Positive Deviance:  Improving Interpreting Sustainably


By William G. Vicars, EdD
7/2/2024

Positive Deviance is a behavioral and social change approach that focuses on identifying and learning from individuals or groups within a community who, despite facing similar challenges and constraints as others, have found unique and successful strategies to overcome those challenges. These individuals or groups are referred to as "positive deviants." 
 

 

In 1990, Jerry Sternin working on behalf of the Save the Children organization was tasked with addressing widespread childhood malnutrition in Vietnam. He had just six months to show results. Instead of implementing traditional aid programs, Sternin, accompanied by his wife Monique, decided to try the positive deviance approach by looking for individuals or groups within local communities who succeeding at raising well-nourished children despite facing the same challenges as everyone else. The idea is to identify what these "positive deviants" were doing differently and then spread those practices to the wider community.
 

Here's how Sternin applied this in Vietnam:

  1. Identification: He and his team identified poor families with well-nourished children.
     
  2. Observation: They closely observed these families to see what they were doing differently.
     
  3. Discovery: They found that these families were:
     
    • Collecting small shrimp and crabs from rice paddies to add to meals
    • Using sweet potato greens in their cooking
    • Feeding children more frequently throughout the day
    • Practicing strict hand hygiene
       
  4. Implementation: Instead of simply educating others about these practices, Sternin set up a program where mothers could actively practice these behaviors.
     
  5. Replication: Mothers would attend two-week sessions to learn and practice these new feeding and caring methods.

The results were remarkable. The program led to swift and visible improvements in the health status of the kids who participated in the nutrition.  Within a year 80% of the formerly malnourished children who participated had been rehabilitated. (With more time that percentage increased even higher to 93%).  The program's success led to its expansion across Vietnam and eventually to other countries.
 

This case demonstrates several key aspects of positive deviance:

  1. Solutions already exist within the community
     
  2. These solutions are sustainable because they use locally available resources
     
  3. The approach empowers community members by valuing their knowledge and practices
     
  4. It leads to behavior change through practice, not just education

The positive deviance approach has since been applied to various other issues worldwide, from reducing hospital-acquired infections to combating human trafficking.
 

Looking for existing solutions within a community, rather than imposing external ones, can lead to effective and sustainable change. It's a powerful tool for problem-solving that can be applied in many different contexts.


 

Key Concepts of Positive Deviance:

  1. Asset-Based Approach: Unlike traditional problem-solving methods that focus on deficiencies and what is not working, positive deviance identifies and leverages existing solutions and assets within the community.
     
  2. Community-Driven: The approach is participatory, involving the community in identifying positive deviants and understanding their successful behaviors and strategies.
     
  3. Sustainable Solutions: Solutions derived from positive deviance are often sustainable because they are already being practiced successfully within the community and do not require external resources or interventions.
     

Using Positive Deviance to Expedite Improvement:

  1. Identify Positive Deviants: Find individuals or groups within the community who are achieving better outcomes despite having the same resources and challenges as others.
     
  2. Analyze and Understand: Study the behaviors, strategies, and practices of these positive deviants to understand what they are doing differently.
     
  3. Design and Implement Interventions: Develop interventions that replicate these successful behaviors and practices across the community. This often involves training, sharing knowledge, and creating platforms for peer learning.
     
  4. Monitor and Adapt: Continuously monitor the implementation of these practices and adapt them as needed to ensure they are effective and sustainable in different contexts within the community.

By focusing on what is already working within a community, the positive deviance approach can lead to faster and more effective improvements in various situations, such as public health, education, and organizational change.

 

Using Positive Deviance to Improve Recruitment, Development, and Retention of ASL Interpreters:

  1. Identify Successful Interpreters: Find ASL interpreters who have been highly successful in their careers in terms of job satisfaction, longevity, and effectiveness in their roles.
     
  2. Analyze Their Strategies: Study what these successful interpreters are doing differently in terms of recruitment, training, and career development. This might include their methods of learning, mentorship practices, continuing education, and community engagement.
     
  3. Develop Interventions Based on Insights: Create programs and initiatives that replicate the successful behaviors and strategies of these positive deviants. This could involve changes to recruitment processes, training programs, and support systems.
     
  4. Community Involvement: Engage the community of interpreters to share and adopt these best practices. This might include workshops, peer-learning groups, and online forums where interpreters can share their experiences and strategies.
     

Examples of Positive Deviance in ASL Interpreting:

  • Mentorship Programs: Some successful interpreters might have benefited from strong mentorship relationships. Programs can be developed to formalize mentorship, pairing experienced interpreters with new recruits.
     
  • Community and Networking: Building a strong sense of community among interpreters can enhance job satisfaction and retention. Organizing networking events, support groups, and professional associations can provide a support system for interpreters.
     
  • Ongoing Professional Development: Successful interpreters often engage in continuous learning and skill development. Creating opportunities for regular workshops, certifications, and professional development can help retain interpreters by keeping them engaged and improving their skills.
     

Examples from Other Language Interpreting Fields:

  1. Recruitment from Diverse Backgrounds: In fields like medical and legal interpreting, recruiting bilingual individuals from diverse backgrounds who already have a strong understanding of the cultural context can improve recruitment and retention. Similar strategies can be applied to ASL by reaching out to Deaf communities and CODAs (Children of Deaf Adults).
     
