Education & Training

For almost 25 years, NCCJ St. Louis has been a recognized leader in the development and delivery of powerful training and educational programs that address diversity, equity, inclusion, cultural competency, and social justice. Our framework for approaching these is rooted in theory, research, and practice in psychology, sociology, and intergroup relations.

Underlying all of our programs is a set of assumptions that addresses multiple social identities, based on race, gender, ethnicity, class, age, ability, sexual orientation, religion and others. Our programs help people understand how they are shaped in many ways (conscious and unconscious) based on these identities, and that happens within a broader social system that values some identities and penalizes others.

People need a safe place to risk the discomfort that comes when we work on diversity issues. Although safety is never guaranteed, NCCJ's models are designed to promote psychological safety for participants to grow in self-awareness, knowledge, skills around diversity, motivating participants to take actions that promote justice for all, not just their own groups.

NCCJ’s Inclusion Institutes are our hallmark model: multiple day retreats where participants are immersed in learning and reflection on diversity and inclusion. Whether with healthcare providers, educators, or high school students, our Institutes are unrivaled in their ability to develop leaders and change agents.

Parts of our core social justice curriculum can also be tailored and delivered in a series of half-day or daylong Building Inclusive Communities or Building Inclusive Companies workshops, structured to build on one another and support our partners internal diversity goals.

Whether institutes or workshops, all NCCJ programs are structured to include the following objectives:

  • Increase participants’ knowledge of diversity, identity, and the dynamics of systemic oppression
  • Raise participants’ self-awareness about their experiences based on social identity
  • Build relationships among diverse participants rooted in real conversations about diversity and social justice
  • Motivate and prepare participants to take action that promotes inclusion and social justice