This article offers a case study of "Small Acts, Big Impacts", an annual public program designed by education staff at Discovery Museum (Massachusetts, USA) to encourage children's development of empathy and social awareness. After observing unfortunate changes in visitor behavior, combined with the societal context of the global…

Public engagement is becoming a critical element of U.S. universities' missions. Defining public engagement has become increasingly complex, however, and navigating the significant and diverse literature on public engagement can be daunting. This essay addresses this challenge as well as two others that make public engagement difficult for those…

In recent years, Zyromski and Dimmitt (2022) proposed a revised definition of evidence-based school counseling, with a greater emphasis on antiracism, anti-oppression, and a grounding in culture, context, and systemic change. Similarly, qualitative research can be used as a tool for advocacy and systemic change, eliciting a thick, rich, contextual…

The success of outreach hinges on whether programs are authentically rooted in the needs and strengths of a particular community. Here, we describe the process of conducting a needs assessment intended to provide this foundational information. This needs assessment, conducted by boundary spanners from a large public university, focuses on the…

We live in a time of increasing ideological conflict, when threats to global peace--including climate change, terrorism, cyberattacks, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and poverty--increasingly impact the daily lives of many. This situation necessitates a turn to peace education, which encourages the development of values,…

In this article, we provide guidance for educational psychologists who want to advance equity-focused school policies and practices through engaged scholarship. We conceptualize a philosophy of engagement and describe how it can facilitate psychologists' efforts to address the social conditions of people from historically marginalized communities.…

Feminist community-engaged scholars and practitioners value deep relationship building with their community partners, which can be challenging during periods of disruption. Increasingly, disruptions occur at multiple levels (e.g., pandemics, civil unrest, community/campus violence, partner staffing and leadership turnover, experiences of illness…

Inequities continue to weaken Michigan's capacity to respond quickly and effectively to crises, both natural and human-made. Minority and low-income populations, already disadvantaged, suffer the burden of the inequitable social, environmental, and economic injustices that have culminated in previously unacknowledged levels. Since 2011, the…

School librarians often find themselves betwixt two different worlds that come with quite varied expectations. They are seen as the arbiters of traditional learning and academia, with library spaces providing books and quiet places for self-enrichment and study. They are also often given the responsibility of being the building's technology…

There is a disconnect in higher education between higher education professional practices and valuing the community impact of engaged scholars. In this reflective essay, the authors highlight personal experiences with the process of working toward and earning promotion and tenure in academic settings. Those personal experiences are then…

This article highlights the nascent efforts between College Unbound, Brown University, and Providence College--three very different types of institutions in Providence, Rhode Island--to foster cross-institutional capacity for place-based community engagement. By collectively engaging our institutions, we experimented with what collaboration around…

Teachers have responsibility and can assume agency for enhancing the education of Pacific students in Aotearoa New Zealand. Pacific education is an area which needs improvement and, consequently, Pacific communities seek actions -- deliberate strategies -- to enhance educational provision. Among the strategies available is the engagement of role…

From the 1950s and onwards, Pierre Parlebas developed an original approach to education, which over time has spread beyond the borders of France. This study focuses on how Parlebas was led to develop the concept of an "alter-education of sport" and analyses those concepts through the lens of contemporary democratic societies. It will…

The author's previous articles for "FORUM," some co-authored with Dr. Andrew Allen, propose a radical restructuring of English schooling to enable more effective engagement with the community and a reassessment of the purposes of schooling. What follow here are a few suggestions that individual schools and academy trusts might take up to…

Over the past 10-15 years, the Volunteer Program at the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County has undergone an immense transition. This program overhaul tackled historical methodology that had been creating barriers to participation, addressed the changing needs of modern volunteer audiences, and worked to highlight access and inclusion in…