|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
University-Community PartnershipsEarly in our research, we felt it necessary to explore not only "what" we would be studying, but "how" best to study it. As part of an effort to remedy social inequality, our work should be of benefit to the communities who work with us.
Pragmatism and Community of InquiryOne of the theoretical foundations relevant to this research is the philosophy of pragmatism and subsequently the concept of "community of inquiry." To understand the application of these ideas to this study some background in pragmatism is necessary. Pragmatism is a "philosophy of science with a logic of inquiry at its center." (1) In 1887, Charles Sanders Pierce, the founder of pragmatism, came to this science when he found himself frustrated over the ways that individuals and groups think in such a manner that they "fixate" belief systems and become "impervious to fresh evidence." (2) Inquiry, in the context of pragmatism, is the struggle to move from doubt into understanding, and it has a "cooperative or public character." (3) Each individual looks at something through a different lens, and it is the compilation of multiple perspectives that can lead to greater understanding of a problem or thing. Through this process, groups can break out of modes of thinking that are narrow and confining. John Dewey expanded upon Pierce’s ideas and applied the idea of inquiry to social problems. He believed that it took cooperation for a community or a social institution to develop and solve problems. He used the phrase "community of inquiry" to describe how best groups might seek to solve social problems. According to Dewey, a community of inquiry requires that community members "must be willing to suspend belief and listen." (4) The person who put community of inquiry into action was Jane Addams, through her involvement in the Hull House. The Hull House was an alternative center for social research and action established in Chicago during the 1890s; it was a settlement of women who were actively involved with the immigrant community that lived nearby. These women formed a community of inquiry with two different groups. First, they exchanged ideas regularly with men from the University of Chicago, the intellectual community. And most profoundly, they formed a community of inquiry with immigrants in the surrounding neighborhoods. The latter group interacted and shared information in order to clarify what problems existed in the community and how they should best be solved. Community of inquiry in this application was a collective process of trial and error. The experimental nature of this process is one of five attributes that Addams and Dewey suggest should be present for a community of inquiry to be successful. Those five attributes are as follows:
Several communities of inquiry have been operating in this study. One community is the intellectual research community from which we have gathered background data. It is the hope of this research team that this study will add new insights to the body of knowledge already in existence on digital divide issues. Another community is comprised of the members of the research team, where students educate and debate issues with each other. The most significant community of inquiry, though, has been formed with community members in Austin who are involved with community technology projects. The Evolution of University-Community PartnershipsRevolutions of thought have continually swept through American universities. In the late 19th century, institutes of higher education in the United States began to model themselves after German universities. Efforts focused on "Big Science", and research dominated American university initiatives throughout the 20th century. However, traces of a revolution in the purpose of American universities began to appear as early as the turn of the 20th century. (6) In the last ten years, it has become evident that institutes of higher education are embracing the communities that surround them, in a movement to empower citizens with the knowledge and tools necessary to actively participate in and benefit from the democratic process that defines America. Prominent leaders in this revolution include William Rainey Harper and John Dewey. Both men began their work at the University of Chicago in the late 1800’s as advocates of university-community partnerships. Harper identified the university as "a prophet for democracy" and emphasized the need to provide "service for mankind". (7) As president of the University of Chicago, Harper envisioned the American university as both a tool for the advancement of citizens and a vessel for realizing the full potential of American democracy. Dewey also saw the university as a tool. However, Dewey saw American universities less as a platform for democracy and more as a vehicle for correcting the ills of society. Dewey's focus revolved around the philosophy of pragmatism and proposed that the greatest advancements of knowledge, a mission of the American university, occurred when citizens actively worked to solve the problems of society. Institutes of higher education have a responsibility to assist their communities by empowering citizens with knowledge. Today, American universities have built upon Harper's and Dewey's ideas and are evolving into civic institutions working to advance democracy. Acknowledgment of civic responsibilities has pushed universities to respond to the ever-present inequality between the university elite and the declining state of American cities. (8) American universities are implementing programs and undertaking participatory research that enables them to become institutions of their communities, rather than just being located there. As a result, university-community partnerships offer holistic answers to previously socially isolated problems. A Framework for University-Community PartnershipsStudy of university-community partnerships focuses on three key areas: the types of activities that are implemented to improve a community, the parties involved in or affected by these activities, and the individual interests of those parties. Each of these areas of study provides insight on methods for evaluating the effectiveness of university-community partnerships and offer solutions for solving key issues in communities. The types of activities that occur in a university-community partnership are numerous and diverse. The central concern in this area of study is how each action affects change within a given community. Activities and how they effect change within a community can be evaluated by targeting sources of change. Three main areas of change are individual behaviors, socioeconomic structural changes and the networks within which people function. (9) The university must implement programs that maintain these areas as their focus in order to achieve the end results that they desire. Universities can also influence change by committing to research that enhances social capital and physical infrastructure as well as political strength within a community. The parties involved in a university-community partnership bring together diverse groups of people with distinct interests. Neighborhood residents make up a significant portion of the partnership as both participants in the implemented programs as well as the direct recipients of the benefits or failures of a given project. The interests of community citizens primarily focus on the resources that are made available when collaborating with universities such as increased access to funding opportunities. The other major player in this collaboration is the institution of higher education whose goal it is to create and disseminate knowledge. Through a partnership with its surrounding community, universities can offer students the opportunity to conduct hands-on research with often-limitless access to primary sources of information from the community. There exists a symbiotic relationship between a university and a community, and it requires work to attain the innovative goals set forth by leaders such as Harper and Rainey. Community-based research allows university-community partnerships to produce more responsive institutions of higher education and develop communities through the engagement of citizens. Participatory Action ResearchThe community-based research movement in the U.S. emphasizes research meant to solve specific community problems, in which university resources are focused on practical community problem-solving. Participatory Action Research is a specific type of community-based research that is collective – participation of the affected community is just as important as participation of the university. Henry defines participatory action research as a type of community-based ethnography, and says that it "denies the authority of an individual researcher to determine the purposes, processes, and products of investigation." (10) This type of research values action as much as abstract discovery, and values participation of community members as much as university researchers. The Loka Institute, an organization dedicated to tracking and encouraging community-based research, points out that there is a vast disparity between the amounts spent in the U.S. on this type of research and on military/industrial research. (11) Thus, choosing to do a participatory action research is in itself a step towards equalizing resources available to communities compared to what is available to corporations. Ethnographic MethodsEthnography is the primary mode of data collection used in anthropology. Anthropology's history, like that of all social sciences, is marred by objectification of research "subjects," but ethnography can be an appropriate and empowering strategy for understanding and documenting the experiences of marginalized populations. Ethnography is a scientifically rigorous tool of research that uses the researcher as the primary tool of data collection. (12) Researchers ground their observations in the context in which they occur, both culturally and historically. The understanding of research participants (formerly called "subjects") drives the understanding of researchers. Stringer expands this form of research to define community-based ethnography as "a form of qualitative research that is both academically rigorous and socially responsive." (13) Community-based ethnography includes community members in determining what questions need to be asked, how data should be collected, and what to do with the data. Burawoy says that an ethnographic research focus makes it possible to discover and change our biases through interaction with others, highlighting that change occurs in the researcher as well as in the participant. (14) The greatest contribution of ethnography to our understanding of research is the acknowledgment of the reciprocal relationship - that both parties should be encouraged to bring their knowledge to the table, and each can learn from the other. |
Notes
this page last updated |
