Risky+epistemology

Download a PDF of this page ** Risky epistemology: Connected knowing in community-based research to create social change ** Hollyce Giles, Associate Professor, Guilford College [gileshc@guilford.edu]


 * Keywords:** Dissonance, ethnography, conflict-oriented approach, connected knowing, social change initiatives


 * Conference track:** Higher education student outcomes


 * Format:** Research/Scholarly paper

Recent scholarship identifies experiences of dissonance and connecting with others as processes central to students’ learning in engaged teaching and research (Kiely, 2005). This paper describes preliminary findings from an ethnographic study exploring the impact of these processes on student learning in four community-based research projects grounded in local, conflict-oriented social change initiatives (Stoecker, 2003). The class/research team asked community organizations to identify research question(s) that would help the organization to move forward with one of its projects and then collaborated with the organization to collect and analyze the data and present the findings at a community meeting.
 * Summary**

The first three projects were: 1) helping an organization in its efforts to develop an alliance between African Americans and Latinos in central North Carolina in Spring 2008, 2) a “Paradigm Shift” initiative to change the public’s perceptions of youth of color in gangs and street organizations in Spring 2009, and 3) creating a citizen’s review board with subpoena power their to increase local police accountability in Fall 2010.

The fourth research project involved a partnership with a day shelter for people experiencing homelessness. In Spring 2012, the class conducted a community-based needs assessment of gaps in shelter and housing, the solutions and strategies used by people to find shelter and housing given these gaps, and the strengths and resilience embedded in their solutions.

Notes from participant observations, course evaluations, students’ written reflections on their learning, and a post-course on-line survey (based on the survey developed by Lichenstein et al., 2011) constitute the data. The constant comparative method of analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1973) was used to generate themes grounded in the data and to form conclusions about what students learned and how they learned it. Emerging themes from the data revolve around the perceived lack of “neutrality” of the research given the team’s collaboration with organizations and an enhanced sense of agency and confidence around the content of the issues under study and the research process.

Glaser, B., & Strauss, A. (1973). //The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research.// Chicago, IL: Aldine.
 * References**

Kiely, R. (2005). A transformative learning model for service-learning: A longitudinal case study. //Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 12//(1), 5-22.

Lichenstein, G, Thorme, T., Cutforth, N., & Tombari, M. (2011). Development of a national survey to assess student learning outcomes of community-based research. //Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement 15(2), 7-32.//

Polin, D., & Keene, A. (2010). Bringing an ethnographic sensibility to service learning assessment. //Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 16//(2), 22-37.

Stoecker, R. (2003). Community-based research: From theory to practice and back again. //Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9,// 35-46.

Stoecker, R. (2010). //Community-based research and the two forms of social change.// Address delivered at the Cornell University Public Service Center seminar series, Ithaca, New York.

Stringer, E. T. (2007)//. Action research// (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.


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