Thesis (M.A.T.) -- School for International Training, 2006. / Advisor -- Pat Moran Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-72).

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How important is the social experience of learning in the postgraduate classroom? This thesis explores what eight postgraduate students judged to be their ‘best’ classroom experiences within one New Zealand university. The researcher started from the assumption that the students’ ‘best’ classroom experiences would correspond with what the literature characterises as ‘communities of learners’ in which the students felt that their past experiences were valued and personal relationships were respectful and relatively equal. This assumption was, for the most part, accurate. Problematic areas, such as assessment, were also identified. International students’ experiences were a key part of the research. Six of the students were studying in their second language yet that alone was not the main indicator of classroom participation as personality (such as shyness)also affected how students engaged with the course content, the lecturers, and with each other. The case study approach raises possibilities and questions as well as recognising trends that suggest that postgraduate students value interactive learning within meaningful classroom contexts.

How important is the social experience of learning in the postgraduate classroom? This thesis explores what eight postgraduate students judged to be their ‘best’ classroom experiences within one New Zealand university. The researcher started from the assumption that the students’ ‘best’ classroom experiences would correspond with what the literature characterises as ‘communities of learners’ in which the students felt that their past experiences were valued and personal relationships were respectful and relatively equal. This assumption was, for the most part, accurate. Problematic areas, such as assessment, were also identified. International students’ experiences were a key part of the research. Six of the students were studying in their second language yet that alone was not the main indicator of classroom participation as personality (such as shyness)also affected how students engaged with the course content, the lecturers, and with each other. The case study approach raises possibilities and questions as well as recognising trends that suggest that postgraduate students value interactive learning within meaningful classroom contexts.

Yes / Community-Based Learning (CBL) has been more recently introduced into some psychology programmes in the UK than in the USA, where it has existed for a number of decades in the form of ‘service learning’. CBL holds promise as a means of promoting and developing critical community psychology practice, but there are risks involved in its acritical adoption in the psychology curriculum. If associated power dynamics are not considered, CBL has the capacity to serve neoliberal interests and perpetuate, rather than challenge, oppressive social relations. This article examines ways in which CBL can be both conducive and corrosive to critical community psychology practice. Drawing on interdisciplinary literature, it explores ways in which students participating in CBL can be vulnerable to exploitation – both as victims and perpetrators – through collusion and cultural voyeurism. Consideration is given to ways of resisting institutional and other pressures to comply uncritically with the demands of the ‘employability agenda’. These include the importance of facilitated reflective processes in associated modules, to consider aspects of the interactions of people and systems. The article concludes that whilst CBL is inherently risky and involves discomfort for students, this enables development of a more informed consciousness where truly participatory work evolves towards greater social justice.

Civic competence is critical to the successful functioning of pluralistic democracies. Developing the knowledge, skills, and motivations for effective democratic participation is a national and global imperative that many higher education institutions have embraced through the teaching strategies of community-based learning and service-learning. Yet, scant research literature has focused on the relationship between pedagogical approaches and civic competence outcomes. This five-year longitudinal study of 11,000 students in 700 senior-level capstone courses at an urban research university empirically tested a new theoretically constructed model of civic competence development in order to identify epistemological and pedagogical elements that enhance civic competence. Eight epistemological domains embedded within four components of civic competence (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and actions) were analyzed utilizing item and factor analysis. The model was extremely robust (r = .917) for civic competence development and indicated strong effect size for multiple pedagogical elements of course design, teaching strategies, and integration of community service. Significantly, the greatest effect for developing civic competence is pedagogical incorporation of diversity and social justice issues. Thus, the Critical Pedagogy Model of Civic Competence offers faculty a heuristic taxonomy of teaching and learning strategies to utilize diversity of thought and interaction in community-based learning as a catalyst for transforming students into competent democratic participants.

Vor dem Hintergrund der Digitalisierung in der Hochschulbildung, insbesondere ihrer didaktisch- methodischen, technischen und organisatorischen Implementierung und ihrer Integration in geeignete Lernmanagementsysteme, beschäftigt sich das vorliegende Paper mit dem Lernen von Studierenden in und mit digitalen Medien sowie der kollaborativen Wissensarbeit im Rahmen eines Crowdfunding-Projekts für Jugendliche. Im vorgestellten Lehrpraxisbeispiel wird ein Flipped-Classroom-Konzept kombiniert mit einem Community-based Service Learning-Ansatz umgesetzt, um die Vermittlung digitaler Kompetenzen mit einer fachlich-inhaltlichen Wissensvertiefung im Bereich alternativer Finanzierungsformen im Management von Einrichtungen der Sozialen Arbeit einerseits und dem gesellschaftlichen Engagement der Studierenden andererseits zu verknüpfen.

