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Faculty & Staff

Areas of Expertise

Social Work; Youth Work; Community Practice; Service-learning; Community-University Partnerships; Civic Engagement and Social Change; Community Building; Participatory Action Research; Promoting the Pipeline to Higher Education; Community and Youth Development; Analyzing Issues of Urban Youth and Urban Education

Degrees

PhD (Sociology and Social Work)
MSW
BA (Sociology)
LICSW

Professional Publications & Contributions

• Arches, J. (2012). Social action, service-learning, and youth development. Journal of Civic Engagement & Higher Education (under review).
• Arches, J. (2012). The role of groupwork in social action projects with youth. Groupwork, 22 (1), pp. 7-23.
• Arches, J. and Fleming, J (2007). Building our own monument. Practice, vol. 19 no.1, pp. 33-45.
• Arches, J. (2006). Youth take charge. In (Hoffman, N. Ed.) Pedagogies of Practice. Anker Press.
• Arches, J. and Fleming, J. (Fall, 2006). Young people and social action: Youth participation in the UK and USA. New Directions for Youth Development, pp 81-90.
• Arches, J. and Aponte-Pares, P. (2005). Challenges and dilemmas in university-community partnerships, Humanity & Society. Vol. 29, no. 3 &4, pp. 205-227.
• Arches, J. (Winter-Spring, 2004). Earned Income Tax Credit Electronic Filing and Technology Access Project, Technology Review.
• Arches, J. (2002). “Twenty years of social action with young people.” Evaluative Report Fall 2002. Research Notes, Center for Social Action, DeMontfort University, Leicester, UK.
• Arches, J. (1999) “Challenges and dilemmas in community development.” Journal of Community Practice, vol. 6, no. 4.
• Arches, J. (1998). Burnout and Social Action. Journal of Progressive Human Services., vol. 8, #2, 51-62. Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth Press.
• Arches, J. (1997). Connecting to Communities: Transformational Leadership from Feminist and Africentric Perspectives. Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, vol. XXIV, No.4.
• Arches, J., Darlington–Hope, M., Gerson, J., Gibson, J., Habana–Hafner, S., and Kiang, P. (1997) New voices in university–community transformation. Change: The Magazine of Higher Education, 29(l).
• Arches, J. (1996) “Burnout as a public issue.” Human Services Education, 16(l).
• Weisman, D., Arches, J., Mueller, S. (1995) “Teaching macro human behavior and the social environment: The trend for the ’90’s.” The Forum.
• Arches, Joan and Schneider, Paula. (1994) “Analyzing administrative experiences: Connecting feminist and labor elements through an organizational culture perspective.” Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, XX (4).
• Arches, Joan. (1991) “Social structure, burnout, and job satisfaction.” Social Work, 36(3).
• McKinlay, John and Arches, Joan. (1985) “Towards a proletarianization of physicians.” The International Journal of Health Services, Vol. 15 (2).
• .Arches, Joan. (1985) “Don’t burn: Organize!” Catalyst: A Socialist Journal of the Social Services, vol. 5.
• Arches, Joan. (1984) “Women in mental health: One step forward, one step back?” in Catalyst: A Socialist Journal of the Social Services, Vol. IV

Additional Information

Professor of Human Services and Coordinator of the Youth Work Concentration at the College of Public and Community Service, Joan Arches has been engaged in numerous service-learning and grant-funded community-university partnerships, including innovative initiatives of working with youth at Harbor Point on the Bay. She has developed and continues to run a tutoring and youth enrichment after school program called HPOP (the Harbor Point Outreach Partnership).  

In 2009 and 2010, the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll, the highest federal recognition a college or university can receive for its commitment to volunteering, service-learning, and civic engagement, recognized the Harbor Point Outreach Partnership as one of two university-community partnerships for which the University of Massachusetts Boston was recognized.

Professor Arches received University of Massachusetts Boston Office of International and Transnational Affairs funds for Faculty Study Abroad (2010) for work to support youth partnerships, civic engagement, and service-learning with the Dominican Republic and the University of Massachusetts Boston.

In fall 2007, Arches was a visiting professor at Chaminade University of Honolulu, assisting with their service-learning accreditation and working with youth in a local school. In 2001, Arches was a visiting professor at DeMontfort University, Leicester, United Kingdom, researching and working with community-university partnerships with youth.

In recognition of her accomplishments in regard to linking action research and teaching in service of the community, she was a 2005 recipient of the University of Massachusetts President’s Award for Public Service.

Examples of the grants and partnerships that Arches has overseen over the years include: the Boston EITC project, funded by the Department of Commerce, to do outreach to recipients of the Earned Income Tax in partnership with Community Technology Centers; New Directions for Columbia Point, a HUD grant aimed at addressing urban issues through a community university partnership center; a capstone project in collaboration with youth at Harbor Point Housing Development and HOPE (the Hispanic Organization for Planning and Evaluation); co-leader of the original Harbor Point Collaborative Project, which led to the development of the Columbia Point Community Partnership in 2000; board advisor to CIRCLE (The Center for Immigrant and Refugee Community Leadership and Empowerment); presenter at Jeremiah E. Burke High School and Harbor Point Housing on service-learning participatory action research projects.

Arches has also been leading an effort to establish a Community Resource Center at the University of Massachusetts Boston.