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Research Articles

Vol. 28 No. 2

Unfolding the Community Engagement Narratives of Three Universities Using a Discourse Analysis Approach

  • Gustavo Gregorutti
Submitted
March 10, 2022
Published
2024-06-26

Abstract

Although a large body of literature discusses the advancement of community engagement in higher education, a less substantial body of scholarship explores how engagement is promoted and institutionalized within universities. In this exploratory study, using a discourse analysis of official reports posted on the websites of three university cases, the qualitative results unfolded how community engagement was institutionalized. The study identified some of the basic mechanisms social language uses to create institutions within institutions, like university engagement. The study provided data to support the theoretical assumption that language, through a host of possible configurations of texts, generates discourses that engender social actions such as institutionalization. Those processes disclosed how engagement was produced, and it is still evolving. Further research strategies are discussed.