Authors:Sarah E. Stanlick, George DeMartino, Sharon D. Welch Abstract: The democratization of knowledge is liberating and has presented some new and difficult challenges. When everyone can position themselves as an expert, how do we create new frames of intellectual and pragmatic knowledge with integrity' How do we understand the histories of expert privilege and harm that have led us to this time of uncertainty' And finally, how do we work productively across different types of expertise to ensure that community voice, academic voice, and professional voice (and the overlapping nexus within) connect for epistemic and social justice' In this article, we explore the harm and capacity to dehumanize through expert privilege and focus on economics as a disciplinary case study. We critically examine the factors that often lead to dehumanizing practices, interrogate where our own power and privilege need to be checked and understood, and articulate/imagine community engagement practices that might bring about epistemic justice as a reparative opportunity. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Nai-Cheng Kuo, Keonna Stanley Abstract: The dual capacity-building framework created by Mapp and her colleagues (i.e., Mapp & Bergman, 2019; Mapp & Kuttner, 2013) lays a foundation for an extended partnership beyond families and schools. In this article, we explore how to extend the value of the dual capacity-building framework to a larger partnership that includes communities and universities. Our analyses are centered on the four essential components of the capacity-building framework—challenges, opportunity conditions, policies and program goals, and capacity outcomes—in the context of quadruple partnerships. Adding examples of successful university–community partnerships to the existing dual capacity-building framework will better support families’ and schools’ efforts to promote students’ academic success. Because the capacity-building framework is grounded in rigorous research and thoughtful analyses, higher education outreach and engagement programs can adopt it to foster more effective partnerships with families, schools, and communities, and positively transform K-12 education. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Britteny M. Howell, Hattie A. Harvey, Donna M. Aguiniga Abstract: Community-engaged research (CEnR) occurs when university and community resources are partnered to enrich knowledge, address social issues, and contribute to the public good. The benefits of CEnR include the translation of scientific findings into public initiatives that can improve practice and provide invaluable learning experiences for students. Despite the importance of CEnR, there are barriers to this work and limited information on how to develop an academic infrastructure to support such time-intensive research at teaching-focused universities. In this article, we outline the development, implementation, and evaluation results of a pilot faculty learning community (FLC) at a midsized university, the Community-Engaged Faculty Research Fellows Program. This high-visibility program provided consultation and ongoing support for new and established faculty research projects and resulted in high program satisfaction and multiple scholarly and other published works. We provide recommendations from our lessons learned for similar programs at other institutions. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Ella August, Max Ansorge, Olivia S. Anderson Abstract: The disruption of education during COVID-19 presented challenges regarding experiential learning intended for Master of Public Health students to develop writing skills. We describe the Real-World Writing Project, wherein students wrote a public health document for community partners, implemented in the context of emergency remote learning during COVID-19. Community partners and students completed surveys related to their satisfaction with the Project and final products. Students reported skills they used and rated the writing project compared to traditional writing assignments. Community partners and students were satisfied working together and with the final products. Most used skills reported by students were writing, creating a design element, and interpreting data. Students were satisfied with the Project compared to traditional assignments. As public health emergencies (e.g., climate disasters) increase in frequency, remote experiential learning will be necessary. This work contributes valuable information about conducting a successful community project during a public health crisis. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Elizabeth Brandt Abstract: This thesis overview summarizes a study (Brandt, 2021) examining the institutional and professional practices that enable community engagement professionals (CEPs) to play vital roles in fulfilling higher education’s civic mission. Drawing on field-building research by community-engaged practitioners and scholars, such as Welch and Saltmarsh (2013) and Dostilio (2017), this study employed a mixed-methods research design through an electronic survey of open- and closed-ended questions administered to a national network of CEPs. The analysis points to five key themes that should be addressed by institutions and the field: faculty development and institutionalization efforts, positionality and power dynamics, compensation and support, institutional infrastructure, and demographic implications. Findings from this study showcase the importance of CEPs in effectively and equitably leading their institutions in actualizing their civic missions, as well as their access to resources and advancement opportunities. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Marisol Morales Abstract: A review of Cann, C. N., & DeMeulenaere, E. J. (2020). The activist academic: Engaged scholarship for resistance, hope, and social change. Myers Education Press. 250 pp. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Kathleen Sexsmith, Richard Kiely Abstract: Global service-learning (GSL) course offerings have expanded rapidly in the last decade at U.S. universities and colleges, yet faculty are not always prepared for the ethical challenges of development work with disadvantaged communities in international settings. Based on a qualitative study of 25 GSL faculty across a range of higher education institutions in the United States, this article describes what drives faculty members to participate in GSL, analyzes the community engagement principles that guide their GSL work, and assesses how they cope with the dissonance that arises when striving to meet the sometimes-conflicting needs of students, communities, and educational institutions. We find that these faculty employ a “transformative GSL ethics” to realize their motivations and visions for a counter-normative approach to community engagement. We argue that higher education institutions must shift their norms, values, and practices with respect to professional development and pedagogy if they are to continue promoting the GSL agenda. