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ABSTRACT
This phenomenological study explored the experiences of students in a macro practice social work elective, which integrated critical service-learning and creative placemaking. In a community-university partnership, twenty-four students from a variety of disciplines worked with a university Artist in Residence and social work professor to create a participatory mosaic mural in an ethnically diverse and rapidly gentrifying area. Of the 21 students in the class, eight participated in the study and completed hour-long semi-structured interviews. Analysis revealed three primary themes: (1) role and power of art, (2) importance of relationships, and (3) impact of this community engagement class. The findings support the importance of art and community- embedded learning in engaging students. Especially relevant to social work education, student learning focused on cultivating communication and collaboration skills across individuals, groups, and communities. This paper will contribute to the growing body of literature which supports the value of critical service-learning, creative placemaking, and community-based collaborations in social work education.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Caroline Shanti
Dr. Caroline Shanti is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at the University of Southern Maine. As a practitioner, she focused on work with families with young children under the age of 5, and worked as an infant mental health specialist for five years. Dr. Shanti completed her PhD in Social Policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. Her research explores various aspects of social emotional development across the lifespan. A growing area of expertise and interest applies to workforce development issues, including social work education.
Paula Gerstenblatt
Dr. Gerstenblatt is an Associate Professor of social work at University of Southern Maine. Her areas of research are community art practice, arts-based research methods, animal-human bond, and community-university partnerships involving service learning. Dr. Gerstenblatt worked for 25 years with a focus on macro community practice throughout the United States and West Africa in the non-profit and government sector. She is the founder and former Director of the Mart Community Project in rural Mart, Texas, a community development initiative and nationally recognized model of a reciprocal community-university partnership, which received numerous grants, including two National Endowment of the Arts Design awards. As a practicing artist, Dr. Gerstenblatt is passionate about utilizing art as a tool for community building, livability, and revitalization. Dr. Gerstenblatt received her PhD from the University of Texas at Austin where her dissertation research was awarded the Social Work Education Research Student Award fromSocial Work Education: the International Journal.
Samantha Frisk
Samantha Frisk was formerly the head Service-Learning and Volunteering at the University of Southern Maine. She holds a B.S. in Mathematics and International Service from Valparaiso University, and an M.S.Ed. and Graduate Certificate in Culturally Responsive Practices in Education and Human Development from the University of Southern Maine. She continues to be an instructor of mathematics and in the Honors Department, where she teaches Community Service: Destructive or Empowering. Samantha will be the 2021-2022 Shipboard Director for Class Afloat—West Island College International, which offers internationally acclaimed academic programs while sailing the world’s oceans. While aboard a tall ship she will design and deliver the Sociology of Community curriculum. Her courses aim to leverage critically engaged pedagogies that partner with communities and cultivate student agency. Finally, Samantha was selected as a Campus Compact Engaged Scholar, a cohort of people who seek to advance “co-created knowledge, institutional change, and collaborative action to address societal issues.”