Reinvention Fellowship Proposal.
Richard Huggins, Assistant Dean, Social Sciences and Law. Oxford Brookes University.
Developing A Community Based-Research Scheme for Oxford Brookes University.
1. Introduction.
This project will explore the development of a community-based research programme at Oxford Brookes University through a series of pilot student project activities, partnership work and the development of support materials and resources. The project will provide students with the opportunity to become involved in a number of activities and projects under the over-arching umbrella of a themed project[1] entitled "Baby ASBOs? Why Not?" This project, which will run from October 1st 2007- May 31st 2009, looks at early intervention[2] practice and opportunities in the broad theme of social inclusion. The project will explore - in partnership with statutory, non-statutory and voluntary agencies - the context and nature of early intervention possibilities and opportunities (including socio-economic, moral, political and other aspects) in an attempt to explore what does, can and could work in this area.
2. Project Outline.
Community-based research offers students in higher education a distinctive form of engaged scholarship and a transformative approach to undergraduate research, teaching and learning and critical engagement (Jansen et al, 2006, Kiely, 2005, McIlrath and Mac Labhrainn, 2007, Mobley, 2007). In addition, it offers the opportunity for students to place their discipline within a wider social context that enhances both learning and the student experience (Parilla and Hesser, 1998), This project proposes the development of a model of community based research that is genuinely collaborative and driven by community interests in terms of identifying the issues for investigation, research and analysis. In this sense this project builds on central aspects of the Reinvention Centre’s founding ethos which seeks to develop elements of Boyer’s work in terms of civic engagement, reinvention of the undergraduate learning experience and the role of university’s within their communities (Boyer, 1990, 1996, Boyer Commission, 1999).
Boyer’s work has been very influential in the US and, of late, in the UK. The Carnegie Foundation[3] has continued to fund major projects building on his work[4] and a variety of models and projects, for example the Reinvention Centre, Stony Brook, New York University[5], Imagining America: Artist’s and Scholars in Public Life[6] or the Arts of Citizenship Program at the University of Michigan[7] provide various examples of the critical engagement with “the scholarship of engagement” within and across various institutions. Such developments pose interesting questions concerning the role and scope of university education and learning and reflect considerable scholarly concerns with the scope of active learning, citizenship, student and university community engagement and the application of knowledge and skills outside the classroom (Brew, 1999, 2003, Harkavy, I, 2006, Janesen, et al 2006).
The project will draw on examples of best practice from programmes in the USA (for example Michigan, Penn State, Tufts, Boston, MIT) and work in the UK (for example, FDTL-5, Birkbeck, Liverpool Hope, Roehampton) – with which the project lead has established links – to develop a sustainable model of community-based research that will facilitate civic and outward facing student engagement that will support a number of strategic objectives within the Brookes Student Learning Experience Strategy, including linking research, learning and teaching, enhancing student personal development, development of project and transferable skills and enhancing employability (Barnett, 2007, Taylor, 2007).
The project will involve students directly in research activities that take place in directly in community settings and involves community members and groups in the design and implementation of research projects and the dissemination of results. This project will be linked to the students’ area of study; will facilitate the development of research skills, critical engagement with their discipline and the opportunity to work through their disciplinary knowledge and skills within an external environment. Students will be able to participate in this project in a number of ways (see section 3) and will be able to undertake work that may lead to credit bearing assessment (such as an ISM or a dissertation) or may focus on participation in ways that facilitate reflective and experiential learning that may not necessarily result in credit but offer significant research and learning opportunities for the students involved. In this sense the project seeks to develop of elements of “active citizenship” and a critical scholarship of engagement which encourages students to reflect on both the nature of their discipline and the critical skills that there discipline can bring to action and understanding in the social world (Mcintyre, 2006, McIlrath and Mac Labhrainn, 2007, Reardon, 1994)
The project will conclude with a student-organised conference at which the outcomes of the project work will be presented and discussed. In addition, the project will result in the completion of a project report, various support materials and a “blueprint” for the development of a Community Based Research, Resource and Community Engagement Centre at Oxford Brookes University.
3. Student Project Activity
Students who join in the project may undertake a series of research and practical activities that might include –
· Joining a work-group (made up of practitioners, statutory agencies community-groups, activist and academic staff on a project theme).
· Creating and participating in networks of activity and information resources
· Participate in discussions and analysis of issues within the theme across different working groups
· Undertake key research activity such as policy/literature reviews, data-retrieval, qualitative and quantitative document/data analysis, policy and programme analysis and evaluation, policy modelling, interviewing (where appropriate ethical clearance has been obtained), joint tasks and projects with statutory agencies, community-groups and practitioners as agreed.
