Faculty sabbaticals provide academic scholars with a unique opportunity to engage with diverse communities, contribute to the social good/make a social impact, advance research and further their professional growth. At Temple University's College of Education and Human Development (CEHD), a commitment to empowering diverse communities is reflected in the impactful work of its faculty. Building on a long history of faculty sabbaticals focused on community engagement, the sabbatical experiences of Avi Kaplan and Christine Woyshner exemplify how faculty engage in innovative approaches to integrate scholarship and community goals and aspirations.

Avi Kaplan: Exploring Identity and Motivation Across the Globe

Avi Kaplan's 2023-2024 sabbatical focused on applying a complex dynamic systems model to understand and enhance people's identity, motivation and actions—The Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity. Developed over decades of collaborative research, this model offers a framework for understanding why individuals act as they do and how these actions connect to their identities. During his sabbatical, Kaplan traveled globally, delivering presentations and training sessions in countries including Peru, Cambodia and Greece. These sessions engaged educators, researchers and policymakers, applying his model to practical challenges like designing environments that foster identity exploration and agency.

Kaplan emphasized the importance of collaboration, not only to minimize the research-practice gap, but to eliminate it by integrating the research with the practice. A standout project exemplifying this involved an interactive Smithsonian exhibition that encouraged diverse visitors to explore their own inventive identities. The exhibition, which prioritizes the visitor experiences of adolescent girls, African American youth, and people with disabilities, shifted its focus from celebrating "game changers" to empowering visitors to "change their game," transforming how museums inspire personal growth and inclusivity. Kaplan says he found the collaborative process deeply rewarding, stating, "Our own identities and motivations evolved as we worked together with historians, curators and museum designers, making the process deeply enriching."

Kaplan's sabbatical exemplifies CEHD's dedication to supporting diverse communities by integrating research with real-world application and centering community engagement. He emphasized the importance of the mission by stating that the primary focus should be "contributing to the knowledge you want to generate from the research through serving the community partner's needs."

Christine Woyshner: Highlighting the Educational Contributions of Black Civic Organizations

Christine Woyshner's 2022 sabbatical focused on the historical role of Black civic voluntary organizations in shaping education before the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Her work highlights how groups like the National Urban League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) functioned as informal schools, influencing curricula and fostering educational access within adults and youth in Black communities.

While much of her work involved archival research to study community organization of the past, Woyshner also engaged directly with community leader Peggy Coplin, a former Daughter Elk leader. Woyshner interviewed Coplin to speak about her research on the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks of the World (IBPOEW). This meeting underscored the enduring communal bonds within these organizations and provided Woyshner with invaluable insights into the lived experiences of their members.  

Woyshner's research illuminates the resilience of African American communities in advancing education despite facing systemic barriers including inequities and injustices within the United States. Her work also underscores the importance of humility and listening when engaging with communities. Woyshner emphasizes "the commitment to social justice and equity among CEHD faculty is what can be expressed and developed through a sabbatical."

Woyshner's sabbatical exemplifies CEHD's commitment to fostering social justice by deepening our understanding of the history of Black communities. Her work sheds light on how these communities have historically navigated and resisted systemic inequities, emphasizing that "education, self-determination and community" are fundamental values among Black Americans, which are key themes throughout her research.

Advancing CEHD's Mission

Both sabbaticals demonstrate CEHD's dedication to social justice and equity. Kaplan's work advances inclusive practices by integrating theoretical research with real-world applications, and Woyshner's scholarship uncovers historical contributions to education that have long been overlooked. Together, their projects demonstrate how faculty can use sabbaticals as an opportunity to deepen community impact and inspire systemic change.  

Kaplan and Woyshner highlight that community-based sabbatical projects depend on collaboration, humility and a deep commitment to addressing community needs. They advocate for open and transparent communication with collaborators to build trust and alignment, engaging with communities through active listening and genuine openness, and designing research that directly addresses the unique challenges and aspirations of each group. Sabbaticals at CEHD are not just about advancing individual scholarship—they are about making a meaningful difference. By fostering partnerships and amplifying diverse voices, faculty like Kaplan and Woyshner set a standard for impactful, socially conscious academic work.