Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement

29(1) Note from the Editor

2025-04-24

29(1) Note from the Editor

29(1) Table of Contents

2025-04-24

29(1) Table of Contents

A Practical Framework for a Flourishing Praxis of Engaged Scholarship in Higher Education Institutions

Karen E. Venter — 2025-04-24

This empirical article offers a practical framework to complement Sandmann’s integrated theoretical model for advancing the praxis of engaged scholarship in higher education institutions. The article introduces a newly developed integrated service-learning praxis (ISLP) approach, which served as a research context for constructing the practical framework. The ISLP approach combines community-engaged service-learning as pedagogy, appreciative inquiry as a research-and-change model, and the strategies of appreciative leadership to deliver praxis. Through a qualitative action research design, six international community-engaged service-learning champions participated in an appreciative inquiry to coconstruct the practical framework. They drew on their reflective practice and expertise within a study grounded in generative and social constructionist theories. The resulting practical framework includes actions to advance the careers of future engaged scholars and to guide the institutionalization of engaged scholarship.

Faculty and Student Perceptions of Service-Learning’s Influence on University Student Resilience

Paul H. Matthews — 2025-04-24

Resilience—the ability to persist, bounce back, and achieve, despite setbacks or challenges—is an important predictive and protective factor for university students’ personal and academic success. Qualitative research at one large U.S. land-grant university investigated faculty and student perceptions of how and why academic service-learning courses impact student resilience. We used thematic coding and analysis for responses from focus groups of faculty and students with recent service-learning experience. We found five key themes illustrating participants’ perceptions of how service-learning enhances student resilience, including (a) opportunities for community members, peers, and instructors to serve as models of resilience; (b) more authentic and less hierarchical relationships among students and instructors; (c) natural opportunities for overcoming challenges inherent in community-based activities; (d) real-world consequences that increased student motivation to persevere; and (e) reflection activities that further helped students perceive and develop mastery and resilience. Suggestions for practice and future research are offered.

(Re)framing International Medical Service Trips: Motivations, Paradigms of Engagement, and Global Health Equity

Kevin G. Guerrieri — 2025-04-24

The article analyzes two fundamental questions that emerge as institutions of higher education seek to advance global health equity: What are the motivations driving these initiatives, and within which paradigms of engagement do they enter into collaboration with communities? An examination of the tensions and paradoxes of geopolitical paradigms such as humanitarianism, development, human rights, and voluntourism underscores the need for critical reflection as colleges and universities look across international borders to implement initiatives. The article explains the development of an adaptable tool designed to foment critical reflection, the Paradigms of Engagement Motivational Matrix (PEMM), and a pilot study focused on students’ motivations for participating in international medical service trips. A mixed-methods approach was used, and the results reflected the complex movement among motivational categories and paradigms, as well as key implications for campuswide efforts to develop ethical solidarity for long-term collective action aimed at global health equity.

Elevating Community Voices to Reexamine Student Cultural Sensitivity and Adaptability in Electronic Service-Learning (e-SL)

Mark Anthony D. Abenir — 2025-04-24

This study investigates how communities perceive students’ cultural sensitivity and adaptability in electronic service-learning (e-SL) programs, focusing on Ateneo de Manila University in the Philippines. Employing qualitative methodology that incorporates online in-depth interviews and surveys, the research fills a gap by concentrating on community perspectives and not solely on student experiences. Although communities regard Ateneo students as culturally sensitive, the study uncovers complex factors shaping these perceptions. These factors include the dual role of Ateneo’s institutional reputation, the effectiveness of digital platforms balanced against the irreplaceable value of face-to-face interactions, and the importance of nuanced communication skills. These findings offer actionable insights for educators, administrators, and community coordinators, urging them to consider cultural and technological factors deeply when implementing e-SL programs. The study is timely due to the increasing digital transformation in educational settings and holds implications for refining and enhancing e-SL practices.

D’Ignazio, C., & Klein, L. F. (2020). Data feminism. MIT Press. 328 pp.

Janette Leroux — 2025-04-24

A review of D’Ignazio, C., & Klein, L. F. (2020). Data feminism. MIT Press. 328 pp.

Kisker, C. B. (2021). Creating Entrepreneurial Community Colleges: A Design Thinking Approach. Harvard University Press. 280 pp.

Peter M. Simpson — 2025-04-24

A review of Kisker, C. B. (2021). Creating Entrepreneurial Community Colleges: A Design Thinking Approach. Harvard University Press. 280 pp.

From Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) Involving Indigenous Peoples to Indigenous-Led CBPR: It Is More Than Just Drinking Tea

Diana Lewis — 2025-04-24

Recent research and social movements (e.g., #IdleNoMore, #NotYourMascots, #EveryChildMatters, #LandBack, #Pretendians) have advanced Indigenous resurgence and self-determination. In this essay we explore the evolution of community-based participatory research (CBPR) involving Indigenous Peoples. Much has changed since Castleden et al. (2012) used “drinking tea” to reveal the material realities of CBPR with Indigenous communities; then and now, it is more than simply a cup of tea. Here, we further scholarly understandings of “drinking tea” through Indigenous and decolonial lenses, as we see rapid shifts toward Indigenous-led CBPR (ILCBPR). Through our own ILCBPR experiences, we share insights into the intersections of relational accountability, data sovereignty and autonomy, cultural relevance in gender-based analysis, the power of ceremony in governance, and for decolonizing time, place, and all our relations in engaged scholarship. We contextualize our essay with examples from our work and offer guiding questions for those—particularly non-Indigenous people—considering CBPR.

