A Review Of: “Payne, R.K. (2003). A framework for understanding poverty”

Pathologizing the Poor: A Framework for Understanding Ruby Payne's Work The poor person does not exist as an inescapable fact of destiny. His or her existence is not politically neutral, and it is not ethically innocent. The poor are a by-product of the system in which we live and for which we are responsible. —Gustavo Gutiérrez Notes 1. Quincy University (Quincy, IL), Texas State Board for Educator Certification, National Association of Social Workers, National Board of Certified Counselors, Inc., Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented. 2. A Google search on June 3, 2005 using the search terms "Ruby Payne, Syllabus, and Education," generated over 5,000 web documents from which the syllabi I analyzed were collected. 3. While the focus of my critique is A Framework for Understanding Poverty, I also draw on other writings by Payne in order to more fully uncover the ideological underpinnings of her poverty discourse. 4. On her website (www.ahaprocess.com) Payne maintains a section titled "Research Base" where she makes the following claim (which contains striking parallels with Oscar Lewis' work), about the information in her book: A Framework for Understanding Poverty borrows heavily from a 30-year, qualitative, ongoing case study, which uses several methodologies. The research methodology that was and is used relies heavily on an anthropological approach. In addition, the narratives/stories of a neighborhood are used extensively. The neighborhood that was and is observed is mostly white; some of the individuals are part Native American, and there are a few Hispanics. The number of people observed is between 50 and 70. Because of the greater likelihood of early death in poverty and the amount of mobility, the number fluctuates. The author is most interested in noting that the study has "ecological validity." 5. In addition to writing about a culture of poverty and schools, Payne has self-published several other books that are near identical to A Framework for Understanding Poverty with only minor modifications made in relationship to the audience she is seeking to target, resulting in titles such as Hidden Rules of Class at Work (Payne & Krabill, 2002); What Every Church Member Should Know about Poverty (Payne & Ehlig, 1999); and Bridges Out of Poverty: Strategies for Professionals and Communities (Payne, DeVol, & Smith, 2001). 6. For details on Payne's school reform consulting services see: www.ahaprocess.com/SchoolReform.html 7. I am not suggesting here that we are not to look at different elements and parts of an issue, what I am emphasizing however is the danger of not situating such analysis within the larger social, political, and economic context. Additional informationNotes on contributorsNana Osei-Kofi Nana Osei-Kofi is assistant professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Iowa State University. Her work focuses on critical education, transnational feminist thought, political economy of higher education, and arts-based educational research.