Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement

School Engagement Projects as Authentic, Community-Based Learning for STEM Undergraduates

Colin D. McClure — 2024-12-16

Capstone projects provide key learning opportunities for STEM undergraduates to consolidate knowledge gained over the life of their degree. These projects typically reflect lab- or fieldwork-based research, which can exclude students who do not wish to pursue these career avenues. Here we deployed school engagement projects (SEPs) as an alternative to provide an authentic, community-based learning experience to STEM undergraduates wishing to develop their skills in science education and/or communication. This report aims to highlight the extent to which SEPs can provide such an opportunity, with the opinions of various stakeholders, including STEM undergraduates and participating schoolteachers, gathered by focus groups and surveys. Analysis of transcripts demonstrates an overall positive impact and revealed the benefits of these projects in preparing students for teacher training courses through increased educational knowledge and experience. These projects make for effective alternatives to traditional capstones and present opportunities for local science outreach.

Community Engagement on the Mexico–U.S. Border: Nepantla Identity as Justice-Oriented Citizenship

Naomi Fertman — 2024-12-16

Previous research has highlighted best practices for community engagement, problematized server/served approaches to communities, and identified both barriers and benefits for students engaged in this coursework. What is lacking, however, is a deeper examination of students who participate in community engagement in their own home communities. The purpose of our study is to better understand the impact and outcomes of community-engaged coursework through the lens of our students’ intersectional identities. We argue that their unique social positions as both students and community members on the Mexico–U.S. border offer a window into understanding how students may participate in community-engaged coursework differently when they are members of the communities they are engaging with.

Facilitating a Strategic Community–Academic Partnership to Address Substance Misuse: Three Years of Evaluation and Outcomes

Dane Minnick — 2024-12-16

This article presents the findings of a longitudinal study documenting the progress, challenges, adaptations, and outcomes of a strategic community–academic partnership (S-CAP) to address substance misuse between a local university and a medium-sized county in East-Central Indiana. The article details how the S-CAP built on initial successes to develop new organizational capacities and maximize the productivity of the S-CAP model. It also explores how S-CAP leadership navigated the dynamic environment associated with community coalition work while developing a cohesive sustainability strategy. Notable outcomes produced by the coalition over 3 years include increasing membership to over 500 individuals and more than 30 organizations, assisting with the implementation of community initiatives such as the installation of a naloxone vending machine at a local hospital, and leading collaborative partnerships that have generated over $1.5 million in funding for new addiction services for the county.

Community Engagement and Dental Care: Early Insights From an Oman–Zanzibar Initiative

Abubaker Qutieshat — 2024-12-16

Oman Dental College partnered with local health agencies in Zanzibar, Tanzania, for an international dental outreach project. This early-stage engagement aims to address Zanzibar’s pressing dental health needs and to provide a transformative educational experience for student volunteers. Informed by the intertwined histories of Oman and Zanzibar, the project delivered preventive and curative dental services, emphasizing the need for sustained oral hygiene education. Initial impact measurements revealed the high prevalence of dental decay, highlighting a need for preventive measures. Volunteers reported educational gains and a deeper understanding of Oman–Zanzibar heritage. Challenges such as electricity, internet connectivity, and sterilization conditions were identified for future improvement. This project provides valuable lessons for community engagement, especially the importance of preparation, adaptability, and long-term community involvement for sustained impact. Future directions include training local health care workers and developing community-based oral hygiene programs.

The Development and Validation of the Process and Outcomes From Service-Learning (POSL) Questionnaire

Grace Ngai — 2024-12-16

This article reports the development and validation of the new Process and Outcomes from Service-Learning (POSL) questionnaire, a self-report measure that assesses students’ service-learning experiences as well as their attainment of a comprehensive set of intended service-learning outcomes. The study involved three phases: (a) construct identification and item generation, (b) content and face validation of the draft items through expert judgment and cognitive interviews, and (c) construct validation through exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and reliability analysis. The final instrument consists of two parts. Part 1 comprises 18 items that measure students’ service-learning experiences on six dimensions. Part 2 contains 14 items to assess students’ learning outcomes from service-learning grouped under four dimensions. Results show that POSL is a highly reliable and reasonably valid measure of students’ experiences of and outcomes from service-learning with good psychometric properties. Limitations and implications of the study are also discussed.

