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Wearing Multiple Reflexive Hats: The Ethical Complexities of Media-Oriented Community Engaged Learning

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Media Activist Research Ethics

Abstract

This chapter explores the ethical, political, and logistical challenges associated with both facilitating community engaged learning (CEL) in higher education and conducting research on the topic. As a type of experiential learning (EL), the overarching objective of CEL is for students to engage in a project developed collaboratively with a community partner that has mutually beneficial outcomes. The chapter critically examines the ethical issues at play for scholars who bear a trinal responsibility to the students who participate in these types of CEL activities, to the people and issues at the heart of community-based endeavours, and to the principles undergirding the critical scholarship they produce about this form of pedagogy. To navigate these positions, individuals must engage in ongoing and authentic reflection about their intentions, perspectives, and actions. The chapter concludes with a call to colleagues to pay greater attention to CEL in the field of communications and media studies; to consider both the potential benefits and drawbacks of participating in CEL; and to be willing to engage in conversations about this ‘hands-on’ pedagogy with the goal of developing our own narratives about, and best practices for, its role in higher education.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Recent research on this topic is supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grant (2018–2021), titled “Ethical and effective experiential learning for communication studies”.

  2. 2.

    The survey did not include stand-alone journalism schools nor information studies programs. Several of the home units included in the survey offer only undergraduate degrees and some operate solely at the graduate level.

  3. 3.

    At the time of writing in November 2019.

  4. 4.

    Mental health issues are on the rise throughout Canadian universities (as is the case elsewhere around the world), with much of the concern revolving around students’ chronic and cumulative stress (Giamos, Lee, Suleiman, Stuart, & Chen, 2017; Kwan, Arbour-Nicitopoulos, Duku, & Faulkner, 2016; Robinson, Jubenville, Renny, & Cairns, 2016). For many students, not knowing their employment path post-graduation can be very stressful. An EL placement can augment their résumé and provide them with tangible ‘real world’ experience as well as networking opportunities. Moreover, engaging with community members to foment social justice can benefit students’ mental well-being if they feel that they are making a positive difference (see Finley & Reason, 2016). Supporting students’ agency also can help them manage the emotional and cognitive dissonance resulting from curriculum that focuses on the deleterious socio-political, economic, cultural, and environmental impacts of contemporary hyper-capitalism.

  5. 5.

    As a case in point, see the monies that were made available to Ontario universities and colleges via the provincial government’s Career Reading Funding (http://www.tcu.gov.on.ca/pepg/programs/careerreadyfund.html). The application process was fast and furious, and most institutions received financial support to quickly bring on board contract staff to help expand institutional EL activities.

  6. 6.

    Ontario’s Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities (MTCU) has clearly indicated that higher education funding will be tied to institutions’ EL offerings. In 2017, the Ministry produced six EL ‘guiding principles’ for colleges and universities (MTCU, 2017). These principles are focused on developing a labour force ready for the marketplace, which is to be expected, but they include hardly any acknowledgement of citizenship, community-building, democracy, and broader societal needs.

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  1. Western University, London, ON, Canada

    Sandra Smeltzer

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  1. Lakehead University, Orilla, ON, Canada

    Sandra Jeppesen

  2. Jönköping University, Jönköping, Sweden

    Paola Sartoretto

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Smeltzer, S. (2020). Wearing Multiple Reflexive Hats: The Ethical Complexities of Media-Oriented Community Engaged Learning. In: Jeppesen, S., Sartoretto, P. (eds) Media Activist Research Ethics. Global Transformations in Media and Communication Research - A Palgrave and IAMCR Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44389-4_7

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