Research that matters- transforming community based education thr

Eastern Washington University EWU Digital Commons EWU Masters Thesis Collection Student Research and Creative Works 2016 Research that matters: transforming community based education through feminist pedagogy and public scholarship Amber J Johnson Eastern Washington University Follow this and additional works at: http://dc.ewu.edu/theses Recommended Citation Johnson, Amber J., "Research that matters: transforming community based education through feminist pedagogy and public scholarship" (2016) EWU Masters Thesis Collection 384 http://dc.ewu.edu/theses/384 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research and Creative Works at EWU Digital Commons It has been accepted for inclusion in EWU Masters Thesis Collection by an authorized administrator of EWU Digital Commons For more information, please contact jotto@ewu.edu Research that Matters: Transforming Community Based Education Through Feminist Pedagogy and Public Scholarship A Thesis Presented To Eastern Washington University Cheney, Washington In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Communications By Amber J Johnson Spring 2016 ii THESIS OF AMBER J JOHNSON APPROVED BY Date Dr Patricia Chantrill, Chair of Graduate Committee Date Dr Jessica Willis, Member of Graduate Committee Date Dr Julia Smith, Member of Graduate Committee iii MASTER’S THESIS In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at Eastern Washington University, I agree that the JFK Library shall make copies freely available for inspection I further agree that copying of this project in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without my written permission Signature Date 06/03/2016 iv Abstract This is a qualitative analysis of focus groups conducted with “Community Partners” (mostly Directors of non-profit social service agencies who have previously partnered with Eastern Washington faculty in communitybased education efforts) in the Greater Spokane Area This research is designed to address shortcomings of current forms of community based education, identify strategies for strengthening the partnerships that exist between Eastern Washington University and the surrounding community, and to establish the need for community based research at the graduate level By conducting focus groups, this study analyzed Community Partner perceptions of community based education and research before and after watching a video about shifting perspectives on volunteerism The resulting evidence concluded that there is a gap between what Community Partners and Eastern Washington University are currently doing and our readiness to solve community problems through graduate level research Keywords: community partners, research, service learning, community based education, community engagement, constructivist, focus groups, public scholarship, and qualitative literature v Acknowledgments First and foremost, I want to thank my family I appreciate all of your encouragement, selflessness and understanding through this process Specifically, I want to thank my grandparents; Carol Ann and Lester Johnson, as well as Lana and Craig Gruenig, my parents; Shelle Goforth and Erik Johnson, and my brother and best friend; Ross Johnson I love you all so much, and am so thankful I was blessed with the best family I could ever ask for A special shout out to Ross; I hope you know how proud of you I am, and I cannot wait to see you achieve all your dreams, I love you buddy Secondly, I am forever thankful to Dr Patricia Chantrill, my thesis chair Her endless amounts of guidance and time she dedicated to help this thesis come to fruition Without your reassurance, patience, and thoughtfulness I couldn’t have accomplished this I will forever be appreciative of how you allowed me to grow as a person and as a scholar Thank you, Patty I would also like to thank Dr Jessica Willis, the second member of my graduate study committee I appreciate your knowledge and wisdom within feminist theory, your flexibility with my schedule and the articles you rounded up for me Thank you Also, I want to thank my best friend who has become a sister to me I know the last two years I have been stuck studying, writing papers and stressing out to the max, but you have stood by me and understood without any questions Thank you, Jenn Taylor vi Another person I am extremely thankful for is Stephanie Helbling Your encouragement, enthusiasm and never ending support during the craziest and busiest time of my life has been nothing short of amazing Thank you for being my rock, my solid ground and my place to turn to when I wanted to run away You are the best thing, and I couldn’t be more thankful for you You’re my favorite Lastly, I would like to thank Lindsey Klemmer, my person in charge since day one of graduate school These last two years have flown by, and it has been a wild ride Thank you for always being there not only as a classmate but as a friend I am forever grateful for you, and look forward to maintaining this friendship for years to come You will go on and accomplish great things, and I am so very proud of you Again, thank you all for being there for me every step of the way Graduate school wasn’t easy, but it was sure worth it vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgments Chapter 1- Introduction Introduction.