1st Edition

Higher Education and Civic Engagement: International Perspectives

    This volume provides an original and powerful contribution to debates about the civic purpose of higher education. It suggests that universities can best realize their civic mission by making it central to their policy and practice. Bringing together researchers from three continents, the book offers an international perspective based primarily upon first-hand pedagogical experience. A transatlantic overview of the purpose, place and practice of one such pedagogy (service learning) is provided and its potential as a foundation for civic engagement assessed. In its last section the book moves from the theory of citizenship to practical considerations. In doing so, the book offers advice on establishing civic engagement to all those involved in teaching and learning within higher education.

    Part 1 Higher Education and Civic Engagement: Conceptual Issues; Chapter 1 Concepts of Citizenship in the Context of Political Education, Richard Taylor; Chapter 2 Love, Reason and the Future of Civil Society, Michael Edwards; Chapter 3 Recovering the Civic University, Ronald Barnett; Chapter 4 The Case for Service Learning, Edward Zlotkowski; Part 2 Institutional Considerations; Chapter 5 Rethinking the Place of Community-Based Engagement at Universities, Ahmed C. Bawa; Chapter 6 Institutionalising Service-Learning in Higher Education 1 Funding for the study was provided by the Corporation for National Service. The author wishes to acknowledge the contributions of Rebecca A. Bell, Mary Sue Ammon, Valerie Sorgen, and Parisa Muller., Andrew Furco; Chapter 7 The Process of Localising Pedagogies for Civic Engagement in Ireland: The Significance of Conceptions, Culture and Context, Josephine A. Boland, Lorraine McIlrath; Part 3 Embedding Process and Practice; Chapter 8 Identifying and Teaching Civic Engagement Skills through Service Learning, Marshall Welch; Chapter 9 Towards Enhanced Citizenship: The Potential of Service Learning in Teacher Education – A National and International Perspective, Timothy R. Murphy; Chapter 10 Service Learning’s Challenge to the Educator, Mark Doorley; Chapter 11 Serving, Learning and Reflective Practice at Roehampton University, London, Jennifer Iles; Chapter 12 Civic Youth Work and Implications for Service Learning – Lessons from Northern Ireland, Ross Velure Roholt, Paul Smyth; Chapter 13 Place Matters: Partnerships for Civic Learning, Nan Kari, Nan Skelton; Chapter 14 Service Learning as a Shared Developmental Journey: Tapping the Potential of the Pedagogy, Brandon Whitney, Julie McClure, Alissa Respet, Patti Clayton;

    Biography

    Lorraine McIlrath and Iain MacLabhrainn are both from the Community Knowledge Initiative, Centre for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, National University of Ireland Galway, Ireland.

    'This book is a major contribution to the international study of higher education, civic engagement and also service learning. It offers some insightful and powerful analyses of conceptual issues, the institutionalising of civic engagement and the pedagogy and professional practice of service learning in higher education.' John Annette, University of London, UK 'This edited collection provides a welcome addition to the growing literature concerned with service learning and the civic mission of higher education. The Strength of the volume is that it includes a lot more than institutional case studies of community-based or service-learning initiatives. In addition, there are chapters that connect these initiatives with the broader conceptual basis for the civic role of the university. Moreover, while much of the literature on service learning emanates from an exclusively North American context where this movement has its origins, this book includes contributions from South Africa, England, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. This adds richness in illustrating and exploring the relevance of service learning to other national contexts.' Higher Education Review