Dissertation Annotated Bibliography for….. (Due date – Monday 5th February, 2018 DUE IN 10 HOURS FROM NOW)

Annotated Bibliography

As part of your Doctoral Seminar for this set of weeks, you are participating in a seminar-style discussion about the weekly topics. You must address 5 of the attached Dissertations in the prescribed format. As a related exercise, submit an annotated bibliography of the 5 resources you referred to this week. For each dissertation entry, be sure to include the full APA citation and address the following :

1. Scope

2. Purpose

3. Philosophical Approach

4. Underlying Assumptions

5. Research

6. Limitations

7. Opportunities for further inquiry

8. Validity of use

General Topic: Sustainability and Community participation

Dissertation Resources:

Thompson, J. D. (2015). Engineering community engagement partnerships: Investigating motivation, nature, and structure (Order No. 3720049). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1718546773). Retrieved from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1718546773?accountid=14872

Dooley, J. E. (2016). Effecting transformation through community partnerships: A case study in building networks of hope (Order No. 10118959). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1804419112). Retrieved from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1804419112?accountid=14872

Anderson, T. D. (2017). The role of rural community colleges in promoting sustainable economic rural community development: A multiple case study (Order No. 10284673). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1914908221). Retrieved from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1914908221?accountid=14872

Tatar, J. A. (2017). Civic engagement: Generational differences in engagement of citizens in their communities (Order No. 10640336). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1972689844). Retrieved from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1972689844?accountid=14872

Regan, R. M. (2015). Community engagement and adaptive reuse: The intersection of sustaining multi-use art space in Washington, DC (Order No. 1588764). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1688807369). Retrieved from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1688807369?accountid=14872

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN ENGAGEMENT OF
CITIZENS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES

A Dissertation
Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies and Research
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Education

Justin A. Tatar
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
December 2017

ProQuest Number:
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iii

Indiana University of Pennsylvania
School of Graduate Studies and Research
Department of Professional Studies in Education

We hereby approve the dissertation of

Justin A. Tatar

Candidate for the degree of Doctor of Education

_________________ ____________________________________
David Piper, D.Ed.
Professor of Employment and Labor Relations,
Advisor

________________ _____________________________________
Kelli Paquette, Ed.D.
Professor of Professional Studies in Education

_________________ ____________________________________
Sue Rieg, Ed.D.
Professor of Professional Studies in Education

ACCEPTED

____________________________________________ ____________________
Randy L. Martin, Ph.D.
Dean
School of Graduate Studies and Research

Title: Civic Engagement: Generational Differences in Engagement of Citizens in Their
Communities

Author: Justin A. Tatar
Dissertation Chair: Dr. David Piper
Dissertation Committee Members: Dr. Kelli Paquette
Dr. Sue Rieg
This study set out to examine if a difference existed among three generations and
citizenship and/ or between town vitalities and citizenship. Prior work (Putnam 2000) declared
that younger generations lack a civic inclination compared with preceding generations. As
examples, two American traditions are experiencing an all-time low in volunteer support. First,
volunteer firefighters have experienced a decrease from 300,000 to just 50,000 in Pennsylvania
over the last generation (Brittain, 2015). Second, church attendance has declined over the last 40
years (Jansen, 2011).
Additionally, this study examined if generation is influenced by citizenship. In order to
determine if a difference or relationship does indeed exist, statistical tests were conducted along
with interviews. Citizenship was considered with the five following subsets: personal beliefs,
competence for civic action, personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and
justice-oriented citizenship (Westheimer & Kahne 2004). Each of these citizenship attributes
were tested for significance with generation (Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Millennial). It
was discovered that Millennials are passionate about personal beliefs, Baby Boomers expressed a
competence for civic action, and all generations value responsible citizenship. Baby Boomers
expressed the importance of participatory citizenship and justice-oriented citizenship. Also it
was found that personally responsible citizenship differs by town vitality, as one community had
a significant mean score difference from another of the three in this study.

The findings in this study have implications for community leaders. First, community
leaders must establish community based programs or maintain existing programs to build a
stronger citizen base. Attributes and passions of all citizens must be utilized to better connect
communities. Community leaders must develop a citizenship education plan and educate
citizens on the value of citizenship. Westheimer and Kahne (2004) and Musil (2003) described
the need to incorporate citizenship service learning in the classroom. By doing so, will be
prepared for the next generation to experience the benefits of an efficacious community.

DEDICATION
Without reserve I owe all gratitude to my Savior for providing me with the ability to
accept knowledge and ideas beyond my own. For without that capability I would not even have
considered such an endeavor. To my family, Jenny, Jacob, Bella, Lizzy, and Abby, words
cannot express my love for you.

vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
From the beginning of my doctoral studies (and I am not sure when that would have
been) I was willing to embrace the struggle of this journey. A professor said early on in my
studies that a person does not need to be a genius to become a doctor – I have proven that fact –
but instead, they must persist. The professor said not to give up the struggle but instead to
embrace it. Great advice.
The experience of earning a doctorate created a family of colleagues all chasing the same
end. Fellow students from Cohort 14 have provided endless support in my academic journey,
including Luke, Danielle, and Aaron. I cannot thank Luke enough for the countless texts and
phone calls – I think we kept the phone companies in business! Your support was invaluable;
nothing but love and respect – you made a friend for life. Additionally, I have to acknowledge
Diana, a colleague and friend. Many hours were spent bouncing ideas and thoughts with you
concerning my study; I cannot thank you all enough for your contributions. On many occasions
you helped me with clarity when I needed it most. All of your gifted academic minds will
continue to bless you in your professional careers. I wish you all the best in all you do.
My committee, with your expertise and with your patience, thank you. I can only
imagine that committee members are perhaps just as excited to see a student graduate as the
student. The dedication of the dissertation committee including the endless read- throughs,
recommendations, and discussions were accepted with appreciation. My chair, Dr. Piper,
became a friend in this process; your knowledge and guidance taught me how to become a better
professional – thank you.
I could not continue without acknowledging my wife, Jennifer. Graduating with my
doctorate and completing a successful dissertation defense would not have happened without

viii

your unwavering support. Many hours proofreading and listening to my thoughts have now led
to this moment. To my wife and family, and all that had a part in this moment, thank you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
1 INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………………………1
Statement of the Problem ……………………………………………………………………………..2
Purpose of the Study ……………………………………………………………………………………3
Theoretical Framework ………………………………………………………………………………..5
Operational Definitions and Terms ………………………………………………………………..6
Justification ………………………………………………………………………………………………..7
Research Questions ……………………………………………………………………………………..8
Null Hypothesis ………………………………………………………………………………………….9
Research Design………………………………………………………………………………………..10
Limitations ……………………………………………………………………………………………….11
Delimitations …………………………………………………………………………………………….12
Summary ………………………………………………………………………………………………….13
2 LITERATURE REVIEW …………………………………………………………………………..14
A Historical Account of Community and Citizenship …………………………………….15
A Renewed Cause for Citizenship ……………………………………………………………….17
Development of a Civic Mind……………………………………………………………………..18
Engaged Civic Community: Different From the Past ……………………………………..19
A New Era of Civic Community …………………………………………………………………21
Community Engagement Redefined …………………………………………………………….22
The Living Generations: The Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers,
Generation X, and Millennials …………………………………………………………………….24
The Greatest Generation, Born Between 1910 and 1940 (Brokaw, 1998) 24
Baby Boomers, Born Between 1946 and 1964 (Taylor, 2014)………………25
Generation X, Born Between 1965 and 1980 (Gaylor, 2002) ……………….26
Millennials, Born Between 1980 and 2000 (Taylor, 2014) …………………..27
Differences in Generation, Life Cycle or a Generational Pattern?……………………29
Civic Responsibility and Town Vitality… ……………………………………………………31
Citizenship Models ……………………………………………………………………………………35
Citizenship Development Model ………………………………………………………35
Three Models of Citizenship …………………………………………………………….38
Visions of Good Citizens …………………………………………………………………39
Case Studies of Citizenship ………………………………………………………………………..42
Madison County Youth in Public Service ……………………………………………………43
Bayside Students for Justice ……………………………………………………………………….44
Comparison of Citizenship Models ……………………………………………………………..46
Education for Democracy …………………………………………………………………………..48
Civic Ethos …………………………………………………………………………………….49
Civic Literacy…………………………………………………………………………………49
Civic Inquiry ………………………………………………………………………………….49

Chapter Page

Civic Action …………………………………………………………………………………………….50
Summary ………………………………………………………………………………………………….51
3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………………52
Research Questions ……………………………………………………………………………………53
Null Hypothesis ………………………………………………………………………………………..54
Research Design………………………………………………………………………………………..55
Target Population and Participant Selection ………………………………………………….57
Instrument ………………………………………………………………………………………………..60
Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement, 2007:
Reliability of Measures …………………………………………………………………………….. 60
Survey Sections ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 62
Subset One: Personal Beliefs ……………………………………………………………62
Subset Two: Competence for Civic Action ………………………………………..62
Subset Three: Personally Responsible Citizenship ………………………………62
Subset Four: Participatory Citizenship ………………………………………………62
Subset Five: Justice-Oriented Citizenship ………………………………………….63
Procedures ………………………………………………………………………………………………..63
Pilot Study ……………………………………………………………………………………..64
Non Expert Review …………………………………………………………………………64
Data Analysis ……………………………………………………………………………………………65
Expected Findings ……………………………………………………………………………………..67
Summary ………………………………………………………………………………………………….67
4 ANALYSIS OF DATA ……………………………………………………………………………..69
Description of the Survey Sample (Quantitative) …………………………………………..69
Description of the Interview Sample (Quantitative) ……………………………………….72
Details of Analysis and Results …………………………………………………………………..72
Generation, Independent Variable, Analysis, and Findings …………………………….73
Personal Beliefs ……………………………………………………………………………..74
Competence for Civic Action …………………………………………………………..77
Personally Responsible Citizenship …………………………………………………..83
Participatory Citizenship ………………………………………………………………….87
Justice-Oriented Citizenship …………………………………………………………….94
Research Question One: Conclusions …………………………………………………………100
Town Vitality: Analysis and Findings ………………………………………………………..102
Personal Beliefs ……………………………………………………………………………102
Competence for Civic Action …………………………………………………………106
Personally Responsible Citizenship …………………………………………………111
Participatory Citizenship ………………………………………………………………..118
Justice-Oriented Citizenship …………………………………………………………..123
Research Question Two: Conclusions ………………………………………………………..131