… ……………………………………………… Paradigm……… ……………………………………………… Strategy of Inquiry………………… ………………………… Key Terms …………………………………………………… Chapter 2- Literature Review Literature Search Strategies…………… …………………… Overview of Literature…………………… …………………… Service-Learning in Spokane’s Higher Education Institutions 10 The Influence of Feminist Pedagogy on My Approach to Public Scholarship…… ………………… 19 Public Scholarship ……… …………… …………………… 27 Chapter 3- Methodology Overall Approach……………………………………………… 38 Data Collection…… ………………………… ……………… 41 Data Analysis….…………………………… ………………… 42 Obstacles………………………… …………………………… 43 Chapter 4- Results and Discussion Overview…………… ………………………………………… 44 Research for their Organization………………………………… 47 Service-Learning …………… ……………….……………… 48 Public Scholarship……………………………………………… 49 Partnerships…… ……………………………………………… 51 Graduate Students…………………………………………….… 53 After the Burst of Brilliance Talk.……… ……………………… 56 viii Topic Focused Questions………………………………… …… 57 Question 1.……………………………………………………… 57 Question 2……………………………………………………… 60 Question 3…………………………………………………….… 64 Question 4……………………………………………………… 66 Chapter 5-Conclusion Summary…………………………………………… ………… 69 Future Research… ………………………….………………… 73 Appendices Appendix A: 2015 CP and Graduate Student Surveys…….…… 75 Appendix B: 2015 CP Survey Responses………….…………… 76 Appendix C: Community Engagement Grant……………… … 77 Appendix D: Change of Protocol…………………… ………… 81 Appendix E: Focus Group Consent Form and Agenda………… 82 References Chapter 1-Introduction Catholic Charities Director Rob McCann’s “Burst of Brilliance” [hereafter “BOB”] Talk at the 2015 Community Engagement Institute (CEI) in Spokane, Washington really spoke to me This speech was the catalyst to my research McCann exposed a gap in community engagement and service-learning that I needed to explore His entire narrative was framed in a metaphor: the community partners were compared to either a “lifeguard” or a “hiker,” and those members of the community that are served by social service agencies like Catholic Charities are “people drowning in the river.” He recognized that community partners were skilled and experienced “lifeguards” rescuing people who have “fallen in the river” every day However, there was no time to “hike” upstream and find out what’s making people fall in the river in the first place Community Partners [hereafter CPs] did not have or take the time to proactively hike up river because they were too busy rescuing people who had fallen in After watching McCann’s presentation, I was haunted by a question: What is a hiker supposed to do? This research is designed to answer that question by addressing perceived shortcomings of current forms of community based education [hereafter CBE], identify strategies for strengthening the CBE partnerships that exist between Eastern Washington University and the surrounding community, and to establish the need for community based research at the graduate level As a graduate student born and raised in Spokane, I could not have picked a better place to conduct my research and contribute to my community Spokane 75 Appendix A: 2015 Survey of Community Partners 1) What is your organization's area of focus? 2) How does your organization define "research?" 3) What is your organization's experience with research? 4) Why is research exciting for your organization / what would make research exciting for your organization? 5) What does your organization see as the biggest challenge to doing good research? 6) Ideally, what would your organization's research accomplish? 2015 Survey of Graduate Students 1) What is your program of study? 2) How you define "research?" 3) What is your experience with research? 4) Why is research exciting for you / what would make research exciting for you? 5) What you see as the biggest challenge to doing good research? 6) Ideally, what would your research accomplish? 