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Translating Across Registers: Pragmatist Inquiry in Engaged Scholarship
Get PDFInquiry is a central concept within pragmatism, defined generally as the process of collectively defining problematic aspects of current social practices and developing better alternatives. Translation—defined broadly as the labor of negotiating, transforming, and synthesizing diverse experiences—is a critical but understudied component of pragmatist inquiry. In this article, we articulate how translation occurred across multiple registers in a collaborative community-engaged research project involving university researchers and a regional food bank, focusing on translation as logistical, affective, and positional labor. Our analysis demonstrates how reflexive attention to various forms of translation across the research process can enrich socially engaged research
Maximizing International Students’ Service-Learning and Community Engagement Experience: A Case Study of Student Voices on the Benefits and Barriers
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to identify actual and perceived barriers and benefits of engaging in service-learning and volunteering activities as identified from the unique perspective of international students. Through the identification of barriers and benefits, we can provide more informed training to international students and provide a foundation for best practices to the community-based organizations that host them as volunteers and service-learners. We gathered data through focus groups and short online surveys of both the study population and community partner-based organizations. The findings of this study providing the authentic experiences and perspectives of international students, can assist service-learning institutions and organizations worldwide to better prepare international students for a service-learning experience and reduce the number of barriers faced. Practices and services are recommended to help international students complete their volunteer/service-learning endeavors, and to provide a more welcoming atmosphere for this student population to engage in their communities through service-learning
Driven by What? Long-term Career Objectives of Community Engagement Professionals
Get PDFThis article presents a qualitative study designed to examine the long-term career objectives of individuals building careers as community engagement professionals (CEPs). CEPs administratively support engagement between a college or university and broader communities. We employed a team data analysis approach called consensual qualitative research to describe the long-term career objectives of CEPs and infer drivers, or key influences, of future career pathways. Data were drawn from 314 responses to the open-ended survey question “What are your long-term career objectives?” Findings offer insight into the professional lives and roles of CEPs by articulating the body of long-term career objectives that inform a diversity of career trajectories in the field. We review the study purpose, relevant literature, research methods, findings, and implications for future research
Transforming Campus Voting Drives Into Interdisciplinary Service-Learning Projects
Get PDFDuring the 2016 election season, the authors—a collection of staff, faculty, and students at a rural, four-year comprehensive college—piloted a new format for a student-driven, campuswide, nonpartisan voter mobilization campaign anchored in a political science course and supported by a credit-bearing internship and advanced graphic design course. We argue that this project offers a model for how collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs can transform the nonpartisan voter mobilization campaign into a site for interdisciplinary, cross-campus service-learning projects that benefit the student participants and the campus community. This article outlines the advantages and challenges of the project and concludes with recommendations for those interested in implementing a similar program
Specifics of Measuring Social and Personal Responsibility of University Students After Completion of a Service-Learning Course in Slovak Conditions
Get PDFThis study at a university in Slovakia asked two questions: (1) Does completion of a service-learning course lead to changes in students’ social and personal responsibility and their attitudes toward community service? (2) Are personal and social responsibility and attitudes toward community service correlated? Service-learning and the third mission of the university are almost unknown in Slovak higher education, and likewise no relevant test instruments adapted to Slovak conditions currently exist. Consequently, we adopted a scale from abroad—Conrad and Hedin’s (1981) Social and Personal Responsibility Scale (SPRS). We also used qualitative research methods. Compared to a control group, the service-learning students had statistically significant higher posttest scores in the Social Welfare, Duty, Performance of Responsible Acts, and Global Responsibility subscales. The research results revealed a need for new measuring tools that are sensitive to the specific context of service-learning implementation in Slovakia
Exercising Mathematical Authority: Three Cases of Preservice Teachers’ Algebraic Justifications
No full textStudents’ ability to reason for themselves is a crucial step in developing conceptual understandings of mathematics, especially if those students are preservice teachers. Even if classroom environments are structured to promote students’ reasoning and sense-making, students may rely on prior procedural knowledge to justify their mathematical arguments. In this study, we employed a multiple-case-study research design to investigate how groups of elementary preservice teachers exercised their mathematical authority on a growing visual patterns task. The results of this study emphasize that even when mathematics teacher educators create classroom environments that delegate mathematical authority to learners, they still need to attend to the strength of preservice teachers’ reliance on their prior knowledge
Building the Capacity of Community Engagement Professionals to Practice Inclusion of Racially Minoritized Students
Get PDFThis dissertation overview summarizes a study exploring how community engagement professionals (CEPs) can build their capacity to practice inclusion of racially minoritized students. With a foundation in empowerment evaluation, this participatory action research (PAR) project was designed as a professional development experience within a research study. Study participants included eight CEPs who were recruited through their affiliation with one state Campus Compact network. Qualitative data analysis revealed that as a result of the experience, participants demonstrated mostly cognitive and affective outcomes rather than behavioral outcomes. Positive outcomes were largely attributed to being a part of a community of learners, among individuals with a shared purpose and context. Participants improved their capacity to address personally mediated racism rather than institutionalized racism, reflecting a gap between the values CEPs develop through their education and field experience and the skills they actually practice in their professional roles