SOL
HLP Expands Research Service Learning (RSL)
Opportunities in Public Policy Curriculum
When the Duke Board of Trustees approved the University’s
new strategic plan in September 2006, it endorsed six core themes,
including “knowledge in the service of society.” Under
this theme’s umbrella, one of the most promising Duke initiatives
is research service-learning (RSL), an emerging academic practice
that guides students to learn about and conduct research that creates
new knowledge by addressing issues of concern to communities.
The Hart Leadership Program has long been at the forefront of the
RSL push at Duke, and its endeavors in the public policy studies
department will guarantee that HLP remains a leading innovator of
the RSL practice. In addition to building on successes from years
past, HLP currently is working to establish a research service-learning
pathway in the public policy curriculum. As a first phase in the
pathway’s development, a new course project engages an enthusiastic
handful of undergraduate students with a Durham partner organization,
focusing their shared efforts on the local area’s burgeoning
Latino immigrant population.
Stemming from Scholarship with a Civic Mission, an initiative co-sponsored
by HLP and the Kenan Institute for Ethics, RSL at Duke involves
a three-stage model. Stage 1, a gateway course, offers students
a service-learning opportunity as well as the tools and knowledge
to engage in further RSL work. Stage 2, a community-based research
project, allows students to do field research with a community partner.
Stage 3, a capstone experience, gives students the chance to expand
their work and community collaboration into an independent research
project. In 2005-2006, 437 students were enrolled in eight gateway
courses. One hundred and eleven students completed community-based
research (CBR) projects. Three students completed capstone courses
and were honored at graduation as Duke Civic Scholars.
Service Opportunities in Leadership (SOL), an HLP initiative, is
one of Duke’s major RSL success stories. SOL’s two required
courses and its summer experience give participating students the
chance to focus on societal issues both in the classroom and in
the broader community.
Now, HLP is taking service-learning a step further. In the fall
of 2006, the program created a gateway option in PPS 114: Political
Analysis for Public Policy, one of the core requirements for a public
policy major. In the class, taught by Professor and Director of
Undergraduate Studies James Hamilton, 15 students are working with
community partner the Latino Community Credit Union (LCCU). The
credit union is a nonprofit financial institution based in North
Carolina that focuses on helping Latino community members become
financially secure and independent.
“I believe that the best research questions come from real-world
experiences,” Hamilton says. “RSL is a way to trigger
ideas that can be refined through academic theories and then tested
in experiments and surveys dealing with policy problems.”
In teams of three to five, the PPS 114 students are preparing educational
video clips for the LCCU that will help clients obtain a financial
education. The teams’ tasks include interviewing clients and
bank officials, developing video content and filming the clips.
“It’s a great opportunity to continue to help the Latino
community build financial awareness, and as someone who hopes to
someday combine business with the nonprofit sector, it seemed like
a perfect opportunity,” says Teniola Adedipe, a senior in
PPS 114.
Senior Chauncey Nartey, another participant in the LCCU project,
says he would “absolutely” tell other Duke students
to get involved with RSL.
“It allows individuals to utilize the knowledge they gain
in classrooms to affect people and not just someone’s bottom
line,” Nartey says.
The plan is that the initial gateway course in PPS 114 will expand
into a full-fledged RSL pathway in the public policy department.
The pathway will include abundant opportunities for students to
conduct community-based research in the summer, followed by honors
theses during the academic year. Officials also hope that the success
of the new RSL pathway will have an impact across the University.
“We are trying to change the culture of undergraduate research,”
says Alma Blount, director of HLP. “We want to see theses
related to community-based research, and we need a critical mass
of tenure-track and tenured professors mentoring students in this
approach…. For research service-learning to thrive long-term
here at Duke, it needs to be endorsed and supported by the departments.”
Professor Kristin Goss recently agreed to implement an RSL component
in her spring 2007 PPS 114 offering. PPS 116: Policy Choice as Value
Conflict will also be added as a new gateway course within the next
year.
- Seyward Darby, October 2006.
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