The Practitioner-Scholar Community: Generating Research that Connects Theory and Practice

Abstract: This presentation will involve a panel of professionals who completed the PSC and are currently working on their scholarly research agenda including articles for the IJRSLCE. The Practitioner-Scholar Community (PSC) is a premier educational development program of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE). Since the role of many community engagement professionals (CEPs) includes that of practitioner-scholar, and many faculty and professionals who facilitate community engagement courses and programs find themselves in “third spaces” -- the betwixt and between of theory and practice, of research and administration, of scholarly endeavors alongside program implementation, the PSC was developed to support the scholarly efforts of professionals in such third spaces. The development of practitioner-scholar capacity is an important aspect of IARSLCE, aligned with the organizational commitment to research and scholarship associated with community engagement. This panel will discuss how this program contributed to their scholarly work.

Narrative: During fall 2022 and spring 2023, IARSLCE launched Practitioner-Scholar Community (PSC) as an asynchronous online program for community engagement professionals. This presentation will involve a panel of professionals who completed the PSC and are currently working on their scholarly research agenda including articles for the IJRSLCE. This panel will discuss how this program contributed to their scholarly work, and how their role as community engagement professionals is impacted by the practitioner-scholar identity.

The Practitioner-Scholar Community (PSC) is a premier educational development program of the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE). Since the role of many community engagement professionals (CEPs) includes that of practitioner-scholar, and many faculty and professionals who facilitate community engagement courses and programs find themselves in “third spaces” -- the betwixt and between of theory and practice, of research and administration, of scholarly endeavors alongside program implementation, the PSC was developed to support the scholarly efforts of professionals in such third spaces. The development of practitioner-scholar capacity is an important aspect of IARSLCE, aligned with the organizational commitment to research and scholarship associated with community engagement.