Theoretical and Applied Perspectives on Power: Recognizing Processes That Undermine Effective Community-University Partnerships (original) (raw)

Choice, power and perspective: The neglected question of who initiates engaged campus-community partnerships

Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 2013

To address society’s complex challenges, campus-community partnerships are increasingly being undertaken by academia. As a result, questions of how to ensure that these partnerships succeed have taken on a new urgency. This urgency has led to an emphasis on the creation of ‘how to’ guides focused on the mechanics of building effective partnerships. This article argues that this focus is premature and attention instead needs to be directed to the neglected but ultimately more fundamental question of who is ‘allowed’ to initiate the partnerships. It is argued here that the seemingly simple and straightforward issue of who initiates the partnership leads us into the complex problems of choice, power and perspective which bedevil campus-community partnerships. Until these problems are fully addressed, the partnership approach is unlikely to achieve its status as a central means by which community-university engagement can be realised in academia. Keywords: campus-community partnerships,...

Sustaining Long-term Community-Academic Partnerships: Negotiating Power and Presence

Journal for Social Action in Counseling & Psychology

Community based participatory research (CBPR) partnerships simultaneously increase knowledge and community well-being. Despite the growing number of long-term (as opposed to project-specific) CBPR partnerships, research has yet to sufficiently explore factors that contribute to their success and sustainability over time. This study investigated this question by exploring the perceived benefits, barriers, and facilitators of participation in one long-term CBPR partnership, with particular attention to the role of power. Fifteen members and non-members of a CBPR partnership were interviewed, and data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Interviewees discussed the value of involvement in the partnership, including strong relationships, honest discussion of power dynamics, mutual learning, and capacity building. Barriers and facilitators to involvement included access factors (ability to be involved) and participation factors (desire to be involved.) Attention to power dyna...

The construction of university-community partnerships: entangled perspectives

Higher Education, 2011

The development of meaningful partnerships with communities is a shared concern of many higher education institutions. However, the building of significant partnerships between universities and communities is still a complex task, which generates multiple tensions. Based on a qualitative study that examined the lived experiences of participants in an innovative university-community partnership in Israel, the article analyzes the concept of partnership from a social constructivist theoretical perspective. The study focused on four research areas: the experience of partnership; the perception of partnership; the barriers to partnership-building, and the impact of participation on participants. Findings challenge essentialist views of partnership and highlight the constructed and discursive nature of the concept. The article found several crucial factors to be acknowledged in the process of partnership management: role perspectives, group affiliation, institutional context, power relations, the organizational culture of the partnership, and the societal perceptions of social problems addressed by the partnership. It concludes with some recommendations for the management of more meaningful university-community partnerships. Keywords University-community partnership Á Poverty Á Constructivism The development of meaningful partnerships has become a common interest of many higher education institutions and communities. However, the building of significant partnerships between universities and communities is still a complex task, which generates multiple tensions. This article is based on a qualitative study that examined the participants' experiences of an innovative partnership aimed at combating poverty and social exclusion in Israel. As many other Academy-Community partnership programs, this shared venture seeks to tackle shared common goals and to serve joint interests. However, the uniqueness of this project is twofold. First, this partnership acknowledged from its inception the existence of huge unequal power relations between the partners, especially

Brokering Community–University Engagement

Innovative Higher Education, 2008

Although substantial areas of agreement exist regarding the characteristics of effective community-university partnerships for research, there is little empirical research on the relationship between the characteristics of such partnerships and their outcomes. In this study, we explored the relationship between partnership characteristics and partnership outcomes. Analyses of the relationships between partnership dynamics and perceived benefits show that (1) effective partnership management is associated with increased research on a community issue, problem, or need; (2) co-creation of knowledge is

An Anatomy of a Community-University Partnership: The Structure of Community Collaboration

Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 2008

Portland State University for the past twelve years has been engaged in a transformation of its general education program and a renewal of its urban mission. A major thrust of this reform has focused on broadening the involvement of students and faculty in community-based learning and scholarship. Curricular and administrative changes have significantly raised the presence of the university in the community and resulted in numerous academic units actively engaging in community collaboration. The collaboration has proven to be an important platform by which the university has expanded its boundaries into the community through actions involving many challenges to the university and community collaborators. In this article we explore the elements that have contributed to the success and achievements of this engaged work by closely examining a long-term community university partnership.

