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Research Articles

Vol. 24 No. 1

Faculty Members’ Conceptualization of Community-Engaged Scholarship: Applying Michael Burawoy’s Framework

  • Nelson Masanche Nkhoma
Submitted
February 10, 2020
Published
2020-05-01

Abstract

Michael Burawoy (2010) suggested that scholars have an obligation to question the status quo of knowledge production and application. Using a mixed methods approach to explore a national case study of faculty members, this article explores two specific questions: For whom do faculty generate knowledge through community-engaged scholarship? What is the purpose of the knowledge produced through community-engaged scholarship? The findings, which are cognizant of insights from Burawoy’s (2010) conceptual framework, reveal that faculty members conduct community engagement largely for public, professional, and policy reasons and to a lesser extent for critical reasons. Hence, the article ends with a reflection on why these faculty perspectives might be contextually the same as or different from those of faculty members elsewhere. The article also suggests why it is important for various actors in universities to understand the way faculty members view their community-engaged scholarship.