Community organizing is growing in importance as a means of achieving and sustaining urban school... more Community organizing is growing in importance as a means of achieving and sustaining urban school reform. The authors identify eight distinct areas in which community orga-nizing groups are connecting community capacity to school improvement. Leadership development and the production of social capital build community power to address issues of failing schools. The broadening of public accountability for school improvement creates the political will to improve schools in low-income neighborhoods. The resulting school improvement strategies enable stronger school/community connections, improved curriculum and instruction, and a positive school climate with the ultimate goal of achieving equity between schools in low-income and higher-income neighborhoods. Using data from case studies of five community organizing groups nationwide and focus-ing on the story of the Oakland Community Organizations ’ small-schools campaign, the authors illustrate how members of low- and moderate-income co...
In February and March 2004, Research for Action conducted three focus groups in North Philadelphi... more In February and March 2004, Research for Action conducted three focus groups in North Philadelphia and Camden, NJ to shed light on the meanings of cultural participation in these low-income urban neighborhoods. Participants were recruited through neighborhood associations, senior centers, and churches to engage residents who were active in the community but not closely affiliated with arts and cultural organizations. The focus groups were designed to reveal how residents define cultural participation, the range of cultural activities in which they participate, how they express themselves creatively, and the barriers to cultural participation in these neighborhoods.
In 1999, Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) school superintendent David Hornbeck introduced educators an... more In 1999, Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) school superintendent David Hornbeck introduced educators and religious leaders to his requirement that each public school in the city develop a relationship with a faith partner, a religious institution that could share facilities and resources with the school. Hornbeck saw religious institutions and schools as possibly the only two stable institutions remaining in the inner city. He felt that these two should work together to meet the needs of their primary constituents--children. Hornbeck's comprehensive school reform plan included two strategies for public engagement in education: (1) the linking of schools with community-based organizations, and (2) the development of a campaign to bring 10,000 volunteers into the public schools. The faith partnership initiative helped to fulfill both of these requirements for reform. Susan Brin Hyatt, in her work on tenant management, shows how neoliberal principles are manifested in the U.S. emphasis o...
Background Political ideologies drove public actions and health behaviors in the first year of th... more Background Political ideologies drove public actions and health behaviors in the first year of the global pandemic. Different ideas about contagion, health behaviors, and the actions of governing bodies impacted the spread of the virus and health and life. Researchers used an immediate, mixed methods design to explore sociocultural responses to the virus and identified differences and similarities in anxiety, fear, blame, and perceptions of nation across political divides. Methods Researchers conducted 60 in-depth, semi-structured interviews and administered over 1,000 questionnaires with people living in the United States. The team analyzed data through an exploratory and confirmatory sequential mixed methods design. Results In the first months of the pandemic interviewees cited economic inequality, untrustworthy corporations and other entities, and the federal government as threats to life and pandemic control. Participants invoked ideas about others to determine blame. Findings r...
In this paper, we explore a new university initiative that engages advanced undergraduate student... more In this paper, we explore a new university initiative that engages advanced undergraduate students in community-directed, interdisciplinary research where local organizations partner with student inquiry pods to research particular problems. We discuss one partnership with a community organizing group working to support issues important to the immigrant community: access to post-secondary education. This collaboration is expected to build the capacity of students, community members, and the organization itself, yet one of these groups may be privileged over the others at any given time. For whom do these collaborations bolster capacity? Can these collaborations advance social justice for and/or with immigrants?
We used a community-based participatory approach to evaluate a multi-sectoral project called Herm... more We used a community-based participatory approach to evaluate a multi-sectoral project called Hermosa Vida. Project partners and community researchers collaborated on the design and implementation of a Ripple Effect Tool (RET) to measure increased generative social and professional connectedness, and new project development in an emergent participatory project. Participatory methods drove evaluation of the development and intended documentation of emergent project goals. Findings of the RET suggest saliency in increased connectedness for project partners, participants, and communities, though benefits were tiered with maximum impact of connectedness occurring at leadership levels of programmatic involvement. In light of growing evidence that increased connectedness is directly related to health outcomes, the participatory development of a RET is useful for midcourse correction, ensuring ongoing commitments to participatory and engaged project goals, and measuring and prioritizing cap...
Since 2011, South Africa has increasingly moved toward an immigration system of enforcement and e... more Since 2011, South Africa has increasingly moved toward an immigration system of enforcement and exclusion, seeking to discourage immigration through punitive policies that make daily life for migrants difficult to bear. The closing of refugee reception offices in urban centers and restriction of job offers to South African ID holders have caused many asylum seekers to become undocumented migrants and prevented them from working in the formal economy. In this context, some services that refugee organisations traditionally offer, such as job training and placement, become less useful for migrants who are undocumented and/or unable to work. This paper explores a new initiative of a Cape Town refugee organisation designed to support grassroots organising and to foment new networks of support and entrepreneurship for migrant women. Members of eleven nationality groups currently participate in the Scalabrini Centre Women’s Platform, coming together across differences in migration status, religion, socio- economic class and language to fight the isolation often caused by migration and to support business and personal development. Our research uses interviews and participant observation to explore the role of mediating institutions in facilitating migrant leadership and organising. We suggest that efforts such as The Women’s Platform are setting the groundwork for long-term leadership development among migrants and refugees. Nonetheless, the restrictions of the political and economic climate of South Africa, as well as the professionalised expectations of mediating institutions, make this a slow process that may favor individual advancement over collective action for systemic change.