76 Appendix B: 2015 CP Survey responses 77 Appendix C: Community Engagement Grant 78 79 80 81 Appendix D: Change of Protocol 82 Appendix E: Focus Group Consent Form 83 84 85 References A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy's Future (2011, October 5) Retrieved February 3, 2016, from https://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/college-learning-democracysfuture/crucible-moment.pdf Bowen, G Undergraduate Research and Service Learning (2007) Resource Paper for The Center for Service Learning at Western Carolina University Retrieved April 2, 2016 from http://www.wcu.edu/WebFiles/PDFs/Undergrad_Research_Service_Learn ing.pdf Community Engagement (n.d.) Retrieved March 8, 2016, from http://www.spokanefalls.edu/programs/ServiceLearning/Home.aspx Community-Based Learning Definition (2013) Retrieved February 3, 2016, from http://edglossary.org/community-based-learning/ Costa, L.M and Leong, K.I “Introduction Critical Community Engagement: Feminist Pedagogy Meets Civic Engagement.” Feminist Teacher 22:3 (2012) Dimen, M (1989) Power, sexuality, and intimacy Gender/body/knowledge: Feminist reconstructions of being and knowing, 34, 51 Eudey, B “Civic Engagement, Cyberfeminism, and Online Learning: Activism and Service Learning in Women's and Gender Studies Courses.” Feminist Teacher 22:3 (2012) EWU Office of Community Engagement (n.d.) Retrieved March 6, 2016, from https://sites.ewu.edu/oce/about-us/ 86 Ewick, P (1994) Integrating Feminist Epistemologies in Undergraduate Research Methods Sage, 8(1), 92-108 Retrieved February 6, 2016, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/190073 Eyler, Janet; Giles, Dwight (1999) Where’s the Learning in Service-Learning? Jossey-Bass Foundations of Qualitative Research in Education (n.d.) 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Retrieved May 10, 2016, from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2016/05/10/colleges-placingincreasing-importance-programs-promoting Jacoby, Barbara and Associates (1996) Service-Learning in Higher Education: Concepts and Practices San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Kennedy, C., Vogel, A., Goldberg-Freeman, C., Kass, N., & Farfel, M (2009) Faculty Perspectives on Community-Based Research: "I See This Still as a Journey" Journal of Empirical Research on Human Research Ethics JERHRE, 4(2), 3-16 doi:10.1525/jer.2009.4.2.3 Kretzmann, John; McKnight, John (1993) Building Communities From the Inside Out (3rd ed.) Chicago, IL: ACTA Publications p 14 Longo, P., Ganote C (2014, October 14) Education for Social Transformation: Infusing Feminist Retrieved February 8, 2016, from http://crs.sagepub.com/content/41/7-8/1065.abstract Marczak, M., & Sewell, M (n.d.) USING FOCUS GROUPS FOR EVALUATION Retrieved February 07, 2016, from http://ag.arizona.edu/sfcs/cyfernet/cyfar/focus.htm Mission & Values (n.d.) Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.gonzaga.edu/student-life/Community-Action-and-ServiceLearning/About-CCASL/default.asp Musil, Caryn McTighe "Educating Civic Activists: An Academic Mandate for the Twenty-First Century." On Campus with Women 38.3 (2010): n pag Web 14 May 2016 88 Office of Civic Engagement & Service Learning (n.d.) Retrieved February 3, 2016, from http://www.uncfsu.edu/civic-engagement/servicelearning/definition-of-service-learning Public Scholarship Definitions (n.d.) Retrieved March 8, 2016, from https://und.edu/centers/community-engagement/resources/psdefs.cfm Shrewsbury, C M (1987) What Is Feminist Pedagogy? Women's Studies Quarterly, 15(3/4), 6–14 Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/40003432 Stoecker, R (2003) Community-based research: From practice to theory and back again Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning (2), 35-46 Walker, M (n.d.) Community Engagement Virginia Cooperative Extension Retrieved February 3, 2016, from https://www.uvm.edu/extension/community/buildingcapacity/pdfs/commu nity_engagement_handout.pdf What is Asset-based community development (ABCD)? ABCD Institute Collaborative for Neighborhood Transformation http://www.neighborhoodtransformation.net/pdfs/What_%20is_Asset_Bas ed_Community_Development.pdf Retrieved 22 April 2016.) Whitworth University (n.d.) Retrieved March 8, 2016, from http://www.whitworth.edu/cms/administration/dornsife-center-forcommunity-engagement/ 89 Vita Author: Amber J Johnson Place of Birth: Spokane, Washington Undergraduate Schools Attended: Pfeiffer University Department of Communications Misenheimer, NC 2009-2011 Eastern Washington University Department of Communication Studies Cheney, WA 2012-2014 Degrees Awarded: Bachelor of Arts, 2014, Eastern Washington University Honors and Awards: Certificate of Public Scholarship, 2016, EWU Office of Community Engagement Mini-Grant Recipient, EWU 2016 Professional Experience: Bodily Injury Specialist II, 2016, Seattle, WA No Fault Medical Adjuster, 2015, Liberty Lake, WA ... and our readiness to solve community problems through graduate level research Keywords: community partners, research, service learning, community based education, community engagement, constructivist,... surrounding community, and to establish the need for community based research at the graduate level By conducting focus groups, this study analyzed Community Partner perceptions of community based education. .. earliest emphasis on community based education had been on service-learning, but the evolution of that pedagogy involved a broadening of the concept such that community- based education [CBE] became