Difficult Dialogues, Privilege and Social Justice: Uses of the Privileged Identity Exploration (PIE) Model in Student Affairs Practice

This article will introduce the Privileged Identity Exploration (PIE) Model. This model identifies eight (8) defense modes associated with behaviors individuals display when engaged in difficult dialogues about social justice issues. Implications for the model and ways it can be used to assist facilitators as they engage participants in discussions about diversity are discussed. If student affairs practitioners are to foster more diverse and welcoming campus environments for our students, then we must find ways to have more meaningful discussions about diversity, privilege, and social justice. Our college campuses as well as the global markets for college graduates are becoming more diverse. Higher education administrators are searching for ways to prepare college students today to be productive workers in settings populated with individuals from various social, political, ethnic and racial backgrounds. While students attending college today may have been exposed to diversity (Coomes & Debard, 2004), they likely have not thoroughly explored their own identity and what it means to function honorably in a multicultural community. Therefore, America's higher education institutions need to encourage the youth of today to engage in difficult dialogues that help them to thoroughly examine their privileged identities. The purpose of this article is to introduce the Privileged Identity Exploration (PIE) model that represents behavior often presented by individuals when engaged in difficult dialogues about diversity, privilege, and social justice. I will begin by defining the terms diversity, privilege, social justice, multicultural competence, and difficult dialogues. Additionally, I will discuss the challenges I face when facilitating workshops and classes on the topic of diversity. Finally, I will introduce the PIE model. Diversity, Privilege, and Social Justice There are many ways to define diversity. For the purposes of this special issue, the term diversity refers to raising awareness about promoting inclusion of historically oppressed groups (i.e. racial minorities, women, people with disabilities) and developing an appreciation of cultural difference (Goodman, 2001). Social justice goes beyond raising awareness and addresses "issues of equity, power relations, and institutionalized oppression" (Goodman, 2001, p. 5). Social justice requires that individuals challenge dominant ideology and advocate change in institutional policies and practices (Goodman, 2001). To advocate for social justice, individuals must raise their awareness and reevaluate the dominant value system that operates within the American culture. This awareness about diversity comes as one develops critical consciousness about his/her own privileged status. According to Freire (1970), critical consciousness is the ability to assess and take action against the social, political, and economic elements of oppression in a society. As Peggy Mcintosh's (1989) essay entided White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack has pointed out, critical consciousness about sociopolitical issues often comes when one confronts his or her own privilege. Multicultural Competence and Critical Consciousness There has been a significant amount of research in the counseling and student affairs fields that describes the route to raising critical consciousness (e.g. Pope, Reynolds, and Mueller, 2004; Arrendondo, 1999). Regardless of the route, critical consciousness does not come without one engaging in difficult conversations and facing what it means to be privileged. According to Pope, Reynolds, and Mueller (2004), a multiculturally competent student affairs professional is aware of his/her own assumptions, biases, and values; possesses an understanding of the worldview of others; is informed about various cultural groups; and has acquired the skills to develop appropriate intervention strategies and techniques. Additionally, he/she has the ability to integrate this knowledge throughout other core competency areas of student affairs practice (i. …