Browsing by Subject "Community engagement"
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Item Academic service learning pedagogy in social work : exploration of student and community lived experiences using an interdisciplinary course model of community-university engagement(2013-05) Gerstenblatt, Paula; Gilbert, Dorie J.; Walker, Juliet; Adejumo, Christopher; Lauderdale, Michael; Davis, KingAcademic service learning has grown in popularity at colleges and universities as a way to address social issues using study, reciprocity, and reflection. While the merits of service learning are well documented, gaps in the literature indicate a need for further development of pedagogical models, qualitative research about students' lived experiences, and research focused on community partners. This dissertation presents an interdisciplinary model for implementing academic service learning in social work education, in-depth understandings of student experiences in a service learning course, and insight into the experiences and perceived benefits of community partners. The first article presents a 3-component service learning model that capitalizes on the structure of a university-community partnership, mobilizes interdisciplinary teams of students for community-identified projects, and integrates student, community and faculty reflection on complex social structures. Article 2 offers a phenomenological analysis of 17 blogs written by service learning students working in a rural town through their blogs. The findings of this study suggest that the reflexive aspect of blogging fits well with the service learning principle of reflection, and reveals the students' emotive experience over the course of the semester. Additionally, blogging demonstrates the attributes of service learning pedagogy to support the acquisition of knowledge and understanding of complex problems in a real life setting not attainable solely in a classroom setting or through traditional classroom tools, such as exams and papers. Article 3 consists of a phenomenological analysis of interviews with 9 community partners, a combination of agency employees and active citizens that worked with a network of service learning classes in a rural Southern town. The findings support the contribution of service learning to communities, the importance of investing in reciprocal relationships, and the value added of including community partners who are members of informal networks and civically active residents. The research presented in this dissertation informs the growing popularity of service learning in social work with findings that demonstrate a useful implementation model, highly meaningful transformative impact on students, the resilience of the community to challenges of hosting service learning, and the invaluable fostering of inspiration and hope in the community-university relationship.Item Community-engaged dramaturgy : the role of young audiences in New Work development(2015-05) Pederson, Meredyth Franzoni; Alrutz, Megan; Carlson, Andrew; Engelman, ElizabethTheatre for young audiences (TYA) is a field defined by its intergenerational audiences, and TYA artists have the responsibility to engage this target audience as active participants at all stages of the creative process. While young people have opportunities to act as artistic agents in the related areas of youth theatre and theatre education, where their participation is the focus of the work, TYA needs to further explore the role of young people in professional theatre-making spaces. Building on emerging scholarship and practices of involving young people in new play development, this thesis documents significant current practices and examines the collaboration between first grade students and theatre artists at UT Austin in depth. The findings in this thesis invite TYA artists and scholars to consider how intergenerational collaboration affects new work development process and product and create space for youth to influence the theatre adult artists create with and for them in TYA.Item Connecting theatre for young audiences and community engagement: allowing the issue of bullying in Louis Sachar's There's a boy in the girls' bathroom to ignite dialogue and inform production(2010-05) Fahey, Brian Carr; Jennings, Coleman A., 1933-; Alrutz, Megan; Bonin-Rodriguez, PaulThis thesis presents a reflection on directing There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom by examining the relationship between the production and community engagement developed for it. It details the process of connecting theatre for young audiences (TYA) and community engagement and discusses how the project that resulted inspired a dialogue concerning bullying. This document addresses these questions: What is the relationship between TYA and community engagement and how can they be closely connected? How can community engagement inform the production of a play for young audiences? This document explores how collaborative partnerships with student audiences and teachers inspired dialogue and influenced production choices. It discusses how participation in multiple community engagement activities resulted in a rich experience for both actors and audience. It includes a discussion about how the work might be translated outside of the university and concludes with reflective practices for connecting TYA and community engagement.Item Mindful making : how mindfulness influenced one teaching artist's practice in a community-based after school program(2015-08) LeFranc, Beranger Caitlaene; Adejumo, Christopher O., 1959-; Bolin, Paul EThis study uses a self-study methodology to investigate how mindfulness can be integrated into a teaching artist's practice at a community-based after school program. Through four phases of data collection, the researcher examines the potential benefits of mindfulness through three lenses: for teachers, for art makers, and for community engagement programs. As both a teacher and an art maker, the researcher was compelled to consider a more holistic approach to art education by engaging students' social and emotional skills in addition to those considered technical or academic. The researcher first participated in two trainings in mindfulness and then applied this new information to the planning and implementing of an art and mindfulness workshop at an after school program. The finds of this study identify correlations between the researcher's work as a teaching artist and her mindfulness practice, encouraging others in the field of art education to consider exploring this work and its benefits.Item Staging sustainability : an indigenous performance approach to development communication(2012-05) Aluko-Kpotie, Oluwabukola Omolara; Jones, Omi Osun Joni L., 1955-The process of communicating notions of sustainable development in rural grassroots communities in the oil-rich region of southern Nigeria, West Africa, is complex and remains an on-going challenge. The material consequences of ineffective communication between community leaders and their constituencies are evident in the Nigerian communities examined in this dissertation, where poverty is pervasive and where a large majority of the population can neither read nor write in English. Popular performances, specifically theatre, are an essential medium of communication and information dissemination on community development projects in these communities. Theatre for Development (TFD), as these form of popular performances are called, was first introduced to the country in 1975. Its methodology is an adaptation of the techniques of Theatre of the Oppressed created by theatre scholar Augusto Boal. The method is aimed specifically at effecting dialogue, encouraging critical thinking, and motivating the desire for community development and social change. A number of challenges, however, limit the effectiveness of this method in achieving these goals. They include funding constraints, which restrict the amount of time TFD participants spend working in any community and limit follow-up visits to sustain integral dialogues begun during a post-performance discussion. In essence, funding restrictions limit the possibility of achieving sustainable community development. To address this key challenge of time constraints and to facilitate sustained development dialogue between community stakeholders, this dissertation examines the use of indigenous performance practices staged by local performers in rural grassroots communities. By creating and staging a TFD performance using structural elements of oriki, an indigenous performance practice in the region, I address a core research question: How do structures and contents of indigenous performance practices create forums for sustained dialogue and collective consciousness awakening? The answer to this question lays the foundation for sustainable development projects in Nigeria and offers a practical way to improve the effectiveness of TFD as a medium of information dissemination, a tool to facilitate sustained dialogue, and a community development approach in rural grassroots communities in the country.