· Developing briefings, interim findings and information
· Preparing case-studies
· Identifying and sharing good practice
· Mapping structures and processes
· Conducting assessed and credit bearing academic work (dissertations/independent study modules)
· Organisation and delivery of the end of project conference Oxford Brookes University.
4. Student Project Outputs will include –
· End of Project Conference
· Development of Practice Case-Studies
· Work-group reports
· Policy and practice recommendations
· Outline strategies for intervention
· Project student publications
Staff Outputs will include –
· Development of a sustainable model of community based research and a “blueprint” for the development of a Community Based Research, Resource and Community Engagement Centre at Oxford Brookes University
· Development of web-based support materials including –
1. Guidance on Community Based Research and Learning for Staff, including examples of good practice, models of assessment, advice on working with community groups/placement providers ethics, practice and guidance for placement learning.
2. Guidance on Community Based Research for Students including advice on working with community groups/placement providers ethics, practice and guidance for placement learning, a introduction to project skills for placement learning.
3. Materials covering ethical considerations and a statement of good or preferred practice for community based research, partnership working and community engagement.
· Development of elements of “active citizenship” and a critical scholarship of engagement which encourages students to reflect on both the nature of their discipline and the critical skills that there discipline can bring to action and activity in the social world.
· Development of materials and their adoption across the participating schools and departments.
· Qualitative feedback from student participants regarding the student experience and the contribution to their overall programme, learning and skills development.
· Publication of (at least) two refereed articles in relevant academic journals.
· Participation in internal and external dissemination and development events
5. Project Partners –
The role of partners in this project and its future is critical and an important part of this project will be in developing guides and examples of good practice for colleagues across Brookes and other organisations in association with these project partners (Awe, et al, 1998, Kari, N and Skelton, N, (2007).
The following partners have expressed firm commitment to being involved in the project and are already contributing to or have outlined ways in which they will contribute to the project. This includes direct opportunity for student research activity, short-term project placements, access to research materials, data and other resources, project work and critical engagement opportunities. The contribution of these partners to the success of the project and the completion of project outcomes will be central.
Community and Voluntary Groups
Learning Communities Initiative (Rose Hill, Blackbird Leys and Barton)
SMART CJS
Elmore Team
Oxford User Team
Thames Valley Partnership
Statutory Organisations
Thames Valley Police
Oxfordshire County Council
Oxfords City Council
Student Groups
Oxford Brookes University Student Union
STAX
6. Project Timeline.
This project will run from October 1st 2007 – July 31st 2009. The project will be delivered against the following timeline.
Date / ActivityOctober 1st – 17th / Organisation of Project Launch (with partners)
October 17th / “Baby-ASBOs? Why Not? Workshop and Seminar, 1.30-4.30 Lloyd 102.
October 17th – 31st December / Recruitment of student participants, identification of projects and research opportunities (with project partners)
November 21st-23rd / Paper to be delivered to the C-SAP Teaching in Public: The Future of Higher Education Conference, Cardiff.
January 29th 2008 / Project Seminar – including a visit and talk by Edenis Guilarte, a popular educator trained at the Simon Rodriguez Experimental National University in Caracas, Venezuela.
January 1st – 31st May 2008 / 1st Student Cohort
June 1st – 30th September 2008 / Review and analysis of stage one of project
1st October 2008 – 20th December 2008 / 2nd Student Cohort
8th January – 30th April / Organisation of Student Conference
May 2009 / Student Conference, Oxford Brookes University.
30th April – July 31st 2009 / Completion of project report, support materials and “blueprint” for the development of a Community Based Research, Resource and Community Engagement Centre at Oxford Brookes University.
7. Proposed costs breakdown as follows –
Activity / Details / TotalEnd of project Student Conference / Organisation, AV, food and drink, conference packs, publicity and materials / 1,500
Project Support / 0.1 U/G administrator (equivalent) for 12 months – project administration and conference organisation / 2,500
Materials development / Web-pages and hard-copy materials / 1,000
Conference attendance, travel and accommodation / Plan to attend at least one high-profile conference to deliver academic paper based on the project. / 1,000
Travel, accommodation and subsistence for institutional visits for “best practice” development and case studies / Plan to visit two “best-practice” locations to develop programmes organisational depth and networks / 1,000
Travel and Subsistence for students, staff and partner participating in the project Support to project participants. / Various costs to enable delivery of detailed project activities and outputs. / 3,000
TOTAL / 10,000
8. References:
Atweh, J.M., Holly, M.L., and Kasten, W.C., (Eds), (1998), Action research in practice: Partnerships for social justice in education, London, Routledge.
