This paper explores opportunities for outdoor recreation and education programs to support communities working to sustain or increase community vibrancy. Vibrancy is necessarily linked to our natural environment and the quality of and access to natural environments can impact community vibrancy outcomes. Outdoor recreation access and experiences…

High-ability and gifted students are well-served by a focus on the development of community. The Academic Year Governor's Schools of Virginia were created with a formalized emphasis on the network of relationships built among the students, faculty, and the larger community. The power of these communities of learners was evident in a study of the…

Contribution: Case study of a rural-focused educational program with two components: 1) introducing high school students and teachers to smart and connected technologies (SCTs) that can be used to solve local problems and 2) engaging the local community in supporting local technology-driven entrepreneurship. Background: Rural communities typically…

Public libraries in Hamilton provide countless services to different users, particularly older immigrants. The library system proves to be an inclusive learning space, promoting lifelong learning for all. The paper explores the relationship between public library use, lifelong learning and community development. In addition, it demonstrates the…

This paper explores the pivotal role of arts-based adult community learning (ACL) in the UK, highlighting ACL's broader impacts on well-being, including social, emotional, and mental health, and belonging for diverse groups of adult learners. ACL has a social role at individual and group levels; future research might tackle the latter potential in…

Why Mindful Service-learning? While over 30 years of service-learning has yielded many benefits, I have found that students today are more stressed than ever, that meaningful and effective preparation for reciprocal service-learning can be lacking, and that an exclusively Western perspective could be expanded to include Eastern views, thereby…

We are living in an era in which equity in education is framed and measured through individual academic achievement. Schools are viewed as economic engines for a better life . By virtue of providing adequate preparation for entering the economy and gaining a well-paying job, they are construed as capable of closing the opportunity gap. This…

As educators reconsider higher education's public good mission, community colleges face a monumental task. These colleges still serve a student population that includes many low-income, traditionally underrepresented, first-generation college students with family and job responsibilities that demand their attention. For community colleges, the…

Purpose: This paper explores the role that participatory budgeting (PB) plays in enhancing emotional and social well-being through the commissioning, design, delivery of and participation in a drama and theatre intervention in a deprived community in North London. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study methodology employing…

The article outlines the emergent cooperation between generations in the local environment. The aim of the research was to identify the key characteristics of learning ecologies that may be used to promote new practices. The theoretical framework was constructed through the concepts of learning ecology, community education, and postformal…

This paper describes and evaluates the "Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) in Schools" project; which was designed as a public health intervention to explore the extent to which focusing on schools as community assets can promote well-being for pupils, their school and the local community. The paper reviews the literature in…

In today's contentious and divided political environment, what should colleges and universities do to meet the roles and responsibilities of higher education to foster the campus community we want? This guide presents three options for deliberation about difficult problems regarding free speech and inclusion--for which there are no perfect…

This paper integrates the findings of two evaluations into the effectiveness of human health workforce training delivery and outcomes. In the period 2012-2015, Wontulp-Bi-Buya College ran the Certificate III in Addictions Management and Community Development and the Certificate IV in Indigenous Mental Health: Suicide Prevention. The key findings…

The Community Wellness, Empowerment, Leadership and Lifeskills (CWell) program is a 2-year community-driven program developed in partnership between an underserved community in Limerick City and staff at the University of Limerick, Ireland. This article explores the transformative teaching and learning experiences that arose throughout the…