Motivation and Orientation: Faculty Perspectives on Development and Persistence in Service Learning and Community Engagement

Authors

Keywords:

intrinsic motivation, professional identity, faculty development, civic engagement

Abstract

Quality service learning and community engagement (S-LCE) in higher education involves faculty and staff working alongside community members and students for mutual benefit. We investigate explanations, motivations, and intentions of faculty that contribute to the sustained commitment for S-LCE work. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews across two institutions of higher education. Results indicate that faculty rely on motives connected to student learning and community impact and that faculty approach S-LCE from a disciplinary or social change orientation.

Author Biographies

F. Dan Richard, University of North Florida

Dan Richard is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Co-Director of the Florida Data Science for Social Good program at the University of North Florida. He received his Ph.D. in Experimental Social Psychology from Texas Christina University and is interested in the long-term impact of service-learning and community engagement on civic identity and action. He has been involved in multi-institutional research projects and has been involved in institution-wide efforts to document the impact of service-learning and community engagement.

Becca Berkey, Northeastern University

Becca Berkey is the Director of Service-Learning at Northeastern University. Previously, Becca served as the Coordinator of Experiential Education in the Center for Engagement, Learning, and Teaching at Keene State College, in Keene, New Hampshire. She has also served as a Course Director for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility at Full Sail University in Orlando, Florida and worked at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida facilitating leadership education and development initiatives on campus both in the curriculum and the co-curriculum. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Butler University, a Master’s degree in College Student Personnel from Miami University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies from Antioch University New England. Her scholarly research is at the intersection of leadership, change, and environmental justice with a specific interest in the justice issues facing farmworkers. 

Heather L. Burk, University of North Florida

Heather Burk is the Clinical Research Manager for the Preventing Alzheimer’s with Cognitive Training (PACT) Project, Jacksonville Site, a NIH-funded, randomized, controlled trial. Heather has 20 years of professional experience anchored in developing community-based service-learning courses and programs for university students and faculty, as well as creating partnerships with non-profits, governmental organizations, and local community leaders in the US and abroad.

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Published

03/14/2022

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 1 (2022)

Section

Insights, Case Studies, and Applications

License

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