Chapter Page

Research Questions Three …………………………………………………………………………133
Knowledge of Agencies …………………………………………………………………135
Ability to Reach Key Individuals ……………………………………………………135
Ability to Identify Resources ………………………………………………………….136
Ability to Make Decisions ……………………………………………………………..137
Ability to Make a Difference ………………………………………………………….139
Ability to Share Perspective……………………………………………………………141
Ability to Solve a Problem ……………………………………………………………..142
Ability to Volunteer to Help People ………………………………………………..144
Ability to Correct Problems ……………………………………………………………147
Ability to Change Policy or Law …………………………………………………….148
Ability to Work on a Political Campaign …………………………………………149
Willingness to March in a Protest or Demonstration ………………………….149
Conclusion: Research Question Three ………………………………………………………..150
Summary ………………………………………………………………………………………………..151
5 DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS ………………………..153
Discussion of Results ……………………………………………………………………………….153
Research Question One …………………………………………………………………………….154
Research Question Two ……………………………………………………………………………159
Research Question Three ………………………………………………………………………….162
Implications…………………………………………………………………………………………….164
Limitations ……………………………………………………………………………………………..169
Recommendations for Future Research ………………………………………………………170
Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………………………………..171
Summary ………………………………………………………………………………………………..173

REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….175
APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..183
Appendix A – Survey Consent Form ………………………………………………………….183
Appendix B – Interview Consent Form ………………………………………………………184
Appendix C – Survey ……………………………………………………………………………….185
Appendix D – Interview Protocol ………………………………………………………………189
Appendix E – What Is Niche? ……………………………………………………………………190

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LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 Kinds of Citizens………………………………………………………………………………………………….42
2 Pre/Post Test: Madison and Bayside Case Study ……………………………………………………..46
3 Connections Among Citizenship Models ………………………………………………………………..48
4 Research Questions and Research Method ………………………………………………………………56
5 Colleges and Universities ……………………………………………………………………………………..60
6 Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement
Scale Items and Reliability Levels ………………………………………………………………………….61
7 Communities and Participant Totals ……………………………………………………………………….71
8 Overview of Research Questions, Data Collection, and Analysis Method …………………..73
9 Means and Standard Deviation, Generation and Personal Beliefs ………………………………75
10 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Personal Beliefs ……………………………………75
11 ANOVA, Generation and Personal Beliefs ……………………………………………………………..76
12 Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Generation and Personal Beliefs ………………………………………76
13 Means and Standard Deviation, Generation and Competence for Civic Action ……………79
14 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Competence for Civic Action …………………80
15 ANOVA, Generation and Competence for Civic Action …………………………………………..81
16 Welch Test of Equality of Means, Competence for Civic Action ……………………………….81
17 Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Generation and Competence for Civic Action ……………………82
18 Means and Standard Deviation, Generation and Personally Responsible
Citizenship ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….85
19 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Personally Responsible Citizenship ………..85
20 Welch Test of Equality of Means, Personally Responsible Citizenship ……………………….86

xiii

Table Page
21 Means and Standard Deviation, Generation and Participatory Citizenship …………………..88
22 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Participatory Citizenship ……………………….89
23 ANOVA, Generation and Participatory Citizenship ………………………………………………….90
24 Welch Test of Equality of Means, Generation and Participatory Citizenship ……………….91
25 Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Generation and Participatory Responsible Citizenship ………..92

26 Means and Standard Deviation, Generation and Justice-Oriented Citizenship ……………..96
27 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Justice-Oriented Citizenship …………………..97
28 ANOVA, Generation and Justice-Oriented Citizenship …………………………………………….97
29 Welch Test of Equality of Means, Justice-Oriented Citizenship …………………………………98
30 Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Generation and Justice-Oriented Citizenship ……………………..98

31 Research Question One: Are There Generational Differences Regarding Citizenship? .101
32 Means and Standard Deviation, Town Vitality and Personal Beliefs …………………………103
33 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Personal Beliefs ………………………………….103
34 Pearson Correlation, Town Vitality and Personal Beliefs ………………………………………..105
35 Means and Standard Deviation, Town Vitality and Competence for Civic Action………108
36 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Competence for Civic Action ……………….109
37 Pearson Correlation for Town Vitality and Competence for Civic Action …………………110
38 Means and Standard Deviation, Town Vitality and Personally Responsible
Citizenship ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..112

39 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Personally Responsible Citizenship ………113
40 ANOVA, Town Vitality and Personally Responsible Citizenship …………………………….114
41 Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Town Vitality and Personally Responsible Citizenship……..115
42 Pearson Correlation for Town Vitality and Personally Responsible Citizenship…………116

xiv

Table Page
43 Means and Standard Deviation, Town Vitality and Participatory Citizenship …………….119
44 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance and Participatory Citizenship ………………..120
45 Pearson Correlation Between Town Vitality and Participatory Citizenship ……………….121
46 Means and Standard Deviation, Town Vitality and Justice-Oriented Citizenship ……….125
47 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Justice-Oriented Citizenship …………………126
48 ANOVA, Town Vitality and Justice-Oriented Citizenship ………………………………………127
49 Pearson Correlation Between Town Vitality and Justice-Oriented Citizenship …………..128
50 Stepwise Multiple Regression Models for Town Vitality and Justice-Oriented
Citizenship ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..129

51 Research Question Two: Are There Town Vitality Differences or Relationships
Regarding Citizenship? ………………………………………………………………………………………..132

52 Utilized Citizenship Attributes ……………………………………………………………………….…..134

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1 Frequency, participants by generation …………………………………………………………………….71
2 Frequency, participants by town vitality ………………………………………………………………….72

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
The United States of America’s civic culture has evolved over generations and has been
influenced by many historical events (Brokaw, 1998). Some of these events include a fight for
independence, the abolition of slavery, severe economic depression, public servant assignation,
and world wars. People become products of their generation and, therefore, speak with a similar
voice (Wilson & Simson, 2006). It is each generation’s voice that will define the people’s
beliefs, values, and citizenship (Brokaw, 1998).
The uniqueness of each generation presents political and social challenges that result in
differences in thought and community action from one generation to the next (Wilson & Simson,
2006). A confounding event often contributes to the personality of a generation; for example,
World War II brought cohesiveness to the Greatest and Silent Generations (Brokaw, 1998),
whereas the Vietnam War divided public opinion between government trust and mistrust (Boyte
& Kari, 1996). The Millennial Generation was introduced to war overseas, a great recession, and
corporate mistrust. The Millennials generally support social justice and equality for all people in
America. Generations have distinctive features (Wilson & Simson, 2006). Even so, Baby
Boomers and Millennials have several strands of commonality. For example, both generations
have endured government mistrust, war overseas, and political scandal. Both generations are
comparable in size as the Baby Boomers peaked at 78.8 million in 1999 and the Millennials will
peak at 81.1 million in the year 2036 (Fry, 2016). The commonalities lead one to wonder if the
two generations will have comparable results in this study.
The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate if a difference existed
between generation and citizenship as identified by Westheimer and Kahne’s Visions of Good
Citizens Model (2004) and if a difference or relationship existed between town vitality as defined

by NICHE (Carnegie Mellon University [CMU], 2002) and citizenship among the Baby
Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennials. In this mixed-methods study, citizens were
surveyed and interviewed to better understand their citizenship practices and beliefs based on
commitment to civic community engagement. The geographic location of this study consisted of
citizens who resided in three counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Statement of the Problem
The problem examined in this study was generational apathy toward politics and civic
community engagement (Taylor, 2014; Wilson & Simson, 2006). Specifically, today’s young
adults are not as civically inclined as preceding generations (Putnam, 2000). According to the
research of Berg, Melaville, and Blank (2006) and Musil (2003), young adults are not civically
involved, thus creating a lack of civic participation in community organizations and nonprofit
sectors. The national decline in volunteerism and engagement is a critical problem for the
country (Hartnett & Matan, 2014). “This decline represents millions of people who are no
longer contributing their time and effort to organizations where it is so essential for success”
(Hartnett & Matan, 2014, p. 3).
Examples of this downward trend can be found in two institutions. Since the early 1970s,
state and local governments have been concerned with the declining numbers of volunteer
firefighters. Since that time, across the state of Pennsylvania, the number of volunteer firefighters
has declined from 300,000 to just 50,000 (Brittain, 2015). Such a decline has created a major
problem for communities; a decrease in volunteers has led to longer response times, especially
during daytime hours (Miller, 1998). Not only is it becoming challenging to sway people to
volunteer, but it is also becoming more difficult to retain current volunteers.

A second example is the decline in church attendance over the last 40 years (Jansen,
2011). Religious institutions directly support a wide range of social activities beyond the walls
of the church (Putnam, 2000). Church involvement remains a strong predictor of community
based volunteering; according to Putnam (2000), those who attend church regularly volunteer
twice as often as those who do not attend. The population of the United States is expected to be
520 million by the year 2050, but the percentage of the population that will attend churches in
that year is estimated to be almost half of what it was in the 1990s (Barnes & Lowery, 2016).
Decline in church membership affects not only individual churches but also the community
involvement so central to church (Jansen, 2011).
Purpose of the Study
The first purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate if generational
differences exist regarding citizenship as identified by Westheimer and Kahne’s Visions of Good
Citizens Model (2004). The second purpose of the study was to investigate differences or
relationships between town vitality, as defined by NICHE (CMU, 2002), and citizenship. The
National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (2012) recognized that the
more citizens who engage in civic opportunities in college, the greater their growth along many
civic dimensions, including greater levels of community commitment. This study revealed the
citizen attributes which are utilized by citizens and patterns that exist by generation and town
vitality.
Analyses of this study were drawn based on citizens’ responses to the survey instrument
“Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement” (The Pennsylvania State
University, 2007), which measured how civic and community participation contribute to
citizenship models based on the conceptual framework of Westheimer and Kahne’s model

(2004). The opportunity to examine the results of the three generational cohorts revealed
differences and similarities in terms of their attitudes toward civic engagement. Town vitality
was defined by Hoffer as a collective group of citizens from a defined community that take part
in shared responsibilities and duties (1931). Finally, the work of Grigsby (2001) defined town
vitality as a team approach to identifying issues, establishing plans, and acting on those plans.
The study revealed relationships between town vitality and two citizenship
characteristics. The results were analyzed and conclusions and recommendations for further
study are presented in Chapter 5. A goal of this study was to support research (Musil, 2003;
Putnam, 2000; and Westheimer & Kahne 2004) that indicates a need for younger Americans to
discover the importance of civic community not only for themselves but for the benefit of their
communities. Civic engagement encourages a knowledgeable, community-serving citizen
(Grigsby, 2001).
Another goal of this research was to present findings to the nine communities studied.
Opportunities exist for communities to develop citizenship skills among their citizenry, including
educational institutions that may teach their citizenry to become more involved and to provide
learning opportunities (Musil, 2003). Additionally, community and education leaders should
focus on civic education in their communities, regardless of town vitality (Musil, 2003). Results
of this study could be used to encourage stakeholders of secondary and post-secondary
institutions to add community and citizen education in curricula.
This study relies on three theoretical models to quantify and analyze the generational
cohorts to determine citizen engagement. The theoretical models include Musil’s Citizenship
Development Model (2003), Boyte and Kari’s Three Models of Citizenship (1996), and
Westheimer and Kahne’s Visions of Good Citizens (2004):

