For the past three years, the University of South Carolina, School of Public Health has offered a Community Health Development course that provides graduate students with field experiences that are based upon social justice principles. Along with more traditional elements of learning, including readings and presentations of public health promotion efforts to address social and economic inequities, students in this course are provided a semester long opportunity to work in partnership with residents of a federally subsidized housing development. With the support of both the elected Residents Association and the Housing Authority, students and Residents Association members design and implement health promotion programs that are offered to the housing development community. Activities of this partnership are based on assessments, evaluations, and the potential for sustainability. The partnership between the Residents Association, the Housing Authority, and the School of Public Health has resulted in higher quality youth programming, collaboration among service providers within the community, thousands of dollars being donated to special causes of the association, and solid learning experience for close to 150 public health students. Implications for teaching social justice through field experiences will be discussed.
Learning Objectives: Attendees will be able to identify two outcomes of teaching social justice through practice experiences. Attendees will be able to identify two strategies for teaching graduate students community collaboration
Keywords: Social Justice, Community Collaboration
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.