Community-Engaged Learning in Food Systems and Public Health

Self, Julie L.; Handforth, Becky; Hartman, Janelle; McAuliffe, Corey; Noznesky, Elizabeth; Schwei, Rebecca J.; Whitaker, Laura; Wyatt, A.; Girard, Amy Webb

doi:10.5304/jafscd.2012.031.006

Cited by 9 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…In order to facilitate greater adoption and support for SFSE programs, more examples of pedagogical transformations need to be made available for others to identify successful practices and overcome potential challenges that may arise in the different contexts that exist across the spectrum of higher education programs. Self et al (2012) note that despite an increase in SFSE program offerings, there is little critical analysis about approaches to designing and teaching SFSE programs. Similarly, the NRC (2009) states that there is a need for those who have implemented change to report and act as models for those who are interested in attempting similar levels of transformation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In response, there has been rapid growth in North American sustainable agriculture and food systems degree programs, specializations and certificates (Jacobsen et al, 2012; Self et al, 2012; Jordan et al, 2014), which we characterize under the umbrella term of Sustainable Food Systems Education (SFSE). These developments create an opportunity to analyze emergent themes across the programs to articulate a signature pedagogy (SP) for SFSE.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An emerging signature pedagogy for sustainable food systems education

Valley

Wittman

Jordan

et al. 2017

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

138

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Concerns are growing over the ability of the modern food system to simultaneously achieve food security and environmental sustainability in the face of global change. Yet, the dominant tendency within university settings to conceptualize and address diverse food system challenges as separate, disconnected issues is a key barrier to food system transformation. To address this fragmented approach, educators in North American institutes of higher education have begun new degree programs, specializations and certificates related to food systems. These programs, which we term sustainable food system education (SFSE) programs, have a common goal: to support post-secondary students across a range of disciplines in developing the knowledge, skills and dispositions to effectively address complex challenges in the food system. Graduates of these programs will be able to engage in collective action towards transforming the food system. As educators participating in flagship SFSE programs, we identify common pedagogical themes evident in SFSE programs, including our own. We then propose a signature pedagogy (SP) for sustainable food systems education. Signature pedagogies are conceptual models that identify the primary elements by which professional education in a specific field is designed, structured and implemented. On the basis of our analysis of SFSE programs, we identified systems thinking, multi-, inter-and trans-disciplinarity, use of experiential learning approaches and participation in collective action projects as central themes within a SFSE SP. By making these themes and their function explicit within a pedagogical framework, we seek to spur critical and creative thought regarding challenges of professional education in the field of sustainable food systems. Scholars and practitioners are encouraged to review, critique and implement our framework to advance the dialogue on SFSE theory and practice.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An emerging signature pedagogy for sustainable food systems education

Valley

Wittman

Jordan

et al. 2017

Renew. Agric. Food Syst.

138

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Arrows represent the flow of resources (e.g., money, information, labor, infrastructure, communication); large grey arrows represent the average direction of resources, and small black arrows represent the direction and approximate magnitude of resources transferred between administrators, subject experts, and communities. of practitioners (e.g., policymakers, educators, engineers, advocates, natural and social scientists) with strong community engagement create synergy between policy, communication, education, research, and actions, which is vital to strategic resilience building (e.g., Spoth and Greenberg 2005;Conrad and Hilchey 2011;France and Compton 2012;Virji et al 2012;Melillo et al 2014;Rist et al 2015;Self et al 2016;Patel et al 2017;Ultee et al 2018;Climate Center 2019;Knoepke et al 2019;Krisberg 2019;Posner and Cvitanovic 2019). Recognizing the power of an equitable and holistic approach to resilience building, organizations such as the Union of Concerned Scientists, Global Council for Science and the Environment, and 350.org are embracing strategies that build relationships with communities that are frequently disempowered, through education and outreach, support of public officials who endorse science-informed policies to address global change threats, and/or forging alliances with scholars and practitioners to increase access to vital expertise.…”

Section: Risk Aversionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecologist engagement in translational science is imperative for building resilience to global change threats

Rubert‐Nason¹,

Casper²,

Jurjonas³

et al. 2021

ReEco

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The causes and consequences of global change are well-documented, as are mitigation and adaptation strategies. However, human actions continue to fail in building adequate socio-ecological resilience to the accelerating threats of global change. Translational science, which focuses on connecting scientific research to human benefits, is imperative to building resilience to a confluence of global change threats because it brings the implications of theory and empirical research into practice. Translational ecology, an approach to knowledge co-creation that is grounded in equitable, inclusive, empathetic, and just partnerships among administrators, policy makers, scholars, practitioners, and the public, has immense potential to bring about the rapid and expansive social, ecological and political changes necessary to build resilience to global change threats. Here, we articulate a need for greater engagement of ecologists and other professionals in translational initiatives addressing seven major resilience building challenges, and propose a framework that lowers barriers to participation and promotes stronger relationships among stakeholders. We recommend specific actions that ecologists can take based on their situation, as well as evidence and demonstrated need, to foster resilience building through their contributions to communication, policy, education, knowledge creation, leadership, and service as role models. We conclude with an urgent call for expansive engagement of ecologists and other professionals in initiatives that combat misinformation, partner equitably with communities in knowledge creation, cultivate empathy and compassion, bolster public trust in science, and ultimately build decentralized communities of practice that enable rapid and high-impact responses to global change.

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“…That scholarship, however, primarily emphasized earlier course projects that focus inward on enhancing sustainability within the University itself as the means for that kind of civic engagement [42] (p. 118). Grounded in project-based and community-engaged learning approaches [43][44][45], the course engages students with real-world, complex, team-based projects that result in concrete products or outcomes for campus and community sustainability professionals who serve as mentor-partners. Projects focus on the specific challenges and needs of relevance to and identified by these partners to achieve more equitable, co-identified outcomes.…”

Section: Context and Positionalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Students as Change Agents for Community–University Sustainability Transition Partnerships

2021

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While higher education institutions play a role in regional sustainability transitions, community–university partnerships for sustainability may be underdeveloped and fraught. Moreover, the specific role of students in building and strengthening those partnerships remains little explored. This research occurred in Laramie, Wyoming—the first community to resolve to pursue carbon neutrality in the top coal-producing state in the U.S.—amidst declining state revenue and absent any formal community–university sustainability partnership. Drawing on a community resilience framework and the social-theoretical construct of agency, we examined an informal, multi-year partnership developed through a project-based, community-engaged Campus Sustainability course at the University of Wyoming. Through a chronological sequence case study, we synthesized autoethnography, document analysis, and semi-structured interview methods involving community and university stakeholder and student participants. We found that students, rather than other university actors, played a vital bridging role in absence of a formal community–university sustainability partnership. They also served in a catalyzing role as change agents alongside community stakeholders, providing the potential to develop stronger community–university partnerships and advance sustainability transitions across other Wyoming communities. Findings suggest a need to keenly attend to power dynamics and whose agency is driving higher education institutions’ roles in regional sustainability transitions in specific contexts.

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Community-Engaged Learning in Food Systems and Public Health

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

An emerging signature pedagogy for sustainable food systems education

An emerging signature pedagogy for sustainable food systems education

Ecologist engagement in translational science is imperative for building resilience to global change threats

Students as Change Agents for Community–University Sustainability Transition Partnerships

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