1. Citizenship Development Model is a framework that assimilates citizenship into the
school curriculum. It suggests that citizenship education must be woven into the fabric of
all courses in all colleges, not just as an elective course or a single act of citizenship
(Musil, 2003).
2. Three Models of Citizenship emphasize citizen ownership and leadership for
nondominant communities (Smist, 2006).
3. Visions of Good Citizens Model is grounded in a multi-year study of school-based
programs that aim to teach democratic citizenship. The framework differentiates between
a good citizen and a civically engaged citizen (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
Theoretical Framework
Westheimer and Kahne’s Vision of Good Citizens Model (2004) was chosen as the
theoretical framework for this study. This framework was selected based on the following
criteria: First, the Model includes three phases of citizenship (personally responsible citizenship,
participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship), allowing for a higher level of
accuracy among survey participants. Second, this information can then be disseminated to the
communities where the participants live. Community leaders could share the information with
their citizens to better engage them in community events and to meet specific needs of the
people. Third, Westheimer and Kahne’s model is designed with civic education in mind.
Citizens must be able to move beyond civic education learned in a classroom and, therefore,
learn to serve and nurture their communities (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Recommendations
derived from the study could influence community and citizen education in the classroom as well
as in the community at large. A theoretical position of this study posits that civic education can
begin to change the way younger generations view their community (and their roles in their

community). Young adults, regardless of town vitality, can understand the importance of
becoming high-engaged citizens. Instead of young people viewing their community simply as a
place to live, they can transcend this outlook and view community as a place to engage
(Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
Operational Definitions and Terms
Baby Boomers: Born between 1946 and 1964. Led the countercultural upheavals of the 1960s
(Taylor, 2014).
Civic Engagement: Citizens who work to build a stronger community by utilizing their inherent
and tangible skill sets for community improvement (Ehrlich, 2000).
Civic Life: The actions of a citizen that extend beyond his own concerns and extending to needs
of the community (Musil, 2003).
Community Service: Work done with or through a community organization to provide direct
service to individuals. Any work in a community and other related activities (Boyte & Kari,
1996).
Generation X: Born between 1965 and 1983. Key descriptors Gaylor uses to describe
Generation X include: loyal to relationships, serious about life, stressed, self-reliant, skeptical,
highly spiritual, and survivors (Gaylor, 2002).
Justice-Oriented Citizens: Citizens who wish to find causes of and solutions to systemic
community injustice and social ills (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
Millennials: Born between 1980 and 2000. Taylor describes Millennials as “liberal, diverse,
tolerant, narcissistic, coddled, respectful, confident, and broke” (Taylor, 2014, p. 26).
Participatory Citizens: In tune with community happenings and focused on effecting change
(Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).

Personally Responsible Citizens: Knowledgeable about problems and sometimes get involved in
efforts to address issues or concerns (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
Service Learning: Linked primarily to two educational theorists: John Dewey and Paolo Freire.
Emphasis on collaboration, real world problem solving, and reflection (Nadan & Scott, 2011).
Social Capital: Distinguishes between safe and organized cities from unsafe and disorganized
ones, including the connections of individuals through common values (Jacobs, 1961). Can
maintain connections among its citizens; lends to high levels of trust and citizen participation
(Putnam, 2000).
Town Vitality: Level of agreement a community shares regarding community issues, goals to
address the issues, and implementation of plans (Grigsby, 2001).
Town A: As defined by NICHE, a community with a town vitality score of 90 percent or greater
(CMU, 2002).
Town B: As defined by NICHE, a community with a town vitality score of 80 to 89 percent
(CMU, 2002).
Town C: As defined by NICHE, a community with a town vitality score of 70 to 79 percent
(CMU, 2002).
Justification
Communities and their citizens can benefit from understanding civic engagement
variances among the three generations and town vitalities analyzed in this study. Educators may
use this data to engage young students in the classroom on the role of effective citizenship.
Persons representing these particular generations can better understand how to become civically
engaged citizens. Most importantly, a justification for this study is the potential use of the
findings to prepare the next generation for informed citizenship in their communities.

The need is strong to reinforce the importance of civic-minded engagement in
communities. A civically engaged citizen at the highest level can lead communities,
organizations, teams, households, families, schools, commerce, government, churches, and
individuals to serve.
Research Questions
This study’s purpose is 1) to establish if there are differences among generations related
to citizenship and 2) to determine the relationships or differences for town vitality and
citizenship. Communities can use the findings to understand 3) which citizenship attributes are
most utilized by citizens. More specifically, the study asks the following through surveys and
interviews:
Surveys
1. Are there generational differences regarding citizenship?
A. Are there generational differences regarding personal beliefs?
B. Are there generational differences regarding competence for civic action?
C. Are there generational differences regarding personally responsible
citizenship?
D. Are there generational differences regarding participatory citizenship?
E. Are there generational differences regarding justice-oriented citizenship?
2. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship?
A. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding personal
beliefs?
B. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding competence
for civic action?

C. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding personally
responsible citizenship?
D. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding participatory
citizenship?
E. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding justice-
oriented citizenship?
Interviews
3. Which citizenship attributes are utilized by citizens?
Null Hypothesis
1. Ho. There are no generational differences regarding citizenship.
A. There are no generational differences regarding personal beliefs.
B. There are no generational differences regarding civic action.
C. There are no generational differences regarding personally responsible
citizenship.
D. There are no generational differences regarding participatory citizenship.
E. There are no generational differences regarding justice-oriented citizenship.
2. Ho. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship.
A. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding personal
beliefs.
B. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding competence
for civic action.
C. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding personally
responsible citizenship.

D. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding
participatory citizenship?
E. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding justice-
oriented citizenship.
Research Design
A mixed-methods study was decided upon as the best approach for this study. Such an
approach increases the overall strength of a study compared to a stand-alone quantitative or
qualitative study (Creswell, 2007). A combination of quantitative and qualitative measures was
used to gather the necessary data. A survey was used to address research questions one and two
with the instrument, Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement by
Flanagan, Syvertsen, and Stout (2007); additionally, interviews were used to collect qualitative
data.
In their work on civic engagement, Flanagan, Syvertsen, and Stout (2007) employed a
mixed-methods study. They developed a set of civic measures that built on the work of
Westheimer and Kahne’s, Good Citizen, framework included both qualitative and quantitative
data, as mirrored by this study. Their reason for a mixed methods followed what Datta (1997)
suggested to be a logical approach for a study design, that is, a mixed-methods design allowed
for blended tactics for their study.
Research question three was addressed qualitatively with seven interviews consisting of
12 interview questions each. Interview subjects were selected from the pool of participants who
completed the survey instrument. Participants had the opportunity to select “yes” or “no” on the
survey to indicate their willingness to interview.

All three research questions were studied in municipalities selected by town vitality.
Town vitality was measured using letter grades: A = high vitality, B = medium vitality, and C =
low vitality as defined by NICHE (Carnegie Mellon University, 2002). Each letter grade was
assigned a percentage for the purpose of this study, which required percentages for statistical
analysis. For example, a letter grade of A, equaling high vitality, was assigned a percentage of
90 percent; a letter grade of B, equaling medium vitality, was assigned a percentage of 80
percent; and a letter grade of C, equaling low vitality, was assigned a percentage of 70 percent.
Only towns with 4,000 residents or more were used in this study in order to increase the
likelihood of completed surveys. Table 3 provides a listing of the nine municipalities within the
communities selected, along with their vitality scores and town populations. The municipalities
were chosen from Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland counties in the state of Pennsylvania,
as they all share comparable characteristics and demographics. The survey instrument was
distributed to citizens of all nine municipalities. An equal number of high, medium, and low
scoring town vitalities were sought for consistency. Due to the minimum population parameters
set for the study, Beaver County does not have a municipality with a C or C- score, with a
population of 4,000 citizens or greater. The other two counties do have equal representation for
all scores.
Limitations
Several limitations of the study should be noted:
Limitation 1: This study may not be a true indicator of the pulse of all citizens that reside in these
selected counties. Citizens could have varying thoughts of citizenship from each
county. With the Visions of Good Citizens theoretical model, it is possible
that the three citizenship models could have different meanings for the

individual citizens taking the survey. In turn, this variance of thought could alter
the study.
Limitation 2: The overall aptitude of citizens in regards to citizenship is also a limitation to this
study. It can be assumed that if community engagement is not important to a
citizen, then that citizen may not partake in this study. If citizens who are already
engaged are more inclined to take the survey, the results may be skewed.
Limitation 3: This study included interviews to identify which community attributes were
utilized by citizens of different generations and town vitalities. Just seven citizens
were interviewed, suggesting that the small number may not be a true indicator of
all citizens who reside in these communities.
Limitation 4: This study only considered citizens’ views on citizenship.
Delimitations
It should be noted that this study is limited to three counties with a total combined
population of over one million citizens. Communities chosen for this study have a minimum
population of 4,000 residents. It was believed that this delimitation would allow for a stronger
survey pool per community. The researcher accepts the fallibility of capturing all citizens that
reside in a specific community or from a certain generation.
The counties were restricted to Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland, as these counties
are located in Western Pennsylvania and are comparable by population bases and town vitalities.
A further delimitation to this study is that the participant pool will only consist of those citizens
who are members of Chambers of Commerce, currently enrolled in post-secondary institutions,
and/or who are engaged with social media and who attend community events. It is also
recognized that this research may not reflect other communities in the nation.

The study only considered Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. Participant
ages range from 18 to 70 years. The study omitted the Greatest Generation (those born before
1946) based on the belief that at their advanced age, it might be difficult to reach a significant
yield. Lastly, this study only considered two independent variables, generation and town vitality.
Therefore, no demographic information was captured including gender, race, income, and/or
education level.
Summary
This study differentiates from others similar to it by investigating if potential differences
between generation and citizenship and potential relationships between town vitality, as defined
by NICHE (Carnegie Mellon University, 2002), and citizenship. This study sought to measure
attitudes and civic behaviors of three distinct generations from nine municipalities across Beaver,
Washington, and Westmoreland Counties.
The future of democracy in America hinges on a new generation of applied democracy
(The National Task Force, 2012). The time has come to stop the trend of youth apathy towards
community and citizenship. A new movement toward serving, with commitment to community
and solving issues that plague communities, must now begin (Poindexter, 2012). Without a new
movement, the country might suffer a setback in a lack of engagement that it cannot politically
or civically afford. Our youth are plentiful and diverse, and they desire a sense of belonging.
Community leaders and educators should channel their positive energy for the betterment of the
future (Poindexter, 2012). This study assumes the necessity of cultivating skills, attitudes, and
behaviors at an early age. It also assumes that, if successful, society might benefit from greater
involvement and engagement of its citizenry (Gaeke, 2009; The National Task Force, 2012).

