Community Based Participatory Research: A Ladder of Opportunity for Engaged Scholarship in Higher Education

Higher Education the world over is recognized as a driver of development in the knowledge based economy. It is believed that Higher Education benefits the economy through the formation of human capital and building a knowledge base that contributes to solving problems in society. However, voices of frustration about graduates being unable to relate theory to practice in different contexts raises questions about the quality of teaching and learning in Higher Education Institutions (HEI). Some reports have shown that graduates seem to leave HEI’ s disengaged, ill equipped, and unable to apply acquired university knowledge to real world problems. In addition, even though the mission of the university is inclusive of engagement among others, community engagement priority seems to be emphasized only on the part of faculty members and less so on students. This in part is a result of a curriculum that mainly promotes classroom based learning and the ivory tower mentality of HEI, which places the community in the periphery of knowledge and data production. This conceptual paper argues that in order for HEI’s to produce quality graduates, who are innovative and active citizens, a transformative teaching and learning scholarship that moves beyond “classroom-based theory” is necessary, more especially for students in applied fields of study such as community development. Borrowing from Nyerere’s educational philosophy, this paper posits that Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), with its collaborative inquiry, social action and service learning, may provide a basis for engaged scholarship of teaching and learning that promotes engagement for higher education students in applied fields of study. Thus, by exploring the concepts of engaged scholarship and CBPR and the nuances that exist between them, this paper seeks to underscore the importance of CBPR and how it can contribute to engaged scholarship for students.


Introduction
With the continuous challenges faced by the world, institutions of higher learning are expected to contribute innovative solutions to various community problems. The general assumption is that Higher Education Institutions (HEI's) should develop students into active citizens who can effect positive change and influence social action and innovation. In underscoring the critical role of higher education to society, Julius Nyerere stated that: The concern about the caliber of graduates produced by HEI's and the quality of teaching and learning is not a new concern. Nyerere (1967) also raised the same concerns in his philosophy of education. As posited by Mukhungulu et al. (2017), Nyerere was concerned that education was not producing graduates who were able to apply what they learnt in real life contexts, which implied that there was no link made between the theory taught and practical implementation. Nyerere was of the view that education should not be based on book knowledge only but practice as well. Boyer (1990) also hold similar views with his explication of engaged scholarship. This paper posits that Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR), with its collaborative inquiry, social action, and service learning, may provide a basis for a scholarship of teaching and learning that promotes engagement as espoused by Nyerere's philosophy of education and Boyer's scholarship of teaching and learning.
The paper is structured such that first part offers a framework for understanding the basis of a paradigm shift in pedagogies in Higher Education. This is followed by a discussion of Nyerere's philosophy of education, which seeks to unpack trends in the conceptualization and application of scholarship of teaching and learning. A discussion of CBPR is offered in the next section, followed by a conclusion.

Engaged Scholarship: Breaking the Walls Between Theory and Practice for Students
HEI's continue to be criticized for occupying a space of ivory towers with hallowed walls for intellectual cultivation, which sidelines knowledge production outside the academe. Holland, Powell, Eng, and Drew (2010) have argued that it is this subjugation of knowledge production outside the academic circle that tends to silence and unfairly limit the scope of experience represented by higher education institutions, thus producing graduates who are unable to make a connection between theory learnt and practice. According to Boyer (1996), "increasingly, the campus is being viewed as a place where students get credentialed and faculty get tenured, while the overall work of the academy does not seem particularly relevant to the nation's most pressing ... problems" (p. 14). The disconnection is also observed by Nyerere (1967) who then argued that education should not divorce theory from reality because at the end, learners should be able to apply theory learnt in real life situations and become useful to their communities. The "disengagement" between HEI's and real life contexts called for significant shifts in higher education pedagogy, underscoring the value of civic engagement and experiential learning (Peterson, 2009). As Peterson (2009, p. 541) explains, a shift toward community based experiential learning can result not only in enhancing student learning and civic engagement but also in altering the epistemological priorities and methodologies of the university.
