Download Community-Based Learning: A Fourth-Year Sociology Seminar Experience at York University and more Study notes Sociology in PDF only on Docsity!
Community-Based Learning:
Practices, Challenges, and Reflections
Mavis Morton
York University
This paper will highlight an innovate practice in teaching and learning by reflecting on two fourth- year sociology seminar classes that participated in a community-based learning project at York Uni- versity. Fifty students collaborated in three to six person teams to work on a problem/issue identified by one of five not-for-profit organizations who work with and/or for women as victims, offenders, and/or professionals in the Canadian criminal justice system. Reflections on the process and outcome of the experience offer insights into organizing and engaging in a community-based learning experi- ence as well as point to some of the substantive benefits. These include the opportunity for increased student engagement, access to, and awareness of, course and community related issues, and citizen- ship. The paper also identifies potential opportunities to incorporate the dimensions of participation and collaboration between institutions of higher learning and the community/world to mobilize knowledge and offer unique scholarship opportunities for faculty.
L
ast year, I integrated a community-based learning component into my sociology course curriculum. I had heard about this initiative from a colleague in my department who was a leader in broadening her pedagogical insights to increase student engagement and result in a richer, more successful teaching and learning environment for her students and herself. Although the language of âcommunity-based learn- ingâ was new to me, the idea of and enthusiasm for âmobilizing knowledgeâ was not. The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council defines it as âmov- ing knowledge into active service for the broadest possible common goodâ (Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, 2008, p. 9). For twenty years, I worked as an applied so- ciologist with communities throughout Ontario on social justice issues and engaged in activism and par- ticipatory action research. During this time, I or- ganized conferences and events that facilitated dia- logue and the sharing of experiences and knowledge between academics and not-for-profit organizations and committees working within their communities on specific practical issues. I have always identified myself as an applied sociologist and although mes-
Community-Based Learning 199 sages from my discipline about the acceptance and value of applied vs. âpure scholarshipâ are contradic- tory, to say the least (Langan & Morton, in press), academics within the applied sociology movement have argued that âfor sociology to be âworkableâ and prosper, it must validate its knowledge and theories through practice in the real worldâ (Boros, 1997 as cited in Joyner, 2003, p. 5). When I returned to academia four years ago, I felt even more committed to search for teaching and learning strategies to help my students and I make more explicit connections between theories of crime, social and legal policy, and front line work. During the past four years I have identified a number of benefits which come with integrating community- based learning into our curriculum. These include opportunities to embrace and assist in fulfilling the academic mission of the university and the Ontar- io Council of Academic Vice Presidents Guidelines for University Undergraduate Degree Level Expec- tations; student engagement and student-centred learning and evaluation; and scholarship opportuni- ties for faculty. As an example, my personal interest in and commitment to designing learning outcomes which cohere with larger departmental and univer- sity curriculum came in part from my work with not-for-profit organizations on organizational plan- ning and their attempts to stay true (vis-Ă -vis time and activities) to their organizational missions. A re- view of York Universityâs mission articulates its objec- tives and purposes as: the advancement of learning and the dissemination of knowledge; and the intel- lectual, spiritual, social, moral and physical develop- ment of its members and the betterment of society (York University Act, 1965). My interpretation of my universitiesâ mission fits well with a community- based learning model, which plays an important role in working in partnership with our communities to address community problems. As Lowe and Reisch (1998) predicted, Urban universities and colleges are continu- ing to recognize that they are inextricably linked to their surrounding communities. Consequently, community development, community-based research, and commu- nity practice will be areas of increasing importance to academic institutions and funding agencies in the decade ahead. (p.