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
The challenge for America is to reinvigorate the young citizenry to become once again
involved in their communities (Putnam, 2000). America has experienced a decreased
commitment to citizenship and a lack of commitment to community (Musil, 2003; Putnam,
2000). The strongest indicator of civic disengagement is by age or generation. Putnam, the
author of Bowling Alone (2000), argues that middle-aged and older people participate more
frequently in almost all civic categories, including attending church, voting, reading and
watching the news, engaging in philanthropy, getting involved in politics, committing to
community projects, and volunteering (Putnam, 2000).
Today’s youth occupy time in ways that vary widely from prior generations. Many
Millennials have two sets of parents (Rotz, 2016), have access to entertainment in the palm of
their hand, rely on quick remedies to solve “problems,” and desire constant change in their lives
(Poindexter, 2012). This way of thinking differs from the Greatest Generation in every way.
The Greatest Generation lived through the Great Depression, World War II, a presidential
assassination, and a Cold War (Brokaw, 1998). Today’s Millennial Generation has also
experienced tragedies in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the country’s financial woes, the housing
market crash, and partisan politics (Poindexter, 2012); however, there remains a contrast
between these two generations separated by about 80 years. This literature review will include a
historical account of citizenship, a generational comparison of civic engagement among the
generations, and the importance of civic education in the classroom to prepare civic minds for
future generations.

A Historical Account of Community and Citizenship
In 1776, the collective colonies on the North American continent declared independence
from the British Empire (McCullough, 2001). This action involved immense risk as all 56
signers of the Declaration of Independence were viewed as traitors by the British government
and could be sentenced to death (McCullough, 2001). This decision did not come easily; many
statesmen did not agree with such a declaration. Some felt it was better to live under the scrutiny
of foreign rule and an unfair taxation system. Leaders like Thomas Jefferson, Sam Adams,
Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and George Washington desired a better future for the colonies
and voted to fight the British for independence, liberty, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness.
Under the British, the colonies were subjected to an authoritative rule that limited the colonists’
control of their communities. The British placed governors in each colony who adhered to
British authority, including British expatriates policing the colonies and water ports. In Franklin,
Srodes (2002) described how Parliament closed the port of Boston to international commerce
until payment was received for the tea famously destroyed in the Boston Harbor. So many
troops landed that one out of five Boston inhabitants wore a red coat, and General Gage was
named the colony’s acting governor. The Revolution Movement, which included the new
America preparing to seek independence from Great Britain, dramatically increased the assembly
of people who considered themselves capable of thinking about issues of freedom, equality,
sovereignty, and representation (Skocpol and Fiorina, 1999). At this time, Congress chose
Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson to draft a declaration that would define American independence
to the world (Srodes, 2002). For the leaders of the colonies, nothing was of more importance
than a separation from tyranny and the pursuit of freedom that included the creation of a new
self-governing nation (McCullough, 2001). Adams began the journey of independence with

excitement and enthusiasm for the future (Wood, 2011). It was this motivation that spurred the
eight-year-long Revolutionary War that forced the British to surrender at the hands of General
Washington. This struggle led to the birth of a new nation that promoted a new civic beginning
for its citizens and its communities (McCullough, 2001).
Much like today, communities during the Revolution both struggled and thrived. The
patriots of the Revolutionary War provided a path for the rights of Americans (Wood, 2011).
Some rights occurred right away, such as the abolitionist movement and religious freedom, while
other rights took more time to develop, such as emancipation of slaves and suffrage for women
(Wood, 2011).
American attitudes were changing. Victory in the Revolutionary War gave the new
America an opportunity to write their own legislation, a new direction on how to live free from
tyranny (Wood, 2011). No more did British law govern the new America; American victory
ultimately ensured communities could grow and flourish for generations to come. Though
adversity thrived in the early years of the country, citizens had the ability to represent their
beliefs, and people from the same communities spoke in a similar voice (Wood, 2011). The
word “people” took on a very different definition than it had in England. In the new America,
the word “people” included the whole community and included all residents in the society. In
England, ”the people” was a more challenging concept to describe (Wood, 2011). The new
country was acknowledged to possess the distinctions that nature had made, to include a range of
talents, abilities, and virtues (Wood, 2011).
Present-day America may not be the perfect product the Founders had planned, but it is
still a land of opportunity (McKnight & Block, 2012). Each community is comprised of citizens
representing different generations from various town vitalities. The fabric of each community

lies in the efforts of each citizen (Berg, Melaville, & Blank, 2006). A town might flourish in one
aspect of vitality, based on the collective efforts of its citizens, but lack in another (Berg,
Melaville, & Blank, 2006).
A Renewed Cause for Citizenship
In 1776 Virginia was the first to separate church and state (Skocpol & Fiorina, 1999).
Under British bondage, the Colonials had to worship as directed by authoritative rule or risk
persecution. The young country proclaimed separation of religion and state and included the
freedom to worship under the umbrella of any religious faction.
Thus began a renewed cause for a spirited community eager to spread religious
denominations across the new country (Skocpol & Fiorina, 1999). Traveling organizers and
preachers, especially Methodists and Baptists, spread across the land. Established religious
hierarchies were challenged and bypassed by wildfire movements that appealed to the religious
passions and aspirations of ordinary Americans. With the continued influx of immigrants and
people moving westward, new ideas and ventures began to flourish in America’s communities
(Putnam, 2000). Community-engaged citizens began to take hold across the country with the
development of community-based associations (Putnam, 2000).
Communication, such as mailing letters, took mere days (Skocpol & Fiorina, 1999). This
unusually efficient and inclusive means of social communication allowed Americans, from early
national times onward, to create interconnected groups for political, religious, and moral
purposes. Newspapers increased from 90 to 370 from 1790 to 1810, and the postal service
developed into the most efficient mode of mail delivery in the world (Putnam, 2000). The post
office institution accounted for about 74 percent of all U. S. federal employees (Skocpol &
Fiorina, 1999) and permitted citizens to have a voice in their community. The populace had

created a medium to promote or chastise a cause, allowing for freedom of speech and active
participation in civic engagement.
Development of a Civic Mind
Putnam (2000) stressed the value of group membership to positively influence society.
From an early age, children, with the assistance of their parents, must find their role in society
(Cherry, 2013). The development of a child’s civic awareness at a young age enables him or her
to lend his or her voice and to speak with confidence (Flanagan & Levine, 2010).
The development of a civically responsible adult begins early in the person’s
development; however, younger children are competing for social dominance in school, on the
playgrounds, in sports, and at the dinner table (Cherry, 2013). Philosopher John Dewey talked
about education as a cultivating process that fosters ideals and educational growth (1976). Erik
Erikson (1950, 1963) developed a theory of crisis that corresponds to stages of human
development from infancy to death. His theory is important as it links early child development
with possible future civic engagement. He defined crises as an opportunity to grow
psychologically and improve in one’s life. He described eight stages of psychological growth
from infancy to death; for example, young children aged six to 12 are defined as “School Age”;
children in this stage are endeavoring to discover acceptance of the course of one’s life and
unfilled hopes (Erikson 1950,1963). Ultimately, they are trying to figure out who they are and
what authority they hold over both their peers and parents.
Today’s youth have a variety of options with which to occupy their time (Cherry, 2013).
Children seek the next attraction to entertain them, usually consisting of the latest fad.
Problematically, children lose interest quickly based on changing tastes or, most likely, the peer
influence. They desire acceptance from each other to fit in and to be a part of something

(Erikson 1950, 1963). Young adults should learn to assert control and power over community by
taking initiative through planning activities, accomplishing tasks, and facing challenges (Cherry,
2013). Today’s young citizens should understand how civic community occurred in the past so
that they have an appreciation for community today.
Engaged Civic Community: Different From the Past
Civic community engagement has transformed over the generations (Rainer & Rainer,
2011). Today’s Millennial Generation is involved in very different civic community actions as
compared to the distant Greatest Generation or the Baby Boomers (Rainer & Rainer, 2011).
Research shows the Millennials are engaged and advocate for causes, but the research also shows
that the civic engagement does not look much like the involvement of the Greatest Generation
(Musil, 2000; Putnam, 2000; Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Dewey argued in Democracy and
Education that a society that changes will improve the next generation. Different standards will
emerge and take hold of society, and citizens should embrace the nature of the present social life
(Dewey, 1916).
One argument for the differences is that young people of the Millennial Generation are
not involved in the civic community – that is, they do not care, are lazy, self-focused, and require
instant gratification (Putnam, 2000). Eighty years before the Millennials, the Greatest
Generation was recognized for their hard work, dedication, loyalty, and servanthood (Skocpol &
Fiorina, 1999). Many different historical events have separated the Millennials from the Greatest
Generation’s shared beliefs; these include a cold war, corrupt politics, the Vietnam War,
government mistrust, and assassinations (Brokaw, 1998). These events began to separate the
Baby Boomer Generation from the greatness of their parents. Instead, the Baby Boomers grew
up learning not to trust the government or government institutions. As Baby Boomers grew into
adulthood, their way of thinking about community grew apart from their parents. A change in

community had occurred; instead of the same characteristics that described the Greatest
Generation, the Baby Boomers had become disenchanted with the government. This change led
to an apparent decrease in activities such as advocacy, volunteering, and civic participation
(Wilson & Simson, 2006).
Examples of this downward trend can be found in two American traditions. The fire
department is an American institution that dates from Benjamin Franklin in 1736 (Srodes, 2002).
Just like in the past, most fire departments in Pennsylvania are completely reliant on volunteers.
Since that time, across Pennsylvania, the number of volunteer firefighters has declined from
300,000 to just 50,000 (Brittain, 2015). The problem is twofold: It has become a challenge to
persuade people to volunteer, but it is also becoming more difficult to retain current volunteers.
To combat these problems, both legislative and non-legislative efforts have occurred. An
example of a non-legislative effort involves community colleges; around the country, they now
offer tuition exemption to volunteer firefighters. Pennsylvania community colleges offer tuition
exemption as a way to attract new volunteers. States have enacted various legislative measures
to retain volunteer firefighters; for example, Pennsylvania now offers volunteers a tax cut of
$1,000 to help retain firefighters (Zapf, 2009).
A second example of the civic engagement problem in America can be attributed to the
decline in church attendance over the last 40 years (Jansen, 2011). Religious institutions directly
support a wide range of social activities beyond the walls of the church (Putnam, 2000). Church
members volunteer more frequently than those who do not attend church at all (Putnam, 2000).
This sense of altruism is responsible for the generosity of the church. Churchgoing is one of the
best predictors of giving blood, donating money, and participating in community affairs. Thom
Rainer, author of Autopsy of a Deceased Church (2014), notes that the failure of churches to

