Going Public: Civic and Community Engagement

The Challenges of Scholarship

13 The Challenges of Scholarship Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore What is scholarship? Or perhaps the question really is: what is valued scholarship? Academic achievement for faculty and increasingly graduate and undergraduate students is typically measured in terms of scholarship. However, there continues to be a lack of clarity and consistency in defining and assessing scholarship on university campuses worldwide . Many people have a good sense of the term; others will tell you that they know it when they see it. However, this does not speak to the various forms of scholarship that persist. At the most basic level, scholarship is defined in dictionaries as knowledge that results from or is the product of study and research in a particular discipline or profession. This definition in and of itself does little to help faculty and their universities make consistent determinations of what activities rightfully count as scholarship. In an attempt to actualize the concept, several scholars and universities offer their own interpretations and definitions of scholarship. For example, Weiser & Houglum (1998, p. 1) assert that scholarship is “creative intellectual work that is validated by peers and communicated —including creative artistry and the discovery, integration and development of knowledge.” Another definition posits that scholarship is “outcomes, insights, creations, and products arising from activities and creative processes that utilize the methods of inquiry and accumulated knowledge” (Outeach and Engagement, University of Conneticut, 2010, p. 1). Similarly, it is asserted that “the essence of scholarship is the thoughtful discovery, transmission, and application of knowledge, including creative activities, that is based in the ideas and methods of recognized disciplines, professions, and interdisciplinary fields” (Glass, Doberneck & Schweitzer, 2010, p. 3). It is generally accepted that scholarly work has at least three common properties: (1) new knowledge or new interpretation, use, or application of existing knowledge; (2) evidence or documentation of accomplishment; and (3) a process of C Y N T H I A J A C K S O N - E L M O O R E 14 providing or sharing knowledge (Southern Polytechnic State University, 2010). However it is defined, scholarship is a critical activity in the life of a university, its faculty, and students. Elsewhere in this volume are examples of the range and diversity of scholarship that can and should be celebrated. As a collectivity, the chapters highlight the importance and benefits of being and going public with scholarship, whatever form it takes.This chapter explores some of the challenges of scholarship given varying conceptions of what exactly scholarship is and how faculty get credit for their scholarly activities. It begins with a discussion of different types of scholarship and how scholars and universities worldwide wrestle with acknowledging scholarship in its various forms. The chapter continues with alternative perspectives for thinking about scholarship and acknowledges obstacles that inhibit a more comprehensive perspective on and approach to scholarship on many campuses. It concludes with a discussion of the commonalities among forms of scholarship, highlighting the range, variety, and yet consistency across the work that faculty and students do every day. Of particular note in this chapter is a consideration of the scholarship of teaching and scholarship of application as means to undertake community engagement, an activity that spans across all forms of scholarship.1 What Do We Mean When We Call Ourselves Scholars? Boyer (1990) claims in Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate that there is more than one way to understand the scholarly endeavor; he identifies four modes of scholarship : discovery, integration, teaching, and application (figure 1). The scholarship of discovery involves generating new knowledge and theories; while the scholarship of integration draws on multiple disciplines and methodologies to place new knowledge in a larger and broader context, spanning disciplinary boundaries. The scholarship of teaching is concerned with transmitting and translating knowledge to learners and understanding how this translation occurs. Finally, the scholarship of application involves communication and interaction between the researcher and a practitioner or community. It is the translation of research into practice; and in the process both research and practice are informed, Integration Discovery Scholarship Teaching† Application FIGURE 1 Scholarship and the Cycle* of Knowledge Acquisition and Transmission * This is a dynamic and non-hierarchial relationship † This is often referred to as the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) given the inherent links between teaching and learning. SOURCE: Adapted from Boyer (1990) and McGrath (2006). T h e C h a l l e n g e s o f S c h o l a r s h i p...