Boyer's work in 1996 accentuated the importance of forming a seamless relationship between teaching, learning, and research, and how they should connect with the community. This work resulted with the concept of engaged scholarship. As captured by Boyer (1996), engaged scholarship describes intentional efforts to connect knowledge generated through faculty activity directly to the public in ways that collaboratively address social issues and community needs and concerns. From the scholarship of teaching and learning perspective, engagement of both faculty and students is seen as stimulating the quality of teaching and learning. Sequeira (2012) defined teaching as a set of events, outside the learners, which are designed to support the internal process of learning, while learning is the change brought about by developing a new skill, new understanding, and change in attitude. Learning involves various aspect, such as mastering abstract principles by relating them to practice and real life situations (Fry et al., 2009). As underscored by Fry et al. (2009), learning requires opportunities for practice and exploration so as to acquire mastery. This paper thus argues that CBPR may be considered as a way to provide learners with an opportunity to acquire mastery through relating theory and practice for effective teaching and learning. Teaching as scholarship basically highlights that while well prepared lectures play an important role in teaching, at its best, teaching is more than just transmitting knowledge but transforming and extending knowledge as well (Boyer, 1990). These thoughts about teaching as not only transmitting knowledge but scholarship are collinear with Nyerere's thoughts about education. Nyerere insisted that education and teaching should stimulate a reflective inquiry on learners while upholding practice of theory. Simply, the engaged scholarship perspective seeks to break the divide between theory and practice by moving the classroom to the community and back again for the benefit of the institutions, staff, students, and the community. As espoused by Nyerere's philosophy of education, engaged scholarship educates students for democratic citizenship while mobilizing multiple forms of knowledge to synergize theory and practice (Gelmon et al., 2013).
In contrast to traditional scholarship where higher education is unable to engage in activities that put theory into practice, engaged scholarship encourages a partnership between communities and the HEI's in solving problems faced in communities (Gibson, 2006). However, as explained by Gelmon et al. (2013, p. 63) much of the resistance to engaged scholarship is grounded in the ivory tower mentality held by HEI's, which believe that they have intellectuals who are separate from the community by virtue of their advanced education. This town versus gown divide is in part the reason why students generally leave universities unable to engage with critical community problems, since knowledge production has been set within a clear divide that puts HEI's as experts and knowers, while the community is the known and not a source of knowledge. Borrowing from Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed (1970), engaged scholarship underscores the idea that community members should also be seen as experts, esteemed teachers, and insightful mentors critical in a student's education (Peterson, 2009). Thus, an emphasis on engaged scholarship for students in the applied fields will give students an opportunity to connect their classroom learning experiences and theories to related real life experiences. Overall, when students are directly involved with people experiencing the social problems they are studying, they change the way they think about the specific issues. In agreement, Peterson (2009) shared that, through engaged scholarship activities with incarcerated youth, her undergraduate students learned more from personal narratives than from all their theoretical readings about the same. This underscores the importance of making greater connections between pedagogy and practice, as explained in Nyerere's philosophy of education discussed in the next section.

Nyerere's Educational Philosophy: Embracing SoTL from the South
Although SoTL is usually associated with the work of Enerst Boyer, who wrote during his time as President of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, critical inquiry into how teaching can best support learning is a question that was asked a long time ago. An established view of SoTL is that it is a form of inquiry in student learning that informs and enhances teaching practice and therefore improves student learning (Fanghanel, 2013). "Learning is not a single thing; it may involve mastering abstract principles, understanding proofs, remembering factual information, acquiring methods, techniques and approaches, recognition, reasoning, debating ideas, or developing behaviour appropriate to specific situations; it is about change" (Fanghanel, 2013, p. 8). Learners have to be brought to engage with what they are learning so that transformation and internalization may occur. This is how Nyerere's philosophy of education may be understood: genuine education help the people to transform and become better citizens by being critical thinkers who apply theory in practice. Julius Nyerere was the president of Tanzania from 1964-1985. Nyerere's educational philosophy has to be understood in the light of the realities of underdevelopment, perpetuated by colonialism and nascent capitalism in many Global South countries, including the United Republic of Tanzania (Mukhungulu et al. 2017). As Mukhungulu et al. (2017) observed, Nyerere's educational philosophy was designed not to produce robots but human beings endowed with critical and creative thinking capabilities, which wasn't the case with the educational philosophy bequeathed by the colonial administration. Colonial authorities instead intended to produce passive individuals. For Nyerere, this kind of education was not serving the interests of Tanzania and other African societies. Nyerere believed that the purpose of education was to produce graduates with critical and creative thinking capabilities, which could be used to improve graduates' respective communities as they implemented what they learnt in real life situations. Nyerere wanted higher education in particular to prepare not just philosopher-rulers but civicminded intellectuals, who would acquire the abilities to reflect critically and to act upon dailylife conditions in society (Nkulu, 2005). All in all, Nyerere's educational philosophy sought to inspire a desire for change and increase understanding that a change is possible when people are equipped enough to make decisions to improve their own society (Hatcher & Erasmus, 2008). Nyerere (1967) observed that colonial education had several limitations that warranted a new philosophy to turn things around. For Nyerere, education had a tendency to uproot its recipients from their native societies, thus creating no link between them and society. This disengagement from society meant that the graduates were unable to apply the acquired knowledge and skills in their own communities. According to Ibanga (2016), this disconnection was a result of curricula designed to address cultural issues peculiar to the colonizers, and local students therefore became redundant and alienated from society upon graduation. With regards to this, Nyerere's philosophy of education argued that education should result in self-reliance and help graduates to use their knowledge and skills to contribute solutions to problems in their communities. Selfreliance in education calls for a school curriculum that integrates theory and practice (Major & Mulvihill, 2009).