keep up with population growth is one of the churches’ greatest future challenges. Church
attendance has decreased every year since 1960 as each generation has become more
disconnected from church than every previous generation since the Greatest Generation (Rainer,
2014). Both of these examples highlight the decline of modern-day civic participation.
Community engagement still occurs through traditional means, albeit to a lesser extent;
most citizens are civically engaged through social outlets (Rainer & Rainer, 2011). The social
media movement began in 1994 (Digital Trends, 2012) and continues to evolve. Social media,
including platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat, is a way for people to
communicate with each other all over the world to share common hobbies, outlooks, or political
views (Rainer & Rainer, 2011). It is a method used to connect and participate in a community
(Rainer & Rainer, 2011). In comparison, the Greatest Generation did not have computers or
social media. Instead, they met at social halls in their towns and played cards, or they met in
places like the Eagles Club, veterans hall, Slovak club, or bowling allies (Putnam, 2000). While
convening at these places, people discussed politics and advocated for causes. Indeed, the civic
community is very different for each generation.
A New Era of Civic Community
Westheimer and Kahne (2004), Musil (2003), and Putnam (2000) revealed a lack of
engagement with the Millennial Generation. Millennials do not read newspapers, watch the
news, participate in civic matters, or vote with the same frequency as the Greatest Generation
(Musil, 2003); therefore, the Millennial generation appears to be the least engaged of the modern
era (Rainer & Rainer, 2011). Millennials have only known computer-based technology in their
lives, unlike the Greatest Generation and Baby Boomers, who had to learn and adapt to this new
technology.

The Greatest Generation, though admirable, might be considered narrow-minded when
studying wide-ranging topics compared to the Millennial Generation (Zukin, Andolina, & Delli
Carpini, 2006). The Millennials are far more tolerant than the Greatest Generation when it
comes to social issues such as abortion, gay marriage, or single-parent homes (Zukin, Andolina,
& Delli Carpini, 2006). The country during the Greatest Generation was unified and very
focused on a few similar causes (Brokaw, 1998).
While Musil (2003) and Putnam (2000) argue that there is a decline in civic engagement,
others (Hartnett & Matan, 2014) argue that both generations are civically engaged. Today is
very different – not better, but different. The point to consider and to evaluate is that both
generations are civically engaged, just in different ways. Both generations have their place in
society and serve their communities honorably (Hartnett & Matan, 2014). The next section will
offer a new definition of community engagement.
Community Engagement Redefined
Social media is the thread that links and has transformed the notion of community
(Digital Trends, 2012). The commonly accepted definition of community engagement is no
longer viable for today’s generation. A new definition should not hold to the traditional sense of
community engagement but must include the use of social media as a community engagement
tool (Flanagan & Levine, 2010). In a customary sense, the current Millennial generation does
not hold to the same community values compared to previous generations, but that does not
make this current generation out of touch (Brokaw, 1998; Flanagan & Levine, 2010). The
traditional definition provided by Clayton State University (2014) referred to the process by
which a community benefits from organizations and individuals by building ongoing, permanent

relationships for the purpose of applying a collective vision. Community, or civic community, is
no longer restricted to municipal borders or local jurisdictions.
Definitions of community engagement should include social media, which permits a
citizen to become connected to a cause even if separated by distance (Department of
Environment and Primary Industries, 2014). This new community engagement includes
individual connections through the use of social media (Department of Environment and Primary
Industries, 2014). The linking of the term “community” to a physical location must now include
a virtual social medium. The concept of engagement must also broaden in scope, shifting the
focus from the individual to the collective, to ensure consideration is made for the diversity
within any community (Department of Environment and Primary Industries, 2014).
Today citizens are involved in causes all over the world, no longer restricted by the
communities in which they live (Department of Environment and Primary Industries, 2014). In
the past, a person could live in a small community with limited civic community options and,
hence, have little chance to be involved. That same person today can now advocate for a cause,
such as raising awareness about the need to continue cancer research and raising money for that
research through social media (Department of Environment and Primary Industries, 2014).
Another individual, limited by zip code or nearby community, may not have the opportunity to
learn or become involved with a particular movement. This person now can invite others via
social media to learn and talk about a shared passion. Social media has created a broader scope
of civic community engagement than ever before (What is Community Engagement?, 2014).
Internet access has changed the world and will continue to influence America and its
communities.

The Living Generations: The Greatest Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and
Millennials
This section will provide a historical account of each of the three generations
participating in this study (Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials). Though this section
will discuss the Greatest Generation, it will not be included in the analysis. A deeper
understanding of the major generational attributes will be discussed to explain the characteristics
that identify each of the generations.
The Greatest Generation, Born Between 1910 and 1940 (Brokaw, 1998)
The Greatest Generation represents a broad group of people significantly more engaged
in community matters and more trusting than younger generations (Putnam 2000). The dilemma
is that the Greatest Generation has not been replaced with a similar generation of encouraged and
engaged citizens. This generational cohort is exceptionally civic-minded, votes more, joins
more, reads more, trusts more, and gives more (Putnam 2000). They are the least educated; yet,
they are the most civically engaged of all other generations (Boyte & Kari, 1996). They are also
the most trusting of all other living generations. The Greatest Generation won a two-front world
war, which encouraged intense patriotism between the citizenry and civic activism across the
country (Brokaw, 1998).
The Greatest Generation mostly built their livelihoods through hard work. Agriculture
and farming were no simple tasks, but people worked and developed self-reliance for
sustainability (Boyte & Kari, 1996). They witnessed the fruits of their labor, which directly
benefited their communities. People cared about the well-being of their neighbors and wanted to
see them prosper. The country and its citizens were unified. After the war, returning soldiers
flocked to the country’s colleges and universities as they were eligible for the GI Bill of 1944

(Brokaw, 1998). This bill allowed for financial support to pay college tuition. An economic
boom was then spurred for an entire generation, as Americans earned college degrees that led to
sustainable jobs.
Baby Boomers, Born Between 1946 and 1964 (Taylor, 2014)
The authors of Civic Engagement and the Baby Boomer Generation (Wilson & Simson,
2006) argued that citizenship has become optional and, when given a choice to utilize our civic
obligation, Baby Boomers too often choose to remain quiet rather than argue and any sense of
loyalty to their own generation has disappeared (Wilson & Simson, 2006). The Baby Boomers
grew up in a tumultuous era of foreign wars, government distrust, and political unrest (Zukin,
Andolina, & Delli Carpini, 2006). The generation accounted for one-third of the population and
was the best-educated generation in American history until the Millennials (Putnam, 2000).
With the guidance of their parents, Boomers in their early days experienced community vitality
but gradually lost engagement as they lived many trying times (Wilson & Simson, 2006).
Politically, this generation was fearful due to events such as the Civil Rights Movement,
Kennedy and King assassinations, the Vietnam War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Watergate.
They have become distrusting of institutions, distanced from politics, and disconnected with
civic community life (Zukin, Andolina, & Delli Carpini, 2006). Boomers are less
knowledgeable about politics than their parents had been at a comparable age (Putnam, 2000).
The work of Zukin, Andolina, and Carpini found that Baby Boomers as a group are not very
politically involved or motivated. Now a mature generation, a civic principles of Baby Boomers
include descriptions such as team focused, self-worth, an emphasis on personal health and
wellness, and personal development (Gaylor, 2002; Reaves & Oh, 2007).

In summary, Baby Boomers chose not to make politics a priority in their everyday lives
which differs from prior generations (Putnam, 2000). Baby Boomers instead discard the
institutions of the political American platform rather than embrace it. This generation might best
be distinguished by its dislikes for the government system (Putnam, 2000).
Generation X, Born Between 1965 and 1980 (Gaylor, 2002)
This generation was molded by a handful of historical events that had a part in molding
them. Generation X experienced and developed opinions on ethical and moral misconducted in
social institutions including, religious affiliations, education, and corporate America (Brown,
1997). Generation X, as young adults, were faced with limited career choices as the economic
template changed drastically from the previous generation (Theifoldt & Scheef, 2004). The
perception of the workforce for this generation was changed; they no longer valued professional
loyalty. Generation X felt mistreated and suspicious of corporations and, therefore, became less
loyal to organizations where they worked (Theifoldt & Scheef, 2004). Today, Generation X
citizens are aware that they must continue their education to succeed. They desire meaningful
relationships, and, when gaining additional knowledge, Generation X demands that
responsibilities are meaningful to their work, as to give it purpose (Brown, 1997). In contrast to
Baby Boomers, Generation Xs’ philosophy on work and home life is to strike a balance. They
believe spending time at home is of more value than working overtime (Gaylor, 2002; Spectore
et al. 2007); (Thielfodt & Scheef, 2004). Unlike the Boomers before them, Generation X is not
marked with any triumphant historical events: no Great War victory, no liberating marches on
Washington, and no overthrow of dictatorships (Putnam, 2000). This cohort has not had the
opportunity to share in a collective celebration, a bonding experience. As a result, Generation X
are more inward thinkers and consider the individual before the group. They are less trusting of

other generations (Boyte & Kari, 1996). They are less likely to march for a cause and less
probable to have political interests than Boomers. They do not see themselves as political but,
instead, as outsiders of the political community. They do not necessarily dislike the political
process or politicians, but they do not believe that their votes matter (Boyte & Kari, 1996).
Millennials, Born Between 1980 and 2000 (Taylor, 2014)
Millennials have been influenced by historical events such as the Columbia Space Shuttle
disaster, Gulf War, the Columbine High School shooting, September 11th, and the wars in
Afghanistan and Iraq. All of these events have enhanced this generation’s sense of fear (Denham
& Gadbow, 2002). Additionally, they have experienced violence, readily available illegal and
legal drugs, and gang violence (Reeves & Oh, 2007).
Millennials are the technology generation, they have grown up parallel to computer and
smartphone technology advancements. They are also recognized as the helicopter generation;
their parents assist them with responsibility and decision making through adulthood. The
Millennial generation can also be described in ways that contrast the Greatest Generation
(Taylor, 2014). This generation of students will overtake the Baby Boomer generation as the
most educated generation (Howe & Strauss, 2000). Teaching citizenship to these students is
much different in comparison with previous generations. Young students tend to be more
concerned with immediate self-gratification. They tend to make quick decisions, seeking little
guidance in the process. Respect and trust between peers do not come quickly (Howe & Strauss,
2000). Millennials are open minded when it comes to accepting differences among people.
(Rainer & Rainer, 2011). Rainer and Rainer, authors of The Millennials (2011), argue that this
generation learns, understands, communicates, shops, and entertains differently than all previous
generations. Millennials are marrying later in life, if at all. In 1970, about 44 percent of 18- to

25-year-old Baby Boomers were married. In comparison, only 15 percent of Millennials in that
age group were married in 2011 (Rainer & Rainer, 2011). Millennials feel empowered to take
responsibility for issues; they are civic in thinking and are a community-first generation (Howe
& Strauss, 2000).
Community leaders must consider that the Millennial Generation has a higher proportion
of disengagement than past generations; therefore, it is time to consider a change to both
secondary and early secondary democracy education (Musil, 2003; National Task Force on Civic
Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). In the past citizenship education focused on such
items as an understating of government, the rights and expectations of citizens, and developing a
national perspective (Cogan, 1997). Citizen education that emphasizes civility, ideals, attitudes
and knowledge are no longer adequate. Instead, citizenship education ought to explore a
multiple approaches that combines civic knowledge with community engagement practices in
this way; a citizen will develop action-oriented civic behaviors (National Task Force on Civic
Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012).
Millennials tend to be more driven and possess a positive outlook on life. Millennials
have conquered the college ranks more than past generations. In doing so, they have become
tolerant and accepting of various races and ethnicities (Howe & Strauss, 2000; Reeves & Oh,
2007). Millennials tend to be better at multi-tasking and more interested in workplace
collaborations than other generations (Sujansky, 2002).

