Student Involvement & Leadership
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Open Access Building Communication Capacities Within Nonprofits Through Service-Learning(2019) McCunney, W. Dennis; Getto, GuiseppePrevious research suggests that non-profit professionals struggle to effectively utilize digital media and that service-learning is an effective pedagogy for teaching communication-related classes (i.e. communication, technical communication, English, etc.). However, we do not know what impact these strategies have on community partner organizations. Our chapter reports preliminary findings of a study of a service-learning class in which graduate technical communication students were asked to help improve the communication capacity of local non-profits. An important finding of this research is that organizations who were able to clearly identify a gap between organizational and communication goals at the beginning of the class were more receptive to student feedback and found the class more useful than those who didn’t. Ultimately, we argue that through a collaborative study using participatory action research methodology, this work generated research outcomes and, at the same time, helped to build the organizational capacities of selected regional non-profits.Item Open Access Shaped by Campus Culture: Intersections Between Transformative Learning, Civic Engagement, and Institutional Mission(2017-09) McCunney, W. DennisThis ethnographic case study describes how civically engaged students understand their commitment to social change. Literature on civic engagement and service-learning abounds, yet gaps remain in understanding how students understand and act on campus mission and culture with respect to civic engagement. Using the frameworks of transformative learning, emerging adulthood, and civic engagement, this study attempted to understand a subculture of 24 undergraduate students at a Jesuit university. Ethnographic case study methodology was used in order to understand broader context and culture within which this subculture existed. Findings help to further understand how students interact with campus mission and culture relative to civic engagement. Emic and etic themes were distilled into 10 overarching umbrella themes. Implications for future research focus on the intersection of culture, context, and civic engagement at both faith-based and secular institutions.Item Open Access Linking Leadership and Service: Creating Reflective Experiences for Students(2015-10) McCunney, W. Dennis; Shuck, Nichelle; Lott, SuzannahItem Open Access PURPOSEFUL PARTNERSHIPS: COMMUNICATION, COLLABORATION, & COMMITMENT TO COMMUNITY(2017) McCunney, W. Dennis; Kermiet, Tara; Howard, LaurenThe call for civic engagement has awakened renewed interest in promoting institutional citizenship, building new campus-community initiatives, and promoting a broad sense of civic responsibility in higher education. The relationship between the campus and the community is foundational to civic engagement, and all collaborative activities or projects stem from that relationship. The Center for Leadership and Civic Engagement (https://www.ecu.edu/csstudentaffairs/volunteer/) (CLCE) at East Carolina University (ECU) partners with nonprofits, schools or programs in the regional area that provides both services to community members and also provides service and learning opportunities for ECU students, faculty, and staff. Recently, the CLCE team made efforts to improve our partnership development process to ensure that these partnerships are sustainable, strategically focused, and nourished through consistent communication.Item Open Access INCLUSIVE ASSESSMENT: TOWARD A SOCIALLY-JUST METHODOLOGY FOR MEASURING INSTITUTION-WIDE ENGAGEMENT(2015) McCunney, W. Dennis; Getto, GuiseppeInstitutions are increasingly being called upon to collect large amounts of data to demonstrate community impact. At institutions with strong and wide-reaching public engagement/service missions, this expectation is even greater – both for quality improvement and for demonstrating regional transformation. Despite these expectations, the decentralized culture of many campuses and lack of external incentives for individual faculty and departments can present significant barriers to telling a complete, representative, institutional story of engagement. This article explores the efforts of one campus to develop an inclusive assessment methodology in order to meet multifaceted institutional needs and navigate challenges. We take into account the particular dynamics of a specific campus culture to develop a process that is unique to the needs and particularities of our institution. At the same time, we hope that this methodology will demonstrate transferability to other institutions.Item Open Access Striving for the magis: An ethnographic case study of transformative learning and sustained civic engagement at a Jesuit university(2015-05) McCunney, W. DennisThis ethnographic case study describes how civically engaged students at a Jesuit institution understand their commitment to social change. Literature on civic engagement and service-learning abound, yet gaps exist in understanding how students interact with campus mission and culture. Using the lenses of transformative learning, emerging adulthood, and civic engagement, this study attempts to understand a subculture of students at a Jesuit university. Ethnographic case study methodology is used in order to understand broader context and culture within which this subculture exists. Participants were identified