Collaborative Agency in Civic and Community Engagement: Narratives of College Students Working Toward Generative Partnerships

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-33
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Thomas ◽  
Marsha Walton ◽  
Anna Baker-Olson ◽  
Isabelle Blaber ◽  
Remi Parker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Engagement ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
The United States ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Youth Leadership ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Campus Leaders ◽  
Local Stakeholders ◽  
Mutual Empowerment

The development of democratic citizenship and youth leadership requires an ability to collaborate with others in ways that are jointly empowering. In this study, we sought to understand how students at an urban liberal arts college in the United States framed their own and others’ efficacy and responsibility in narrative accounts of situations they faced in civic and community engagement. We were interested in how young people learn and work alongside local stakeholders, rather than serve on behalf of people and communities considered to be in need. We aimed to gain insight into occasions in which collaborative agency emerged, or failed to emerge, in the coordinated activity of individuals engaged in the creation of intersubjectivity, shared commitments, and perceptions of group accomplishment. We collected narratives over a 4-year period from 123 Bonner Scholars, campus leaders whose scholarship includes a substantial weekly commitment to service. Our analysis of stories featuring or problematizing collaborative agency showed students grappling with limits of collaborative agency, but also generativity and interdependence. They described civic agency and leadership with other students, non-profit partners, and citizens. In some settings, we heard students striving for a collaborative solidarity, moving beyond collaborative agency toward relationships affording mutual empowerment.

Community Engagement in the Liberal Arts: How Service Hours and Reflections Influence Course Value

2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 416-430
Author(s):  
David Lynn Painter ◽  
Courtney Howell
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Arts Community ◽  
Individual Conversations

Background: In response to critics’ charges that the liberal arts lack practical value, most colleges have incorporated service-learning in their curricula. Ideally, these service-learning activities not only benefit the community but also enhance the course’s (a) pedagogical effectiveness as well as the students’ (b) civic engagement and (c) professional development. Purpose: This investigation uses a survey to measure the extent to which service-learning in community engagement courses at a liberal arts college achieved these three outcomes. Methodology/Approach: Specifically, we parsed the influence of service hours and reflection activities on 740 students’ ratings of pedagogical effectiveness, civic engagement, and professional development. Findings/Conclusions: The results suggest students in community engagement courses that included at least 15 service hours and three different types of reflections reported significantly greater outcome achievement than those with fewer hours or reflections. Moreover, class discussions and individual conversations were rated the most effective types of reflection activities. Implications: Based on these findings, we provide some best practice suggestions for service hours and reflection activities in liberal arts community engagement courses.

Some Methods in Professionalized Subject Matter Courses in Mathematics for Teachers College

1931 ◽  
Vol 24 (7) ◽  
pp. 429-435
Author(s):  
Edna E. Kramer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Teacher Training ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
The United States ◽  
Normal School ◽  
Teachers College ◽  
Recent Interest ◽  
Special Stress

As a result of the recent interest and progress in teacher-training in the United States, has come the evolution of the normal school into the teachers college. The development has naturally given rise to the question of what should be done in order that the lengthened course be filled in most profitably. Whether to give additional courses in educational theory and methods of teaching, or to include courses in the content of the various subjects which students plan to teach that is, whether to make the teachers college a normal school of a "larger growth," or to convert it into the equivalent of a liberal arts college, which would lay special stress on the subjects commonly grouped under the heading "Education" — these have been the points under consideration.

scholarly journals Every Campus A Refuge

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diya Abdo ◽  
Krista Craven
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North Carolina ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
The United States ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
College Faculty ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
Refugee Families

Every Campus A Refuge is a novel initiative whereby college campuses provide housing and support to refugees navigating the resettlement process in the United States. This article details the founding and development of the Every Campus A Refuge initiative, particularly as it has been implemented at Guilford College, a small liberal arts college in North Carolina. It also details how Guilford College faculty and students are engaging in a multifaceted research study to document the resettlement experiences of refugee families who participate in Every Campus A Refuge and to determine the efficacy of the program in providing a “soft er landing” for refugees. Overall, this article aims to provide a detailed account of Every Campus A Refuge so as to show how such a program may be implemented at other college campuses.

scholarly journals Managing Diversity in Liberal Arts College Libraries

2000 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Winston ◽  
Haipeng Li
Keyword(s):  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Research University ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
The United States ◽  
University Libraries ◽  
Diversity Awareness ◽  
College Administrators ◽  
Managing Diversity ◽  
College Libraries ◽  
Large Research

Although fostering diversity has been identified as a priority in librarianship, the evidence suggests that the majority of the programs related to diversity in academic libraries have been implemented in large, research university libraries. In this study of the liberal arts college libraries in the United States, data were gathered with regard to programs related to diversity awareness, staffing, information services, and library collections. Although the level of diversity-related activities in liberal arts college libraries has not been overwhelming, the evidence suggests that activities and programs related to diversity have been undertaken in some instances. In addition, the support of college administrators appears to be particularly important in encouraging these activities.

scholarly journals Every Campus A Refuge

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-146
Author(s):  
Diya Abdo ◽  
Krista Craven
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North Carolina ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
The United States ◽  
College Campuses ◽  
College Faculty ◽  
Detailed Account ◽  
Refugee Families

Every Campus A Refuge is a novel initiative whereby college campuses provide housing and support to refugees navigating the resettlement process in the United States. This article details the founding and development of the Every Campus A Refuge initiative, particularly as it has been implemented at Guilford College, a small liberal arts college in North Carolina. It also details how Guilford College faculty and students are engaging in a multifaceted research study to document the resettlement experiences of refugee families who participate in Every Campus A Refuge and to determine the efficacy of the program in providing a “soft er landing” for refugees. Overall, this article aims to provide a detailed account of Every Campus A Refuge so as to show how such a program may be implemented at other college campuses.

scholarly journals Blurred Responsibilities of Disaster Governance: The American Red Cross in the US and Haiti

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 331-342
Author(s):  
Eija Meriläinen ◽  
Jukka Mäkinen ◽  
Nikodemus Solitander
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
The Political ◽  
American Red Cross ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Liberal Democratic ◽  
Private Actors ◽  
Governance Arrangements

The influence of private actors, such as non-profit organizations (NPOs) and firms, has been increasing in disaster governance. Previous literature has interrogated the responsibilities of states towards citizens in disasters, but the roles of private actors have been insufficiently challenged. The article politicizes the entangled relations between NPOs, states, and disaster-affected people. It proposes the Rawlsian division of moral labor as a useful, normative framework for interrogating the justice of disaster governance arrangements in which ‘liberal’ states are involved. Liberal states have two types of responsibilities in disasters: humanitarian and political. The humanitarian responsibilities imply provision of basic resources needed for the capacity to make autonomous choices (domestically and abroad), while the political responsibilities imply provision of the institutions needed for the liberal democratic citizenship (domestically). Through this analytical lens and building on the wealth of existing scholarship, we illustrate the disaster governance role of the American Red Cross in the United States (a 2005 hurricane) and in Haiti (the 2010 earthquake). Where, in Rawlsian terms, United States is interpreted as a ‘liberal’ society, Haiti is framed as a ‘burdened’ society. The article proposes five points to consider in analyzing disaster governance arrangements under neoliberal regimes, structured around the division of humanitarian and political responsibilities. The article illustrates how NPOS are instrumental in blurring the boundaries between humanitarian and political responsibilities. This might result ultimately in actual vulnerabilities remaining unaddressed. While the Rawlsian approach challenges the privatization and lack of coordination in disaster governance, it is limited in analyzing the political construction of ‘burdened’ societies.

Christ-animated graduate education in America: Can we redeem a Protestant failure?

2022 ◽  
pp. 205699712110625
Author(s):  
Perry L Glanzer ◽  
Hina Abel ◽  
Emma Cartisano ◽  
Kevin O’Donoghue ◽  
Austin Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Graduate Education ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Graduate Programs ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
The United States ◽  
Christian Universities ◽  
Christian Institutions

Unlike the liberal arts college, American graduate education started as and continues to be a secular affair. The last four decades, however, have produced growth in both the number and quality of Christian graduate programs. The question we asked is: do American Christian institutions engage in graduate education Christianly? To answer this question for Protestants, we undertook a theologically-guided discourse analysis of the 638 graduate programs at the 41 top ranked Protestant Christian universities in the United States. In particular, we looked at the marketing, objectives, and curriculum. We found only one-third of the graduate programs demonstrated even one piece of evidence demonstrating Christian distinctiveness.

Political Science in the Next Decade

1945 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 757-766 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pendleton Herring
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Affairs ◽  
Conditioning Factors ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Two Generations ◽  
Large Groups ◽  
Philosophic Tradition

In the United States, the academic study of political thought and institutions for nearly two generations has been carried on in a quiet and often sequestered college atmosphere. Departments of political science, having achieved their independence from history or philosophy or from faculties of law, have freely pursued their interests and attracted satisfactorily large groups of students. Political scientists in the past have often been very effective as reformers and sometimes have served as lawmakers and administrators. Our profession has, however, been essentially a product of the humanistic and philosophic tradition of the liberal arts college. Our occasional forays into politics or administration have been treated rather as personal adventures than as habitual to the career of a student of government. As professors of a distinctive discipline, we have taught our courses and expected of our colleagues in other departments that respect for jurisdictional boundaries which serves as the greatest safeguard to our scholarly mysteries and the readiest protection of academic amenities. Changes are already upon us that promise to alter greatly these familiar and pleasant arrangements.During the next ten years, the profession of political science will be facing conditions that promise to affect profoundly the nature of this discipline. These conditioning factors are (1) the relatively greater rôle that government has assumed and (2) the more active part that students of government are undertaking in public affairs. With these two factors as my premise, I shall discuss their implications for political science as a distinctive field of study.

scholarly journals Constructive Disequilibrium and Transformative Pedagogy

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Nalani ◽  
Christina Gómez ◽  
Andrew Garrod
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Transformative Learning ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
The United States ◽  
Marshall Islands ◽  
Life Trajectories ◽  
American Students ◽  
Study Abroad Program

In this reflective essay we examined the experiences of a group of students from a small liberal arts college in the United States on a study abroad program to the Marshall Islands to intern as preservice teachers in Marshallese schools. Specifically, we examined 32 students’ critical reflections written once they returned from their programs. We interrogated their understanding of themselves regarding their privilege as American students and the inequality between the two nations. Through their teaching of Marshallese students, they deeply questioned the meaning of privilege, culture, identity, and community. We interpreted these experiences through the lens of transformative learning theory and the notion of constructive disequilibrium. When critical-transformative pedagogies inform these experiences, they nudge students out of their comfort zone and offer them opportunities to consider new possibilities that widen their life trajectories and develop global citizenship. We conclude with advocating for the importance of study abroad experiences.

scholarly journals Biographical Feature: Karen C. Carroll, M.D.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Munson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
College Student ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Liberal Arts College ◽  
Roman Catholic ◽  
The United States ◽  
Atlantic Region ◽  
Undergraduate Biology

The following passage is an unofficial transcript from an early 1970s post-lecture exchange between a freshman college student and a Roman Catholic nun teaching an undergraduate biology course at a small liberal arts college in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.…

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