Exploring community partners' perceptions, motivations, and shaping of service-learning

Update Item Information
Publication Type dissertation
School or College College of Education
Department Educational Leadership & Policy
Author Yack Hall, Melissa
Title Exploring community partners' perceptions, motivations, and shaping of service-learning
Date 2015-05
Description This multisite case study sought to build a deeper understanding of community partner experiences with service-learning collaborations. The study examined how community partners involved with service-learning collaborations shape and evaluate these collaborations; what their motivations were when they started participating; why they choose, or choose not to, continue participating; and how service-learning supported their organization's identity. The study was comprised of 11 community partners, including seven nonprofit organizations, one government agency, and three Kindergarten-12th participants. It also included four staff from the three college service-learning centers represented in the study. Using a qualitative design, data were collected through a document review of community partner websites and annual reports, a focus group with college center staff, and 11 individual interviews with community partner representatives. Four major themes evolved from this study: expectations, investment, communication, and echelons of collaboration. Community partners and college center staff discussed how expectations, investment, and communication overlapped, yet contained separate characteristics that made each theme valuable in service-learning collaboration success. Community partners conceptualized varying echelons of collaborations that developed through relationships. Finally, community partners explained how service-learning assisted them with meeting operational needs that were central to their organization's identity. This study contributes to a growing field of literature about community partner experiences with service-learning. The findings from this study build on policies, practices, and research regarding service-learning and how the four major themes are vital in developing and sustaining collaborations.
Type Text
Publisher University of Utah
Subject Collaborations; Community partners; Nonprofits; Partnerships; Service-learning
Dissertation Institution University of Utah
Dissertation Name Doctor of Philosophy
Language eng
Rights Management Copyright © Melissa Yack Hall 2015
Format Medium application/pdf
Format Extent 465,099 Bytes
Identifier etd3/id/3725
ARK ark:/87278/s6nw2shc
Setname ir_etd
ID 197276
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s6nw2shc