Taking It to the Streets: The Role of Scholarship in Advocacy and Advocacy in Scholarship

As scholars become more public, what responsibility do they have to advocate for policies that will advance equity, inclusiveness, and social change?

Higher education scholars often conduct research on topics about which they care deeply, but to what extent should they be advocates for reform and social change? One school of thought believes researchers should remain dispassionate and data focused; the other, that a researcher, by the very questions she asks, can help effect social change. In this book, Laura W. Perna questions how, why, and when higher education researchers should be public intellectuals and whether, armed with research, they are―and should be―a powerful force for change.

Taking It to the Streets collects essays from nationally and internationally recognized thought leaders with diverse opinions and perspectives on these issues. With the intentional inclusion of voices on different sides of this discussion, the volume offers a thought-provoking and nuanced understanding of the multifaceted connections between higher education research, advocacy, and policy.

Contributors: Ann E. Austin, Estela Mara Bensimon, Anthony A. Berryman, Mitchell J. Chang, Cheryl Crazy Bull, Adam Gamoran, Sara Goldrick-Rab, Shaun R. Harper, Donald E. Heller, Adrianna Kezar, Simon Marginson, James T. Minor, Jeannie Oakes, Laura W. Perna, Gary Rhoades, Daniel G. Solorzano, Christine A. Stanley, William G. Tierney