Thesis advisor: Gustavo Morello / Increasingly, Universities and Community Organizations are engaging in dynamic partnerships built on ideals of reciprocity and mutual benefit. When initiating such partnerships, organizations face the difficult task of merging distinct organizational cultures and missions; integrating different missions and organizational processes without overtaking them. This merging of organizational ideologies generates a “partnership culture” that exists outside of the individual organizations; the successful creation and maintenance of which can lead to eventual partnership success and longevity. Past research typically views these partnerships as relationships at the organizational level, between university A and organization B. However, little consideration is given to the ways in which individuals within the organizations actively create and maintain these partnerships through their personal relationships. I argue that the creation and maintenance of successful inter-organizational partnerships between universities and their community partner organizations (CPOs) hinges on the formal and informal processes between individuals as representatives of their organization. Using an in-depth qualitative methodology, grounded in concern for community voice and agency, this paper highlights university-community partnerships in the context of service-based programs at a medium-sized, faith-based university in New England (Northeast College). Through interviews with university program directors and CPO directors and volunteer coordinators responsible for these partnerships, I investigate the processes of establishing relationships and mechanisms for continued success and partnership longevity. This study shows that the formation and identification of a “partnership culture” based on perceived mission alignment, trust, respect, and mutual investment has led to the cultivation of long-standing partnerships between Northeast College and its CPOs. Additionally, through the development of personal relationships built on open communication and viewing each party as “co-educators,” it presents specific mechanisms that contribute to the successful cultivation of such a culture. By specifically highlighting the perspectives of the CPOs, this study seeks to contribute directly to the growing concern in the area for community impact, and the development of CPO agency and feedback in the partnership creation process. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

The proliferation and pervasiveness of new media and technologies in many U.S. young people’s daily life has reshaped their civic life experiences. Civic learning is now not only happening in offline environments but also online spaces. However, there is little research on the potential of new media for civic education. This study investigates young people’ learning experiences in new media civic education (NMCE) programs. The major research questions for this study are: How does new media civic education facilitate youth to address social issues? How can new media civic education foster youth civic identity? This study uses a qualitative collective-case study method to investigate two civic programs that integrated new media productions and address social issues: one program prepared students to learn about sustainability issues and to produce a series of virtual talk shows about sustainability issues in Second Life (a simulated world digital platform); the other program facilitated students’ production of radio stories about homeless youth. Findings from this study reveal that NMCE can help students navigate in a new media mediated world to learn about social issues, produce digital stories to raise awareness about these issues, and mobilize their interests for civic causes. In addition, students can develop authentic voices about social issues, exercise civic agency and reach out to real world audiences across the world to facilitate social change. Both cases in this study demonstrated a mix of success and failure in facilitating civic learning and civic identity development. Results from this study suggest NMCE programs adopt three distinct pedagogies: (1) pedagogies that embrace students’ cultural experiences to develop youth voices on social issues (e.g. the pedagogy of collegiality); (2) ones that facilitate examination of their emotions in manipulating what they perceive about social issues and the other (e.g. a pedagogy of discomfort); and (3) pedagogies that encourage mentorship and peer teaching/learning about digital production skills (e.g. studio mentorship model). Furthermore, it is necessary to consider not only the expression of youth voices, but also how these voices will be heard, what kinds of conversations might be sparked based on these digital works, and how students would respond to them. Thus, creating spaces of participation where students can meet people with diverse perspectives and have dialogues with them around social issues discussed in their digital productions is important for NMCE to prepare democratic citizens.

As communities continue to face issues relating to sustainability and with students demanding more university courses focused on solving these issues, a program that works to address both factors could prove beneficial. Modeled after the University of Oregon’s Sustainable Cities Initiative, the Community Bridge Initiative (CBI) at Utah State University aims to tackle specific community sustainability concerns by enlisting student and faculty expertise to create innovative ideas and provide increased capacity. While CBI is still in its pilot year, this thesis identified the benefits and challenges associated with the application of this program and provided recommendations to best implement this program once it leaves the pilot stage. Data were collected from a community needs assessment and from students enrolled in CBI pilot classes. The community needs assessment revealed that of 35 local organizations surveyed, 91% wanted to partner with USU in efforts to address current and future issues, showing that CBI would have the needed community support should it choose to partner with local organizations on various issues. Organization needs included improving the communities of Cache Valley, educating the public about important issues and spreading awareness of their specific programs, and mitigating funding and physical resource issues. For partnerships, organizations were most interested in pairing with USU on education and volunteer initiatives and sustainability-based efforts. In regard to students enrolled in CBI courses, the program also gained student validation as 92% of the students reported that the class positively impacted them, 88% would take a CBI course again, 63% would list the experience on their resume, and 73% felt that the class was more effective in communicating course content in comparison to traditional USU courses. Following these results, full implementation of the CBI program at Utah State University is recommended.

