Programmatic Overview
CoRAL's programmatic focus is on professional development of university faculty, civic engagement and leadership development among undergraduates, and capacity-building for non-profit service agencies to effectively utilize CBR results to improve service delivery and broaden public awareness.
Faculty Development
Many university faculty are supportive of CBLR initiatives, but often find the additional time commitment, expense and logistical supervision to be barriers to incorporating creative CBLR components in their teaching. CoRAL's Faculty Development Program seeks to increase the quantity and quality of service-learning and community-based research courses offered by higher education institutions, thereby strengthening the universities' curricula and expanding opportunities for student involvement in the community. Each year, CoRAL's Faculty Fellows Learning Circle selects 15 faculty who meet throughout the Spring semester. Through common readings, group discussions, and syllabi and curriculum development workshops, Faculty Fellows deepen their understanding of service-learning and community-based research and incorporate this knowledge in their curriculum and teaching the following semester. Faculty Fellows also serve as a campus resource for other instructors interested in including a community-based learning component in their pedagogy. CoRAL awards CBLR Stipends and Mini-grants to eligible Faculty Fellows in support their community-based learning courses and research.
Student Engagement
The Student Engagement Program exists to empower student action for positive social change in the District of Columbia and encourage undergraduates to become life-long servers as well as life-long learners. Through a competitive selection process, two outstanding undergraduates from each of seven DC-area universities are selected to participate as Student Engagement and Leadership Fellows. Student Fellows meet with government and nonprofit leaders to learn about the community's strengths and challenges. Working as a team, Student Fellows design effective community development projects to engage students from all seven campuses in making a real difference in the greater Washington community. The Student Engagement Assessment Survey is CoRAL's on-going study to evaluate the impact of curricular and co-curricular participation in service-learning and community-based research, gathering pre-and post-test data to measure students commitment to neighborhood development, civic engagement, and career aspirations related to public service.
Community Partnering
Hundreds of DC-area community-based organizations (CBOs) work for social change by providing basic services, empowering voiceless communities through the arts, media, and civic engagement, and advocating for policy and institutional change at local and national levels. To meet the growing challenges of poverty and social inequity, CBOs need up-to-date, relevant, accessible information for effective service delivery, public awareness campaigns and fundraising. By partnering with research institutions, CoRAL provides CBOs with the theoretical and technical skills of research design, quantitative and qualitative data analysis and reporting, dissemination strategies, and information management. CoRAL's Partners in Urban Research Seminar brings together faculty and community leaders to develop a community-driven research agenda on critical social justice issues. For 2004-2005, the seminar focused on public education, while creating linkages with schools and CBOs in support of K-12 and higher education. While most university civic engagement activities in public schools are directed toward mentoring and tutoring, few faculty partner with local schools to conduct collaborative, change-oriented research. The PURS process is designed to produce methodologically rigorous research on educational issues, grounded in the articulated needs and interests of the community. Additionally, CoRAL awards Stipends and Mini-grants to Community Partners in support of innovative community-based research and evaluation.