This thesis discusses how the restructuring of the UK television industry in the 1980s and 1990s has affected learning and skills development in the sector. It is based on 71 semi-structured interviews with television freelancers and key informants in the industry, and a case study of a small regional independent company developed through semi-structured interviews and three months of participant observation. To investigate the current learning and skills development mechanisms, this thesis engages with community-based learning theories. These are discussed in relation to industry characteristics such as commissioning and independent production and labour market realities related to freelance work and educational provision. The findings reveal that the traditional on the job learning mechanisms within communities of practice are challenged under the new structural context characterised by unrestricted entry and progression and short-term projects within an uncertain employment context. Commercial pressures affect both the access to learning opportunities and the learning experience, mainly because of the lack of legitimate and gradual experiential learning possibilities, short-term involvement in the industry under pressures to perform. The thesis also discusses the realities of the work in a small regional independent production company as well as its benefits and limitations as a venue for community-based learning. This thesis concludes with several policy recommendations which address some of the main challenges to the sustainable skills development in UK television. These recommendations subscribe to the need for introducing legitimate traineeships, entry rules and detaching learning from the commercial pressures in the sector.

Numerous studies demonstrate the effectiveness of university-based community service programs on students' personal, social, ethical, and academic domains. These effects depend on both, the characteristics of students enrolled and the characteristics of the programs, for instance whether they are voluntary or mandatory. Our study investigates whether effects of voluntary service programs are indeed caused by the service experience or by prior self-selection. Using data from a pre-post quasi-experimental design conducted at a public university in Europe and taking students' socioeconomic background into account, our findings on self-efficacy, generalized trust, empathic concern, and attributions for poverty show that there are no participation effects. Instead, students who join in community service differ significantly from nonparticipants with regard to almost all investigated domains a priori, indicating strong self-selection. Our results underline the importance of structured group reflection, most notably with regard to attitude-related topics.

The risk factors associated with intergenerational transmission of poverty have been well established within Family Science literature for decades. Multiple efforts have been extended at the community level to meet needs, however, few have been successful in breaking the cycle of poverty within families. In 2007, local civic leaders spent two years studying and comparing the efforts of surrounding service organizations and their impact on the multigenerational cycle of poverty in a metropolitan city in South Georgia. In 2011, findings lead to the creation of a unique family life education program that engaged families residing in inner-city neighborhoods to help family members with parenting skills. The design of the program focuses on helping families create safe, language-rich, interactive family environments for their children. The intention of this program is to enable family members to effectively serve as their children’s first teachers and prepare their preschool children for entry into kindergarten, however this program has also begun to impacted the community through the creation of leadership tracks for attendees who have shifted from learner to leader. With each year, participants lead the way to adding program elements, such as transportation, baby showers, and vision screening, to reach the needs of the community members and increase enrollment. This presentation will highlight the family-centric education model and data summary to date. Trust- and rapport-building along with empowering families and ultimately impacting the whole community will be emphasized as agents of change. This presentation will also include an overview of the history of this program and will discuss its unique attributes that has brought together people from across the community. The guiding principles of trust and respect among participants are central to all discussions, which has been found to be critical for the success of a program (Wiley & Ebata, 2004; Ballard & Taylor, 2012). This presentation will provide direction on how to empower participants by strengthening their voice in the program planning process. Insight into how this program can be replicated in areas across the United States will be discussed. In Fall 2017, an analysis and summary of previously collected data began and additional methodologies were added to better understand the quantifiable impact of the program thus far. Preliminary data analyses on participation revealed that from August 2013 to Summer 2017, which included more than 50 Saturday trainings, totaled 2,890 attendees. Each Saturday training averaged 60 learners with this increasing across time. The data collected in Fall 2017 provided more in-depth demographic information as well as more consistent pre-post evaluations of each training session. Data will be discussed to provide interesting insights into participant learning and the unique population being served. Data from the pilot through Fall 2017 will be presented confirming that through targeted outreach and resources, communities can be empowered.