This research explores participant experience of the Service Learning Program in the context of an Australian Catholic Boys’ Secondary School. The research aims to explore what is happening as adolescent participants engage in working and relating with homeless people over an extended period of time. What are they learning? What sense or meaning are they making of their experiences, and are they deepening their value and belief system towards existential change? Service Learning is a curriculum initiative that Australian Secondary Schools are implementing to assist in the development of both the ethos of schools and in attempts to meet the needs of Twenty-first Century youth for a relevant education. While the benefits for participants in Service Learning are well documented, the effects upon recipients of the services provided, and whether the benefits for participants are the result of prior learning, family factors, or predispositions to this type of experiential learning, remain unclear. While Service Learning Programs are proving to be increasingly popular for school administrators, there appears to be a lack of clear models for Service Learning, its links to academic curriculum, or clearly articulated goals to assess success and achievement. A real danger of an adhoc approach to Service Learning in schools exists. The discussion of benefits to participants has not clearly identified links between program elements and hoped for benefits, nor has it examined the process or journey that participants have engaged in. Critical reflection on these issues has informed the purpose of this research and helped to shape the following research questions that focus the conduct of the study: Research Question One What features of the Service Learning Program at Holy Family College impact on participant experience? Research Question Two What changes are there in the meanings participants give to their experiences in the Service Learning Program over time? Research Question Three How do participants perceive their Service Learning experience in terms of their personal world view and the world view promoted by the school? The theoretical framework for this study was that of Constructionism as the criteria for judging that neither ‘reality’ nor ‘validity’ are absolute; rather they are derived from community consensus of what is ‘real’, what is useful, and what has meaning. In exploring participants’ experience as they served and related with homeless people ‘reality’, ‘usefulness’ and ‘meaning’ were derived from the student’s reflection upon their experience and their communal dialogue. Hence this study used Symbolic Interactionism as the perspective to explore experience. An interpretive approach was utilised, as humans interpret their environment, evaluate beliefs in terms of their usefulness in situations, select what they notice in every situation and focus on human action and interaction. A case study approach was used as it acknowledged the unique setting of a ‘van site’ for homeless people. Using personal journaling and focus groups data was collected from fifty-three Year 11 students who had volunteered to participate on the van for a period of six months. All fifty-three participants in the Service Learning Program experienced particular phases regardless of prior service experience, variables linked to family or personality type. These phases were: Expectations, Exposure, Reframing, Disillusionment, Awareness and Agency. This study concluded that within these phases, participant experience was influenced by the length of time of the program, the presence of active mentors facilitating the experience, ongoing reflection upon experience and situating the experience in a clear ideological framework. While each participant experienced the phases mentioned above no two students derived the same meaning or level of meaning from their experiences. The research concluded that each participant will exit a Service Learning Program with varying levels of internalisation of the core values of the program. Some will exit with a surface appreciation of what the program was about; others deeper, others tacit; some will arrive at a point of existential change. While acknowledging the influence of family and personality factors in this journey, this research shows that the presence of active mentors, reflection upon experience, a clear ideological framework and a significant length of time to allow for the maturation of both reflection and experience will move participants further along towards existential change than would otherwise have occurred. A model; the Spiral Model of Service Learning is proposed to support these findings.

Thesis (M. Nurs.)--Washington State University, December 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Feb. 12, 2010). "College of Nursing." Includes bibliographical references (p. 36-40).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 162-173). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Georgia Southern University, 2007. / "A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Georgia Southern University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education." Under the direction of Ming Fang He. ETD. Electronic version approved: May 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 96-102) and appendices.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographic references (ℓ. 99-124)

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, May, 2008. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A. in human development)--Washington State University, August 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Aug. 11, 2009). "Department of Human Development." Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-71).