Transformed through Relationship: Faculty and Community Partners Give Voice to the Power of Partnerships

Prism a Journal of Regional Engagement, 2012

Since the 1990s, hundreds of institutions of higher education have developed community-university partnerships through community-based learning initiatives in order to enhance student learning and strengthen our communities. These partnerships are often built upon ideals of reciprocity and synergy, yet there has been a dearth of rich qualitative assessment to describe the nature of these relationships, the roles played by all of the constituents in these relationships, and the impact that these relationships have on students, faculty, and community partners. This study engaged 10 faculty and their corresponding community partners to document their partnership practices and the impact of these practices on faculty, students, and community partners. Portland State University (PSU) has developed one of the largest Capstone communitybased learning programs in the nation, engaging more than 3,600 students in 240 Capstone courses annually. Acknowledged by numerous national awards and U.S. News and World Report, Portland State has become known as an exemplary model for community-based learning. Much of the institution's success in this regard comes from the powerful community partnerships that support student learning in these courses. Each Capstone course involves one faculty member, one community partner, and approximately 15 students. Capstone courses require students to engage actively in the community as they work in interdisciplinary teams to create a fi nal product that is intended both to serve the community and to demonstrate student learning. These courses function as a community-based learning senior-level seminar in which students engage with assigned readings, complete regularly-scheduled written refl ections, participate in biweekly class meetings, complete essays analyzing the root causes of the community issue at hand, engage in dialogues with guest speakers, and complete required community-based learning work equivalent to about 3 hours each week. Per the goals of the general education program (University Studies) in which the Capstone is imbedded, these courses are designed to enhance students' communication skills, critical thinking abilities, appreciation of the diversity of the human experience, and sense of social and ethical responsibility. The purpose of this study was to document how faculty and community partners understand and articulate lessons learned around forming and maintaining community partnerships, as well as maximizing learning value for students, community partners, and faculty alike, including how the partnerships were formed, the roles played by each constituent in the partnership, the lived experience of a community-university partnership, and the impact of partnerships on students, partners, and faculty. The data collected in this study addressed those issues, and they also raised a theme that was unexpected by the researchers: that of transformation as a result of engaged community-university partnering. In this study, faculty and community partners spoke directly to the transformed states that they experienced as a result of participation in Capstone courses, and they also gave voice to the

University-Community Partnerships: Managing Expectations and Leadership

106th ACSA Annual Meeting Proceedings, The Ethical Imperative, 2018

Architecture programs have worked with community partners for some time, and the benefits to the students and university have been proven by various studies. 2 However, the community partner does not always benefit, which creates a lack of trust, and lack of interest on the part of the community partners to working with universities. 3 This relates to the typical "Ivory Tower" problem that universities face generally, and the lack of a reciprocal relationship with a community partner just exacerbates the issue. This paper posits that both universities, specifically architecture programs, and community partners need to start their relationships with managed expectations of what the collaboration will create, how long it will take to reach project goals, and how the leadership structure will evolve over time. This will help to instill a relationship of trust that can create egalitarian partnerships to dispel the image of the "Ivory Tower." 4 Once trust is achieved both architecture students and architecture educators can lead community partners into leadership positions of their own to take charge of the public interest design projects that are created together.

Catalyst for Democracy? Outcomes and Processes in Community-University Interaction

2013

Regional colleges and universities are unique in their historic commitment to serve the economic, social, and cultural interests of particular communities. Drawing on the findings of a multi-site case study of two regional institutions, this paper outlines the goals of community-university interaction, then focuses more specifically on the processes of collaboration as distinct from the participants’ desired outcomes. Separating goals from process in this way allows us to explore the civic/democratic impact of these initiatives beyond their economic impact. Findings suggest that when community-university engagement initiatives focus too narrowly on economic development goals, project leaders sometimes neglect the potential of engagement initiatives as catalysts for participatory democracy, thereby limiting input from traditionally under-represented groups. Scholars and practitioners can draw from community development literature, as well as the scholarship related to community-unive...