Differences in Generations, Life Cycle or a Generational Pattern?
Each of the three generations analyzed for this study possess their unique
characteristics and traits. Baby Boomers at this stage of their lives tend to be idealistic,
ambitious, materialistic, and self-absorbed (Gaylor, 2002; Reaves & Oh, 2007). Generation X
can be defined as inward thinkers, considering the individual before the group, desiring
meaningful relationships to their work, and caring about creating a work-life balance.
Millennials are vested in technology, coddled by parents averse to conflict and comfortable with
race and social issues (Howe & Strauss, 2000; Westheimer & Kahne, 2004; Musil, 2003; Reeves
& Oh, 2007). Reeves and Oh (2007) discussed the importance of understanding the
characteristics that best explained each generation when they were younger, for example 20 to 30
years old. A better understanding of these characteristics will further display the differences in
civic qualities for each generation, showing if an individual matures civically or a generation is
more civically minded from young adulthood. More specifically, it is important to decide if a
person moves through a life cycle pattern or a generational pattern (Putnam, 2000). This clarity
will allow for an equal evaluation of all three generations.
Each of the two patterns are characterized by distinct attributes. Life cycle behaviors
can be classified in several ways. Several examples of a life cycle behavior would include; a
person who competes in extreme sports as a young adult only, family demands that connect
individuals to schools or communities while their children are school aged, time availability to
certain issues, and overall skill and knowledge levels (Putnam, 2000). In short, life cycle
behaviors show that people change their civic activities over their lifetime. Individuals change
their life patterns throughout their lives, but society does not alter.

A generational pattern reflects societal changes while people do not change. In
contrast to a life cycle pattern, generational patterns will show the same civic behavior as it
pertains to a particular attribute over the course of a person’s life (Putnam, 2000), therefore
reflecting a change in civic habits over time. An example of a generational pattern would
include a situation where young adults, typically 20 to 30-year-olds, began to vote more
frequently as compared to the same age bracket a generation prior. A generational pattern would
suggest that this same cohort would not only vote more often in their 20s or 30s but throughout
their lives (Putnam, 2000). The outcome would preserve a generation that would vote more
frequently than other generations before it.
Putnam, with the support of hypothetical social engineering, argued that Baby Boomers
should be more civically active at this current point in their lives, but they are not as civically
engaged according to Putnam (2000). Additionally, the work of Wilson and Simson (2006) have
also suggested that Baby Boomers are not as civically engaged at this current stage of their lives.
This anomaly is difficult to see as Baby Boomers are a large generation, nearly equal to the
Millennials. Wilson and Simpson’s work supported the idea that Baby Boomers were as equally
in tune to civic matters while in their twenties and thirties as compared to Millennials and
Generation X at the same ages (2006). Wilson and Simpson (2006) contend that as a result,
Baby Boomers should have carried their civic intuitiveness throughout their adult lives, but
instead, they have not done so; therefore, Boomers at this current stage of their lives are inert to
civic matters.
The civic life cycle of a Baby Boomer would suggest increased civic involvement after
retirement, but this is not occurring (Putnam 2000). Putnam (2003) drew a parallel to the decline
of civic participation in the shrinking church attendance in America. This premise helps to

explain the decline in civic engagement as it has continually dropped from the Greatest
Generation to the Millennials (Howe & Strauss, 2000; Westheimer & Kahne, 2004; Musil, 2003;
Reeves & Oh, 2007). Making this link between the generations is an important detail for the
sake of this study. Scholarly research has established a parallel between the Baby Boomers and
Millennials as being civically comparable during their young adult years, just in different ways
(Putnam, 2000; Wilson & Simson, 2006). When taking into consideration this similar
generational characteristic, the analysis allows for an equal platform for comparing the
generations as either experiencing a life cycle or a generational pattern (Putnam 2000).
Civic Responsibility and Town Vitality
Families during the Greatest Generation’s youth consisted mainly of middle and upper-
class families (Brokaw, 1998). Children knew their place in the home; they were cared for and
disciplined (Brokaw, 1998). Respect for parents was prevalent as children revered their elders;
mothers worked hard at raising their children, and fathers worked hard and earned respectable
paychecks (Brokaw, 1998). Children recognized the father as the authority figure of the home.
The time between the Greatest Generation and the Baby Boomers experienced changing
family dynamics. For example, the divorce rate more than doubled from 24 percent in 1950 to
50 percent in 1970 (Rotz, 2016). The increased divorce rate led to both broken and mixed
families. More children now had two sets of parents and four sets of grandparents (Rotz, 2016).
As parenthood moved away from the Baby Boomers to Generation X, the social aspects
of home began to differ from the traditional structure, resulting in fatherless or motherless homes
(Wilson & Simson, 2006). More mothers also entered the workforce, leaving homes empty of
parents upon children’s arrival from school. A very different culture emerged as children
became “latch-key kids,” allowing themselves into the home and preparing dinner for their

parents (Shumow, 2014). Life became more about working and paying bills instead of spending
adequate time teaching traditional family values (Shumow, 2014). Generation X children
become disenchanted with the government, as the 1970s experienced much government scandal
and corruption (Flanagan & Levine, 2010). Unlike their grandparents before them, who trusted
the government and believed in service, Generation X had little to no interest in civic community
life (Wilson & Simson, 2006).
The civic-minded cultural change was not sudden; the mindset change transpired over the
course of a generation and varied by community. Out of necessity, citizens chose to take
responsibility for their households and, therefore, devotion to their professional careers all but
eliminated any civic attributes (Wilson & Simson, 2006).
Much of this transition among the citizenry resulted in communities of varying vitalities.
For the purpose of this study, town vitality was measured by the use of NICHE, which assesses
the strength and values of the community at the town level (Carnegie Mellon University, 2002).
The NICHE grade takes into account key factors, including community location, volunteer rates,
crime rates, public education, diversity, and higher education rates and provides a quantitative
score based on those factors (Carnegie Mellon University, 2002). The concept of town vitality is
a variable that should be considered when measuring citizenship among generations.
Researcher Jane Jacobs, author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961),
coined the term “social capital” to distinguish safe and organized cities from unsafe and
disorganized ones. She argues that the connective engagement of individuals through common
values results in increased social capital. A town with increased social capital would thrive as a
community, and a town that thrives will engage more in urban planning and renewal (1961).
Jacobs argued for improvements such as the configuration of streets to best maximize

communication among citizens. She believed in human connections as a way to unite a town
and to create opportunities for citizens to spend meaningful time together. Jacobs’ concept of
social capital will provide context on the vitality of selected towns and citizenship among the
citizens in this study.
Putnam (2000) also used the term social capital to describe some of a town’s resources.
A community that is “connected” provides overlapping networks that produce socially desirable
outcomes. A town with increased social capital can maintain connections among its citizens;
increased social capital lends to high levels of trust and citizen participation (Putnam, 2000).
Similarly, Dewey used the term society, arguing that it is a mere word but encompasses
many things (Dewey, 1916). He expressed the value of diversified language, religions, moral
codes, and traditions in a community, which enables a permeating community of action and
thought (Dewey, 1916).
Without adequate social capital, a town’s vitality might become bleak and limited in
community connections. McKnight and Block, in The Abundant Community (2012), describe
the importance of citizens sharing three properties with their communities: gifts, the raw
material for community; associations, the process through which the gifts are exchanged; and
hospitality, which widens the inventory of gifts (McKnight & Block, 2012). Each of these
properties feeds into the other; one does not necessarily come in front of the other. When a
community focuses on its gifts, associations are created; when there is a strong association,
hospitality will flourish. Like social capital, gifts, associations, and hospitality are the
competencies and core elements that must be visible and manifest to create an abundant
community (McKnight & Block, 2012).

One finding of Putnam’s Better Together (2003) is that people thrive in small groups.
This observation of small groups flourishing and adding to the dynamics of a larger group was
also described by Jacobs (1961). Jacobs declared that people are “charming” in small numbers
and “harmful” in large numbers. Jacobs believed town vitality is improved when people are
gathered in concentrations, and density is considered a positive attribute. The vitality is
observable when the population expresses an exuberant richness of differences and their
presence is not just physical; ultimately, vibrancy serves as an asset to the community (Jacobs,
1961).
To learn more about community dynamics, Putnam observed a large church in California,
the Saddleback Church, which had over 45,000 parishioners. The congregation of a church,
whatever the size, is a community by definition. The idea of being a part of a “community” of
45,000 signifies the real relationships among people who know one another well enough to share
some trust and understanding (Putnam, 2003). Putnam wanted to understand how a church of
this size maintains and grows its congregation. The answer was determined to be small groups.
A town or city, no matter the size, has the capability of connecting its citizenry (Putnam, 2003).
Head Pastor Warren understands the gifts of his congregation, their associations, and the power
of hospitality. Saddleback Church recognizes that they are a congregation of congregations
(Putnam, 2003). As a result, Pastor Warren appreciates the power of community and connecting
people with comparable passions and interests. Bible and fellowship groups are implemented for
every conceivable need and talent. Putnam learned from Saddleback Church that people do not
need to know everyone in their community to feel a sense of belonging, but an individual does
have to know some people (Putnam, 2003).

