Participation In Learning Communities Research Articles

Quality Learning Environment and Community Participation: Report on a Literacy Boost Project in Indonesia

This article reports the outcomes of community participation and quality learning education resulting from the MEMBACA II project. MEMBACA (Making Early Matter through Books and Community Action) is a literacy project that targets young children in Indonesia. The MEMBACA project includes teacher training, community reading activities, and age-appropriate local language material creation to support emergent literacy skills among early-grade children. These skills include letter awareness, single-word reading of most used words, reading fluency, reading accuracy, and reading comprehension. 31 participants involved in this study, purposively selected to be interviewed through the phone. The thematic analysis found that a better learning environment was produced, a code of conduct is now available in schools, and it has helped in mainstreaming a more positive disciplining approach to teachers. This study has also identified that villages are now allocating their village fund for supporting literacy activities, although the process has experienced a setback in the year 2020 due to the pandemic. Further, while teachers’ capacities were increased due to various activities, learning environments are still troubled by poor infrastructures and a lack of community awareness. Engagement of communities and local government were mostly improved, with major problem lies in the continuity of the literacy-related activities, affected by various factors including poor advocacy and COVID-19 pandemic.

Growing the Hearts of Audiences: Community-Engaged Learning and Studies in Audience Development

Abstract: Diminishing audiences is a theme of recent industry news articles announcing pauses and closures of some of the country’s most prestigious regional theatres, often citing COVID-19 as the determining factor. While the pandemic has certainly brought audience decline to a head, decades of diminished arts education and the prioritizing of profit over community engagement have exacerbated the falling-off. What lessons can theatre departments and training programs take from this scenario? This article outlines a pedagogy of audience development embedded in early arts education and identifies six attributes for community-engaged learning. Audience development is clearly a priority for ensuring that our venues are full and current students have an industry to graduate into.

Achieving Societal Impact Through Community-Engaged Learning: Strategic Recommendations For Integrating AACSB Societal Impact Standards Into Marketing Courses

ABSTRACT In the context of integrating the 2020 Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB) revised standards on societal impact and the United Nations Development Goals (UN SDGs), this paper provides a detailed guide for developing and implementing four societal impact projects showcasing the design, implementation, student engagement, and impact aspects of these projects through the framework of community-engaged learning. The authors share their combined experiences designing and implementing a variety of marketing courses with the hope of guiding and encouraging marketing instructors to educate the next generation of business leaders in a manner that will contribute to a positive societal impact. The authors conclude with a discussion of the inherent challenges of such societal impact projects and suggestions for addressing several challenges so that business schools and marketing departments can succeed in making the paradigm shift necessary to shift to a societal well-being mind-set.

Community-Engaged Learning: Centering Public Health in Undergraduate Education by Examining Food Insecurity in the Tampa Bay Area

Community-engaged learning (CEL) is a “hands-on” approach to introducing undergraduate students to public health methods and theory in local contexts. CEL bridges academic theory and real-world practice by civic development and learning while addressing real-world problems, community needs, and interests. By applying public health theory and methods, students examined food insecurity and inequity in the Tampa Bay area by working in a community food garden and food distribution center to examine the social, economic, and environmental conditions that influence food insecurity. There were several learning outcomes for the students’ CEL experience, such as increasing the understanding of social issues through participation in the community, understanding the importance of offering culturally appropriate food, and examining how food insecurity is perpetuated by structural, social, and racial barriers within their community. This paper will discuss the process of creating community partnerships for CEL, student assignments, students feedback and reflection about their CEL experiences, and future recommendations for integrating CEL into undergraduate courses.

Influence of PE Teachers’ Professional Learning Community on Continuing Professional Development

The study determined the predictive influence of PE Teachers’ professional learning community participation (PLC) on their continuing professional development engagement. To measure the PLC participation of the respondents, the researcher used the core features of PLC in China: common vision, read-practice-share learning flow, continuous reflection, supportive and sharing leadership, and peer and organizational support. For the assessment of CPD status, the study used the following sub-variables: keeping one’s self abreast, reflection and feedback, experimentation, collaboration for instruction improvement, and collaboration for school development. The assessments showed that the respondents participated in PLC well. Similarly, there is a high CPD engagement among the respondents. More importantly, the study showed that PLC participation significantly predicts CPD engagement.

