Students have the opportunity to incorporate a community component into their senior thesis if they wish.  Sometimes a student might tie his/her thesis into prior work that the student has done with a community agency.  Other times the student's research might tie in with questions that his/her thesis advisor is exploring in the community.  Often students will work with a new community partner to define an issue that needs investigation.

Examples of 2006-2007 community-based, service-oriented theses include:

Professor David Scobey advised a student’s senior honors thesis research that explored the significance of museums as public cultural institutions. The student used Museum L/A as a case study, focusing on the two years of oral history that were generated by a partnership between the museum, the community and Bates College.

Professor Heather Lindkvist supervised a student thesis, “Continuity and Change:  Somali Women’s Efforts to Adapt to Life in Lewiston, Maine.”  Through partnership with the organization United Somali Women of Maine, the student observed the context in which these immigrant women worked to improve the lives of fellow women. The student prepared a discussion guide for an educational DVD, “Being Somali in L/A, Maine,” which is being used by the agency, United Somali Women of Maine, to educate the community about the lives of Somali women in our towns.

Professor Lee Abrahamson supervised a student thesis project, “An Examination of Effective Assessments to Adequately Measure Student Understanding in High School Biology.” This thesis examined a group of 50 high school students’ understanding of a unit in a biology course to determine and recommend the most effective way to teach the subject matter.

Professor Kimberly Ruffin advised a student on a combined English and Environmental Studies thesis, “The Reflection of Global Trends toward Local and Sustainable Agriculture in Maine.” The student focused on three different types of local, sustainable agriculture programs in the Lewiston-Auburn community:  the New American Sustainable Agriculture Project, working with Somali Bantus; Lots to Gardens, focusing on community gardens and nutrition; and local farms, using sustainable forms of agriculture.

Psychology majors who elect to do a community-based learning senior thesis identify, through research and meeting with faculty and community organizations, a community issue around which they do an in-depth thesis-level study.  This year, 22 students in the department’s Senior Thesis/Community-Based Learning Seminar did 60 to 80 hours of intensive work in the community.  Projects included:

• ELL Literacy and Languages Development:  Evaluating the Potential for a Family Reading Program at the Adult Learning Center
• The Emotional Effects of Asthma on Pediatric Patients
• A Case Study of Different Contexts of Communication with a Somali Fourth-Grader

All students who concentrate in education complete full requirements for an academic major in another department.  If they choose to involve an education component in their thesis, they must also meet the other department’s thesis requirements.  Below are some examples of thesis, research, and independent studies conducted by these students.

• Professor Helen Regan advised a thesis student who researched obstacles to academic success for African-American males.
• Professor Helen Regan worked with a student who studied the programming of ELL students who have been mainstreamed into regular classrooms at Lewiston High School.  As a result of her study, she was able to provide an analysis of programmatic needs and strengths, and to make recommendations to Susan Martin, Director of the English Language Learning Program for Lewiston Public Schools.
• Professor Anna Sims Bartel (HCCP) partnered with a student to study narrative inquiry and use it to explore the trajectories of Student Volunteer Fellows.  Their research sought to understand how these Fellows understand their commitments in community and how they came to those; terminology of “service,” “justice,” and “partnership” was also explored.  Results included visual flow-charts of the pathways of these students, which were presented to the Harward Center staff to guide their work on developing intentional student pathways in community engagement.