Barnett, R, (2007), ‘Recovering the Civic University” in McIlrath, L and Mac Labhrainn, I, (eds), Higher Education and Civic Engagement: International Perspectives, Aldershot, Ashgate, pp 25-36
Boyer, E.L., (1990), Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate, Princeton, Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Boyer, E.L., (1996), ‘The Scholarship of Engagement’ Journal of Public Service and Outreach, 1, 1, 11-20.
Boyer Commission, (1999), Reinventing Undergraduate Education: A Blueprint for America’s Research Universities, Stony Brook, NY, Carnegie Foundation for University Teaching.
Brew, A, (2003), “Teaching and Research: New Relationships and their Implications for Inquiry-based Teaching and Learning in Higher Education” Higher Education Research and Development, 22, 1, 3-16
Brew, A, (1999), “Research and Teaching: Changing Relationships in a Changing Context” Studies in Higher Education, 24, 3, 291-301
Harkavy, I, (2006), “The Role of Universities in Advancing Citizenship and Social Justice in the 21st Century” Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 1, 1, 5-37
Jakubowski, L, M., and Burman, P., (2004), ‘Teaching Community Development: A Case Study in Community-Based Learning’ Teaching Sociology, 32, 160-76
Jansen, Th., Chioncel, N and Dekkers, H, (2006), ‘Social cohesion and integration: learning active citizenship’ British Journal of Sociology of Education, 27, 2, 189-205.
Kari, N and Skelton, N, (2007), ‘Place Matters: Partnerships for Civic Learning’ in McIlrath, L and Mac Labhrainn, I, (eds), Higher Education and Civic Engagement: International Perspectives, Aldershot, Ashgate, pp 173-184
Kiely, R, (2005), ‘A Transformative Model for Service-Learning: A Longitudinal Case Study’, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 12, 1, 5-22
McIlrath, L and Mac Labhrainn, I, (eds), (2007), Higher Education and Civic Engagement: International Perspectives, Aldershot, Ashgate.
Mcintyre, A, (2006), ‘Activist Research and Student Agency in Universities and Urban Communities’, Urban Education, 41, 628-647
Mobley, C, (2007), ‘Breaking Ground: Engaging Undergraduates in Social Change Through Service Learning’ Teaching Sociology, 35, 125-137
Parilla, P., and Hesser, G., (1998), ‘Internships and the Sociological Perspective’ Teaching Society, 26, 4, 310-329
Reardon, K. M., (1994), ‘Undergraduate research in distressed urban communities: An undervalued form of service-learning’ Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning, 1, (1), 44-54
Taylor, R, (2007), ‘Concepts of Citizenship in the Context of Political Education’ in McIlrath, L and Mac Labhrainn, I, (eds), Higher Education and Civic Engagement: International Perspectives, Aldershot, Ashgate, pp 3-12
Appendix One – Project Launch Invitation.
Dear colleagues,
As a number of you may know I am a Reinvention Fellow (seehttp://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/sociology/research/cetl/) and my fellowship project is to develop a model for community-based research and engagement for undergraduate students. As a consequence I am currently working with the Thames Valley Partnership, Thames Valley Police, Oxfordshire City and County Councils and a number of community groups on a project entitled "Baby ASBOs? Why Not?". This project, which will run from October 1st 2007- May 31st 2009 is looking at early intervention practice and opportunities in five main areas -
* Substance Misuse
* Young Offenders
* Domestic Abuse
* Child Abuse
* Anti-Social Behaviour
The project will explore - in partnership with statutory, non-statutory and voluntary agencies - the context and nature of early intervention possibilities and opportunities (including socio-economic, moral, political and other aspects) in an attempt to explore what does, can and could work in this area.
We are looking for students to participate in the project in a number of ways - but the purpose of this email is to ask you if you have SECOND YEAR Stage 2 students who might be interested in becoming involved in the project with the objective of using their experience and work undertaken as a basis for their final year dissertation - either directly or indirectly. Clearly this opportunity may lend itself to some disciplines more than others - but given the diverse expertise within the School I wanted to highlight this project to all colleagues.
Students will, generally, not be carrying out research with human participants (although this will be possible where appropriate ethical clearances are obtained) - but will be undertaking literature and policy reviews, case-study analysis, secondary data analysis, and theoretical explorations of key ideas and issues. We will be hosting a conference at the end of the project and are planning to publish a set of outputs from this work.
Please could I ask you to draw this project to the attention of any students who might be interested and to encourage them to attend a project launch and briefing on* October 17th 1.30 - 4.00 in Lloyd Board Room* - Refreshments provided. Staff colleagues welcome to attend too if they wish.
Best regards
Richard Huggins