusion.

Acknowledging that poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon that goes beyond a family’s income level (Khondker, 2017; Sen, 1999), scientific research has incorporated new methodologies, such as qualitative and mixed methods, to analyze and understand in depth the effects, causes, and implications of poverty from many disciplines and theoretical approaches (Strier et al., 2014; Walker et al., 2013; Weinhold et al., 2013).

However, despite providing an exhaustive and useful analysis of inequality, these investigations still do not provide new effective knowledge in the fight against poverty. In addition, qualitative studies do not use the voice of people affected by this problem to assess the social impact of actions against poverty.

This article argues that the project EXIT-Poverty: Successful Socio-Educational Actions to Overcome Poverty (Valls, 2012-2014) was not just another diagnosis of poverty. Rather, through communicative methodology, it was able to both identify a set of effective actions to overcome poverty and evaluate the social impact of these actions from the voice of all affected and involved people.

In this sense, it is essential to note that the qualitative techniques of communicative orientation, together with other elements of communicative methodology, such as organization and analysis, allow us to evaluate, through the voices of the participants themselves and other agents involved, the impact of actions against poverty. In fact, this article analyzes data from three very different qualitative techniques of communicative orientation, developed with people of very different profiles (young people, neighbors, professionals, political leaders). This aspect is undoubtedly an added value of the research that is presented, ascribing strong validity to the achieved results.

Thus, communicative methodology is able to respond to the demands of society and qualitative research (Denzin & Lincoln, 2013), and especially the needs of the most vulnerable groups, because on one hand, we are able to offer real solutions to fight against social exclusion and poverty, in addition to having the active and highly useful participation of groups traditionally excluded from these spaces of participation. Finally, this article shows once again how communicative methodology is especially useful in research for and with society’s most vulnerable groups, such as the Roma people.