Community-Based Learning In the 2007-2008 academic year, I incorporated a community-based learning component into two sections of Women and the Criminal Justice System , a fourth-year sociology seminar course, which aims to critically examine theory, research, policy, and emerging issues related to young and adult women. It analyzes their representation and engagement with the criminal justice system as offenders and criminal- ized women, victims/survivors/witnesses and practi- tioners/professionals. Topics addressed in the course include sex, gender, and legal regulation, the legal regulation of motherhood, violence against women and sexual violence, fear of crime and victimization, masculinities and crime, gender and policing etc. A community-based learning initiative felt like a good fit with a course on women and the Cana- dian criminal justice system, since it would provide students with a unique opportunity to make relevant connections between theories which attempt to ex- plain the reality of victimization and criminalization of women, current research on topical issues, social and criminal policy, and local organizational needs and issues. As Holsinger (2008) points out âlink- ing community agencies with college students in two feminist criminology college courses meets a number of academic and social justice goalsâ (p. 319). Since community-based learning was new to me, I found resources like the Canadian Alliance for Community Service Learning (CSL) very useful in helping to articulate what it was I was trying to ac- complish. According to the CSL (2008), communi- ty-based learning and service-learning are: carefully designed implemented CSL pro- grams and courses to assist students to make meaning from their community ex- periences, to connect real-life experience to more theoretical classroom study, and to
Community-Based Learning 201 tance in dealing with what they referred to as âcom- munity violence,â hate crimes based on their gender, race, and class. Another community partner shared with us that, [t]his was an ideal opportunity for our or- ganization, as it met one of our organiza- tional goals for outreach to the community. It provided a two way communication op- portunity, learning initiatives for the team participants which includes our organiza- tion, and information that can be used and published to enlighten our members. The opportunity for students to integrate theory, re- search, policy and service was one of the most ex- citing outcomes. As an example of the student re- flections, one student wrote, âthe community-based learning project connected the theories we discussed in class regarding women in the criminal justice sys- tem.â Another student suggested, [c]ommunity-based learning allowed us to work with a specific organization. It was a different experience to feel as though you are contributing to a real live organization and issue. Classroom work doesnât really al- low you to see what your findings do in the context of real life. For instance, one student team worked on obtaining statistics and information for the Sex Professionals of Canada, which were to be used by them in their Su- preme Court of Canada challenge of sections of the criminal code related to offences on communicating for the purposes of prostitution. Through the projects and relationships, which developed between the community partners and I, there were exciting opportunities for faculty to incorporate research and pedagogical scholarship with community-based initiatives within our cours- es. Researching and writing about the process and results of community-based learning as a teaching and learning strategy provided an entirely new av- enue of scholarship for me. Learning about the So- ciety for Teaching and Learning annual conferences was another new and exciting opportunity to col- laborate and learn from other academics interested in university-community partners as a way to enhance teaching and learning in the classroom. In addition, it identified so many more opportunities for faculty to work with their community on mobilizing knowl- edge and contributing in scholarly ways to the litera- ture. Despite the many benefits and opportunities available for students, community partners, faculty and the university from community-based learning, there were also many challenges. The three main challenges included: time, the lack of feedback, re- flection, evaluation, and issues pertaining to research ethics. My students and I were in agreement that en- gaging in a community-based learning project can take more time and energy than more traditional curriculum. Part of this was due to the fact that none of us had prior experience. It was also the case that it required students to employ good time management, organizational skills, communication and collabora- tion as well as teamwork and leadership to be success- ful in this endeavour. A final insight from our experience was the recognition that the process required more opportuni- ties, time, and space for reflection and feedback from all parties on what and how we were doing. More com- munication between the community partners and I was required as a way to help ensure that student pro- cesses and activities were in keeping with the organi- zational expectations. More communication between the student teams and I would have reduced some of the studentsâ anxieties and roadblocks to completing their projects. Finally, uncertainties about the proce- dures and requirements for research ethics approval for students and professors involved in community- based learning projects resulted in less opportunity for students to complete the requirements of their proj- ects as fully as they would have liked. In conclusion, despite our lack of experience and the challenges we faced, it provided the students, the community partners, and I a window into oppor- tunities to facilitate knowledge mobilization, fill re- cent requirements for curricular learning outcomes, student engagement and student-centred learning and evaluation as well as unique scholarship oppor-
202 Collected Essays on Teaching and Learning Vol. II tunities for faculty. I have just begun a new academic term with new students, new and old community partners, a new and enhanced passion for community-based learning and all the potential benefits and challenges it provides. References Associations of Universities and Colleges of Can- ada. (2008, May). Out of the ivory tower: Researchers partner with community to put knowledge into action. University Affairs , 1-64. Canadian Alliance for Service Learning. (2008). Retrieved September 26, 2008, from http:// www.communityservicelearning.ca/en/ Holsinger, K. (2008). Teaching to make a difference. Feminist Criminology, 3 (4), 319-335. Joyner, L. (2003). Applied research in the pursuit of justice: Creating change in the community and the academy. Social Justice, 30 (4), 5-20. Langan, D. & Morton, M. (in press). Through the eyes of farmersâ daughters: Doing and being âdirty workâ academics. Lowe, J. I. & Reisch, M. (1998). Bringing the com- munity into the classroom: Applying the experiences of social work education to ser- vice-learning courses in sociology. Teaching Sociology, 26 (4), 292-298. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. (2008). Retrieved September 26, 2008, from http:// www.servicelearning.org/ York University Act. (1965). Retrieved September 26, 2008, from http://www.yorku.ca/ secre- tariat/documents/act1965.htm Biography Mavis Morton is a Sessional Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at York University. She has conducted extensive participatory action research with criminal justice, social service, and violence against women advocates and organizations in rural and urban communities on issues such as violence against women.