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Leah Murray, Kyle Upchurch, Nancy L. Thomas Abstract: In 2018, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities’ American Democracy Project (ADP) and Tufts University’s Institute for Democracy & Higher Education (IDHE) formed a 3-year partnership to explore two approaches to studying institutional climates for political learning and participation in democracy. The goals were to repeat IDHE’s qualitative approach to examining climates through case studies conducted by a team of outside researchers and to test a second approach—an internal institutional self-study pursued with IDHE guidance. We review these methods and offer a comparative assessment of their efficacy for studying an institution’s political climate, as well as a brief summary of the qualitative case studies’ findings. We conclude that (1) qualitative case studies of political climate are powerful assessment tools and (2) the self-study method with external guidance or coaching holds promise for scalability and potential to effect campus change but faces significant obstacles to successful implementation. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:José Pedro Amorim, Thiago Freires, Fernanda Rodrigues, Joaquim Luís Coimbra, Isabel Menezes Abstract: University social responsibility (USR) is a fashionable concept that is often presented as a paradox, with the implication that it can help universities meet the social dimension of higher education, without questioning the hegemonic meanings of academic excellence and the university mission. We draw on data collected through a focus group of experts on USR to suggest that this concept has the potential to contribute to the transformation of higher education, particularly if its tensions and contradictions are addressed. Three tensions emerged from the data: real versus unreal change, institutional cooperation versus competition, and the right to privacy versus excessive transparency. We conclude that USR is neither a neutral nor a consensual concept; rather, it is eminently political, and HEIs and their leaders, teachers, staff, and students should confront, discuss, and take a stand on its tensions and contradictions. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Marijke W. Visser, Carina A. C. M. Pittens, Ralph de Vries, Marjolein B. M. Zweekhorst Abstract: Higher education institutions are becoming increasingly embedded in their surrounding communities in order to learn from and respond to their often complex problems. Potential mutually beneficial—or reciprocal— collaborations between students, faculty members, and communities are being set up, but few researchers have explored how community actors are involved in collaborative decision-making processes. To fill this gap, this narrative review explores the current literature on community involvement processes in course-based higher education activities. Our research yielded a framework of definitions, guiding principles, and strategies to achieve more successful community involvement in this context. Seven guiding principles and related strategies are presented: alignment, shared ownership, balancing power relations, joint learning and knowledge creation, representation, immersion, and relationship building. The narrative review gave insights into the way community involvement is currently approached in course-based higher education activities and established a basis for understanding and shaping higher education–community collaboration. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Rachel Kulick, Anicca Cox, Fernanda V. Dias Abstract: Higher education–community projects to support food security and food justice can improve health outcomes and increase community cohesion, but university funding may lead to power inequities that perpetuate marginalizing narratives. For this project, a regional state university, a local high school, and a nonprofit focused on building school gardens to offer university and high school students hands-on agricultural education and experience with a permaculture focus. Participant interviews revealed some disconnection and conflict between project goals and participant experiences. In this article we detail the planning phases of the project and self-reflexively unpack what we came to call a dominant narrative of assumed mutuality, which yielded uneven power dynamics that lowered school and community partner participation and buy-in. Findings reveal a need for a project design framework with structured, lateral, reflective communication practices across constituent groups to improve longevity and sustainability of collaborative projects. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
Authors:Ryan J. Couillou, Beth McGee, Tabitha Lamberth, Skylar Ball Abstract: This national study included a quantitative inquiry regarding the impact of COVID-19 on service-learning from 207 participants representing community partner organizations (n = 145) and higher education institutions (n = 62). Community partners reported a decreased number of students engaged in service-learning after the outbreak of COVID-19. Response patterns emerged between community partners and higher education participant groups. The perceived helpfulness of service-learning for student success and fostering relationships differed statistically among the partner types—higher education participants rated these higher than community partners. Reasons for participating varied among partner types, and community partners identified volunteer procurement among the most helpful support higher education offers beyond service-learning. Changing policies, wearing masks, and virtual communication were cited as main adaptations to COVID-19 but prioritized differently among partners. This study uncovered the emerging and varied perspectives of higher education and community partners regarding service-learning at this significant time in history. PubDate: 2023-11-03 Issue No:Vol. 27, No. 3 (2023)
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