This study uses social cartography to map student perceptions of a co-curricular service-learning project in an impoverished rural community. As a complement to narrative discourse, mapping provides an opportunity to visualize not only the spatial nature of the educational experience but also, in this case, the benefits of civic engagement. The authors suggest that short-term immersion programs can provide students, regardless of their previous experiences with service, with opportunities to develop dispositions for active citizenship. Their maps, which envision a heterotopic space in two dimensions, examine the relationship between thought and action, specifically between empathy and apathy, and illustrate how what the students brought to the experience, in terms of their motivations and inclinations toward service-learning, as well as what they took away, in terms of their likelihood to participate in future service, ultimately led to individual growth and transformation.
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the utility of social cartography for mapping theories of transformative learning. Since the 1980s, several alternative conceptions of transformative learning have emerged to challenge the dominance of Jack Mezirow's psychocritical perspective. Rather than positioning these theories in opposition to one another, this study uses textual analysis and a phenomenographic method to situate them in a heterotopic space where researchers can orient themselves as they encounter new intellectual and representational tasks brought on by the diversification of the field. Whether the map is accepted as a metaphorical curiosity or more as a literal representation, it can reveal perceived or acknowledged theoretical relationships while identifying issues in transformative education that still need to be addressed.
Learning and Community Engagement (IJRSLCE) respond to the need to unpack community engagement experiences to better understand their impact on campus and in the community. Moreover, articles demonstrate research that emphasizes the impact of community-campus partnerships amid challenges currently facing higher education. In this regard, their authors share research findings that confirm transformative experiences and outcomes for community and campus stakeholders alike. Through the work of community-engaged researchers and practitioners, higher education institutions are proving their value. The research findings analyzed, lessons shared, and suggestions made demonstrate excellent work that exemplifies the transformative effects of community engagement.
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