Community Literacies Research Project

Item

Title

Community Literacies Research Project

Abstract/Description

The Community Literacies Project is based on a six-year university partnership between Aquinas Center and the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania. The Aquinas Center-Penn partnership has served as a dynamic vehicle investigate problems faced by immigrant populations and students and families of color as they strive for educational opportunities.

We have learned from families directly about how policies and practices impact youth’s educational experiences, including issues that cut across culture, language, and immigration status as well as ones that are unique to specific groups. We have also learned how they advocate for educational access and equity. Unfortunately, the perspectives and knowledge of families, especially those from historically disenfranchised communities, do not often inform educational research, policy, and practice. Our partnership has been bridging these divides by bringing together neighborhood leaders, educators, families, and university faculty through collaborative, community-based research.

Despite the challenges many families face, we have been documenting another story that is less told in the research literature: how individuals from a range of backgrounds come together to organize and advocate for greater opportunities, including educational access. It is within community contexts such as the Aquinas Center that diverse families share, investigate, and take action on issues related to their children’s education.

Resource type

en Organizational Entity

Entity type

en Research Project/Team

en Network/Partnership

IRE Approach/Concept

Community-Based Research

Research Practice Partnership (RPP)

Equity

Collaborative Research

Grant funding

Spencer Foundation

Url

Project Website

Citation

Community Literacies Project. (2017, November 24). Aquinas Center Philadelphia. http://aquinascenterphilly.org/community-literacies/

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