  2. Immersion Programs: In other interpreting fields, immersion programs where interpreters spend time in communities where the language is spoken can enhance language proficiency and cultural understanding. For ASL, this could involve immersive experiences in Deaf communities and Deaf culture events.
     
  3. Professional Development Pathways: Creating clear and attainable career development pathways has been successful in retaining interpreters in other fields. This includes advanced certifications, specializations, and opportunities for career advancement. Implementing similar pathways for ASL interpreters can provide motivation and clear goals for professional growth.
     
  4. Support for Work-Life Balance: Addressing burnout and work-life balance has been key in retaining interpreters in other fields. Providing flexible work arrangements, mental health resources, and promoting a healthy work-life balance can help retain ASL interpreters.
     

Examples of Positive Deviance in Action:

  • Vietnam Nutrition Improvement: The positive deviance approach was used in Vietnam to improve child nutrition. Community members identified mothers in poor villages who had well-nourished children despite the same resources as others. Their behaviors, such as adding small shrimp and sweet potato greens to their children’s diet, were shared and adopted by others, leading to widespread improvements in nutrition. (Pascale, 2010)
     
  • Healthcare Improvement in Hospitals: In American hospitals, positive deviance has been used to reduce infection rates. Hospitals identified practices from units with the lowest infection rates and implemented these practices across other units, leading to significant reductions in infections. (Marra, 2013)
     
  • Improvement in the acquisition of American Sign Language by Deaf Children:  Research using a positive deviance approach has been used to identify best practices for encouraging parents of children who are Deaf to learn sign language which can help to reduce language deprivation in visually oriented children. (Dutra, 2020)

Identifying and spreading successful strategies within our communities and organizations can lead to improvements in recruitment, development, and retention. By focusing on what works well and encouraging the community to adopt these practices, we can create a supportive and thriving environment for ASL interpreters.

 

 


 

References:

Dutra, Nathan J. (2020). "Including the Deaf Child at the Dinner Table: When and Why Hearing Parents Learn Sign Language
."  California State University, Sacramento. Retrieved: 6/28/2024, URL: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nathan-Dutra/publication/359849695_Including_the_Deaf_Child_at_the_Dinner_Table_When_and_Why_Hearing_Parents_Learn_Sign_Language/links/6254b39fcf60536e23564d4d/Including-the-Deaf-Child-at-the-Dinner-Table-When-and-Why-Hearing-Parents-Learn-Sign-Language.pdf


Marra, A. R., dos Santos, O. F. P., Neto, M. C., & et al. (2013). Positive deviance: A new tool for infection prevention and patient safety. Current Infectious Disease Reports, 15(6), 544-548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11908-013-0372-y
 

Pascale, R., Sternin, J., & Sternin, M. (2010). The Power of Positive Deviance: How Unlikely Innovators Solve the World's Toughest Problems. Harvard Business Press.
 

 

Additional notes by William G. Vicars, EdD: 


If the following link is still active, you can read about the research

https://web.archive.org/web/20160424021330/http://www.positivedeviance.org/about_pd/Monique%20VIET%20NAM%20CHAPTER%20Oct%2017.pdf

 

The Positive Deviance (PD) approach identifies individuals or groups within a community who, despite facing similar challenges and having access to the same resources, achieve better outcomes than their peers, and then uses their uncommon but successful strategies to address a problem.

 

●  Identifying Positive Deviants:

The PD approach starts by identifying "positive deviants" – individuals or groups who are succeeding in a way that deviates from the norm, often in areas like health, nutrition, or education.

●  Uncovering Successful Practices:

The focus is on understanding the unique strategies and behaviors that these positive deviants employ to achieve their positive outcomes.

●  Empowering Communities:

The PD approach aims to empower communities by recognizing that solutions to problems often exist within the community itself, and that these solutions can be discovered and replicated.

●  "Acting into a New Way of Thinking":

The PD approach emphasizes learning by doing, rather than simply providing information or instructions.

●  Examples of Application:

PD has been used successfully in various contexts, including:

●  Reducing childhood malnutrition: In Vietnam, PD helped reduce malnutrition by identifying and replicating the practices of families who were already feeding their children nutritious foods.

●  Improving educational outcomes: PD has been used in the United States to improve educational outcomes by identifying and replicating the practices of successful schools.

●  Promoting condom use: PD has been used in Georgia and Indonesia to promote condom use among commercial sex workers by identifying and replicating the practices of individuals who were already using condoms.

 

●  Key Principles:

●  Community-based: PD is a community-based approach, meaning that it involves community members in identifying problems, solutions, and implementing change.

●  Iterative: PD is an iterative process, meaning that it involves ongoing learning and adaptation.

●  Empowerment: PD aims to empower community members by recognizing their knowledge and skills.

●  Focus on what works: PD focuses on identifying and replicating what works, rather than focusing on what doesn't work.

●  Steps of the Positive Deviance Approach:

●  Define the problem: Clearly identify the problem that needs to be addressed.

●  Determine common practices: Understand the current practices and behaviors within the community.

●  Discover uncommon, successful behaviors: Identify the positive deviants and their successful strategies.

●  Design and develop initiatives: Develop initiatives to help the community adopt the successful practices of the positive  deviants.

●  Discern the initiative's effectiveness: Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the initiatives.

 

Also see: Parents that learn ASL

 

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