Oakland International High School, winner of the 2017 National Community School Award, supports its recently arrived immigrant students by integrating academic, social, mental health, and material supports into the school day and beyond. Its community school model incorporates a Wellness Center, a tiered system of support and engagement, external…

Students benefit from exploring nature and participating in outdoor activities that challenge them emotionally and physically. The purpose of this article is to describe an outdoor education class with 21 undergraduate physical education teacher education (PETE) students and the benefits of participating in this experience. The second purpose is…

This study examines how community partners understand reciprocity and co-education in service-learning. Twenty community partners participated in 30-minute telephone interviews. When asked to define reciprocity, participants identified the importance of communication and maintaining a two-way relationship. With regard to co-education, community…

Community engagement programs offer college students an opportunity to impact youth in rural, low-income communities. While in a rural setting where educational training and support is not abundant, college students learn about struggles that rural, low-income youth face in exploring and attending postsecondary education options. The Alternative…

Homelessness remains a persistent problem in the United States, calling for continuing engagement to address this issue across the micro-macro social work practice continuum. Social work educators have an imperative to expose the next generation of practitioners to this complex social issue and provide opportunities for students to develop…

Community engagement in the classroom can take several forms such as engaged scholarship, service learning, and philanthropy. Each of these activities connects course material with the immediate community, creating a multi-directional discourse. In this article we explain and provide a program evaluation of the Student Philanthropy and Community…

Community-based learning (CBL) is a mutually beneficial partnership involving higher education institutions (HEIs), students, faculty, and the community. It provides students with the opportunity to apply academic concepts to real-life situations and community organizations with the opportunity to gain insights from evidence-based theories and…

In recent decades, diverse field experiences have proliferated in university-based teacher education programs in the United States. In particular, community-based experiences where teacher candidates learn about, from, and with community members and spaces have increased in popularity and significance. In this article, the authors consider if and…

Project Homeless Connect (PHC) is a national model designed to address the needs of individuals and families facing homelessness. This research-based approach to reducing homelessness is consistent with social work values and principles including the profession's commitment to social justice. PHC brings together individuals experiencing…

This article presents an interdisciplinary collaboration to address the needs of older adults at risk of social isolation exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. An intergenerational service-learning program developed by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging was offered to several universities across the state of Pennsylvania. The authors share their…

Background: The perspectives of community partners about their experiences working with medical students and how service-learning experiences affect the communities they serve remains understudied. Objective: This study addressed gaps in the literature by reporting on in-depth interviews conducted with community partners who participated in a…

Basic needs insecurity -- including housing and food insecurity, as well as lack of access to healthcare, childcare, transportation, and other basic needs -- is a critical barrier that can undermine persistence and completion rates for postsecondary students. The gaps in covering critical costs such as housing and food are pervasive among students…

Schools have long partnered with local organizations to support access to essential services like food, housing, or mental and physical health. Schools can build on wrap-around school models by helping students and families intentionally cultivate community relationships, skills, and knowledge, thus putting students on a path toward long-term…

This article describes ROCKETS, an after-school program for at-risk youth, and how the university students became involved in this service-learning project. The article discusses the steps that were taken to start the program, what is being done to continue the program, and the challenges that faculty have faced. This program is an authentic…

Engaging undergraduate students in community-based research (CBR) offers rich benefits to both students and communities (Strand, Marullo, Cutforth, Stoeker, & Donahue, 2006). Finding ways to expand its application promises to multiply those benefits. Senior capstone courses represent a promising vehicle for that expansion, as they are also…