Nyerere's philosophy thus opined that book-knowledge, where education only stresses on knowledge acquired through theory and not life experiences, will not be beneficial to the Tanzanian and other Africans because students learn more, remember facts longer, and apply them to new situations better through real experiences, rather than through mere verbosity (Mukhungulu et al., 2017). As such, Nyerere queried: Is there any reason why students should not be required as part of their degree or professional training to spend at least part of their vacations contributing to society in a manner related to their studies (Nyerere, 1982, p. 252)? These arguments relate to Boyers' ideas on scholarship of teaching and learning. According to Boyer (1990), HEI's should not value only research and disregard the importance of quality teaching, which will help produce quality graduates with required competencies. As Nyerere emphasized practical education, Boyer (1990) underscored the importance of the scholarship of application. The scholarship of application involves the application of knowledge to real world problems, implying engagement and constant interaction between practice and theory (Almeida, 2010). Nyerere's philosophy of education can be explicated through the scholarship of teaching and learning as proposed by Boyer (1990).
According to Nyerere, it is through practical education that learners will be ready for the real world, as learners are equipped with tools to address societal problems. Since most Africans relied on agriculture, learners were to be equipped with the agricultural theoretical content so that they could carry out real hands on experience (Major & Mulvihill, 2009). Nyerere stated that, "Agricultural progress is indeed the basis of Tanzanian development…. We need in this country more citizens who know modern productive agriculture, and are prepared to undertake hard work which is involved in increasing our agricultural output" (Nyerere, 1968, p. 105). Thus, Nyerere's vision can be used to close the disconnection that, according to Boyer (1990), calls to redefine the educational mission and reconsider how scholarship is conceptualized in HEI's through the concept of engaged scholarship, which could be actualized through CBPR as discussed below.

Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR)
CBPR seeks to challenge and provide an alternative to externally-and expert-driven research. This tradition of research recognizes community members as knowledge rich partners, offering their experiential and practical knowledge in complement to theoretical knowledge held by outside experts (Neufeldt & Jansen, 2021). Thus, CBPR is a kind of research rooted in the principles of action research, which involves fact finding, reflection, and steps that lead to social action (Fontaine, 2006). As the name suggests, CBPR underscores that research that is community-driven, foregrounding the preeminence of community agendas over researcher agendas and ensuring that research is responsive to the community context (Neufeldt & Jansen, 2021). Although CBPR is a research approach gaining popularity, it has several definitions that all stress partnership with communities, thus moving away from a "research on model" to a "researching with model," which places all participants in research as partners. In contrast to traditional research, which considers the community as objects of research, CBPR see them as knowledge rich partners.
According to the Kellogg Health Scholars (2016), CBPR is a collaborative approach to research that equitably involves all partners in the research process and recognizes the unique strengths that each brings. For the Royal Society of Canada, CBPR is described as a systematic investigation with the participation of those affected by an issue for purposes of education and action or affecting social change (Green et al., 1995). This orientation embodies a fundamental shift in research goals, from objective fact finding in accordance with the theoretical and methodological underpinnings to purposeful research that is relevant to the community (Fontaine, 2006). In the context of CBPR, the community is engaged integrally in the determination of the research agenda and the conduct of research itself (Zhang et al., 2020), and, as such, the research may address the felt needs of the community. From the perspective of Freirian pedagogy, CBPR acknowledges that when people are conscious of their situation, they can collectively work towards emancipation and a better future (Freire, 1970). In this context, professional researchers do not enter communities to conduct studies on community members; they work together with community members to identify issues of local concern and develop solutions in partnership (Fals-Borda, 1991).
