Preparing Next-Generation-Citizens Through Active-Community-Engagement: Longitudinal Study of Informal Learning in an Asian Undergraduate Residential College

• Published in: The Asia-Pacific education researcher Vol. 31; no. 5; pp. 575 - 587
• Main Authors: Mukhopadhyay, Kankana, Chang-Koh, Sue, Har, Jie Ren Gerald
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Nature Singapore 01.10.2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Citizen Participation; Citizenship; Citizenship education; College Programs; College Students; Colleges; Community Involvement; Community Relations; Curricula; Education; Educational Experience; Educational Policy and Politics; Empathy; Foreign Countries; Higher education; Informal Education; International and Comparative Education; Learning and Instruction; Longitudinal Studies; Regular Article; Residential Institutions; Sociology of Education; Soft skills; Undergraduate Students; Asia; Asian residential college; Informal learning; Undergraduate education; Community-engagement-based learning; Active citizenship competencies
• ISSN: 0119-5646; 2243-7908
• DOI: 10.1007/s40299-021-00609-2

Educational experiences rooted in community engagement offer a powerful and effective method by which to prepare students as the next generation of active citizens. This study critically analyzes and illustrates the potential of using community engagement as the focus of an informal curriculum in an Asian university’s living-and-learning undergraduate residential college program designed to prepare the next generation of active citizens. Grounded in empirical evidence from four academic years (2013/14–2016/17) and using the active citizenship and community-based learning theoretical frameworks, this research study systematically evaluates the contribution of hands-on community engagement in undergraduate learning and development. Specifically, conceptual codes were derived from the stated informal learning outcomes related to citizenship competencies, to map the extent of achievement of the target outcomes and objectives of the engagement activities over time. Results from this quasi-quantitative content analysis of 89 programs, involving more than 80% of the College students during each academic year, confirm and complicate our understanding of how critical citizenship competencies of awareness, empathy, deeper understanding and hard and soft skills are achieved. Moreover, findings also highlight how perceptions on learning through active community engagement differ between activities/events in shaping the development of active citizenship competencies. The study findings have ramifications for policies related to community-engagement-based learning in higher education.