Range From Individual Ability To Collective Action—Research On The Development Of Empowerment Theory In The English Literature

At the end of the 19 th century,the concept of empowerment emerged and began to be valued by the academic community in the 1970 s.Since the 1990 s,empowerment theory has been widely studied and applied in many subject.The theory of empowerment began to be applied to issues of the empowerment of women,liberatory education,political empowerment,empowerment in nursing,contemporary management,and set off a new wave of research about empowerment.The practical significance of empowerment has been verified in the process of solving all kinds of social problems.Empowerment begins with a series of social problems caused by the "powerless" of oppressed people,its aim is to give powerless people the power,stimulate its potential to achieve individual emancipation,produce larger social impact by the process of collective action caused by the the growth of individual capacity,and achieve institutional reform finally to promote social equity and justice.Compared with foreign countries,research on the theory of empowerment and its practice in the domestic academia is very limited,and lacks of systematic introduction.Therefore,this paper tries to go into the empowerment's development,connotation and value from the points of carding theoretical development process,generation of collective action and the application of disciplines,by means of the sorting and induction of foreign empowerment literature.Empowermnt can help powerless people awaken self-awareness to regain the power,stimulate their self-efficacy,strengthen self-esteem and happiness,and enhance people's public life capacity and enthusiasm.The theory of empowermnet pay great attention to the normal people especially vulnerable group on the eage of society,devoting to the cultivation of their value and capacity.This point accords with the goverance concept of people-oriented and the develop concept of people-centered on the background of the modernization of governance system.The application of empowerment contribute to promote the cultivation of civil society and the socialfairness and justice,providing a new perspective and path for the research and practice of public management in China.