How is emergent scholarship different?
The emergent scholarship approach doesn't reject traditional academic values like rigour, evidence, and expertise. Rather, it reimagines how these values can be realised in ways that are more connected, open, sustainable, and responsive to complex real-world challenges.
Emergent scholarship principles applied across different domains of practice
Knowledge through connection
| Domain of scholarship | Traditional scholarship | Emergent scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery/research | Knowledge is created by expert researchers through controlled studies with findings disseminated after completion | Knowledge emerges from networks that include diverse stakeholders (practitioners, patients, community members) as co-investigators, with continuous sharing of developing insights |
| Teaching/learning | Knowledge flows one-way from faculty experts to student recipients in a transmission model | Learning environments become networks where knowledge emerges through dialogue between students, teachers, practitioners, and communities |
| Application/engagement | Pre-established academic knowledge is applied to community problems, with scholars positioned as experts | New knowledge emerges through interaction of academic and community expertise, with solutions developing through collaborative relationships |
| Integration | Integration occurs as a solo scholar's synthesis of existing literature across disciplinary boundaries | Integration emerges through networked activities where connections between disciplines are made visible through collaborative platforms and communities |
Information flow through networks
| Domain of scholarship | Traditional scholarship | Emergent scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery/research | Research follows linear progression from question to conclusion with results shared only after completion | Research incorporates continuous feedback loops with preliminary findings circulating through diverse networks during the research process |
| Teaching/learning | Learning is confined to classroom boundaries with emphasis on mastering static content | Learning extends beyond classroom through networks connecting courses to practice environments and communities, developing network literacy as a core competency |
| Application/engagement | Information flows one-way from academy to community with academics controlling dissemination | Information flows multidirectionally between academic and community settings through accessible platforms that connect all stakeholders |
| Integration | Integration creates static syntheses of knowledge presented as finished products | Integration becomes dynamic mapping of connections between knowledge domains, making integration visible and participatory |
Identity through community
| Domain of scholarship | Traditional scholarship | Emergent scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery/research | Researcher identity develops through individual expertise and disciplinary recognition | Researcher identity develops through participation in diverse communities of practice and collaborative teams |
| Teaching/learning | Students develop professional identities by modelling faculty within educational institutions | Faculty and students develop identities through authentic participation in communities that include practitioners, patients, and community members |
| Application/engagement | Scholars maintain primary identities as disciplinary experts who occasionally engage with communities | Scholars develop identities as community members and citizens, with success measured by meaningful community contribution |
| Integration | Scholars identify primarily with home disciplines while occasionally bridging to others | Scholars develop identities as boundary-spanners and connectors, with integration becoming central to scholarly identity |
Innovation through openness
| Domain of scholarship | Traditional scholarship | Emergent scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery/research | Research designs and findings protected until formal publication to preserve novelty and credit | Research incorporates open data, methods, and continuous sharing of work-in-progress to enable unexpected connections and collaborations |
| Teaching/learning | Educational materials developed as proprietary resources within institutions | Educational resources openly shared, adapted, and improved through collaborative processes across institutional boundaries |
| Application/engagement | Communities receive expert solutions developed within closed academic environments | Communities participate in open innovation practices where solutions emerge through transparent sharing of challenges and collaborative problem-solving |
| Integration | Integration work completed before sharing, with credit accruing to the integrating scholar | Integration work openly shared in accessible formats, creating platforms where others can see and extend connections between fields |
Meaning through medium
| Domain of scholarship | Traditional scholarship | Emergent scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery/research | Research findings expressed primarily through peer-reviewed journal articles regardless of content | Findings expressed through formats chosen to best communicate particular types of knowledge (visual, interactive, narrative) |
| Teaching/learning | Standardised formats (lectures, textbooks, exams) used regardless of content or learning goals | Multimodal approaches matching medium to specific learning goals, with students developing fluency across multiple forms of expression |
| Application/engagement | Academic language and formats translated for community use with emphasis on maintaining scholarly conventions | Communication through accessible formats designed with and for specific audiences, considering cultural context and community preferences |
| Integration | Integration expressed through traditional academic formats (literature reviews, theoretical papers) | Integration employs visualisation, storytelling, and other approaches that effectively represent complex relationships between knowledge domains |
Value through engagement
| Domain of scholarship | Traditional scholarship | Emergent scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery/research | Research value determined primarily through citation metrics and peer recognition | Value determined through meaningful engagement with and impact on relevant communities, including practical applications and public discourse |
| Teaching/learning | Teaching effectiveness evaluated through standardised assessments and student evaluations | Effectiveness evaluated through evidence of meaningful student engagement with content, communities, and authentic problems |
| Application/engagement | Value of applied work judged by academic standards and publication outcomes | Value emerges from authentic stakeholder engagement in defining what matters, measured through stakeholder-defined outcomes |
| Integration | Integrative work valued for theoretical contribution and academic novelty | Integrative work valued for capacity to engage diverse audiences and bridge divides between knowledge communities |
Sustainability through ecology
| Domain of scholarship | Traditional scholarship | Emergent scholarship |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery/research | Research practices driven by productivity metrics with little consideration of researcher wellbeing | Research practices account for impact on researcher wellbeing, institutional resources, and broader social and environmental systems |
| Teaching/learning | Educational approaches prioritise comprehensive coverage regardless of cognitive load | Educational approaches balance depth with breadth, creating sustainable learning ecosystems that respect cognitive limits and support wellbeing |
| Application/engagement | Community partnerships structured around project timelines and grant funding cycles | Partnerships designed for long-term sustainability with emphasis on relationship-building and community capacity development |
| Integration | Integration treated as add-on to disciplinary work with limited time and recognition | Time and resources required for meaningful integration acknowledged and supported, with attention to long-term consequences across systems |
Practical example: Research on community health disparities
Traditional approach: A researcher identifies a gap in literature, develops a hypothesis, collects data through predetermined methods, analyses results using disciplinary standards, submits findings to a specialised journal, and measures success through publication and citations. The community being studied may never see the results or benefit directly.
Emergent approach: A researcher collaborates with community members to identify health concerns, develops research questions together, uses mixed methods appropriate to the context, shares preliminary findings regularly for feedback, publishes through multiple channels (including community-accessible formats), and measures success through community engagement and practical application of findings. The research evolves based on emerging insights and community needs.