SETTING A GLOBAL RESEARCH AGENDA for Service-Learning and Community Engagement
THIRD EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON SERVICE-LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION, SLOVAKIA, July 2020
3. Institutionalization Studies
Institutionalization studies focus on examining the factors that promote the sustainability and institutionalization of service-learning and community engagement across institutional and community contexts.
Studies in this area seek to conceptualize the idea of institutionalization in light of the changing contexts of educational institutions and the varied approaches to service-learning and community engagement.
- What impact has the institutionalisation of service-learning on university and community?
- How the traditional structure of universities limits the normalisation of service-learning activities?
- What are the barriers of service-learning institutionalization?
- How to manage the processes of institutionalisation of service learning in higher education to move from one level of institutionalisation to another, according to the Furco rubric?
- What is the best way to succeed in institutionalization?
- Establish a best practices repository and meta-analysis on institutionalisation.
- Which institutionalisation strategies are more successful? Advantages and disadvantages of the bottom-up approaches service-learning institutionalisation.
- What is the impact of the implication of higher education institution decision makers in the institutionalisation process?
- Should we try to convince as many faculty members as possible to engage in service-learning? Is the best strategy for institutionalization to engage more skeptical faculty or to focus on the motivated faculty? What are the trade-offs of having more people joining?
- How and where should investments be made to have higher quality service-learning?
- Should service-learning training and basic training about ethical engaged scholarship be compulsory for department heads, those who do promotion evaluation?
- What are strategies to strengthen the sustainability of service-learning that does not depend on leaders of the university? What bottom-up strategies can be put in place to strengthen sustainability of community engagement?
- What is the relevance of the service carried out to the community?
- How can community engagement be better resourced to be effectively institutionalised?
- How do cultural differences in the context of the power of authorities in institutions shape/influence the process(es) of institutionalisation?
- What are the best ways to ‘transfer’ great strategies from one context to another while acknowledging contextual particularities?
- What is the role of executive and middle level leadership on facilitating the service-learning implementation process?
- What impact does the existence of a center/office for service-learning facilitate the sustainability of service-learning at institutional level?
- Does the availability of internal budget allocation impact the sustainability of service-learning?
- Does the availability of external budget allocation impact the sustainability of service-learning?
- What types of institutional structures are associated with long-term institutionalisation of service-learning?
- Conduct research on different models of institutionalisation.
- What are the political implications (obstacles and facilitators) for service-learning institutionalisation?