Grounded governance: Cultivating social justice through community-engaged learning with PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱ (Blossoming Place)

By deepening student relationships to local governance systems, they become better equipped to envision and enact the worlds they seek to create. This paper discusses a community-engaged learning initiative facilitated by a University of Victoria instructor that centered on the theme of “Grounded Governance” to anchor student learning about governance and social justice theories, movements and practices. The overall approach draws inspiration from bell hooks who explains the value and significance of engaged learning. Specifically, this paper discusses the experience of teaching place-based learning through engagement with Indigenous-led ecological restoration efforts, including collaboration with PEPAKEṈ HÁUTW̱ (Blossoming Place). The author reflects on community site visits with a W̱SÁNEĆ nonprofit organization to learn about ecological restoration and decolonial governance. This grounded approach to teaching is inspired by Indigenous-led place-based learning. As a collaborative effort between the Studies in Social Justice program, the School of Public Administration and community partners, this pedagogy aims to integrate community-engaged learning more deeply into the study of public administration. Doing so in practice emphasizes relationship-building with local Indigenous-led community organizations while supporting student learning objectives by teaching about social justice through collaborative and meaningful public engagement.

Communities as the nexus of Public Service praxis

This essay explores the role of public administration research and graduate education in community-engaged scholarship by answering three questions: (1) What should we be doing differently? (2) Where should we turn our governance gaze? (3) How do we engage in thoughtful, reflective, and reflexive praxis? It invites responses via future submissions to the journal.

Rethinking Assessment: Community-Engaged Experiential Learning and Complex Environments in Business from a Student Perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the academic landscape profoundly, prompting a shift toward new learning environments and evolving pedagogy, including a notable increase in experiential community-engaged learning (CEL) projects within business curricula. Despite these innovations, traditional assessment practices often neglect the development of critical skills, focusing instead on outdated knowledge certification. This study examines the integration of student voice in assessment practices, particularly within CEL projects. It aims to explore student perceptions of the opportunities provided by CEL, offering insights into specific elements that should be assessed to measure student success, accomplishment, and growth. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through end-of-term reflections, focus groups, and interviews with 52 undergraduate business students engaged in CEL projects. Thematic analysis revealed three key themes that can impact the design, selection, implementation, and interpretation of assessment methods: Adaptation, Balancing Teamwork with Individual Accountability, and Creativity and Innovative Problem-Solving. Students emphasized the importance of flexibility and proactive problem-solving in dynamic project environments. They also valued effective collaboration and personal accountability, preferring individual assessments within team projects. Creativity and innovative solutions were highlighted as essential competencies, suggesting the need for assessment tools that recognize these skills. The research indicates that incorporating student voice in the assessment process enhances engagement and relevance, aligning evaluations with students' actual experiences while fostering essential life skills. The study recommends the development of assessment rubrics that measure these competencies along with longitudinal studies to examine the impact of revised assessment processes on student experience and satisfaction over time.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Balancing Pedagogy and Partnerships in an Undergraduate Community-Based Research Class

Community-based research (CBR) as a form of community-engaged learning (CEL) offers students valuable sociological practice and learning experiences. Although CEL strategies are well documented for enhancing students’ sociological imagination, gaps persist in the literature regarding the impact on community partners. This article addresses the challenges and opportunities inherent in CEL, emphasizing the need for a balanced approach that enhances student learning while maintaining meaningful community partnerships. Through a case study of an undergraduate CBR class, this article highlights the instructor’s role in building authentic community-academic relationships, providing a blueprint for designing high-impact pedagogical practices with real-world applications. Employing qualitative interviews focused on students’ and community partners’ experiences, the study probes power dynamics, potential inequalities, and time-intensive aspects. It introduces an instructor-anchored partnership model incorporating team-based learning, addressing these complexities and presenting a framework for effective community-based learning in sociological education.

