STLHE 2016 SAPES

Community engagement is an educational experience through which students learn course concepts by interacting with a specific community to produce public benefit. It is a pedagogical method that offers a wide range of positive impacts on student development (Furco, Jones-White, Huesman & Gorny, 2012). While community engaged learning methods have been practiced in the United States for several decades, this approach has recently become more widespread in Canadian universities (Chambers, 2009).


This study investigated the impacts of community engagement on undergraduate students in a high enrollment (190 students) second-level neuroscience course at McMaster University (Hamilton, Ontario) during the winter semester of 2016. A pre-survey was administered in January and a post-survey was administered in March following students’ community engagement experiences. The survey used a 5-point Likert agreement scale to assess student experience. It was hypothesized that community engagement would promote student development across four themes: academic development, civic responsibility, professional skill development, and personal skill development. Based on previous research, the largest impact was expected to occur in professional and personal skill development (Astin & Sax, 1998; Furco et al., 2012). Descriptive statistics indicated that the greatest changes in student perceptions occurred in the theme of academic development, specifically in understanding of course content, academic value, and student-faculty interactions. There were no changes in student perceptions observed for questions on future community engagement plans and value of reflection. Student perceptions in both pre- and post-surveys remained positive for 21 of 26 survey questions, suggesting that community engagement benefits student development in areas that they originally predicted. Findings from this study could be used to guide further areas of research and to assist with course design for other instructors. Future directions may include using focus groups to capture a greater understanding of the impacts of community engagement on student development.