Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Student Development and Social Justice pp 119–154Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Critical, Contemplative Community Engagement

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

  • 1313 Accesses

Abstract

Chapter 4, “Critical, contemplative community engagement,” explores how to enact community engagement efforts so that student learning and community impacts embody a critical examination and interruption of the root causes and conditions of injustice, while promoting contemplative practices that fortify the wellbeing of individuals and collectives. This chapter discusses social justice-oriented frameworks for developing reciprocal social change partnerships that recognize the assets of the community while also addressing what the community has identified as problems and injustices. This form of engagement links personal development with social change by examining teaching and learning theories, partnership development factors, and social justice aims of the Critical, Contemplative, Community Engagement model.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   139.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • American Psychological Association. (2012). Stress in America. Missing the healthcare connection. Stress in America Survey.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychological Association. (2016). Stress in America: The impact of discrimination. Stress in America Survey.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ash, S. L., & Clayton, P. H. (2009). Generating, deepening, and documenting learning: The power of critical reflection in applied learning. Journal of Applied Learning in Higher Education, 1, 25–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astin, A. W., & Sax, L. J. (1998). How undergraduates are affected by service participation. Journal of College Student Development, 39, 251–263.

    Google Scholar 

  • Astin, A. W., Vogelgesang, L. J., Ikeda, E. K., & Yee, J. A. (2000). How service learning affects students. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute, University of California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bacon, N. (2002). Differences in faculty and community partners’ theories of learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berila, B. (2016). Integrating Mindfulness into Anti-Oppression Pedagogy. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernal, D. D., Elenes, C. A., Godinez, F. E., Villenas, S. (Eds.). (2006). Chicana/Latina Education in Everyday Life: Feminista Perspectives on Pedagogy and Epistemology. Albany: New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bisignani, D. (2014). Transgressing intellectual boundaries begins with transgressing physical ones: Feminist community engagement as activist-apprentice pedagogy. In S. Iverson & J. James (Eds.), Feminist community engagement: Achieving praxis (pp. 93–111). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blouin, D. D., & Perry, E. M. (2009). Whom Does Service Learning Really Serve? Community-Based Organizations’ Perspectives on Service Learning. Teaching Sociology, 37(2), 120–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boss, J. A. (1994). The effect of community service work on the moral development of college ethics students. Journal of Moral Education, 23(2), 183–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bowman, N., Brandenberger, J., Lapsley, D., Hill, P., & Quaranto, J. (2010). Serving in College, Flourishing in Adulthood: Does Community Engagement During the College Years Predict Adult Well-Being? Applied Psychology: Health and Well Being, 2(1), 14–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyer, E. (1994). The New American College. Chronicle of Higher Education, A48, 183–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bringing Theory to Practice. (2013). The well-being and flourishing of students: Considering well-being, and its connection to learning and civic engagement, as central to the mission of higher education. Washington, DC: AAC&U.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butin, D. (2010). Service-learning in theory and practice: The future of community engagement in higher education. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Butin, D. W. (2003). Of What Use Is it? Multiple Conceptualizations of Service-Learning Within Education. Teachers College Record, 105(9), 1674–1692.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butin, D. W. (Ed.). (2014). Teaching social foundations of education: Contexts, theories, and issues. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calderon, J. Z. (Ed.). (2007). Race, poverty, and social justice: Multidisciplinary perspectives through service learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • College, Pitzer. (2016). Graduation requirements: Social responsibility praxis student learning outcomes and course criteria. Claremont, CA: Pitzer College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cooks, L., Scharrer, E., & Castaneda Paredes, M. (2004). Toward a social approach to learning in community service learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 10(2).

    Google Scholar 

  • Cremin, L. A. (1970). American education: The colonial experience, 1607–1783. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crimes Rates in Pomona, CA. (2017). City-data.com. Retrieved February 27, 2017, from http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime-Pomona-California.html.

  • Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. The Kappa Delta Pi lecture series, no. 10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dorado, S., & Giles, D. E. (2004). Service-learning partnerships: Paths of engagement. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9, 25–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ehrlich, T. (2009). Engagement in civic work as spiritual development: An interview with Thomas Ehrlich (pp. 1–5). Spirituality in Higher Education Newsletter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyler, J., & Giles, D. E., Jr. (1999). Where’s the learning in service-learning? San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyler, J., Giles, D. E., Jr., & Braxton, J. (1997). The impact of service-learning on college students. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 4, 5–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes, L. (2003). Transforming feminist practice; Non-violence, social justice and the possibilities of a spiritualized feminism. San Francisco: Aunt Lute Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari, J. R., & Worrall, L. (2000). Assessments by community agencies: How ‘the other side sees service-learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 7(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Finley, A. (2012). The joy of learning: The impact of civic engagement on psychosocial well-being. Diversity and Democracy, 3, 8–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, C., & Bundick, M. (2011). Civic engagement and psychosocial well-being in college students. Liberal Education, 97(2), 20–27. Spring.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the oppressed (M. B. Ramos, Trans.). New York, NY: Continuum Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P. (2006). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). New York, NY: Continuum Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freire, P., & Shor, I. (1987). A pedagogy for liberation: Dialogues on transforming education. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gelmon, S. B., Holland, B. A., Seifer, S. D., Shinnamon, A., & Connors, K. (1998). Community-university partnerships for mutual learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 5, 97–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giles, D. E., & Eyler, J. (1994). The impact of a college community service laboratory on students’ personal, social, and cognitive outcomes. Journal of adolescence, 17(4), 327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giles, D. E., Honnet, E., & Migliore, S. (1991). Setting the agenda for effective research in combining service and learning in the 1990’s. Raleigh, NC: National Society of Experiential Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gray, M. J., Ondaatje, E. H., & Zakaras, L. (1999). Combining Service and Learning in Higher Education: Learn and Serve America, Higher Education. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greene, D., & Diehm, G. (1995). Educational and service outcomes of a service integration effort. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 2, 54–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harward, D. W. (2012). Transforming undergraduate education: Theory that compels and practices that succeed. Washington, DC: Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harward, D. W. (Ed.). (2016). Well-being and higher education: A strategy for change and the realization of education’s greater purposes. Washington, DC: Bringing Theory to Practice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hess, D. J., Lanig, H., & Vaughan, W. (2007). Educating for equity and social justice: A conceptual model for cultural engagement. Multicultural Perspectives, 9(1), 32–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope. New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • hooks, b. (2016, April 20). Dialogue featuring bell Hooks and Parker J. Palmer. De Pere, WI: St. Norbert College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoy, W. (2012). School characteristics that make a difference for the achievement of all students: A 40-year odyssey. Journal of Educational Administration, 50(1), 76–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoy, W. K., & Tschannen-Moran, M. (1999). Five faces of trust: An empirical confirmation in urban elementary schools. Journal of School Leadership, 9, 184–208.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurtado, S., Ruiz, A., & Whang, H. (2012). Advancing and assessing civic learning: New results from the Diverse Learning Environments survey. Diversity & Democracy, 15, 10–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Illich, I. (1971). Deschooling society. New York, NY: Harper and Row.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iverson, S. V. D., & James, J. H. (2014). Feminism and community engagement: An overview. In feminist community engagement: Achieving praxis (pp. 9–27). Palgrave Macmillan US.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iyer, R. N. (1991). The essential writings of Mahatma Gandhi. USA: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacoby, B. (Ed.). (2003). Building partnerships for service-learning. San Francisco: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keith, N. Z. (1998). Community service for community building: The school-based service corps as border crossers. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 4, 86–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keith, N. Z. (2005). Community service learning in the face of globalization: Rethinking theory and practice. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 11(2), 5–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kendrick, J.R., Jr. (1996). Outcomes of service-learning in an introduction to sociology course. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 72–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kezar, A., & Rhoads, R. (2001). The dynamic tensions of service-learning in higher education: A philosophical perspective. The Journal of Higher Education, 72, 148–171.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinzie, J. (2012). High-impact Practices: Promoting Participation for All Students. Diversity Democracy, 15(3), 13–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kivel, P. (2007). Social service or social change. In Incite (Ed.), The revolution will not be funded: Beyond the non-profit industrial complex (pp. 129–149). Cambridge, MA: South End Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kretzmann, J. P., & McKnight, J. (1993). Building communities from the inside out. Evanston, IL: Center for Urban Affairs and Policy Research, Neighborhood Innovations Network.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lather, P. (1986). Research as praxis. Harvard Educational Review, 56(3), 257–278.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, T. L. (2004). Service learning for social change? Lessons from a liberal arts college. Teaching Sociology, 32(1), 94–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mabry, J. B. (1998). Pedagogical variations in service-learning and student outcomes: How time, contact, and reflection matter. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 5, 32–47.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macy, J., & Brown, M. Y. (1998). Coming back to life: Practices to reconnect our lives, our world. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markus, G. B., Howard, J. P., & King, D. C. (1993). Integrating community service and classroom instruction enhances learning: Results from an experiment. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 15(4), 410–419.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marullo, S., & Edwards, B. (2000). From charity to justice the potential of university-community collaboration for social change. American Behavioral Scientist, 43(5), 895–912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKnight, J. (1995). The careless society: Community and its counterfeits. New York, NY: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miron, D., & Moely, B. E. (2006). Community agency voice and benefit in service-learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 12(2), 27–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, T. D. (2008). Traditional vs. critical service-learning: Engaging the literature to differentiate two models. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 14(2).

