Exploring New Lines of Inquiry: A Practitioner–Scholar Inquiry of How Professional Organizations Have Evolved and Continue to Shape the Community Engagement Field

Abstract

The community engagement field has evolved in the last decade, indicated in one way by significant shifts in professional organizations that support service-learning and community engagement. As practitioner–scholars, we critically reflect on the changing nature of the field, interrogating how it is evolving and how the organizations are as well. We engage in practitioner–scholar inquiry, questioning how the many professional organizations push and pull community engagement professionals, and explore pivot points, shared values, common thematic approaches, and opportunities for collaboration. Through the practitioner–scholar inquiry framework of experiences, practice, and context (Green, 2023), we engage in group critical reflection discussions with leaders across 12 professional organizations, including thematic analysis of the responses, and mapping distinct themes. Our critical reflection analyses suggest strategies for moving forward to build the community engagement field.