Engaging in Social Partnerships: Democratic Practices for Campus-Community Partnerships

ISBN-13: 9780415996372 / Angielski / Miękka / 2015 / 254 str.

Novella Keith

Opis

Engaging in Social Partnerships helps practitioners advance democratic engagement by creating spaces where institutions of higher education, community groups, and other organizations can come together. This important book prepares higher education professionals to become reflective practitioners while working in collaborations that span not only the boundaries of organizations, but also borders created by the social divides of class, race, ethnicity, culture, professional expertise, and power. Through illustrative cases, Keith explores effective models of democratic engagement for university-community partnerships, as well as approaches to overcoming obstacles and assessing process and outcome. Current and future professionals in higher education will find this a valuable resource as they explore the power of engaging in collaborations that cross social divides, while enacting practices that are more equitable and democratic.

If many Higher Education partnerships that involve diverse groups fall short of achieving success, how can partners overcome the common barriers and promote equity in the process?

This text is written for Higher Education Professionals who are actively engaged in collaborating with communities/organizations. Engaging in Social Partnerships prepares professionals to become reflective practitioners while working in partnerships that cross social divides. An invaluable resource, it helps partners navigate the multiple and conflicting objectives that arise in partnership practices. It further encourages the reader to enact practices that are more equitable and democratic. In order to be successful in these partnerships, professionals must look carefully at how they are influenced by factors such as race, class, gender, age, culture, histories and other differences. Unequal power relations prevailing in such partnerships affect the ability to share information, problem solve and form honest relationships. Unless these 3 essential components are properly addressed, the partnership will not be successful in achieving its overall goal.

The author, Novella Keith, breaks down the different approaches to partnership and connects the central principles of her approach through reflection and case studies. These case studies illustrate the conceptual framework for successful partnership practice.

This book:

• Provides action oriented solutions for meeting partnership goals
• Develops frameworks and principles against which to assess partnership, process and outcome
• Provides a new model of democratic engagement for university-community partnerships

• Presents key concepts that can be applied to a critical analysis of practice

Armed with this book, professionals will be equipped with the knowledge on how to apply successful models of practical democracy in their partnerships.

Recenzje

"With compelling depth and clarity, Engaging Social Partnership offers an exemplary read on the theory and practice of university-community partnerships.  Keith insightfully positions the process of partnerships at the center of democratically informed collaborative practice and principles. By providing careful and judicious analysis based on convincing evidence, Keith challenges readers to critically engage in the power, pitfalls, and promise of higher education and community partnerships."

--James Earl Davis, Bernard C. Watson Endowed Professor in Urban Education, Temple University

"Keith offers a practical guide for academics interested in engaging communities in a way that moves beyond a framework of ‘service’ to one of democratic partnerships committed to a more just world. Through insightful case studies she demonstrates the radical possibilities of university-community collaborations to build collective knowledge, transform relationships, and destabilize structural inequalities. This is a thoughtful and important contribution to the field."

--María Elena Torre, Director of the Public Science Project, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York

"Engaging in Social Partnerships is not just another book about partnerships. It is a book about higher education engagement with a defining theme of democratic practices that advance the public good."

-- Frank A. Fear, Professor Emeritus, Michigan State University

Spis treści

Preface. Part 1. Contexts. 1. Social Partnerships across Social Divides.2. Different Lenses for Understanding Partnerships: Learning from the Addams-Lincoln Family Center Case. 3. Democratic Engagement in Higher Education: Between Modernity and Neoliberalism. Part 2. Thinking about Professional Practice. 4. Crossing Borders: From Experts to Democratic-Civic Professionals. 5. Toward Wise Practice for University-Community Collaborations. Part 3. Learning about Professional Practice through Cases. 6. From Normal to Wis(er) Practice in a High-School, Community and University Service-Learning Partnership. By Novella Keith with Fatima Hafiz and Jim Peterson. 7. Building Trust, Sharing Power, Crossing Borders: The Art Sanctuary-Temple/Tyler Partnership. By Billy Yalowitz, Karen Malandra, and Novella Keith. 8. Cultivating Civic Capacity for Democratic Collaboration: The Maville-TST Project for School Success. Part 4. Going Forward. 9. Looking Backwards to Go Forward. Conclusion.

O autorze

Novella Zett Keith is Professor Emerita of Urban Education at Temple University.