As noted by Wallerstein et al. (2017), CBPR has four important themes, which center around participation of the community as co-researchers, the role of the researcher as co-learner, creation of knowledge, community transformation (praxis), and reflexivity upon power dynamics in the relationship. However, it should be noted that even though "community" is a very important concept for CBPR, this word is contested. In the CBPR context, community is characterized by different connections of socially constructed identities, which may be based on shared values and norms, mutual influence, common interests, and joint commitment to meeting shared needs. Communities may also either be defined by geographical boundaries or dispersed across geographical place but have a common identity or shared fate (Wallerstein et al., 2017). The fact that the term community is used to assume some sort of commonality and homogeneity is problematic. Its assumptions may serve to exclude others because it may perpetuate the norms of the already privileged (Fendler, 2006). As observed by Ferreira and Gendron (2011, p. 164), shared identity and common interests in a community is a theoretical ideal, and there are many practical impediments that vary among communities. For example, key members of the community involved in research/education may not accurately represent the views of the majority of community members. As Minkler (2004) explains, communities, which may seem relatively homogeneous to outsiders, often contain substantial internal diversity, which can, in turn, manifest in factionalism or other forms of division. In addition, as Wilson et al. (2018) note, social relations are inherently political and inevitably based on power differences, which means that even within the community itself, there are obvious and subtle power relations. This scenario may call us to question whether through CBPR, the privileged may take advantage to advance their own positions of power under the guise of community. This might mean that the very power inequalities sought to be addressed through CBPR may be obscured in the term community, defeating the intended purpose. In addition, CBPR usually would not occur without the initiative of someone outside the community with time and skill, and who almost inevitably is a member of a privileged and educated group (Fendler, 2006). This on its own may show the cracks of CBPR, since whoever initiates research typically has privileged knowledge of the issue to be investigated and is in a better position to dictate research objectives, make administrative decisions, determine data gathering and analysis techniques, and ultimately frame the discourse around such an issue. Although the CBPR may reduce power inequalities, the power dynamics between the researcher and community may lead to exploitative discourses remaining unchallenged. However, although issues of power are still existent within CBPR, as explained by Wilson et al. (2018), through commitment to redressing power imbalance, CBPR offers the opportunity for reflective practice, to identify and articulate power imbalances, and potentially to pave a path for negotiation, which could see the balance of power move away from the entirety of the research project toward certain aspects of it. As such, although there are weaknesses of the CBPR, there are strengths that can benefit the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Community Based Participatory Research: Rectifying a "Disengaged" Scholarship
Although the CBPR approach to research is traditionally comprised of the triad components of research, education, and action, the educational part is usually dropped from the CBPR research agendaor is only weakly present (Ferreira & Gendron, 2011). In addition, due to its nature, CBPR is not very popular among lecturers and students in HEI's. Furthermore, although CBPR may be a potentially transformative educational strategy, little has been written on how it can be used and its importance for teaching and learning scholarship. In creating knowledge and solutions, students and lecturers commonly prefer traditional research methods that sideline the community as too uneducated to undertake and understand scientific research and its requirements. However, according to Strand et al. (2003), CBPR may be used to rectify what critiques of the academy call higher education's disconnection from communities, as it offers a direct engagement with the surrounding community and industry.
Community Based Participatory Research may provide students with opportunities to relate theory and practice. CBPR can help students to develop civic leadership skills that they can use to contribute to the common good and to build relationships in the local community. As indicated by East Carolina University (2016), CBPR helps students to build professional networks and advance career skills. According to Zhang et al. (2020), student engagement in CBPR may help students to learn and apply appropriate research methods and can promote the acquisition of skills in communication and partnership development. Furthermore, according to Weinberg, Trott, and McMeeking (2018), CBPR empowers students to engage with local communities to create change that is collaboratively achieved. Deale (2017) points out that CBPR can be seen as a natural companion to engaged scholarship as it benefits students in various ways. For example, CBPR may help students in developing civic leadership skills that are very important in providing solutions to most community problems. In fact, this connects well with Nyerere's philosophy of education as he insisted that education should prepare learners for their civic responsibilities as free citizens who can think for themselves, fostering self-reliance and independence. Furthermore, CBPR process "draws upon young peoples' know-how and enables them to exercise their rights as citizens, and contributes to making student voices more influential" (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013, p. 5). Also, Madan and Teitge (2013) posited that CBPR additionally helps students to comprehend the balance between independence, collaboration, and experiential learning. With all the benefits of CBPR as expounded in the literature, indeed this is a kind of research that should be emphasized more especially for students within applied fields of study, such as community development. CBPR does not only give research skills to students, but it also provides an experiential learning opportunity that allows students to acquire and apply both theoretical and practical knowledge and skills. As indicated by Zhang et al. (2020), experiential learning is a teaching philosophy that places importance on engaging learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's capacities to contribute to their communities. This implies that there is more to be benefited from emphasizing CBPR in HIE's compared to traditional research.
