Whitney McIntyre Miller

Moving forward in Sierra Leone: community-based factors for postconflict development

War and conflict, while not manifested as economic or natural disaster, often bring the same consequences and damages and require similar capacity building. This article discusses the following four community-based factors, which contributed to the postconflict development of two communities in Sierra Leone, West Africa: (a) the inclusive involvement of community members for development and construction projects, (b) the use of culturally responsive practices in community building, (c) leadership that is directly connected with the community, and (d) the combination of traditional and local development practices with western and governmental practices. These factors were derived from an intensive five-week qualitative and observational field study seven years after the cessation of a brutal 11-year civil war in the country. In addition, the article demonstrates several ways that these community-based factors may influence other communities struggling to move forward after facing similar destruction from war, conflict, and disaster.

Can Philanthropy Be Taught

In recent years, colleges and universities have begun investing significant resources into an innovative pedagogy known as experiential philanthropy. The pedagogy is considered to be a form of service-learning. It is defined as a learning approach that provides students with opportunities to study social problems and nonprofit organizations and then make decisions about investing funds in them. Experiential philanthropy is intended to integrate academic learning with community engagement by teaching students not only about the practice of philanthropy but also how to evaluate philanthropic responses to social issues. Despite this intent, there has been scant evidence demonstrating that this type of pedagogic instruction has quantifiable impacts on students’ learning or their personal development. Therefore, this study explores learning and development outcomes associated with experiential philanthropy and examines the efficacy of experiential philanthropy as a pedagogic strategy within higher education. Essentially, we seek to answer the question, Can philanthropy be taught?

Toward a Scholarship of Peace Leadership

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss the phenomenon of peace leadership, an emerging sub-area of leadership studies. Design/methodology/approach This literature review discusses peace leadership scholarly work specifically identified as such by its authors, and therefore does not include literature potentially viewed as informing the broader discussion of peace leadership. Findings The peace leadership specific scholarly literature discussed herein includes work on the traits, characteristics, and practices of peace leaders; peace leader role and responsibilities; and the connective and collective nature of peace leadership. Originality/value Discussion of the literature concludes a proposed definition of peace leadership and with three suggestions for ways to continue to build peace leadership scholarship including: empirical studies, theoretical and conceptual model creation, and ongoing informed discussions, and in itself contributes to the emerging conversation of peace leadership.

The “Community Entertainment District” Designation as a Tool for Urban Redevelopment in Cincinnati, Ohio

Many urban neighborhoods in the United States have experienced an exodus of businesses. Their Main Streets—once consisting of bustling restaurants and stores—are now marked by “for rent” signs and boarded windows. Some community leaders have given up, but others are actively trying to bring businesses back. In Cincinnati, Ohio, several neighborhoods are starting to use the community entertainment district (CED) designation to attract entertainment and arts establishments. This paper presents an evaluation of the implementation and early impacts of the CED in one neighborhood, which may be insightful to leaders in other urban areas in Ohio and beyond.

Cultivating a Professional Culture of Peace and Inclusion: Conceptualizing Practical Applications of Peace Leadership in Schools

Beyond the role of educating students across all academic domains, school leaders are tasked with the monumental responsibility of creating positive, engaged systems and cultures that embrace the growing cultural, economic, linguistic and cognitive diversity in the United States landscape. With collective goals to create peaceful learning environments with capacity to serve diverse learners, many school leaders have embraced school-wide prevention and intervention efforts, such as Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) for social-emotional and behavioral development of students. Unfortunately, due to the inherent complexities and fragmentation of such efforts, many school leaders have continued to experience significant barriers to sustainable systems change. Throughout the following discussion, the authors argue that the school-wide programs most commonly utilized in schools lack the explicit organizational structures for integrating culturally responsive practice, leadership development, and collaborative community building processes that are essential to sustainable implementation. Therefore, this conceptual paper aims to explore the possibilities for practical applications of the Integral Perspective of Peace Leadership (IPPL; McIntyre Miller and Green, 2015) within school systems change efforts by shifting focus from direct student skill development toward a more integrated and systems-oriented approach aimed at strengthening culture and capacity within communities of educational leaders. The IPPL can “connect the dots” and provide a strong foundation through which school-wide change is possible and more sustainable. By challenging individuals, schools, communities, and organizations to examine and include Innerwork; theories, behaviors and practices, or Knowledge building; Communities of practice; and Environment work, such as systems and global thinking (McIntyre Miller and Green, 2015), the implementation of the IPPL may “challenge issues of violence and aggression and build positive, inclusive social systems and structures” (McIntyre Miller, 2016, p.223). The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, there is a discussion of how the elements of the IPPL connect to school culture and system change. Second, specific examples, such as character development, mindfulness, school-wide positive behavior supports, social-emotional learning, professional learning communities, home-school connection, systems thinking, and distributed leadership, will demonstrate how school leaders might engage, using consultants and an implementation team, in the work to create positive, equitable school cultures.

Building community together: A study of inter-neighborhood collaboration and development in Cincinnati, Ohio

Abstract This study focuses on the joint development efforts of two neighborhoods in Cincinnati, Ohio, US. Focusing on the initial stages of the joint development process, this article analyzes the first three collaborative meetings linking the two communities together. This study demonstrates short-term outcomes from each meeting, as well as longer term data – both quantitative and qualitative – from a survey of nearly 60 participants. Findings demonstrate that the meetings resulted in the identification of assets and challenges in both neighborhoods, as well as strategies and ideas for improving them. In addition, the survey found that the inter-neighborhood meetings enhanced not only participants’ interest in community engagement, but also their actual behavior in terms of attending community events, shopping local, and informing friends and neighbors about the community. Further, many survey respondents observed improvements in the overall relationship between the two neighborhoods.

Connecting Through Giving: Understanding the Effect of the Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project

Although student philanthropy is a fast-growing pedagogical approach to service learning, research is limited on the effectiveness of student philanthropy as a teaching tool. This article introduces the concept of student philanthropy and provides an analysis of eight semesters of pre- and postcourse student surveys from Northern Kentucky University’s Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project (n = 864). The analysis focuses on the efficacy of student philanthropy in terms of student community engagement. The findings indicate that students who participate in student philanthropy are significantly more likely to be aware of social problems and nonprofit organizations in their community. Subscribe to JNEL