The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore how individuals describe their initial and continued motivation to volunteer at a Texas Veterans Service Organization (VSO). The literature review indicated a gap in understanding the motivations of those who volunteer to support VSOs. The ABCE model of volunteer motivation was used…

Little research exists on how undergraduate students develop constructs or an understanding of disability during community-engaged service-learning experiences in adapted physical activity. Many studies have been conducted on attitudinal change in undergraduates working with individuals with disabilities. The researcher conducted a previous…

Colleges and universities are increasingly under pressure to prepare students for professional success after graduation, and, at the same time, are facing calls to enhance student civic learning and to contribute to their local communities. High-impact practices have been embraced as pedagogical approaches to address these goals. In particular,…

Community engagement and service-learning programs have become staples in the curricula of colleges across the United States. While the intentions behind many of these programs are altruistic, they can often unwittingly replicate oppressive power dynamics with the communities they seek to serve. This dissertation explored how feminist community…

This dissertation project designed, implemented, and measured the efficacy of Transformative Experience teaching methods in Community-Engaged contexts to help students connect with and apply their scientific knowledge in their daily lives. The Transformative Experience framework connects class ideas to everyday experiences by scaffolding students'…

This dissertation project designed, implemented, and measured the efficacy of Transformative Experience teaching methods in Community-Engaged contexts to help students connect with and apply their scientific knowledge in their daily lives. The Transformative Experience framework connects class ideas to everyday experiences by scaffolding students'…

This qualitative study examines the perceptions of faculty and administration of the value of service-learning in the promotion and tenure process at Minnesota State University, Mankato, a midsized, Midwestern public university. The study aims to determine the answers to three main questions: what barriers and logistical issues do faculty face? Is…

This study is centered on first-generation Latinx students at Sacramento State and their academic journey. The research explores the impact of community engagement through service learning, community-based learning, volunteerism, and civic engagement on these students and their degree completion. The undergraduate experience in higher education is…

Alternative Breaks are service trips that occur at colleges and universities all around the United States, but little is known of their long-term impact on the participants. This study explored how alumni of Alternative Break programs were civically engaged in their communities post-graduation. The survey instrument, modeled on the Life After…

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore how Higher Education Institutions' (HEIs) instructors perceived the engagement of college learners with instructional practices online during the COVID-19 Pandemic at a college in New York. Underpinning the study was the engagement theory framework, which focuses on the use of…

Service learning and community engagement, pedagogical strategies combining work in the community with academic learning, have become near ubiquitous across U.S. higher education. While scholarship has demonstrated positive student learning outcomes of community engaged pedagogies and practices, there has been unequal consideration towards…

This autoethnography of my lived experiences as a middle-school service-learning course teacher has helped me solve a personal mystery and present an important perspective for the K-12 service-learning field. With an eye on revealing a unique service-learning classroom concept to educational leaders, enhancing middle level teacher education, and…

The existing literature has much to offer regarding the adjustment issues of international students. English proficiency and social support appear to be the biggest factors affecting the social, academic, and cultural adjustment of international students. Psychology graduate programs can exacerbate these challenges due to strenuous workload,…

Ample evidence suggests that attending college is positively associated with an increased level of civic engagement. However, few studies develop and test a conceptual model that investigates which elements of the collegiate experience affect the development of civic engagement. Therefore, this study focused on the development and testing of a…

The purpose of the study was to examine students' expected and observable civic engagement in a Montessori Erdkinder-based middle school classroom. Research questions included: (a) In what ways is civic engagement addressed in the Montessori Erdkinder-based middle school explicit curriculum? (b) How does the expected civic engagement in the…