• Susan Finley, College of Education, 360-546-9649, finley@vancouver.wsu.edu
• Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@vancouver.wsu.edu
VANCOUVER, Wash. - The At Home At School Program (AHAS), founded by Susan Finley, Washington State University Vancouver professor of education, has been accepted as a collaborative site of the International Institute of Qualitative Inquiry (IIQI.) The IIQI is a multidisciplinary institute housed at the University of Illinois that works with collaborative sites to build a community where members from a wide variety of academic disciplines can discuss, research and work together to provide leadership and be advocates of social justice.
The AHAS program provides community-based teacher education that emphasizes social justice in the classroom by teaching how to identify and breakdown barriers that may leave children feeling unwelcome or invisible.
"Becoming a collaborative site for the IIQI is a great move for AHAS," Finley said. "It supports what we are already doing in the program and provides an opportunity to start new initiatives."
Finley plans to continue in-depth research on issues that confront homeless children. By partnering with the IIQI and other collaborative sites, AHAS can build on existing research from other locations, work with other groups doing similar research and help determine the most effective method to research these problems.
"Joining forces with the IIQI promotes 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø's community outreach and collaborative research efforts," Finley said. "I expect results from the AHAS program will expand the arena of social justice in the classroom. With the help of the IIQI, our work will be able to reach a far greater audience than it does now."
91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø is celebrating 20 years of bringing quality education, research and service to the citizens of Southwest Washington. The campus is located at 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205, or via C-Tran bus service. 91³Ô¹ÏºÚÁÏÍø offers 16 bachelor's degrees, 10 master's degrees, one doctorate degree and more than 36 fields of study. Learn more at .
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