Citizenship Models
The importance of this study is the ability to determine the level of citizenship a person
experiences based on his or her level of community engagement. To that end, three models of
citizenship are examined: Educating for Citizenship (Musil 2003), Three Models of Citizenship
(Boyte and Kari, 2000), and Visions of Good Citizens (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Each
model presents similarities across the frameworks as far as ranking citizenship. All three models
are analyzed for how they stratify layers or phases of citizenship, and from that evaluation,
Westheimer and Kahne’s Visions of Good Citizens (2004) was chosen as the model to utilize for
this study.
Citizenship Development Model
Musil discusses a framework that assimilates citizenship into the school curriculum
(2003). Rather than elective courses or a single act of citizen engagement, citizenship education
must be woven into the fabric of all courses in all colleges. Civic learning should coalesce with
hands-on learning experiences. Musil explains how civic learning must move beyond just a brief
passing course and instead ought to be a central component of the curricula (Musil, 2003). It is
now time to merge both curricula and service learning so that citizens will develop the skills to
make a meaningful difference in their communities (Musil, 2003).
There are six phases of citizenship according to Musil’s framework. The concept of the
six phases is for each one to act as a stepping stone to the next phase. As a citizen progress
through the phases, they will develop cognitive and moral development (Musil, 2003).
A young person in the Exclusionary Phase is an individual whose idea of community is
only of their own. There is no thought of volunteering, and his or her civic scope is void. A
citizen in this phase “is distinguished by a monocultural sensibility” (Musil, 2003, p. 5). Thus,

there is no talk of civic involvement or politics at all, or such conversation is disregarded. The
Exclusionary Phase yields benefits to no one but the young person.
An individual in the Oblivious Phase is someone whose idea of community is a resource
to use but not something to which the individual can contribute. Musil referred to this stage as
the “drive-by” service-learning experience (Musil, 2003, p. 5). The civic attitude for this
particular individual is one of civic detachment. The person is not actively seeking engagement
in the activity and, therefore, does not choose to relate to its mission. Musil illustrated this point
when describing a group of predominantly white college students who were bused into an inner
city food kitchen that serves the homeless and citizens that suffer from food insecurities. A
student was asked by a homeless man why he was visiting the food kitchen, “I guess I am here to
watch you,” the student said (Musil, 2003, p. 6). The student’s response angered the man, and
the man left. The student and her classmates were not well-prepared for this particular service
learning exercise. Under this phase of citizenship, the community is viewed as a resource to
scavenge, a self-service approach. People in this phase of citizenship can still learn, but a
potential danger could reinforce existing stereotypes while at the same time not increasing the
cultural lens of society (Musil, 2003).
The third phase of citizenship is called the Naïve Phase. This phase recognizes citizens
as thoughtless to civic issues in their communities (Musil, 2003). In this phase, the person may
not be well-versed in the community residents or the culture that it presents. There is a lack of
historical knowledge about the community, and the person in this phase is not concerned. Musil
describes a particular example of a citizen who worked alongside an urban student while
planning an event for all of the families a yacht club. Disappointed, the student could not
“understand why more parents did not show up for the event” (Musil, 2003, p. 6). His words

help to express his acultural viewpoint, meaning, in the student’s mind, his community is
superior and should be accepted by others.
The fourth phase is the Charitable Phase. This phase is commonly found at post-
secondary institutions today. Citizens recognize the needs of their community in this phase and
seek to address them accordingly (Musil, 2003). Examples of this phase would include
campuses delivering food to the needy, college students tutoring inner-city children, food
donations, and clothing drives. Students in this phase gain an understanding of community needs
based on their own experiences; this knowledge brings awareness of community issues and in
turn citizens develop compassion toward those they are helping (Musil, 2003). With well-
designed courses that include both classroom and service learning opportunities, a citizen who
begins to move past the charitable phase will begin to develop an increased civic skill set and
will become ready to move to the next phase (Musil, 2003). The students will gain knowledge in
this phase that will enhance their awareness of deprivations; increased knowledge will effect
kindness and respect for others. This phase offers benefits to both the student and to the
community.
A young person in the Reciprocal Phase gains the most value in civic engagement.
Through participation, citizens learn and develop skills that permit them to understand various
perspectives of “legacies of inequalities”, “the historical narratives of resistance”, “the moral
debates of the day” (p. 7), and the importance of understanding differing points of view (Musil,
2003). Students develop more expansive multicultural knowledge and hone their intercultural
competencies. In this phase, the combination of civic skills learned in a classroom and the
community will lend to citizens making a positive community difference (Musil, 2003).

The sixth and final phase of Musil’s Citizenship Development Model is the Generative
Phase (Musil, 2003). This citizenship framework concludes by attempting to interlace a shared
citizenship perspective that desires a prosperous future. Citizens see the community as central to
their lives. The perspective of a citizen in this phase does not separate their life from the
communities, but instead, they are intertwined. In this phase, citizens desire the well-being of all
community citizens to benefit with opportunities. This phase also depends on a citizen’s
adaptive ability to understand societal differences as they impact citizens, but this phase goes
further in that citizens begin to deepen their understanding of historical perspectives. Hence,
citizens yearn for a connected community that provides equality and justice for all citizens
(Musil, 2003).
Three Models of Citizenship
This section will examine Boyte and Kari’s (2000) Three Models of Citizenship, the first
of which recognizes the foundation of democracy as the civics view. Three Models of
Citizenship accurately supports the classroom civic curriculum approach. The second model of
citizenship goes beyond the civic foundation and now develops a community-first attitude based
on shared principles. This view expresses that the strength of citizens comes from the
community, by working together to accomplish meaningful tasks. This model also incorporates
civic-learning opportunities much like Musil’s (2003) framework. By doing so, citizens are
encouraged to engage their community on a more intense level. Finally, Boyte and Kari’s third
model of citizenship teaches citizens to commit to their community fully, to not only participate
and donate time but to become a transformational citizen. These citizens take ownership of
injustice and problems and empower other citizens to help with the cause. The third and final
model provides for a holistic viewpoint of citizenship that draws an individual’s personal and

civic values for the betterment of a community (Smist, 2006). Though Boyte and Kari propose
these models of citizenship, they have not conducted any formal research on these models
(Smist, 2006).
Visions of Good Citizens
“What Kind of Citizen?” brings consideration to an array of ideas about citizenship and
good citizen action (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). This model aligns with Millennial citizenship.
The framework is grounded in a multi-year study of school-based programs that teach
democratic citizenship. The framework differentiates between a “good citizen” and a “civically
engaged citizen.” Most educators, policy makers, and citizens understand that the value of
developing students’ capacities and commitments for active and democratic citizenship is critical
(Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). School curricula often promote service, not democracy, when
embracing a vision of citizenship devoid of politics (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
While many people interact in a civil manner, that does not mean that students are
educated to be part of the democratic process. From Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) study of
both democratic theory and program goals and practices, they develop a construct to organize
diverse perspectives. Westheimer and Kahne (2004) theorized that students are primarily taught
to be good citizens and to serve others. Confusion exists between pupils and educators on what
good citizenship means to policy-makers and politicians (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). A
student who participated in the Westheimer and Kahne study described a good citizen as “active
participant rather than passive” (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004, p. 254). Another student said to be
a good citizen, one must “educated about democracy, makes decisions based on facts” (Khane &
Westheimer, 2004, p. 254). Table 1 presents an explanation of the differences among the three
citizenship models.

Personally Responsible Citizens are knowledgeable about problems and sometimes get
involved in efforts to address those issues (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Citizens that fit into
this model likely do not have a full understanding of the issues but wish to correct community
issues through community action. These citizens will volunteer to pick up litter, give blood,
recycle, and endeavor to maintain financial stability. A personally responsible citizen is
gainfully employed, pays taxes, obeys laws, and helps those in need during a crisis (Westheimer
& Kahne, 2004). This individual is indeed a good citizen as he or she contributes many
attributes to society. According to this model, the limitations of a personally responsible citizen
stop at being recognized as just a “good citizen.” This citizen will always be a responsible
individual in society, compassionate while helping and anticipating the next opportunity to serve
(Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
According to Westheimer and Kahne’s model (2004), participatory citizens are
knowledgeable about community issues and are actively engaged for the benefit of creating
societal change. Participatory citizenship means taking on essential leadership functions while
maintaining involvement in community service. Such citizens actively participate in civic
matters and social happenings of their community. School curricula in this model focus on
educating students regarding how the government and other institutions work. Additionally,
curricula should stress the significance of planning and participating in organized efforts.
Participatory citizens will plan, coordinate, and implement a food drive for a community, in
contrast with the personally responsible citizen who will volunteer to help serve in some
capacity. Participatory citizenship transcends personal relationships, shared understandings,
trust, and collective commitments all for the purpose to live together communally.

Justice-oriented citizenship is possibly the perspective that is least commonly pursued, in
contrast to personally responsible and participatory forms of citizenship. These citizens desire to
challenge the systems that create or exacerbate those issues. The difference between (justice-
oriented citizenship) and (participatory citizenship) is that individuals not only volunteer to a
cause but also attempt to determine their underlying origins and correct them (Westheimer &
Kahne, 2004). Justice-oriented citizenship draws explicit consideration to matters of injustice
and the importance of chasing social justice goals. For example, if personally responsible
citizens are volunteering at a food drive and participatory citizens are organizing the food drive,
then justice-oriented citizens seek out the root reasons for hunger and act on how to stop hunger
(Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).

Table 1
Kinds of Citizens
Personally
Responsible
Citizenship
Participatory
Citizenship
Justice
Oriented
Citizenship

Description

-Acts responsibly in
his/her community
-Obeys laws
-Volunteers to lend a
hand

-Active member of
community
organizations and/or
improvement efforts
-Organizes community
efforts to care for
those in need, promote
economic
development, or clean
up environment
-Knows how
government agencies
work

-Critically assess
social, political, and
economic structures
to see beyond surface
causes
-Seeks out and
addresses areas of
injustice
-Knows about social
movements and how
to effect systemic
change
Sample Action -Contributes food to a
food drive
-Helps to organize a
food drive
-Explores why people
are hungry and acts to
solve root causes
Core Assumptions -To solve social
problems and improve
society, citizens must
have good character;
they must be honest,
responsible, and law-
abiding members of
the community.
-To solve social
problems and improve
society, citizens must
actively participate
and take leadership
positions within
established systems
and community
structures.
-To solve social
problems and
improve society,
citizens must
question and change
established systems
and structures when
they reproduce
patterns of injustice.

Note. Adapted from “What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy,” by
Westheimer & Kahne, 2004, American Educational Research Journal, 41, p. 240. Copyright 2004.

