Rural communities face incredible challenges and emerging opportunities. Land-grant universities are well-positioned to assist by developing new approaches to inspire university students to become civically engaged, rural community members. With this aim, the Rural Scholars program at Oklahoma State University was developed as an opportunity for…

Finding ways to move knowledge-to-impact is a key priority for research funding agencies, universities, and academics. However, academic engagement with the broader community is not without tensions and challenges, including arriving at mutual benefit and relevance, and addressing power dynamics and often incompatible communication practices. This…

This paper presents findings from a survey of 34 food policy councils (FPCs) in California. The survey addressed organizational structure and functions, policy priorities and achievements, and the use of research or other information. We find that most FPCs have formed in recent years, operate with small budgets and limited or no staff, and…

What do people need to learn to engage actively in social action for neighbourhood improvement or development? How important is emergent learning relative to planned learning in this context? Where does first-person knowledge fit into the body of knowledge required for success in bringing about change for the better in neighbourhoods through…

Purpose: Program planning and evaluation is an essential course for undergraduate and graduate students in health education/public health programs. The purpose of this study was to three-fold: 1) identify students' attitudes and behaviors towards civic engagement, 2) measure the importance of undergraduate collaboration with community partners,…

Previous scholarship has outlined possible models of civics education but have neglected to provide frameworks for evaluation of the way such educative programs contribute to ongoing active citizenship amongst the participants. This paper explicates a framework that can be used to analyse how effectively programs are developing active citizenship…

In a violent clash between rival gangs from Asnières and Gennevilliers in the banlieue north of Paris, a 15-year-old boy was killed at the metro station Les Courtilles, the last stop on Line 13. Inevitably, revenge attacks occurred. Security was heightened with hundreds of police patrolling the area, but residents and city officials alike…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to better understand how program planning and evaluation courses prepare students for their future careers in various health settings. Participants (n=20) from three different institutions with Health Education programs in the U.S. participated in the study. Methods: A modified snow-ball sampling technique was…

The Community Legal Information Center (CLIC) of California State University, Chico, provides a unique civic engagement program designed to serve the legal service needs of Northern California. Founded in 1969, CLIC is now a 12-program, on-campus law clinic staffed by up to 125 undergraduate students each semester and is the most extensive…

This article seeks to provide an outline of the basic ideas and approaches used by the Incredible Edible programme, a community enterprise that is based in the United Kingdom. To do this the author briefly (1) defines the context for the programme, (2) defines the concepts that inform the programme, (3) and illustrates some of the action of the…

This paper describes the results of a participative planning class held in economically dis-advantaged communities in east Tennessee. The class follows a structured method, which includes community workshops and project development, in dealing with the communities. Among many observations gained in eight years of running the class are that…

Recent advances in technology are transforming our lives, but in many cases they are also limiting the way children are exposed to local communities and physical spaces. Technology can help young people actively connect with their neighborhoods, but doing that requires different methods and tools from the ones typically available in schools,…

An examination of several school systems across the country offering community education programs provided information for this report on successful management techniques and unique program ideas, featuring tips from experts and a number of "how-to" suggestions. Drawing particularly on the experiences of administrators with programs in Flint,…

Methods for encouraging community involvement and training community volunteers for decision making positions in community schools are described. The functions of community schools are to provide a broad diversity of learning opportunities and to involve citizens in assessing community needs, evaluating services, and advocating…

The 1977 Assembly focused on community forums, planned events providing an opportunity for broad participation and informed discussion of current issues of concern to local citizens. The background papers and recommendations of the Assembly are included in this report. "Why the Community College Should Be the Institutional Base," by…