through purposive sampling, and data was collected through interviews and participant observation. Findings help to further understand how students interact with campus mission and culture relative to civic engagement. Emic and etic themes were distilled into ten overarching umbrella themes. The discussion points to implications for future research at faith-based and secular institutions.Item Open Access Community-Campus Partnerships and Student Learning: Using Lessons Learned to Chart a Path for the Future(2013-12-19) McCunney, W. Dennis; Linz Dickinson, MeganInstitutions of higher learning are being called upon more than ever to establish and nurture sustainable partnerships with local communities. In particular, the language of Jesuit mission and identity lends itself to community engagement work and developing the civic skills of our students. These efforts can provide transformative experiences for campus communities, fundamentally altering and perforating the boundaries between campus and community. Yet partnerships present significant challenges. Mission differences, variations in institutional capacity, and divergent cultures can all potentially stand in the way of long-lasting partnerships, particularly when many actors are involved. After trial and error, reviewing best practices in campus-community partnerships, and relying on the rich heritage of Jesuit educational pedagogy and practice, educators at Loyola University Maryland developed a set of take-away principles. These lessons learned now serve as a guide for conversations about entering into both transactional and transformational partnerships on campus. The principles act as a type of roadmap for future engagement with the local community in order to provide high-quality civic learning opportunities for students.Item Open Access An ethnographic exploration of a student subculture of sustained civic engagement(2011-09) McCunney, W. DennisThe purpose of this study is to describe how students understand their own participation in civic engagement activities, particularly as members of a supportive community. Research questions include: How do students understand their own interest in civic engagement, and what are motivating factors that propel them to be civically active? Weber's types of authority and Vygotsky's concept of cultural tools frame the study. While some scholars have used qualitative methods to study civic engagement, lacking in these studies is a consideration of the role that other like-minded students play in these student activists' efforts and, ultimately, self-understandings. The cultural context has not been primarily addressed. Instead of attempting to understand the essence of the activist impulse for the individual, an ethnographic approach to the problem incorporates “detailed accounts of the concrete experience of life within a particular culture and of the beliefs and social rules that are used as resources within it” (Hammersley & Atkinson, 1995, p. 10). Such an approach broadens the lens through which the situation is viewed, taking into account the entire context and implicit and explicit rules, assumptions, and expectations. Considering the relative uncertainty with which scholars have dealt with campus activism and civic engagement in the past, the historical roots of today's movement may contain some unanswered questions and unexplored terrain. Looking more closely at groups of students involved in activism and civic engagement efforts may help shed light on this interesting -- yet continually contested -- area within higher education. As this full study nears completion and further interviews and focus groups are conducted, the dynamics of subcultures as described and voiced by engaged students themselves will hopefully paint a more holistic picture of this movement.Item Open Access Educating engaged citizens through service: Innovative models for reflection and dialogue(2012-09-23) McCunney, W. Dennis; Linz Dickinson, Megan; Harrison, Christina; Farley, MeganCommunity service, accompanied by regular, guided reflection, provides a highly effective tool for engaging students in democratic practices within their communities (Astin, 1998; Kolb, 1984; Kuh, 1995). Community service programs must include components that develop greater identification with the community, promote civil dialogue and critical thought, and teach communication skills. Reflection practices can teach students about a range of social issues and also deepen their understanding of the common good. Engagement in the community through service provides an ideal vehicle for sparking conversation about previously unexamined concepts of self in relation to society, and the notion of a common good that weaves through the tapestry of society. After a yearlong process that included a literature review, examination of models implemented at other universities, and self‐evaluation of education and reflection practices, staff from the Center for Community Service and Justice developed an innovative model designed to raise the quality of and participation in structured reflection sessions proceeding and following co‐curricular community service experiences. The new model is structured around three key components ‐‐Commitment, Training, and Curriculum ‐‐that address both the weaknesses of the previous model and further the goals of experiential education. To assess the effectiveness of the new model in accomplishing the goals for reflection, qualitative and quantitative data have been collected and evaluated for both student participants and student leaders.