Positive Youth Development Service-Learning Opportunity for University Students

Daniel Thomas Page — 2024-12-16

South African university students (n = 18; aged 21–28) participated in the LifeMatters train-the-trainer (TTT) workshop. Ten trained participants (n = 10; aged 21–23) then implemented the program as youth facilitators at three local schools. The study aimed to describe changes in participants resulting from the TTT and implementation experience. Mixed-methods data were collected via self-report survey instruments (ascertaining self-efficacy, self-esteem, and personal growth), training program experiential review forms, and postimplementation focus groups. Survey data were collected pre-TTT, post-TTT, postimplementation, and follow-up (one month after TTT for nonimplementers). Participants reported improvement in self-efficacy, self-esteem, and personal growth following completion of the TTT workshop and further improvements after the implementation experience. The LifeMatters TTT workshop and implementation experience promoted participants’ positive youth development (PYD) factors, personal and professional development, and acquisition of mental skills. Implications of providing students with PYD training and supervised service-learning opportunities are discussed.

Connecting Campus to Countryside: An Evaluation of the Rural Scholars Program at Oklahoma State University

Linnea Harvey — 2024-12-16

Rural communities face incredible challenges and emerging opportunities. Land-grant universities are well-positioned to assist by developing new approaches to inspire university students to become civically engaged, rural community members. With this aim, the Rural Scholars program at Oklahoma State University was developed as an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students (Scholars). The program consists of a 16-week course followed by a 10-week immersive summer research and service experience in a rural community. This study sought to assess the program’s impact on Scholars and the communities in which they lived and served. Findings revealed that Scholars appreciate the experience and find it beneficial to their growth as students. Some felt prepared for their service and research experiences, whereas others felt somewhat isolated. Community mentors felt Scholars’ presence in communities was beneficial. Recommendations include improving communication and clarifying expectations. Future research should include perspectives from faculty research mentors.

Community-Engaged Knowledge Mobilization for Health Equity: A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of the City Symposium Series

C. Nadine Wathen — 2024-12-16

Finding ways to move knowledge-to-impact is a key priority for research funding agencies, universities, and academics. However, academic engagement with the broader community is not without tensions and challenges, including arriving at mutual benefit and relevance, and addressing power dynamics and often incompatible communication practices. This study used a mixed-methods approach to examine a unique event series of public dialogues that brought together diverse community and academic perspectives around health equity issues. Findings suggest the series successfully merged strategies from both the knowledge mobilization and citizen engagement/public involvement domains to spark conversations in one community regarding health equity and social justice. We provide initial descriptive evidence that the format was successful in achieving its proximate goals, and was appreciated by those who participated and attended. We position this type of activity as a promising strategy to effectively bring academic research to the broader local community.

Relational Principles for Enacting Social Justice Values in Educational Partnerships

Jennifer Renick — 2024-12-16

Drawing upon a long-term partnership between a university and a Title I middle school, we outline relational principles that guided our justice-oriented approach to collaborative research. We conceptualize relational principles as intentional strategies for equitable relationship cultivation and infrastructure development, grounded in the values and sociocultural backgrounds that each stakeholder brings to the partnership. Five principles emerged from our reflections, represented by the following adages: “don’t assume neutrality,” “recognize the means create the ends,” “move at the speed of trust,” “broaden ideas of benefit,” and “strive for responsiveness, not perfection.” Each principle is presented and described using examples that illustrate how these principles can be enacted within educational research partnerships. We conclude with a discussion of potential implications for fostering coherency among community-engaged research perspectives, with relational principles acting as a potential bridge between value-driven community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches and practice-oriented tools from the research–practice partnership (RPP) field.

Lessons Learned: Researchers’ Experiences Conducting Community-Engaged Research During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Simran Purewal — 2024-12-16

During the COVID-19 pandemic, conventional research methods for engaging communities, such as in-person focus groups, were impeded by pandemic-related public health measures, including physical distancing and self-isolation mandates. Researchers were forced to adapt their plans and align with measures to protect themselves and their community partners. To learn about their experiences conducting community-engaged research amid the pandemic, we hosted a roundtable with 10 researchers in British Columbia, Canada. We explored their successes, challenges, and ethical considerations to identify lessons learned. From the roundtable, we found that community-engaged researchers faced several barriers to conducting research in partnership with community, including challenges in building sustainable relationships. However, the pandemic required researchers to find innovative ways to engage with community partners, enhance the reach of their partnership, and center the lived and living experiences of priority populations. We conclude with recommendations to support community-engaged research in future health crises.

28(4) Entire Issue

2024-12-16

28(4) Entire Issue

28(4) Editorial Board

2024-12-16

28(4) Editorial Board

28(4) Table of Contents

2024-12-16

28(4) Table of Contents

28(4) Note from the Editor

2024-12-16

28(4) Note from the Editor