Tackling Wicked Problems Through Engaged Scholarship

Abstract

Engaged scholarship combines the work of universities with that of community partners. The results can be powerful examples of the synergy that arises between theory and practice. By examining engaged scholarship and reflecting on the nuances that exist between it and engaged research, this paper follows the ways that research questions can be explored in a practical application versus in a controlled environment. I examine the benefits of community-engaged scholarship relative to service recipients, scholars, organizations, and communities at large. The academic benefits extend far beyond the universities; engaged scholarship allows for university programs to provide realistic training to students as an example of future work-related duties and assignments and to collaborate with community partners in service delivery. Results of collective collaboration and community-engaged scholarship can lead to a strengthened sense of community in lasting partnerships that increase dialogue surrounding challenging issues.

Decolonising the Curriculum of Architectural Education in Nigeria: A Case of Negotiated Pedagogy

“…This notion of ‘working with others’ is also perceived to go beyond the relationship between the students and the community, but does encompass ‘working with or within an organisation that engages in a different kind of reflection’ (ER21). This approach of working/learning with others (users/stakeholders) supports the following learning theories: engaged scholarship that connects knowledge produced at the University in the form of research towards addressing civic concerns leading to co-creation of knowledge (Franz, 2010: 32; Paynter, 2014: 48). Action and experiential learning theories by physically engaging in the project also draw on situated learning theory with the understanding that learning is not separated from the context where the action takes place (Dilworth and Boshyk, 2010; Marquardt and Banks, 2010; Sanoff and Toker, 2003).…”

Turning the tide on inequity through systematic equity action-analysis

“…Greater equity action potential exists when people choose to critically examine the manifestations of structural, sociopolitical, and historical issues of power in their own settings. Health equity work is intensely complex and tied up in socio-economic, political, and historical conditions that are entrenched in global systems of power and hegemony [ 40 , 41 , 47 ]. Forces of political economy, for example, play a role in shaping these environments [ 2 , 48 , 49 ], wherein these forces differentially shape health and life trajectories along social status and power dynamics [ 50 , 51 ].…”

Researchingwithplaces: on using engaged scholarship in marketing

“…There can be competing temporalities between academic and practitioner research (Barbour et al , 2017), difficult power dynamics to negotiate (Strumińska-Kutra, 2016) and researchers can struggle to balance academic and community roles (Mistry et al , 2015). Whilst others argue academic institutions are not fully supportive of engaged scholarship because it lies outside conventional academic reward systems (Boyer, 1996; Paynter, 2014; Robinson and Hawthorne, 2018), which typically prioritise the “scholarship of discovery” rather than the time-consuming “scholarship of engagement” (Holland et al , 2010). To adopt engaged scholarship, therefore, calls for “considerable courage and willingness to swim against the current” (Bergold and Stefan, 2012, p. 203).…”

“…As outlined above, we have generated real-world impact through engaged scholarship, which has been written up for two impact case studies for REF2021. Results have also been disseminated via a research website, blog posts (Millington et al , 2020a), research seminars and conferences, a case study video, media outputs and through using real-world project examples in teaching (Paynter, 2014). However, we have experienced challenges in publishing from our study.…”