Welcome to the SSF Knowledge Hub.
Explore articles, reflections, podcasts, videos and resources examining inclusion, leadership, human behaviour and social change through the Six Stages Framework.
Browse the latest content below or search by topic to discover practical insights, case reflections and tools for building more inclusive communities, schools and organisations.
Browse by Topic
• Through the SSF Lens
• Building Bridges of Empathy
• Coming Out of Caves
• The Virology of Hate
• Case Reflections
• Weekly Reflections
If you are new to the Six Stages Framework, Start Here
Website Update: Enhancing the SSF Knowledge Hub
We are currently reorganising and expanding the SSF Knowledge Hub to make it easier for you to find articles, podcasts, videos, reflections and practical tools linked to the Six Stages Framework.
During this transition, content is being organised into new topic areas including:
• Through the SSF Lens
• Building Bridges of Empathy
• Coming Out of Caves
• The Virology of Hate
• Case Reflections
• Weekly Reflections
Thank you for your patience while we continue to develop and expand the Knowledge Hub. New content and resources will be added regularly.
THE SSF KNOWLEDGE HUB
Gender Bias, Misogyny and Backlash: What Did the Six Stages Framework See?
In 2022, the Six Stages Framework was already exploring gender bias as a dynamic and fluid process involving silence, dismissal, blame, entrenchment and extreme advocacy. Four years later, Dr Shungu M’gadzah revisits that work to ask what stood up, what became more complex and what the SSF has learned.
What’s New at the SSF: Research, Evidence and New Ways to Explore the Framework
This week at the Six Stages Framework: a new invitation to researchers, an expanded Research, Publications & Academic Impact page, developments in Media & Expert Commentary, and new thinking on belonging across difference, evidence and the future development of the SSF.
Research with the Six Stages Framework
Explore opportunities to research the Six Stages Framework. This page invites doctoral researchers, academics, Educational Psychologists and EPs in training to apply, test, question and develop the SSF through independent research.
What Dolly Parton Taught Us About Belonging Across Difference
Why did Dolly Parton seem to connect with people across race, class, faith, sexuality and politics? This SSF Weekly Reflection explores childhood memory, music, poverty, Whitney Houston, allyship and what it means to create belonging without requiring sameness.
My Dear White Friend – Letter Three: When Bias Arrives Before You Do
What happens when a story about you reaches the workplace before you do? In Letter Three of My Dear White Friend, Dr Shungu M’gadzah reflects on how labels such as “difficult” and “intimidating” can travel through professional networks, how repetition can be mistaken for objectivity, and what White colleagues and leaders can do to interrupt racial bias rather than becoming the next domino.
Accountability and Certainty: When the Evidence Is Never Enough
How much certainty do we require before taking action — and is that threshold the same for every issue? This week’s SSF reflection explores the accountability spotlight, unequal roads to certainty and whether accountability should begin before certainty ends.
My Dear White Friend – Letter Two: The Discomfort of Looking Within
What happens when friendship, allyship and inclusion no longer reassure us, but ask us to examine ourselves? Letter Two explores racial bias, institutional silence and the difficult work of looking within.
My Dear White Friend: A Note Between Letters – Are My Letters Reaching You?
Before writing Letter Two of My Dear White Friend, I find myself needing to pause. Reflections on belonging and the public discussion surrounding Professor Arday have resurfaced memories, emotions and questions I thought I had put away. This is a note from the space between the letters.
Belonging, Fitting In and the Psychological Cost of Assimilation
What do we ask people to give up in order to belong? This SSF Weekly Reflection explores the psychological cost of assimilation, conditional belonging and what happens when adaptation flows primarily in one direction.
My Dear White Friend
Understanding racism intellectually is one thing. Sitting with it when it becomes personal is something else. In Letter One of My Dear White Friend, I reflect on friendship, White privilege, bias, belonging and what happens when the lens turns inward.
What Are Our Environments Creating?
What are our environments creating? This SSF Weekly Reflection explores how narrow ideals of perfection may shape our responses to difference, vulnerability and the early warning signs appearing in our relationships and communities.
Can People Really Change?
The Six Stages Framework says movement is possible—but movement is not self-certified. This reflection explores how we distinguish rehabilitation from forgiveness, restored trust and suitability for public office.
Preparing for Extremes: Why We Wait Until Crisis Arrives
Extreme events may feel sudden, but the conditions that make them possible often develop long before crisis arrives. This SSF Weekly Reflection explores why warning signs become normalised, why reassurance is mistaken for readiness, and why early intervention is an act of care.
Human Encounters: How Do People Feel After They Encounter Us?
Every human encounter leaves a psychological trace. This SSF Weekly Reflection explores what happens between people, how our emotional state and bias shape interactions, and why the question may not simply be what we intended, but what became possible for the other person after encountering us.
What Lens Are You Looking Through: Psychological Lenses?
Why do two people see exactly the same situation yet reach completely different conclusions? This reflection explores how our psychological lenses shape what we notice, what we overlook and how curiosity begins with examining the lens through which we see the world.
From Awareness to Action: When Systems Know What to Do-but Struggle to Do It
This week’s headlines reveal a widening gap between awareness and lived experience. Through the SSF Lens, Dr Shungu explores why recognising problems is only the beginning—and what it takes for systems to move towards meaningful change.
Why Harm Rarely Begins with Extremism: The Six Stages Framework and the Psychology of Escalation
What if harm rarely begins with extremism? This week’s SSF Weekly Reflection explores how the Six Stages Framework helps us understand the psychology of escalation. Rather than focusing only on visible acts of hate or extremism, it examines the gradual psychological movement from curiosity and dialogue towards certainty, division and harm, highlighting why recognising these movements early creates opportunities for prevention, belonging and systems change.
Why the Six Stages Framework Is More Than a Framework
This week’s SSF Weekly Reflection explores why the Six Stages Framework is becoming more than a framework—it is a way of thinking about human behaviour, belonging, psychological safety and systems change. Reflecting on current practice across education, leadership and public services, this edition considers the legacy of robust psychological thinking and the importance of building environments where people genuinely belong.
Developing the Six Stages Framework: When Ideas Need Different Homes
This week’s SSF Weekly Reflection explores an important shift in thinking: the Six Stages Framework is evolving into more than a psychological framework- it’s becoming an ecosystem of connected ideas. Discover why reflections, concepts, books, podcasts and philosophy each need their own home to grow, deepen understanding and create lasting impact.
The Cave of Symptoms: The Hidden Conditions Behind Behaviour, Attendance and Disengagement
What if behaviour, attendance and disengagement are not the real problem, but symptoms of something deeper? In this SSF Weekly Reflection, Dr Shungu M’gadzah explores the Cave of Symptoms—a Six Stages Framework metaphor for the way schools, organisations and systems often focus on visible outcomes while overlooking the conditions beneath them. From anxiety and unmet need to psychological safety, belonging and systems change, this reflection invites readers to look beyond surface explanations and ask what it truly takes to create environments where people can learn, contribute and thrive.
