Frontiers in Research

ISI supports research that blends multidisciplinary theory and professional practice, including the Creative Longevity and Wisdom Project (CL&W) which focuses on later life development, dissertation work, and doctoral programs.

• Creative Longevity and Wisdom Project
• Doctoral Research
  • ISI Scholarship Program
  • Bushnell Endowed Scholarship for Organizational & Social Change
  • Transformational Learning and Social Justice Concentration (TLSJ)
  • Information Science and Knowledge Organization (ISAKO)
• The Democratic Action Project
• Research Highlights

Creative Longevity and Wisdom Project [back to top]
The Creative Longevity and Wisdom Project studies the unique contributions that older people bring to social leadership roles. Our project supports multidisciplinary research and practice on the social, psychological, and spiritual bases of wisdom development, later life creativity, and positive aging.

Doctoral Research

ISI Scholarship Program [back to top]
The Institute offers scholarships to Fielding students who are committed to developing innovative ideas in research and professional practice that advance the field of social innovation. We offer both a general scholarship program and the Don Bushnell Endowed Scholarship for Organizational and Social Change. More information is available on the ISI scholarship page.

Bushnell Endowed Scholarship for Organizational and Social Change [back to top]
Named after the founder of the School of HOD and the visionary behind the Institute, the Don Bushnell Scholarship is awarded to one student each year who embodies the values of our mission which is to promote social innovation, strengthen individuals and institutions through participatory and collaborative change, and integrate theory and practice to create lasting change. Jim Goebelbecker was the first recipient of the Don Bushnell Endowed Scholarship for Organizational and Social Change.

Transformational Learning and Social Justice (TLSJ) [back to top]
This HOD doctoral concentration explores the relationship between transformational learning and social justice. It focuses on approaches to learning, research, and social change in which resources are distributed more equitably and barriers of structural inequality are eliminated. More information is available within the doctoral program section.

Information Society and Knowledge Organization (ISAKO) [back to top]
This doctoral concentration focuses on relationships among organizations, social life, information, media, knowledge, and the technologies that support them. Offering innovative seminars and workshops on a wide range of topics, ISAKO supports in-depth inquiry among Fielding students and faculty members who are interested in collaborative studies that integrate knowledge across disciplines. More information is available within the doctoral program section. ISAKO list of dissertations (PDF)

The Democratic Action Project [back to top]
The Kettering Foundation is supporting a study designed to promote understanding between the academic and practice communities. Emphasizing the least understood aspect of the political process— how to engage people in democratic action—is the scope of this research. This study furthers Fielding’s work in building communities of practices between researchers who study democracy and community activists who work locally to build democratic participation. Read the recent press release on this topic.

Research Highlights [back to top]

Research completed by Fielding graduate students demonstrates how innovative ideas may be applied in new contexts:

Esther Birtcher School of Educational Leadership & Change (ELC): “A middle school counseling program integrating Navajo traditional counseling methods with western counseling theories.”

Beth Franklin School of Human & Organization Development (HOD), “Contextural Action Research: extending praxis methodology.”

Mary Hiland School of HOD: “Board chair-executive director relationships: Are there interpersonal dynamics that contribute to creating social capital in nonprofit organizations?”

Announcing the Decolonizing and Reconstructing Epistemologies Report [back to top]
This document summarizes Fielding research since 1978 that represents non-western and other alternative and epistemological perspectives. Read the full report online (requires login ID).

If you are working on a research project or an engaged in practice that contributes to this conversation around social innovation we invite you to let Fielding know about, please send your ideas to Katrina Rogers at krogers@fielding.edu.