Multiversity of the twenty-first century – examining opportunities for integrating community engagement in planning curricula

Abstract

This paper examines student-community engagement activity in planning. This is a subset of university-community engagement, and is a point of overlap between such engagement and planning education. Community engagement activity enables students to learn in situ practical skills within live projects, while community partners may benefit from technical knowhow, and labour input. Based on a UK-wide survey and three in-depth case studies, the paper explores the pedagogical designs underpinning community engagement activities involving students, as well as the various capacities in which the different participants -students, instructors and community members -act. The analysis reveals considerable diversity in approaches. An alignment of student engagement activities in the planning curriculum with emerging transformative co-learning models of university-community engagement could offer novel opportunities for the discipline of planning and their impact on communities as well as the fields standing in today's multiversities.

Assessing higher education institutional stakeholders' perceptions and needs for community engagement: An empirical evidence from Uganda

“…In this regard, researchers characterised CE as a collaboration between HEIs and their larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in the context of partnership and reciprocity ( Bhagwan, 2018 ; Fitzgerald et al., 2016 ; Holley and Harris, 2018 ; Ramachandra and Mansor, 2014 ). Further, studies emphasise that CE aims at working with the community rather than working for the community ( Frank and Sieh, 2016 ; Korzun et al., 2014a ). The central core process involves HEIs reciprocally engaging different internal and external stakeholders in sharing valuable resources.…”

Integrated Approach towards Participatory Development of Urban Neighborhood Spaces: Chennai, India

“…Explores the pedagogical design helps to explore the underpinning community engagement activities involving students, as well as the various capacities in which the different participants where students, instructors and community members participate. An alignment of student engagement activities in the planning curriculum with emerging transformative co-learning models of university-community engagement could offer novel opportunities for the discipline of planning and their impact on communities as well as the fields standing in multiversities [17]. In designing teaching activities within the university, the community engagement with a view to understanding the impacts on community participants is important.…”

Community engagement and accounting education research

“…Universities have risen to the challenge and are involved on many levels (De Lange, 2012), as can be seen in their extensive community involvement. On a practical level, community engagement can even be included in planning curricula so that lecturers can design teaching activities accordingly (Frank & Sieh, 2016).…”

“…In this way, the community's goal and the educational goal are addressed (Thomson et al, 2010). One of the goals of service-learning is to combine teaching in the classroom with community service that will make a difference (Copeland et al, 2016;Frank & Sieh, 2016). Through service-learning, students can thus gain field experience that will stand them in good stead later in their careers (Coffey, 2009).…”