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicotera, N., Brewer, S., & Veeh, C. (2015). Civic activity and well-being among first-year college students. The International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 3(1).

    Google Scholar 

  • Noel, J. (2014). Developing sustainable community engagement by repositioning programs into communities. In S. V. D. Iverson & J. H. James (Eds.), Feminist community engagement: Achieving praxis (pp. 175–191). Palgrave Macmillan US.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oden, R. S., & Casey, T. A. (2007). Advancing service learning as a transformative method for social justice work. In J. Z. Calderon (Ed.), Race, poverty, and social justice: Multidisciplinary perspectives through service learning (pp. 3–22). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pancer, S. M., & Pratt, M. W. (1999). Social and family determinants of community service involvement in Canadian youth. In M. Yates & J. Youniss (Eds.), Roots of civic identity: International perspectives on community service and activism in youth (pp. 32–55). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pasque, P. A. (2008). Bridging civic engagement and mental health. In Proceedings from the National Symposium for Civic Engagement and Mental Health.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, T. H. (2009). Engaged scholarship: Reflections and research on the pedagogy of social change. Teaching in Higher Education, 14(5), 541–552.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, T. H. (2015). Reviving and Revising the Civic Mission: A Radical Re-Imagining of ‘Civic Engagement’. Metropolitan Universities, 25(3).

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, T. H., Dolan, T., & Hanft, S. (2010). Partnering with youth organizers to prevent violence: An analysis of relationships, power, and change. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 4(3), 235–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Razack, S. (1998). Looking white people in the eye: Gender, race, and culture in courtrooms and classrooms. University of Toronto Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rendón, L. (2014). Sentipensante (Sensing/thinking): Educating for wholeness, social justice, and liberation. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryff, C. D., & Keyes, C. L. M. (1995). The structure of psychological well-being revisited. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69(4), 719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sandy, M. (2007). Community voices: A California campus compact study on partnerships. Hayward: California Campus Compact.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, A., & Robby, M. A. (2002). What’s the value of ser- vice-learning to the community? Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9(1), 27–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schutz, A., & Gere, A. R. (1998). Service learning and English studies: Rethinking ‘public’ service. College English, 60(2), 129–149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shor, I. (1992). Culture wars: School and society in the conservative restoration. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanton, T. K., Giles, D. E., & Cruz, N. I. (1999). Service learning: A movement’s pioneers reflect on its origins, practice, and future. San Francsico, CA: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, S. R., & Kincheloe, J. L. (1998). Students as researchers: Creating classrooms that matter. London: Falmer Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strage, A. (2004). Long-term academic benefits of service-learning: When and where do they manifest themselves? College Student Journal, 38(2), 257.

    Google Scholar 

  • Strand, K. J., Cutforth, N., Stoecker, R., Marullo, S., & Donohue, P. (2003). Community-based research and higher education: Principles and practices. San Francisco, CA: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swaner, L. E. (2005). Educating for personal and social responsibility: A review of the literature. Liberal Education, 91(3), 14–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sweitzer, H. K., & King, M. A. (2014). The successful internship: personal, professional, and civic development in experiential learning (4th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole Cengage.

    Google Scholar 

  • The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement. (2012). A Crucible Moment: College Learning and Democracy’s Future. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thoits, P. A., & Hewitt, L. N. (2001). Volunteer work and well-being. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 115–131.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaccaro, A. (2009). Racial identity and the ethics of service learning as pedagogy. In S. Evans, C. Taylor, M. Dunlap & D. Miller (Eds.), African Americans and community engagement in higher education (pp. 119–134). Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verba, S., Schlozman, K. L., & Brady, H. E. (1995). Voice and equality: Civic voluntarism in American politics. Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verjee, B., & Butterwick, S. (2014). Conversations from within: Critical race feminism and the roots/routes of change. In S. Iverson & J. James (Eds.), Feminist community engagement: Achieving praxis (pp. 31–51). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vernon, A., & Ward, K. (1999). Campus and community partnerships: Assessing impacts and strengthening connections. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 6, 30–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ward, K., & Wolf-Wendel, L. (2000). Community-centered service learning moving from doing for to doing with. American Behavioral Scientist, 43(5), 767–780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. American Educational Research Journal, 41(2), 237–269.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitney, B. C., & Clayton, P. H. (2011). Research on and through reflection in international service learning. International Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Research, 145–187.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pitzer College, Claremont, CA, USA

    Tessa Hicks Peterson

Authors
  1. Tessa Hicks Peterson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tessa Hicks Peterson .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hicks Peterson, T. (2018). Critical, Contemplative Community Engagement. In: Student Development and Social Justice . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57457-8_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57457-8_4

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57456-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57457-8

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation