Data for What? Cultivating Student Learning and Producing Useable Knowledge Through Community Research Partnerships

• In Event: 2347 - The Practice of Social Justice

Abstract

This paper chronicles and assesses the impact of a multi-pronged endeavor at the author’s public liberal arts university to expand students’ opportunities for exposure to applied, or “public” social science. The projects seek to meet genuine needs for students, faculty, and community partners. Community organizations value sustainability in their research partnerships; thus, the expertise and continuity provided by faculty researchers is helpful. Students value the chance to acquire tangible, marketable skills while connecting with meaningful opportunities to contribute to social change. Faculty value the opportunity to link their teaching, research, and service goals more tightly. Through several course-based initiatives, the project leader strove to: 1) produce useable knowledge for community organizations, 2) enable for students the cultivation of concrete methodological tools, as well as an understanding of how to apply these tools toward ethical collaboration with community partners, local or global, and 3) provide participating faculty sponsors with a venue for synergizing their teaching, research, and service. While data collection is ongoing, preliminary findings from surveys suggest that research methods students deeply appreciated and benefited from the opportunity to practice qualitative analysis and coding skills in a real-world setting. Furthermore, they demonstrated an improved ability to articulate their methodological skills accurately. Community partners (a local educational foundation, a legal aid organization, and two violence prevention organizations) have also reported positive feedback on multiple dimensions.

Author

• Lyndi N. Hewitt, UNC Asheville