There is a need within health, physical education, recreation, dance, and sport programs to increase community engagement via experiential learning. The Chase Charlie Races are presented in this article as a model pedagogical strategy to engage community youths and families in a training program and running event to help promote fitness. Key…

Educators at all school levels know that successful students--at all ability levels--have families who stay informed and involved in their children's education. Yet many middle level and high school teachers report that the only time they contact families is when students are in trouble. This disconnect between knowledge and behavior can be…

Recently, various scholars have remarked that university continuing education (UCE) is moving away from one of its original core foci, that of social justice. In this article, the possible causes of this are discussed, including current political environments, the role of universities and academics in perpetuating or disrupting the status quo, and…

Society and the life experiences of children and youth changed considerably during the last century. Schools today are expected to do more than they have ever done in the past to implement effective educational approaches that promote academic success, enhance health, and prevent problem behaviors have grown significantly. Broad-based, school-wide…

Community participation in program decision-making and implementation is an ideal that community and academic stakeholders aspire to in participatory research. This ideal, however, can be difficult to achieve. We describe lessons learned about community participation from a quasi-experimental trial aimed at reducing the uptake of smoking among…

This paper introduces the Connecticut Community Conversations project and discusses the origins of the partnership between Public Agenda and the Graustien Memorial Fund in Connecticut. It describes Public Agenda's model of community dialogue and engagement and how it was specifically applied in the project. It then looks closely at the experience…

After-school programs provide youngsters with supervision, enriching experiences, and learning opportunities. Effective programs address children's academic, recreational, and cultural needs. Planners must train staff, volunteers, and administrators; create a structured academic program; align curricula; involve families and communities; evaluate…

Because it is based upon the premise that learning is a lifelong process and that citizen involvement is essential to neighborhood problem solving, community education is particularly attuned to the current needs of cities and can be particularly effective in responding to urban housing needs. One way in which leaders can simultaneously address…

An examination of hundreds of studies on the use of volunteers in mentoring programs, service programs, and local community change initiatives highlight the importance of screening, training, and volunteer management. Each year, more than 90 million Americans contribute more than 20 billion volunteer hours. Personal benefits of volunteering…