Community-Engaged Write-Ins, Workshops, and Retreats: Supporting Scholarly Writing Success Through a Continuum of Professional Development

Diane M. Doberneck — 2025-04-24

Despite pressures and incentives, faculty, academic staff, and graduate students struggle to turn outreach and engagement activities into scholarly publications. Publishing challenges include competing professional responsibilities, limited collegial support, difficulty in prioritizing time to write, professional isolation, and lack of confidence in writing skills. Community-engaged scholars and practitioners face additional challenges: publishing about the partnership process, incorporating community partner voices, lack of mentorship, and difficulty identifying appropriate journals for their work. Research shows these barriers are especially challenging for junior faculty, female faculty, and faculty of color. In response, an outreach and engagement office and campus writing center partnered to offer a continuum of professional development for community-engaged writing and publishing. The authors overview the conceptual framework to support scholarly publishing, detail the professional development continuum (online materials, consultations, write-ins, workshops, retreats), and provide evaluation data on participant impact. Authors conclude with reflections on their intrainstitutional partnership and lessons learned.

Using Reflexive Agency to Develop Career Readiness and Address Social Inequities

Amanda Nelms — 2025-04-24

The purpose of this study was to engage students in critical reflection pertaining to critical service-learning as a vehicle to transform beliefs and perspectives regarding equity and social justice in a community. The authors engaged in personal self-formation with an emphasis on reflexive agency to unpack course requirements, critical service-learning requirements, and connection to career readiness. Student responses while engaging in critical service-learning grounded the process of critical reflection. This study can be replicated across universities and has many implications for course development and university-wide implementation of critical service-learning.

Doctoral Internships as Pathways for Professional Growth and Publicly Engaged Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Joseph Stanhope Cialdella — 2025-04-24

This article examines a longstanding university-sponsored summer internship program for doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences at the University of Michigan’s Rackham Graduate School. Four years of student reflection data suggest that an internship is an enriching experiential learning opportunity that contributes to both students’ career development and their trajectories as publicly engaged scholars. Specifically, students shared that summer doctoral internships helped them hone their career interests, make connections between their scholarship and the public good, and expand their professional networks. Internships have potential as a promising practice for a more student-centered doctoral education that prepares students for a range of career paths. Graduate schools and universities can inspire students to impact the greater public good over the course of their careers, both within and outside academe. Rather than being a distraction from doctoral training and research, internships may further hone doctoral students’ scholarly and career development.

Immersive Learning and Community Mapping: The Case of the Whitely Neighborhood in Muncie, Indiana

Evette L. Young — 2025-04-24

This article discusses the preliminary results of a semester-long partnership between an undergraduate course and a local Black community to map culture and history of the neighborhood. Students of Ball State University and residents of the Whitely community in Muncie, Indiana, worked together in spring 2022 to collect data and produce maps that the community could use for its activities. Within a framework of immersive learning and high-impact practices, this article points out challenges and achievements of this collaboration, based on the observations of the students and community members, who are also coauthors of this publication. Strengths and weaknesses in the mapping process are identified and suggestions are made to improve the project and guarantee its continuity.

Evolution of a University–School Partnership: Suicide and Substance Misuse Prevention

Madison E. Antunez — 2025-04-24

This article follows the early-stage planning, implementation, and evaluation of a university–school-based partnership (USBP) between a large Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2) and local high schools in Georgia. The purpose of the partnership was to implement suicide and substance use prevention efforts over 3 years. USBPs are mutually beneficial to partners and provide opportunities for positive change within the larger community. Two evidence-based prevention programs were implemented: Sources of Strength (SOS) and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). The authors describe the development and evolution of the partnership as well as the prevention programs with underserved student populations, lessons learned over the 3 years, and early-stage positive implications for sustaining the project.

Community–Academic Partnerships Through Photovoice: The Profiles in Wyoming Resilience Research Project

Jason B. McConnell — 2025-04-24

This article speaks to the challenge of public land-grant universities addressing public need through community–academic partnerships and presents a case study to explain and illustrate these challenges. Included in this approach is the acknowledgment that as universities strive to bring the community perspective to their knowledge production, strong barriers remain. To address these challenges, we discuss our Profiles in Wyoming Resilience Research Project, a research study that employs photovoice, a methodology well suited to inclusive participatory research, to amplify the voice of community members on matters of local concern. We offer insights gained through this work-in-progress, addressing opportunities and barriers to education, employment, and community resilience in Wyoming, as we reflect on early-stage assessments and pivot to the project’s next steps. This article offers insight into the steps needed to develop more accessible methods for collaboration with the goal to build knowledge coproduction capacity through community–academic partnerships.

29(1) Editorial Board

2025-04-24

29(1) Editorial Board

29(1) Entire Issue

2025-04-24

29(1) Entire Issue