According to Fontaine (2006), CBPR can be integrated into the curriculum in two ways: as a method for research projects and as part of the course curriculum. As a method for research, CBPR may be used as a methodology for students who are interested in social change and social action research. As Deale (2017) suggested, instead of just telling students to conduct traditional research and writing research papers, CBPR as a methodology will greatly contribute to the scholarship of teaching and learning. In CBPR, everyone has knowledge to share, and everyone has lessons to learn. Students do not only learn from the ideas that flow between themselves and community partners, but they also gain new knowledge from hearing the exchange of ideas among community members themselves. The use of CBPR in this manner will not only improve students' research skills, but it will improve the quality of learning for the students even beyond graduation. As explained by Strand et al. (2003, p.126), learners learn effectively when they are involved in practical application of the theory learnt. However, students involved with CPBR seem exceptionally motivated to learn as they are invigorated by their accountability and a heightened sense of purpose. According to Hammond et al. (2005), CBPR projects give students an opportunity to learn about processes involved in building group consensus, exchanging ideas, and collaboratively completing tasks. This connects well with Nyerere's philosophy of education, where it is argued that purposeful education promotes practice in real life situations. According to Nyerere (1982), education should not only be credential-based but should equip learners to serve their communities and increase output and productivity. In serving their communities, HEI's should show that higher education is not only about transmitting knowledge within the classroom, but it also involves transforming and extending knowledge beyond the classroom (Boyer, 1990). This does not only promote the scholarship of application but also acquisition of skills that can be useful even beyond graduation.
As part of the course curriculum, CBPR, according to Fontaine (2006), can be offered as a standalone course or incorporated within a research methods course. A CBPR curriculum should theoretically ground the students while at the same time arming them up with practical skills of participatory action research, which interfaces theory and reality as proposed by Nyerere (1982). Most of the curriculum that have incorporated CBPR as a standalone seem to have accentuated the notion that learning is not something that is done to students but something that is co-created in the process of reflection, observation, and analysis. As explained by Peterson (2009, p. 543) CBPR philosophy demonstrates that learning is something gained through action and relationship with others, with ideas, and with ones' surrounding environment. Furthermore, according to Peterson (2009), a CBPR curriculum gives students an opportunity to immerse themselves in their community sites and study of corresponding theories. This does not only impact on their CBPR projects and immediate learning but also on their future professional paths. In addition, as argued by Nyerere's educational philosophy, this will facilitate the scholarship of application and allow graduates to reflect and apply what they have learnt in real life situations as democratic and free citizens. Deale (2017) suggested some tips that should be considered when incorporating CBPR into the curriculum. The first tip involves planning. According to Deale (2017), an effective and successful CBPR course needs a well laid plan that incorporates issues of timeline and deliverable products for the CBPR course. As explained by Fontaine (2006), CBPR projects do not necessarily fit into the time frame of an academic semester. As Deale (2017) explained, students may find themselves facing challenges while engaging in the CBPR processes; for example, partnerships with the community might not go as planned and may require more time than a semester. Compared to traditional research, a proper CBPR module may therefore require more time and might not be suitable for undergraduate classes. As such, careful planning should determine the course of action in this regard. Another important tip suggested has to do with each course's learning outcomes regarding the skills and knowledge required. The learning outcomes should make the proposed CBPR project meaningful for teaching and learning, providing students with deeper understanding and the development of transferable skills. Another challenge may be a mismatch of objectives between the students and the community/industry. Working with people is not usually an easy thing, even though the CBPR allows for the community to be involved in all research steps. Sometimes relational difficulties Journal of Contemporary Issues in Education, 2022, 17(2), pp. 111-122. (c) Author(s), Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license. http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/JCIE 120 can derail a student's path when the community is not warming up to the student's role as facilitator.

Conclusion
CBPR could be used to critically transform Higher Education pedagogy to facilitate student engagement, which will help in producing quality graduates as argued by Nyerere's educational philosophy and Boyer's understanding of the scholarship of teaching and learning. As indicated in this paper, CBPR should not just be considered as another method of doing research. Unlike the traditional research, CBPR may be used as one of the ways to enforce student engagement as understood within the scholarship of teaching and learning framework. A shift toward an emphasis of CBPR for students in the applied fields of study will result with enhancing student learning and civic engagement, as students, and later as graduates.