Learning About Violence Against Women in Research Methods: A Comparison to Traditional Pedagogy

The current study examined whether a community-engaged class in undergraduate psychology research methods was able to educate students about violence against women without sacrificing acquisition of research methods knowledge. We compared student outcomes in a traditional research methods course to those in a community-engaged research methods course. Students in the community-engaged course completed a research project on violence against women that was informed by the research needs of community partners. Drawing on pre- and post-assessments, we determined that students in both community-engaged and traditional courses showed significant increases in knowledge of research methods core concepts. In addition, students in the community-engaged course showed significant increases in knowledge about violence against women and beliefs about their ability to conduct engaged research in the future. Thus, the community-engaged course offered an opportunity to teach students about violence against women using engaged-learning practices without sacrificing acquisition of core research methods knowledge, relative to the comparison class. This study demonstrates that integrating trauma topics (in this case, violence against women) into the existing curriculum is a viable route to educating undergraduate students about trauma. Implications for incorporating trauma and community engagement into undergraduate curricula are discussed.