Community and Action Research

Student Learning Outcomes, Goals, Objectives:

Students successfully completing this course will be able to:

• Recognize different epistemologies, approaches, and strategies used historically and currently to study peace and conflict, such as social constructivist, positivist, and decolonial ways of knowing
• Reflectively analyze social systems and constructions that affect communities and describe how student agency, activism, and community engagement and collaboration address unjust policies and practices
• Assess the impact of the cultural context, power dynamics, and positionality on the participants
• Apply participatory and community-engaged principles, methods, and processes to designing and conducting research
• Evaluate the ethics and consequences of different approaches regarding cultural context, power dynamics, and positionality of the scholars, representation of communities, sustainability, justice, and the long-term impacts of research on communities and the field of peace and conflict studies

Course Grading Information:

Activity/Performance Measure	Percentage/Points
Attendance and Participation (SLO 2, 4, 5)	15%
Epistemologies and Positionality Reflection (SLO 1, 3, 5)	10%
Qualitative Methods Critique (SLO 1, 3, 5)	10%
Community Context and Stakeholder Analysis (SLO 2, 3, 5)	10%
Fieldwork Practice Assignment (SLO 3, 4, 5)	10%
Community-Engaged / Participatory Research Plan (SLO 2, 4, 5)	10%
Ethics, Power, and Impact Memo (SLO 3, 4, 5)	10%
Final Research Proposal (SLO 1, 2, 3, 4, 5)	20%
Proposal Presentation / Peer Review (SLO 2, 4, 5)	5%
Total	100%

Grading Scale:

Percentage	Letter Grade
94-100	A
90-93	A-
87-89	B+
83-86	B
80-82	B-
77-79	C+
73-76	C
70-72	C-
67-69	D+
63-66	D
60-62	D-
Below 60	F

Attendance/Participation:

This in-person course requires regular attendance and active participation, which are graded components of the course. Each class session is designed to build knowledge and strengthen understanding through lecture, discussion, collaborative activities, assignments, and other graded work. Being present in class allows you to learn from the instructor, your classmates, and your own reflection and practice. Participation includes coming to class prepared, listening actively, contributing thoughtfully, engaging respectfully with others, completing assignments on time, and taking part in class activities and group work. Missing class, turning in work late, or not fully engaging in course activities may lower your participation and assignment grades, and affect your overall final grade. If you need to miss class, please let me know as soon as possible so we can discuss next steps and support your success in the course. It is your responsibility to review posted materials in Canvas once they are available. Please note that the class Attendance Policy is available in Canvas for additional information.

Course Materials Purchased by the Students:

• Stringer, E.T. (2021) Action Research, 5th edition (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications).
• Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. (New York: Zed Books, Ltd., 2002).