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ERIC Number: EJ1419791
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0742-5627
EISSN: EISSN-1573-1758
Available Date: N/A
Assessing University-Society Engagements: Towards a Methodological Framework
Teklu Abate Bekele; Denis Thaddeus Ofoyuru; Emnet Tadesse Woldegiorgis
Innovative Higher Education, v49 n2 p201-221 2024
Higher education institutions pursue three distinct yet interrelated missions of education, knowledge production, and community engagement. Until the last decades of the twentieth century, the third mission, also known as community engagement, has received little attention. Although the third mission generally aims to contribute to the socio-cultural and economic transformations of society, its distinct characteristics are still under-theorized. None of the existing methodological and conceptual frameworks provides a holistic analysis of significant engagement indicators that transcend specific application contexts. Collecting data on university engagement with society and making meaningful interpretations is thus a challenge to researchers and practitioners. To contribute to filling this gap, this modified Delphi study proposes a comprehensive methodological framework of university-society engagements in Africa. The core thesis is that engagement is ubiquitous-university missions and support systems embody it. The framework thus constitutes eight engagement domains aligned with university core functions (teaching, knowledge production, and societal service) and support systems (governance, digitalization, internationalization, partnerships, and sustainability), with 52 items, rating scales, and descriptors. The framework contributes to conceptual and methodological clarity, informs data collection, and interpretations of the different modalities of university engagements. The alignment of engagement domains to university activities and the simplified articulations of the indicators ensure straightforward interpretations and applications of the framework by practitioners and researchers. It is also significant as it comes at a time when universities are expected to contribute more directly and significantly to the realizations of the UN 2030 SDGs and the African Union 2063 centennial development ambitions.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link-springer-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: US Department of State
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A