Community organizing is growing in importance as a means of achieving and sustaining urban school... more Community organizing is growing in importance as a means of achieving and sustaining urban school reform. The authors identify eight distinct areas in which community orga-nizing groups are connecting community capacity to school improvement. Leadership development and the production of social capital build community power to address issues of failing schools. The broadening of public accountability for school improvement creates the political will to improve schools in low-income neighborhoods. The resulting school improvement strategies enable stronger school/community connections, improved curriculum and instruction, and a positive school climate with the ultimate goal of achieving equity between schools in low-income and higher-income neighborhoods. Using data from case studies of five community organizing groups nationwide and focus-ing on the story of the Oakland Community Organizations ’ small-schools campaign, the authors illustrate how members of low- and moderate-income co...
In February and March 2004, Research for Action conducted three focus groups in North Philadelphi... more In February and March 2004, Research for Action conducted three focus groups in North Philadelphia and Camden, NJ to shed light on the meanings of cultural participation in these low-income urban neighborhoods. Participants were recruited through neighborhood associations, senior centers, and churches to engage residents who were active in the community but not closely affiliated with arts and cultural organizations. The focus groups were designed to reveal how residents define cultural participation, the range of cultural activities in which they participate, how they express themselves creatively, and the barriers to cultural participation in these neighborhoods.
In 1999, Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) school superintendent David Hornbeck introduced educators an... more In 1999, Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) school superintendent David Hornbeck introduced educators and religious leaders to his requirement that each public school in the city develop a relationship with a faith partner, a religious institution that could share facilities and resources with the school. Hornbeck saw religious institutions and schools as possibly the only two stable institutions remaining in the inner city. He felt that these two should work together to meet the needs of their primary constituents--children. Hornbeck's comprehensive school reform plan included two strategies for public engagement in education: (1) the linking of schools with community-based organizations, and (2) the development of a campaign to bring 10,000 volunteers into the public schools. The faith partnership initiative helped to fulfill both of these requirements for reform. Susan Brin Hyatt, in her work on tenant management, shows how neoliberal principles are manifested in the U.S. emphasis o...
Background Political ideologies drove public actions and health behaviors in the first year of th... more Background Political ideologies drove public actions and health behaviors in the first year of the global pandemic. Different ideas about contagion, health behaviors, and the actions of governing bodies impacted the spread of the virus and health and life. Researchers used an immediate, mixed methods design to explore sociocultural responses to the virus and identified differences and similarities in anxiety, fear, blame, and perceptions of nation across political divides. Methods Researchers conducted 60 in-depth, semi-structured interviews and administered over 1,000 questionnaires with people living in the United States. The team analyzed data through an exploratory and confirmatory sequential mixed methods design. Results In the first months of the pandemic interviewees cited economic inequality, untrustworthy corporations and other entities, and the federal government as threats to life and pandemic control. Participants invoked ideas about others to determine blame. Findings r...
In this paper, we explore a new university initiative that engages advanced undergraduate student... more In this paper, we explore a new university initiative that engages advanced undergraduate students in community-directed, interdisciplinary research where local organizations partner with student inquiry pods to research particular problems. We discuss one partnership with a community organizing group working to support issues important to the immigrant community: access to post-secondary education. This collaboration is expected to build the capacity of students, community members, and the organization itself, yet one of these groups may be privileged over the others at any given time. For whom do these collaborations bolster capacity? Can these collaborations advance social justice for and/or with immigrants?
We used a community-based participatory approach to evaluate a multi-sectoral project called Herm... more We used a community-based participatory approach to evaluate a multi-sectoral project called Hermosa Vida. Project partners and community researchers collaborated on the design and implementation of a Ripple Effect Tool (RET) to measure increased generative social and professional connectedness, and new project development in an emergent participatory project. Participatory methods drove evaluation of the development and intended documentation of emergent project goals. Findings of the RET suggest saliency in increased connectedness for project partners, participants, and communities, though benefits were tiered with maximum impact of connectedness occurring at leadership levels of programmatic involvement. In light of growing evidence that increased connectedness is directly related to health outcomes, the participatory development of a RET is useful for midcourse correction, ensuring ongoing commitments to participatory and engaged project goals, and measuring and prioritizing cap...
Since 2011, South Africa has increasingly moved toward an immigration system of enforcement and e... more Since 2011, South Africa has increasingly moved toward an immigration system of enforcement and exclusion, seeking to discourage immigration through punitive policies that make daily life for migrants difficult to bear. The closing of refugee reception offices in urban centers and restriction of job offers to South African ID holders have caused many asylum seekers to become undocumented migrants and prevented them from working in the formal economy. In this context, some services that refugee organisations traditionally offer, such as job training and placement, become less useful for migrants who are undocumented and/or unable to work. This paper explores a new initiative of a Cape Town refugee organisation designed to support grassroots organising and to foment new networks of support and entrepreneurship for migrant women. Members of eleven nationality groups currently participate in the Scalabrini Centre Women’s Platform, coming together across differences in migration status, religion, socio- economic class and language to fight the isolation often caused by migration and to support business and personal development. Our research uses interviews and participant observation to explore the role of mediating institutions in facilitating migrant leadership and organising. We suggest that efforts such as The Women’s Platform are setting the groundwork for long-term leadership development among migrants and refugees. Nonetheless, the restrictions of the political and economic climate of South Africa, as well as the professionalised expectations of mediating institutions, make this a slow process that may favor individual advancement over collective action for systemic change.
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