Integrating community-based learning (CBL) into graduate education has gained attention in higher education during the past decade because CBL allows students to inculcate professional values and ethics, situate academic knowledge and understanding in contexts, and practice academic citizenship through serving communities with disciplinary knowledge and skills. In a North American higher education context, about half of the graduate student population are international students, who have needs in several areas. However, their experiences in CBL are under-investigated and scarcely documented in existing literature and scholarship in either community-based learning or international education. Drawing on international students' experiences in a graduate program infused with CBL components in Canadian higher education, this mixed methods case study examined the impact of CBL on international students' developments in five areas: academic, sociocultural, personal, professional, and global citizenship. Through discussions on the benefit, barriers, and implications of providing CBL to international graduate students, this article offers recommendations for improved higher education policy, programs, and praxis to make CBL more inclusive and responsive to international graduate students. As an educational philosophy, approach, and pedagogy, community-based learning (CBL) provides students with experiential learning opportunities in community settings and outside of classrooms (Bringle & Clayton, 2012). CBL allows students to gain a deeper understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility through community engagement and services
Educators in the 21st century need to be globally competent to help students understand the complexity and interdependence of global issues or forces to meet the diverse needs of students from diverse sociocultural, linguistic, and ethnic backgrounds; to effectively integrate educational technology in practices; and to foster active and responsible citizenship for both local and global communities. This chapter discusses the considerations of using critical online conversations as an authentic adult education strategy to develop educators' global perspectives and competences. Informed by the critical global citizenship education, critical online conversations can be a cost-effective approach for creating an open and safe virtual global learning community for educators. Assessing participation in critical online conversations is also discussed as an engagement and evaluation strategy.
As newcomers, immigrants and refugees contribute to social and cultural diversity, and play an important role in communities’ social and economic development. However, their talent, energy, and entrepreneurial spirit and skills can only be fully harnessed when the communities are welcoming and inclusive. Drawing from a two-year qualitative research study conducted in the Province of Prince Edward Island, Canada, this paper examines the degree of civic capacity, along with policies and practices related to building a welcoming and inclusive community for immigrants and refugees. Through examining civic capacity and high-impact practices and programs to support the integration of immigrants and refugees, this paper shares new insights on how community stakeholders interact with each other to support or subvert the inclusion and equity in the community and offers policy implications and practical recommendations on building welcoming communities for immigrants and refugees in small communities.
To understand community service-learning (CSL) in global contexts, an Indigenous perspective is needed to reflect the range of contextual and historical issues. Theoretical discussions of CSL generally reference theories of experiential and reflective learning; however, work in critical pedagogy and anti-colonial discourse can be utilized to generate a framework that embraces the breadth and depth of CSL in different regions. Extant research on CSL in Africa has found that student learning and development are influenced by pressures faced by the higher education system as well as historical and contextual issues encountered by students while engaged in CSL. As discussed in this article, incorporating an Indigenous perspective within existing theoretical frameworks can enable the development of models, pedagogical approaches, and practices that reflect needs of Kenyan communities. The authors present a rationale for further CSL research in Kenya to ensure culturally sensitive, theoretically sound, and non-exploitive CSL that fosters positive outcomes for students, partner organizations, communities, and higher education institutions.
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