Date of Award

1-1-2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Higher Education

First Advisor

Franklin A. Tuitt, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Deborah Grealy

Third Advisor

Enid Cox

Keywords

Campus-community partnerships, Civic engagement, Concepts, Critical pedagogy, Partners, Service-learning

Abstract

Several recent studies have revealed that there is increasing individualism and declining interest in politics and civic engagement among college students. Accordingly, many scholars called for reinvigorating the civic mission of higher education. This thesis study examines academic service-learning as an effective pedagogy for promoting students’ civic engagement. The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the best ways of integrating service-learning into the curricula of undergraduate students. Using McCarthy’s (2003) conceptual framework, the “Concept of Triangles,” this study provides a comprehensive review of literature on the theoretical underpinnings, partners, and relationships of academic service-learning. The results of the study suggest that establishing clear connections between course content and the kind of service students do, and making meaningful placements of students to service sites are necessary for establishing effective service-learning courses. Additionally, the findings of the study reveal that promoting critical reflection, encouraging active participation from all partners, and meeting real community needs are essential to the success of service-learning programs. Finally, the findings of this study indicate that effective campus/community partnerships are characterized by reciprocal, collaborative, democratic, caring, trusting, and respectful relationships.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

Rights holder

Neivin Mahmoud Marzouk Shalabi

File size

94 p.

File format

application/pdf

Language

en

Discipline

Higher Education

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