The Impact of Participation in Professional Learning Communities on Physical Education Instructional Leaders

This study investigates the assessment of the physical education teachers and department chairpersons in five institutions in Hunan Province, China, about professional learning communities for physical education and their levels of participation. Stratified sampling was used to generate 187 P.E. teacher-respondents and 52 P.E. chairperson-respondents. Under the Quantitative Research Method, this study utilized weighted mean score and multiple regression to predict the variables in professional learning communities. Based on the findings, as for the profile of the respondents with the combined results from the P.E. teachers and P.E. chairpersons, the following emerged from the data: the age bracket of 41–45 has the highest number of respondents with a master’s degree, constituting 29.7%, the male respondents dominated the data with 64.9%, a total of 79.9% of the respondents are Master's Degree holders, and the length of service revealed 29.7% for 16 years and above. Five variables were tested in the study: professional commitment, strategic approaches, pedagogical and technological knowledge, supportive organizational teaching and learning environments, and professional ethics and standards. The combined mean scores of the two groups of respondents resulted in no significant difference in most of the variables and no significant relationship between the respondents’ assessment of professional learning communities and their level of participation. However, some indicators are not rated highly, and the study calls for a teacher development program. The five variables are considered predictors of the participation of the respondents in PLCs. Furthermore, all the variables are predictors in the professional development of physical education teachers. The strongest predictor is professional ethics and standards, followed by professional commitment. Physical education teachers can be motivated by their chairpersons to join seriously in PLCs to further enhance their capabilities in teaching physical education.

The Role of Learning Communities as A Means of Teacher Professionality Development at SDN 1 Srobyong

Teacher professionalism is very important to improve student learning outcomes. For this reason, learning communities exist as a means of developing teacher professionalism. This research aims to analyze the role of learning communities in the professional development of elementary school teachers, identify the obstacles and challenges faced, and find solutions to overcome obstacles and challenges when participating in learning communities. This research method is qualitative case study research. Data collection techniques include in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and participatory observation. The data collection technique used purposive sampling, the researcher chose subjects, namely 3 teachers including the community leader, class teacher, and PAI subject teacher. The data analysis technique uses Milles and Huberman qualitative analysis. Learning communities in elementary schools have an important role in developing teacher professionalism. The novelty of this research is the use of technology, especially the Merdeka Mengajar Platform (PMM) to facilitate collaboration and share teacher knowledge in learning communities. As well as using a holistic approach to pedagogical competence and developing soft skills such as leadership and collaboration. The obstacles and challenges found included limited time, school support, and motivation. Solutions to overcome this include institutional support, strategies to increase teacher participation, technology-based implementation approaches, and curriculum development with the community. Therefore, this article makes a significant contribution to efforts to increase the capacity of elementary school teachers through more active participation in learning communities, so that it can become a reference for increasing the effectiveness of the existing education system in Indonesia.

Cultivating community-engaged pedagogy: a case study exploring student choices with community-based organizations in a volunteer management course

ABSTRACT Educators teaching at community-engaged universities can benefit from learning best practices to prepare 21st century citizens. This case study explores why undergraduate students in an online volunteer management course select an organization to complete a community-engaged learning activity. Theory-based teaching strategies integrating the characteristics of quality community-engaged learning are outlined. Qualitative analysis of student reflections resulted in six categories representing student choices including: social connections, exploring interests, positive human connection, organizational engagement, aligning values, and commitment to the cause. The lessons learned can help educators enhance students’ learning by nurturing diverse community connections, establishing student-centered course goals, and constructing significant learning strategies.

