Florida's Legislature
Office of Program Policy Analysis
and Government Accountability (OPPAGA)
Wednesday - July 26, 2006
REVIEW OF WOMEN'S STUDIES

Presentation Outline

1. Benefit to Students: WST 3015 Course
2. Benefit to Community
3. Benefit to Research I Institution

CSL Definitions

Natural fit: Women's Studies began as applied/ experiential education

Relationship to academic excellence to practical relevance and social accountability

My Introduction to Campus Compact, CSULB & UMass, Haas (Stanford), Swearer (Brown)

1. Benefit to UF Students

Critical thinking skills

Engagement of their academic majors from a gendered perspective in an interdisciplinary setting

Examples of agency partnerships & service work

Catalog Description:

This interdisciplinary course focuses on the life experiences of women through the study of materials in the humanities, social and natural sciences and in the health professions. This course serves as a required course for the Women’s Studies Major and the Women’s Studies Minor. It also fulfills the General Education requirement in International Studies and Diversity or may be taken as an elective (I). 

Examples of Student Majors:

Psychology, Sociology, Animal Science, Criminology, Chemistry, English, Women's Studies, Pharmacy Studies, Zoology, Philosophy

Examples of Agency Partnerships:

UF Center for Leadership and Service has over 200 partnerships with community agencies. For liability reasons, students enrolled in CSL sections of WST 3015 must choose agencies where UF already has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in place.  The only stipulation for their choice was that the agency had to relate to their academic major. Below are examples of agencies where students have volunteered.

• American Cancer Society (volunteer coordination Road to Recover transportation & Relay for Life)
• Easter Seals @ Altrusa House (Adult daycare - retrofit house for ms)
• Children's Advocacy Center  (psych of play in therapy and advertising enhance comm. awareness)
• Arbor House Christian Maternity Shelter (temporary homeless shelter for pregnant and women w/ kids)
• Pride Center of Gainesville (pre-law, gender issues)
• Family Visitation Center (supervised parental visits - HIPAA certification)
• Birth Center of Gainesville (midwifery)
• Pleasant Place (teen mothers; male philosophy major)

Women in the Sciences

• Alachua County Humane Society (animal science major - lack of women in science, gender and animal choice)

• PACE Center for Girls (arts, curriculum, single-sex schooling)
• Reichert House for Boys (criminology)
• Big Brothers/Big Sisters (over 60 boys on waiting list)
• Alachua County Detention Center (psych and crim)
• Corner Drug Store (youth shelters, counseling, and prevention - psych and pharmacy)
• Homework Helpers program, Alachua Co. Library
• Alachua County Sheriff's Office (Tower Oaks Focus program on East Side)
• Boys & Girls club (technology training for students)

• Duval Elementary/Fine Arts Academy (ADHD)
• Hidden Oak Elementary
• Oak Hall Elementary (FCAT, special needs)

Course Objectives (example):

1. To explore local, national, and international aspects of women's lives
2. To work through the UF Office of Leadership and Service to partner with local community agencies
3. To familiarize students with different approaches that scholars have taken in the field of Women’s Studies
4. To assist students in identifying research questions and gaining knowledge of multi-disciplinary resources to answer those questions
5. To allow students to define “community engagement” and "international research" on their own terms while working for local social equity and engaging in global studies

Action-based Learning Objectives (example): 

• In this course, students will:
• Assist a local women’s community agency or increase international awareness through research
• Learn various qualitative theories (Why), methodologies (What), and methods (How) of research by gaining familiarity with women’s experiences
• Reinforce writing and critical thinking skills by analyzing women’s experiences and narratives
• Relate various women’s issues to student’s own research and professional goals

           International option for 2006 team taught class with UDSM partnership:

• Gender, educational access, and professions in Germany (zoology major)
• Women's rights in China (undeclared)
• Yugoslav women during WWII (history)
• Ethiopian migration to US (poli sci, Phi Beta Kappa)
• Israeli women and the law (history)

Student contribution to mission: Work hours and final paper answers a question generated by the agency Direct service vs. teaching CSL: Board of Directors for Reichert and staff trainings for PACE. Female Youth Summit. Example: Belkis Plata and Female Youth Summit. Sponsored by Department of Juvenile Justice, the Alachua County Sheriff's Office, the Gainesville Police Department, the Corner Drug Store, the Alachua County School Board and the Black on Black Crime Task Force. Eastside High School.

Publication: Two students who took the WST as traditional course, signed up to TA in WST CSL course. Reflected on the experience and we co-authored an article in Feminist Teacher. "Major Service: Combining Students' Academic Disciplines with Community Service-Learning in an Introductory Women's Studies Course." (With Jennifer Ozer and HavreDe Hill)

So: Why Women's Studies and CSL?
Because it benefits the students, the university, and the community