Exploring Students’ Perceptions of their Experiences in a Social Justice Living–Learning Community

Abstract

This qualitative study explored students' perceptions of their experience in a social justice living-learning community throughout their time in the community and one year after participation. Findings illustrated students (1) developed a broader conception of social justice and greater awareness of social justice issues in the community, (2) increased their capacity for social justice and civic engagement, and, (3) established enduring values, which included appreciation for community and increased capacity for social connection. Contemporary higher education leaders continue to deem the development of civic-minded graduates as among the primary goals of postsecondary education (Astin, 1996; Cress, Burack, Giles, Elkins, & Stevens, 2010; Hurtado, Ruiz, & Whang, 2012). Today's undergraduates are poised to engage with their communities in numbers greater than their predecessors in previous generations, believing it is their responsibility to make society better (Kiesa et al., 2007). In 2012, more than two-thirds of postsecondary students reported participation in community service over the past year, despite their overwhelming disillusionment with the United States government and social institutions (Levine & Dean, 2012) Civic engagement lacks a common definition in the literature (Jacoby, 2009), however it typically includes involvement in the community with the purpose of "enhancing students' understanding of civic life" (Cress et al., 2010, p. 4). A growing body of research raised concerns with community service, service-learning, and other forms of civic engagement as reinforcing stereotypes (Dooley & Burant, 2015). These studies urged greater care when designing community involvement opportunities, including attention to students' development and previous experience, meaningful curricular connections, and adequate contextualization and reflection (Dooley & Burant, 2015).

How to be an engaged intellectual: Case studies and reflections

“…Communication constituted yet another curricular goal of the unit, because when students share what they learn with others, these students are more likely to see themselves as part of a larger learning community (Jessup-Anger, Armstrong, Kerrick, & Siddiqui, 2019). Toward this aim, students participated in their school's annual Social Justice Data Fair.…”

Using partial justice to interrogate the meanings and applications of social justice in service-learning

“…While the social justice approach to service-learning continues to receive support and attention in the literature and empirical studies (Jessup-Anger, at al., 2019;Lee & McAdams, 2019), questions of what kind of justice, how it is or can be achieved and under what conditions remain unresolved. As described by Richards-Schuster, Espitia and Rodems (2019) social justice is not always clearly articulated or is articulated in different and sometimes contradictory ways particularly in service-learning field (Hytten & Bettez, 2011).…”