Social Justice in Community Environments: A Collaborative Photovoice Process

A small New England University and a local community center undertook a community based participatory research approach to understand the community-driven factors that most impact health. Photovoice was utilized to collaboratively highlight priority issues and to collectively advocate for change. The Photovoice approach was particularly useful in this context to transcend language differences and foster community dialogue between community and institutional partners in a way that dismantled traditional — and historically harmful — power dynamics between institutions and communities. The goal of utilizing this participatory-based method was to support community-identified social-ecological change, advocate for identified environmental justice priority issues, and support sustained community involvement. The novel aspects of the approach included guiding students and community members through this process in a community-engaged learning context that brought together linguistically diverse populations with a foundation of cultural humility, respect, and multi-directional learning.

학습공동체 프로그램 참여가 대학생들의 학업적 자기효능감, 회복탄력성, 대학몰입, 학업 성취도에 미치는 영향

Objectives This study investigated the effects of university students’ participation in learning communities as extracurricular programs on their academic self-efficacy, resilience, institutional commitment, and academic achievement. Methods A total of 72 undergraduate students attending a 4-year university in Korea participated in the study. They all have participated in learning community programs for one semester and were tested for their academic self-efficacy, resilience, institutional commitment, and academic achievement before and after their learning community experiences. Pre- and post-test data for these dependent variables were analyzed using SPSS 28.0 through paired sample t-tests. Results The analysis found that the participating students’ overall academic self-efficacy and all of its three sub-factors showed a statistically significant increase. Similarly, the resilience area also showed a significant increase in pre-post comparison, and significant increases were confirmed in the control and sociability sub-factors. The participating students’ level of university engagement in total and in two of the three sub-factors showed a significant increase. No significant difference was found in academic achievement between pre-test and post-test results. Conclusions The results of this study confirm that learning community programs in universities can have a positive impact on important areas for university students such as academic self-efficacy, resilience, and university engagement. This suggests that various learning community programs be facilitated in many universities to promote improvement in these areas.

Factor structure of FUNDES-Child-SE measuring the participation and independence of children with disabilities.

FUNDES-Child-SE is a proxy rating questionnaire for measuring participation and independence in children with disabilities in a Swedish context. It includes the components of frequency of attendance, engagement and independence. The original, Taiwanese FUNDES-Child 7.0, has previously been found to have a four-factor structure for frequency of participation and a two-factor structure for independence. The aim of this study was to test the factor structure in FUNDES-Child-SE. The factor structure is an important part of construct validity. Caregivers of 163 children with disabilities aged 6-18 years participated in this cross-sectional study. Exploratory factor analysis was used to find the factor structure for Engagement. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test the factor structure for all three components. The proposed factor structure for frequency of participation (daily living participation frequency, mobility participation frequency, learning participation frequency and community participation frequency) and independence (daily living independence and social participation independence) fit with data from FUNDES-Child-SE after excluding three to five items and adding two to five covariances of residuals. In the engagement component, two factors, named engagement in informal activities and engagement in formal activities, were found. After excluding one item and adding 10 covariances of residuals, the factor structure had an acceptable fit to data. Differences in components' factor structure indicate that attendance and engagement are separate aspects of participation. Before using numeric scores from FUNDES-Child-SE in clinical settings, responsiveness and interpretability should be evaluated.

The Impact of Mentoring Youth Placed At-Risk on the Socialization of Preservice Physical Educators

Purpose: Grounded in occupational socialization theory, the purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of mentoring underserved youth on the socialization of preservice teachers within a community-engaged after-school program. Methods: Data consisted of semistructured interviews, critical incident accounts, and field notes. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Data were analyzed inductively using elements of grounded theory and constant comparison. Findings: Four themes were developed. First, each participant entered teacher training to provide positive experiences for students. Second, the practical experience supported preservice teachers in feeling more comfortable in their roles as educators. Third, preservice teachers developed personal relationships with the students in the after-school program. Fourth, preservice teachers internalized the obligation to model healthy social–emotional behaviors. Conclusions: Findings indicate the benefits of mentoring in a community-engaged learning project. Interacting with a diverse population of students can positively impact teacher socialization and feelings toward students and teaching.

