Valuing the local within the global: A discourse analysis of professional development in a U.S.-Kurdish transnational university partnership

In an effort to support higher education in developing countries, partnerships between U.S. and international universities have surged, raising questions concerning the social equity of such linkages. Using a New Literacy Studies approach to discourse analysis, online transcripts from one such university partnership were analyzed to determine how language was used to negotiate a more equitable partnership through the adaptation of the social context of professional development activities. Discourse analysis of three relevant linguistic markers in the data suggests that cultural perspectives on professional development influenced the language choices made by university partners, reshaping the power structure toward greater social equity, and aiding in the completion of joint professional development goals. Findings underscore the importance of drawing on local knowledges in planning for and conducting transnational university partnerships.

Applying Design Concepts for the Cultivation of Cross-University Partnerships

Representing distinct parts of Rutgers University—academic innovation and experiential learning, organizational leadership and strategy, and the university library—the authors approach this discussion of agility and cross-university partnerships from three distinct vantage points. Despite different administrative portfolios and scholarly and professional interests, the authors collectively view this moment as one of profound opportunity for our institution and for higher education more broadly. Purposeful collaborations have contributed to new and innovative partnerships that will be discussed in this chapter, including a new learning community for interested members of the New Brunswick Libraries—The Hatchery, a dedicated design thinking and ideation studio centrally located in the Archibald S. Alexander Library—and varying points of convergence with the Innovation, Design, and Entrepreneurship Academy (IDEA) that integrates design and entrepreneurial thinking and leadership development into the Rutgers student experience.

Multimodal and Community-Based Literacies

In recent decades, high-stakes school reforms and draconian budget cuts have constrained the autonomy of public school teachers in developing multi literacy approaches with emergent bilingual learners (e.g., English-only laws, high stakes testing). This chapter describes the community and multimodal instructional practices of two urban elementary school teachers/ researchers, developed in the context of a professional development initiative. Using critical, sociocultural conceptions of literacy and qualitative methods of investigation, the paper investigates different aspects of the teachers' writing instruction (i.e., community involvement; genre-based instruction; digital literacy; and multimodality); it also explores how the writing processes of focal bilingual students incorporated these practices. Findings show that this approach positioned bilingual learners as agentive text makers. In addition, the second-grade students developed a heightened awareness of audience and context. Implications are discussed, including the pressing need for teacher collaboration, robust school-university partnerships, and innovative multimodal approaches to literacy.

Decolonial Dreamers and Dead Elephants

The 11 articles in this special themed issue examine the complexity of issues of power between individual researchers, between researchers and community organisations or higher education institutions, and between community organisations and institutions in relation to community-engaged research and scholarship. The articles uplift the pain and joy in community-engaged research, the harm and the benefits, the contradictions and tensions, and the true gifts and understanding gained in research with communities for the purpose of co-creating transformational change. We weave our own knowledge and experiences together with these individual articles as we seek ways to reimagine the future of community research and engagement. Specifically, we connect the near obliteration of African elephants and loss of Indigneous ways of knowing in Africa with the diverse communities, contexts and issues of power in community-engaged scholarship represented in this special volume. We, like the authors, hold a dream for the future of engaged scholarship that is more equitable, inclusive and morally just. We believe this dream is not only possible but achievable, as evidenced by the work of the authors in this volume. We present an African indigenous knowledge system, Ubuntu, whose principles, values and tenets simultaneously promote the conservation of the community as a whole and the harmonious existence of the individual within the community. We posit that the adaptation and adoption of this knowledge system within the scholarship and practice of community-university partnerships and community research relationships may enable the development of a mutuality and reciprocity that levels power hierarchies within the personal, organisational and societal arenas of community-university partnerships. We demonstrate that many of the cases described by contributors to this special volume resonate with this knowledge system, which itself has survived colonisation and its concomitant epistemicide. Together, the authors help paint a pathway for those who want to become decolonial dreamers (la paperson 2017) daring to reimagine the nature of power in research as we collectively find ways to dream bigger in order to uncover new and exciting possibilities for this work we call community-engaged scholarship.

Economic Storytelling, Tourism Improvement Districts and University Partnerships

Business Improvement Districts (BID), sometimes called Tourism Marketing Districts (TMD) are innovative initiatives that levy assessments as a means of funding what might be traditionally paid for by local government. A recent increase in such organizations internationally may provide universities with an opportunity for a variety of positive benefits including revenue, research, educational improvement, and impactful student experiences. Universities and colleges have a history of partnering with industry, often referred to as University-Industry Partnerships (UIC), as a means for confronting ever-increasing economic challenges and shrinking budgets. Indeed, as funding for public universities continues to decrease, schools and departments within the university are forced to seek alternative revenue streams. The goal of the current study is to provide a conceptual model for understanding and engaging in economic storytelling as the research arm of such organizations. A case study of the partnership between San Diego State University and San Diego’s Tourism Marketing District is assessed against a model of best practices in partnering. Results highlight the value of the model and provide direction for other University-Industry Partnerships (UIC).

