Published: November 18, 2009 06:23 pm         

Journal explores community-based learning

Indiana State publishes inaugural edition

TERRE HAUTE — Indiana State University has published the inaugural edition of The Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education. The online, refereed journal explores community engagement and community-based learning perspectives, research and practice.

“Publication of the journal reflects Indiana State’s commitment to incorporating community engagement into academics and to serving as a national leader in promoting the exchange of ideas and successful practices in this vital area,” Nancy Rogers, the journal’s editor, said.

Indiana State was among the first institutions in the country to be recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in a new classification of colleges and universities that recognizes substantial commitments to both an academic approach to community collaboration and extensive outreach and partnerships within the community.

A new five-year strategic plan for the university, announced in October, calls for an even greater commitment to public service and community engagement.

The Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education publishes accounts about a range of research focusing on practical and theoretical insights and understanding in higher education and across a variety of disciplines and professions.

There is a focus on case studies emphasizing community engagement and engaged learning practices, methodology and teaching methods.

“The journal aims to establish and maintain a review of the literature of both research and practice. It also provides a forum for dialogue, providing a vehicle for critical reflection and analysis of different approaches,” said Rogers, associate vice president for public service and community engagement at Indiana State.

Articles in the 2009 first edition include an account of the design and implementation of a service learning course in pharmacy at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville; a review of a DePaul University community service and service learning project to reduce sexually transmitted infections in a largely immigrant Hispanic and African-American community in Chicago; and a report about creating opportunity out of catastrophe by developing pre-service learning opportunities at a magnet school in post-Katrina New Orleans for education majors at Louisiana State University.

Other articles focus on a Sam Houston State University blueprint for creating an off-campus counseling clinic for students in eight suburban school districts; Gustavus Adolphus College’s replacement of its public speaking course with a public discourse class as a foundational communication course; an evaluation of the impact of seed money grants in stimulating community-based research and service learning at the University of South Florida; and a review of community partner perceptions of community engagement experiences for Bethel University nursing students.



On the Net

• The Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education is edited and published by the Center for Public Service and Community Engagement in conjunction with Indiana Campus Compact. It may be accessed at discovery.indstate.edu/ojs.