다문화 학습공동체 참여가 보육교사의 다문화수용성 및 다문화교육역량에 미치는 영향

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of participation in a multicultural learning community on childcare teacher’s multicultural acceptability and multicultural education competency among childcare teachers. For this purpose, a survey was conducted targeting 41 childcare teachers working in S-si, Gyeonggi-do. ‘Multicultural Acceptability’ and ‘Multicultural Education Competency’ measurements tools were used as research tools, and paired-sample t-test was used for data analysis. As a result of the study, firstly, participation in a multicultural learning community was effective in increasing childcare teachers' multicultural acceptability, and statistically significant differences were found in all subcategories of diversity, relationship, and universality. Secondly, participation in a multicultural learning community was effective in increasing childcare teachers' multicultural education capabilities, and statistically significant differences were found in all subcategories of knowledge, awareness, and skills. Through this study, implications were obtained that continuous participation in multicultural learning communities is effective in order to increase childcare teachers' multicultural acceptability and multicultural education capabilities.

Traversing the Challenges of Community Engagement in South Africa: Emerging Researchers’ Perspectives

With the growing emphasis being placed on community engagement, many emerging scholars have found themselves in the field with much to learn beyond the research that they are conducting. Community engagement is guided by principles such as the mutual exchange of knowledge, collaboratively identifying community priorities and an ongoing focus on strengthening and sustaining communities. In practice, community engagement is fraught with various challenges that need to be navigated. These challenges present themselves in different ways to different researchers. In this article, we draw on our experiences as three emerging researchers navigating community-engaged research across two geographic spaces in South Africa, namely, the Western Cape and Gauteng, two of the country’s nine national provinces. The objectives of this article are to explore our experiences of relationship building, to determine the role our positionalities have played in our engaged scholarship, and to explore feelings of disconnectedness as young academics. Following a qualitative reflexive approach, we identified three themes that speak to these objectives, namely, navigating newcomer status and building relationships in community-engaged spaces, reflections on researcher positionality in the field, and the dilemma of (dis)connectedness in engaged scholarship. Our findings highlight the need for support such as mentorship from experienced community-engaged scholars, resources for establishing community connections, guidance in navigating cultural nuances, and training for effective communication and relationship building in communities.

Impact of Teachers’ Professional Development on the Reading Achievement of Canadian Allophone Students

<p>This study examines the impact of teachers’ professional development on Canadian allophone students’ learning and reading performance levels. We used the data from the Pan-Canadian Assessment Program 2016 involving Grade 8/Secondary II Canadian allophone students (N = 2,244) and teachers in French and English Language Arts (N = 598). Our correlation results show that Canadian allophone students’ reading achievement was positively associated with teachers’ professional development activities such as academic pursuits (e.g., university courses) and marking or scoring sessions. The correlations also demonstrate that teachers’ professional practice of curriculum development had a positive influence on the learning levels of Canadian allophone students who were born in Canada, while teachers’ participation in professional learning communities had a positive effect on Canadian allophone students who were not born in Canada.</p>

A Community of Inquiry approach to learning design in a community-engaged learning program

The Medicine in Context (MiC) program is the flagship community-engaged learning and teaching program at the Western Sydney University School of Medicine. MiC students attend placements at community organisations, General Practice clinics and face-to-face tutorials and lectures for two fiveweek blocks. Responding to students’ lack of engagement and preference for more flexible delivery modes, a blended learning approach using the Community of Inquiry framework to guide the design has been gradually introduced since 2014. The MiC webpage was revised to simplify access to key information and resources. Five lectures were transformed into online modules and one workshop was converted into a flipped classroom. Multi-media open educational resources were added to replace some reading materials. Online “Weekly Study Guide” scaffolds, paces and aligns students’ self-directed learning with MiC learning outcomes. Moving program evaluation and some assessments to an online platform enables more timely feedback. These developments have resulted in novel, engaging learning activities. Preliminary evaluation indicates students’ greater engagement with the MiC program and deeper levels of learning indicated by increased levels of reflection and the demonstration of MiC learning outcomes being satisfied.