A Relational Approach to Transforming Power in a Community-University Partnership

We use a relational understanding of power to analyze power dynamics at the institutional and interpersonal levels in our multi-year Co-Education/Co-Research (CORE) partnership between Tufts University Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning (UEP) and Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI). Power in community-university partnerships is often examined only at the institutional level, conceiving of power as a resource to be balanced and shared. Indeed, CORE has advanced institutional shifts through co-governance, equitable funding, co-production of curriculum and cross-flow of people. While institutional policies and practices are critical, they alone do not transform deep-seated hierarchies that value university knowledge, practices and people over community. To understand how intertwined interpersonal and institutional practices can reproduce or transform these cultural and ideological dynamics, we use a relational approach, understanding that power flows in and through all relations. As community members, students and faculty, we reflect on the contradictions we have encountered in CORE. We examine how we reinforce the dominance of academic over community knowledge, even as we leverage institutional power to further community goals. These tensions can be opportunities for shifting, disrupting and transforming towards more equitable relations, but they can also reproduce and reinforce the status quo. Through reflective practice and a relational ethic of care, we can try to recognize when we might be shifting power relations and when we might be reproducing them. This is messy work that requires a lot of communication, trust, reflection and time. A relational approach to power provides hope that we can be part of the change we seek in all of our relations, every day. And it reminds us that no matter what we have institutionalised or encoded, our individual beings, organizations and communities are always in a process of becoming.

Student teachers' perceptions of the collaborative relationships form between universities and inclusive elementary schools in Indonesia

Background: The collaborative relationship between universities and inclusive elementary schools has not been maximally practiced. The form of collaboration that universities with inclusive elementary schools have carried out is still limited to the need to complete lecture materials in the semester. There is a gap between the theory and practice obtained by student teachers at universities when they have to teach in inclusive elementary schools. As a result, they have not contributed to solving problems that occur in inclusive elementary schools. The collaborative relationship between inclusive elementary schools and universities directly implies that the success of inclusive education is determined by the competence of student teachers whose universities have successfully educated them in order to teach in inclusive elementary schools. Against the background that the inclusive education system is developing in Indonesia, the researchers investigated student teachers' perceptions at universities about inclusive university-inclusive elementary school collaborative relationships. Methods: During data collection, an online survey and in-depth interviews of student teachers about individual experiences and their ideas about the form of inclusive elementary schools-university partnerships was conducted. The data analysis used is a thematic analysis technique. Result: The result summarizes student teachers' statements, revealed three main themes: provision of inclusive education needs, research, and field practice. The student teachers revealed that the collaborative relationship between universities and inclusive elementary schools is essential to develop holistic, inclusive practices in a collaborative partnership based on input-needs, which has a two-way impact or benefit for both parties. Conclusions: Furthermore, collaborative relationships must be in the form of long-term programs, such as continuous assistance, and adaptation to the development of inclusive education through lecture materials. To achieve inclusive education in Indonesia, we also recommend that the government make policies on multi-sectoral collaboration in order to support inclusive education.

Exploring industry-university partnerships in the creation of short courses and micro-credentials

This paper explores industry-university partnerships in the creation of short courses and microcredentials. It is a position paper that precedes a pilot study. We scan the higher education environment for current practices and begin to explore the notion of a more consistent and strategic approach. Partnerships refer to both industry as partners in course development, and industry as partners in developing meaningful learning experiences in the context of professional and career development. The pilot study that this paper is connected to aligns with national and international frameworks and explores university-industry partnerships, to ensure such partnerships can be leveraged to offer better value to learners with regards to workplace and lifelong learning.

Creating an Age-Friendly Model System Through a Community and University Partnership

The University of Massachusetts 5-campus system was the first university system to receive the Age-Friendly University designation in the AFU Global Network (Business West, 2019). Simultaneously, the town of Dartmouth and city of New Bedford became Age-Friendly Communities. This allowed for dynamic collaboration between our university and communities. This presentation highlights several examples. The Ora M. DeJesus Gerontology Center faculty and student researchers developed the original age-friendly survey items for New Bedford’s initial community assessment; and the College of Nursing and Health Sciences faculty and student researchers compiled data for Dartmouth’s survey. Community service during the pandemic has flourished. The Community Companions program, which matches students with community members in social need, went virtual. Nursing students and faculty have been on the frontline in the vaccination efforts in the town of Dartmouth. These partnerships will be presented as examples of potential opportunities for other age-friendly communities. Community-university partnerships are encouraged.