Employing an institutional case study approach, this manuscript features two high-impact learning opportunities open to Albion College students who seek to contribute to solving real-world problems in collaboration with local and surrounding communities: Albion College Community Collaborative (AC3) and Human Rights Lab. The programmatic approach…

This study present findings related to students' community and political engagement and activism after participation in an action civics institute. The institute, iEngage, is a weeklong summer experience for rising fifth through rising ninth graders that utilizes the action civics inquiry cycle to foster civic skills and cultivate participation…

How can youth become leaders in their communities' resilience efforts? The Lentes en Cambio Climático (LECC) filmmaking program aimed to empower students to investigate how a changing climate affects their lives and use their own findings to inspire local resilience. Secondary students in LECC created films that explore the experiences of…

This study examines the application of photovoice as a pedagogical tool in a geography class. The main stages of photovoice were modified to suit the context for learning about a geographical issue, animal rights in relation to street cats in South Korea. Data were collected, and grounded theory was applied for the analysis. Based on the results,…

Advocates for civil rights, environmental justice, and movements promoting social justice require data and may lack trust in public authorities, turning instead to academic scientists to help address their questions. Assessing historical exposure to toxic chemicals, especially in situations of a specific industrial source of pollution affecting a…

In the fall of 2013, a parents' group formed to protest the new Common Core based mathematics textbook recently adopted by their school district. Quickly allying with teachers, the new coalition began to, "hammer," the district to drop the Common Core and return to more traditional texts and pedagogies. They did so by speaking at…

On 6 February 2008, a deliberative theatre experiment was held at the "National Archives of Quebec". Inspired by the democratic virtues of public deliberation but preoccupied with its blind spots, Forum Theatre was used as a deliberative medium to initiate discussion about the social tensions between the homeless and other dwellers of…

The concept of Big Society provides inspiration--working "bottom up" to promote "collective action, reciprocity and a new, more engaged relationship between local people and public services". With so much written about the theory of the Big Society, this seems like an ideal time to put a little more practical detail into the mix. The authors argue…

This article offers an extended treatment of two social justice efforts in a rural university town as historical examples of civic engagement with contemporary implications for Writing Democracy and similar projects. The article begins with an analysis of local activism initiated by John Carlos in 1967 while he was still a student at our…

Although there are many conservation education projects working in Uganda, there is currently little evaluation of educational initiatives in the communities. A survey was developed to better understand the environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of people in 2 districts of Uganda. The main environmental problem listed by the respondents…

Strapped for cash, a Massachusetts high school creates its own venture capital fund to incentivize teachers to create programs that improve student learning. The result has been higher test scores and higher job satisfaction. One important program is credited with helping close the achievement gap at the school, while others have helped ambitious…

The Boone Hope Foundation has given away over $130,000 in gift cards, rent checks, and eyeglasses--all targeted to help students with emergency needs related to food, clothing, shelter, and healthcare in its rural Iowa community. This is the story of teachers from a typical Midwestern school--relatively small and certainly not affluent--who have…

The Common Core of Standards project has strong national support, but it will not succeed if it doesn't involve teachers in grassroots development activities. The initiative should involve local consortia of schools in working with the new standards, assessments, and support tools. Local teachers would design teaching units and then share these…

Establishing rapport between researcher and participants when conducting ethnography is essential to the successful outcome of the research. However, when participants are unwilling to engage, a different approach must be adopted. This article is an examination of the appropriation of a situated learning model during fieldwork with a group of…

Poverty and unemployment aren't spread evenly across cities or regions, but rather are concentrated in disinvested urban neighborhoods and rural communities around the country. These communities are home to the nation's most vulnerable children and families. Despite some signs of improvement in economic conditions for families in the United…