Teaching Social Justice Research to Undergraduate Students in Puerto Rico: Using Personal Experiences to Inform Research

Abstract

This article explores the process of teaching undergraduate students to conduct social justice research. We were interested in understanding how to develop a social justice perspective among students while training them in conventional research methods. The following questions guided our research activities. How can the principles of social justice inform undergraduate research projects? What pedagogical strategies prepare students to conduct social justice-based research? What are the challenges and opportunities in teaching social justice research? We documented the lessons and activities during the field school and collected students’ comments in journals, extensive observations, focus groups, and interviews to understand the influence of social justice on the students’ approach to research. We identify three lessons in teaching social justice. First, teaching social justice requires that students develop meaningful relationships with the community understudy. Second, gender dynamics can prohibit or promote meaningful student engagement and learning. Third, it is important to consider how to integrate, rather than “add on,” social justice activities and discussions into research lessons.

Notes

¹Building Research Infrastructure Capacity (BRIC) program results from a National Science Foundation initiative to enhance the university's infrastructure to support faculty research and improve research training for faculty and students. NSF resources are directed toward research and training that specifically addresses health disparities and health needs for underserved communities.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Shawn A. Ginwright

Shawn A. Ginwright is an Associate Professor of Education in the Africana Studies Department and Senior Research Associate for the Cesar Chavez Institute for Public Policy at San Francisco State University. His research examines the ways in which youth in urban communities navigate through the constraints of poverty and struggle to create equality and justice in their schools and communities.

Julio Cammarota

Julio Cammarota is an associate professor in Mexican American Studies at the University of Arizona. His research focuses on participatory action research with Latina/o youth, institutional factors in academic achievement, and liberatory pedagogy.