Dissertation Dish with Dr. Mayada Kanj
"Partnership Experience in Service- Learning between a Private University and Community Organizations in Lebanon"
In 2012, the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) at the American University of Beirut (AUB) adopted a SL pedagogy to reach out to underserved communities in order to enhance the learning experiences of public health students as well as improve social conditions impacting health of the population in those communities. Community sites are located in underserved areas that struggle with poverty, which is impacting health outcomes and well-being of the population living there. This research adopted a qualitative methodology to explore the partnership experience of community organizations engaged in SL with the FHS at AUB. Purposive sampling was used to identify community organizations based on set criteria and subsequently semi- structured interviews were conducted with key informants in the selected organizations and with faculty who teach SL courses.
Results suggest that the SL relationship between the faculty and the community organizations created threads for a possible network where benefits are skewed towards the academic partner. Yet, despite these inequitable conditions, community organizations chose to remain in the relationship and provided justifications for doing so. These justifications are embedded in a power dynamic between academia and community organizations where the soft power of the university impacted interactions of the faculty with the local communities.
Findings of this research cannot be interpreted outside the context of a developing country and a collectivist culture. The perception of power impacted the reaction of community respondents to the power dynamic in the going interactions. Being situated in a collectivist culture seemed to impact the acceptance of unequal relationships and in most cases, this imbalance could not be disrupted.