Education for Social Transformation: Infusing Feminist Ethics and Critical Pedagogy into Community-Based Research

SMC Author

Cynthia Ganote

SMC Affiliated Work

1

Status

Faculty

School

School of Liberal Arts

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-2015

Publication / Conference / Sponsorship

Critical Sociology

Description/Abstract

In this paper we lay bare the theoretical underpinnings for the pervasive individualist model that shapes many community engagement courses, and then we present and analyze a case study based on a collaborative community-based research model developed by the co-authors. By shifting the theoretical foundations for community-based research, and more specifically, grounding our work in feminist ethics and critical pedagogy theories, we created linked courses that weave both collaborative theory and practice into the fabric of the courses. Upon teaching these courses, we found that students responded in an overwhelmingly positive way to collaborative theoretical models and to collaborative dialogical practice in the classroom, but when it came to team-based work conducted with community members, student responses were mixed. Reactions to collaborative grading practice conducted by faculty members and the community partner were more unanimous: a majority of students expressed confusion and discomfort with this practice. Collaborative theory and dialogical practice, then, were uniformly embraced in the classroom, while team-based work and evaluation in the community provided more discomfort and displeasure. This finding reiterates the pervasiveness of individualist thinking, even when students have chosen courses that are expressly collaborative in both theory and practice.

Lasallian research

yes

Scholarly

yes

DOI

10.1177/0896920514537843

Volume

41

Issue

7-8

First Page

1065

Last Page

1085

Disciplines

Civic and Community Engagement | Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies | Political Science | Sociology

Comments

Professor Ganote is from the Sociology department. Professor Longo is from the Politics department.

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0896920514537843

Original Citation

Ganote, Cynthia and Patrizia Longo, “Education for Social Transformation: Infusing Feminist Ethics and Critical Pedagogy into Community-Based Research.” Critical Sociology 41(7-8): 1065-1085. doi:10.1177/0896920514537843

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