Society and societal needs are ever changing. Although research is conducted frequently the data may not keep up at the pace of societal needs and trends. This conversation will address the challenge of ensuring the scholarship and research address societal needs.
Does Scholarship Connect with Changing Societal Needs?
Society constantly experiences everchanging trends and catalysts to change. Social sciences as well as educational research results assist with understanding and addressing changing societal conditions and problems (Raffaghelli, 2017). Data availability does not always keep up with the pace of societal change and trends. This hinders the application of scholarship and research to assist with societal needs efficiently. Specialists in diverse disciplines have examined the role of research and innovation as society is challenged with increasingly complex issues (Wolski & Richardson, 2014).
Boyer’s scholarship model has shifted the approach of scholarship of one from research to publication to one of research to application in society. Boyer’s model of scholarship expands the idea of scholarship to an expanded concept beyond the traditional constraints. Boyer’s model explores the scholarship of discovery, the scholarship of integration, the scholarship of application, and the scholarship of teaching (Wolski & Richardson, 2014). The Engaged Scholarship Model combines Boyer’s model of scholarship and the UniSCOPE model for scholarship to create a scholarship model with an emphasis on engaged scholarship. This is a holistic model of scholarship. The work of the scholar should be engaging not only to the individual, but to society at large (Franz, 2009). Engaged scholarship emphasizes social justice and citizenship values (Beaulieu, Breton, Brousselle, 2018).
The use of the Holistic Engaged Scholarship Model broadens the reach of scholarship to meet societal needs. The Holistic engaged scholarship model connects the university to society and societal needs (Beaulieu, Breton, Brousselle, 2018). A climatologist and scientists can work together to document climate change effects on several local levels (Franz, 2009). Research conducted in one area is applied to another area. An effective way to create credible applicable research that relevant and of value to society is to use a collaborative approach (French et al, 2013). Applying research across fields and disciplines allowing a focus on societal needs as a whole rather than in certain segments and areas. Engaged scholars work with multiple parties including community participants to benefit multiple stakeholders (Paynter, 2014).
Conversations, Not Presentations Session
This session seeks to identify strategies in which researchers can work together in an effort to truly impact the needs of society today. The use of a collaborative research approach may broaden the spectrum of research and application in an effort to truly impact and reach society at its heart, the needs. For example, could collaborative research efforts assist with the insurance crisis in the USA today?
This session will begin with an overview of the topic and the theoretical framework. Throughout the overview the presenter will pose questions in order to engage the audience in the conversation. Participants will be encouraged to share their insight as it relates to the theoretical framework presented or any theories and concepts that will address the concern of how to connect research and scholarship to the needs of society. Towards the end of the conversation additional questions will be posed that may not have organically been brought up throughout the session. To conclude the session the audience will be asked to share specific strategies to address how to clearly connect scholarship and research to the changing needs of society. This will be compiled for further research and exploration.
Conversation Topic
Does Scholarship Connect with Changing Societal Needs?
Questions for Discussion
Why is it important for scholarship to connect with the changing needs of society?
What evidence of the connection between societal needs and scholarship have you seen recently?
Have you seen the impact of scholarship on the real needs of society?
What recommendations do you have to increase the connection between scholarship and real world challenges?
Are there any real world challenges and/or societal needs that you have seen solved via scholarship and research?
How does Boyer’s Model play a role in ensuring that scholarship is relevant to society?
How can the Holistic Engaged Scholarship Model be applied to everyday scholarship and research to truly impact societal needs?
Have you been involved in any collaborative research? If so, what difference did it make to the quality and application of your study?
Have you seen the use of collaborative research being used to make a change in a specific industry or to address a specific problem?
References
Beaulieu M, Breton M, Brousselle A. (2018). Conceptualizing 20 years of engaged scholarship:
A scoping review. PLoS ONE. 13(2): e0193201. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.
pone.0193201
Boyer, E.L. Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate; Carnegie Foundation for
the Advancement of Teaching: Princeton, NJ, USA, 1990.
Franz, N. (2009). A Holistic Model of Engaged Scholarship: Telling the Story across Higher
Education’s Missions. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 13(4), p. 31
French, C., Williams, J.E., Tang, J., Abrams, E., Townson, L., Sabin, M., Sandmann, L, &
Wake, C. (2013). The University of New Hampshire Engaged Scholars Academy:
Instilling in Faculty Principles of Effective Partnership. Journal of Public Scholarship in
Higher Education. 3, pp. 19-42.
Paynter, S. (2014). Tackling the Wicked Problems Through Engaged Scholarship. Journal of
Community Engagement and Scholarship, 7(1), p.48-59
Raffaghelli, J. E. (2017). Exploring the (missed) connections between digital scholarship and
faculty development: A conceptual analysis. International Journal of Educational
Technology in Higher Education, 14, 1-20.
doi:http://dx.doi.org.prx-herzing.lirn.net/10.1186/s41239-017-0058-x
Wolski, M., & Richardson, J. (2014). A model for institutional infrastructure to support digital
scholarship. Publications, 2(4), 83-99. doi:http://dx.doi.org.prx-
herzing.lirn.net/10.3390/publications2040083