Case Studies of Citizenship
To better illustrate Westheimer and Kahne’s model, Visions of Good Citizens, the
following section will provide analysis of two case studies. The first case study involved
students from Madison County High School who learned the importance of participatory
citizenship and developed the necessary skills. The second case study included high school

students from Bayside High School who developed justice-oriented citizenship skills while
working on a project for community activists.
Madison County Youth in Public Service
A group of students from the Madison County Youth Service League explored
community members’ preferences regarding trash pickup. The goal of this project was to
develop participatory citizenship, according to Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) framework. The
project consisted of high school students from both Madison County High Schools. The high
schools are located in a suburban/rural East Coast community. A total of 61 students
participated, drawn from high school government classes (excluding the Advanced Placement
Government course). The study lasted over two academic years, and a total of four classes
participated. Table 2 presents the pre- and post-survey results captured by the students who
participated. The project required students to gather and analyze data, interact with government
agencies, write a report, and present their findings at a formal hearing in front of the county
Board of Supervisors.
The Madison students gained knowledge about small-town politics; for instance, students
saw first-hand government agencies competing for limited funds. Students realized the impact of
their efforts in the community as they were recognized in the local newspapers. The Madison
County students showed little proof of increased political knowledge gained during this civic-
learning assignment (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). In reflection of the student’s experience, it
became clear that though they did not increase political awareness, the study did demonstrate
students’ increased understanding of social capital in a community (Westheimer & Kahne,
2004).

In hindsight, the study did not elicit changes in students’ interest in politics or their
perspective on structural issues related to, for example, causes of poverty. The study did show
positive learned outcomes, such as knowledge and social capital needed for community
development and students’ sense of civic efficacy positively impacting their community. The
program did not alter students’ interest in political engagement (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
The Madison County Youth in Public Service study yielded many successful outcomes. This
opportunity afforded students the chance to learn how government operated within their
community and stressed the value of lending a hand to serve their community (Westheimer &
Kahne, 2004). The project helped students understand that civic participation can make a
difference in the lives of others. Participants reported that the project deepened their belief in
talking about a problem and actively addressed it (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). These students
were able to successfully utilize their newly learned civic engagement skills to satisfied the
participatory citizenship model, but the students learning experience did not identify with the
justice-oriented citizenship model at all (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
Bayside Students for Justice
The Bayside program focused on the justice-oriented citizenship model. Students in this
program studied the creation of a five-year plan for the fire department. This study consisted of
25 students who were academically low-achieving from an urban high school on the West Coast.
A total of 21 students completed both the pre- and post-survey; 13 students were female and
eight were male. Of the total, eight students were African-American, eight were Asian, one was
Caucasian, one was Latino, and three students identified as Other. According to data reported by
the instructor, 40 percent of the students lived in public housing and reported as low-income.
Table 2 presents the pre- and post-survey results of the students who participated.

The Bayside students who participated in a justice-oriented study focused on structural
social change. Politics took center stage as this project required students to discover alternatives
and solutions. Students studied shortcomings in their community that included a healthcare
center with limited access. Additional students investigated if the “SAT exams were biased” (p.
255) and created pamphlets that highlighted their findings (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004).
Like the Madison students, the Bayside students enjoyed working with real-life
situations where they had an opportunity to make a difference. However, the Bayside students
had different experiences that led to various lessons (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). The Bayside
students developed civic skills to address needs beyond their community. Students gained an
appreciation for the need to work as a community to accomplish tasks. In comparison to
Madison, the Bayside program had a focus on social awareness more than the actual know-how
ability to address a problem. The Bayside students gained an understanding of the how the
political process works; they were more likely to understand underlying issues. The Madison
students did not express the same outcomes about politics, but they did gain an understanding of
the value of personal civic responsibility. The Madison students did not express the same
outcomes about politics, but they did gain an understanding of personal responsibility to
contribute to society.

Table 2
Pre/Post Test: Madison and Bayside Case Study
Measures Madison County Youth in
Public Service

Bayside Students for Justice

Personal Responsibility To Help
Others
.09 (3.84/3.93)

.21* (4.00/4.21)
Knowledge/ Social Capital For
Community Development
.94** (3.95/4.89) .17 (2.76/2.93)

Leadership Efficacy .12(3.13/3.25)

.31** (3.60/3.91)
Interest in Politics

03 (3.41/3.44)

33* (2.68/3.01)
Structural/ Individual
Explanations for Poverty
-.10 (3.13/3.03)

.28* (3.88/4.16)
Civic Efficacy .34** (3.78/4.12)

.47* (3.03)/3.50)

Gov’t Responsibility For Those
in Need
.24* (3.10/3.34)

.29* (3.19/3.48)

Vision To Help 30* (2.65/2.95) .36 (2.43/2.79)

Note. Adapted from “What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy,” by Westheimer &
Kahne, 2004, American Educational Research Journal, 41, p. 256. Copyright 2004.
*p<.05; **p<.01;  pre- and post-surveys were administered to all program participants. Comparison of Citizenship Models All three models, the Citizenship Development Model (Musil, 2003), Three Models of Citizenship (Boyte & Kari, 2000), and Visions of Good Citizens (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004), strive to measure models of citizenship in a linear way. They all begin by considering citizenship at a very basic level before a young person can grow into a fully participating citizen engaged in the community. The citizenship models start to develop into more meaningful phases in which the citizen either takes on more responsibility within a community or begins to understand one’s role as a community member. For example, the Three Models of Citizenship (Boyte & Kari, 1996) illustrate that participatory citizens are capable of both volunteering and providing direction to other citizens in their neighborhoods. These citizens care about the community and believe that their personal 47 efforts matter for the betterment of the community. Participatory citizens take the initiative to lead others, in contrast to a citizen in Musil’s Oblivious Phase of citizenship, in which a person only views the community as a tool for the individual to use or take from but not to give back to. Musil’s Citizenship Development Model (2003) described six distinct phases of citizenship citizens from Exclusionary (in which only one’s view matters and one is completely disengaged from the community) to Generative (in which the citizen strives for civic prosperity for all people and struggles for democracy so that all might be served). Westheimer and Kahne’s Vision of Good Citizens Model (2004) differs from the other models based on two elements: It is grounded in research and framework that differentiates between a “good citizen” and a “civically engaged citizen.” Putnam (2000) reported that communities require citizens to faithfully take care of primary responsibilities in order to fulfill core functions of local government. However, beyond the basic duties of a good citizen is the need to measure to what degree a citizen is civically engaged in community, and that is what Westheimer and Kahne’s Direct Citizenship Model (2004) achieves. Table 3 shows the connections among the three citizenship models. 48 Table 3 Connections Among Citizenship Models 1. Musil (2003) Citizenship Development Model 2. Boyte and Kari (2000) Three Models of Citizenship 3. Westheimer and Kahne (2004) Visions of Good Citizens Civics view Personally Responsible Citizen Exclusionary Oblivious Naive Charitable Communitarian Participatory Citizen Reciprocal Public Work Justice-Oriented Citizen Generative Note. 1. Adapted from “Educating for Citizenship,” by C. Musil, 2003, Peer Review: Emerging Trends and Key Debates in Undergraduate Education, p. 8. Copyright 2003 by the Association of American Colleges and Universities. 2. Adapted from “Building America: The Democratic Promise of Public Work,” by H. Boyte & N. Kari, 1996, p. 171. 3. Adapted from “What Kind of Citizen? The Politics of Educating for Democracy,” by Westheimer & Kahne, 2004, American Educational Research Journal, 41, p. 256. Copyright 2004. Education for Democracy Education plays a significant role in building civic vitality, and, in the twenty-first century, higher education has a distinctive role to play in renewing U.S. democracy (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). The report, National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (2012), stresses the need to reinvent curricula to include civic learning as an integral component of every level of education, from elementary school to graduate school, across all fields of study. Without this radical change in curricula, National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (2012) suggests that not only might the current generation become disengaged to the point of no return, but, also, the country may never again be as civically focused. The report outlines the relevance of post- secondary education to this generation of students as it will propel their ability to learn and 49 exercise a worldwide democracy. Additionally, colleges and universities are more inclusive than ever before (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). This work proposes a model to address what a civic-minded campus could look like, ranging from ethos to action (explained in the following sections). Civic Ethos Campus life must include a shared philosophy of a civic-minded ethos. Schools should encourage respect and provide spaces for active local citizenship and global awareness. Stakeholders that serve in higher education in any capacity should demonstrate kindness on a daily basis with the hope of encouraging others. Citizens should take the time to extend gratitude for others accomplishments. Civic Ethos should embrace higher education’s annual goals for the sake of their surrounding communities (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). Civic Literacy A desirable focus for all students should be to achieve civic literacy. Students must grasp basic citizen skills as to understand global concerns and democratic issues. An understanding of Civic Literacy compels a person to appreciate the historical perspective as it relates to a changing democratic landscape. A citizen should develop the ability to think critically about complicated civic matters and to search and dissimilate information that have community implications (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). Civic Inquiry This quality integrates civic inquiry within post-secondary curricula. Students should develop knowledge that allows them to understand varying perspectives and the potential outcomes of each. Civic Inquiry includes the effect of choices on different constituencies and 50 entities including a global perspective. Students should be able to passionately deliberate differing points of views. Finally, students must gain the aptitude to dissect and discuss debates with their peers (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). Civic Action Students must accept Civic Action as a lifelong practice. Civic Action includes the capacity and commitment both to participate constructively with diverse populations and also to work collectively to address common problems. Participating in a pluralistic society will improve the quality of life and the sustainability of the planet, as citizens will demonstrate confidence in their civic skills for the betterment of community (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012). The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (2012) calls for higher education to emphasize civic engagement consistently, in “environments where education for democracy and civic responsibility are pervasive, not partial – central, not peripheral” (National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012, p. 2). Other researchers address students’ self-perceived citizenship and participation in service, finding correlations between service and citizenship (Astin & Sax, 1998; Morrison, 2001). Musil’s (2003) research indicates the value of student participation in community service as an essential element of self-perceived citizenship. She claims the current generation of young adults, Millennials, can and must learn to be active citizens of their communities. Citizenship is not a matter that can be taught and mastered in a high school classroom alone. Citizen education involving political culture and democracy must be experienced outside the classroom (Musil 2003). The expectation must be greater than developing a working knowledge of democracy and citizenship. Citizenship education must not only be taught in the 51 classroom but should include experiential learning with direct social involvement (Musil, 2003). It is these experiences that will fortify a student's working knowledge of citizenship and will put it into action. This pedagogy as articulated by Crucial Moment (The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement, 2012) can change the way young students consider their community roles. Characteristics of citizen leaders include their ability to acquire information and to use it for the advancement of their community in the present and beyond (Mabey, 1992). Summary Young adults historically have been apathetic to civic discourse (Putnam, 2000). To slow this apathy toward civic involvement, or to end it completely, school-aged children should learn the importance of civic duty. The three citizenship models all express the need for civic learning in the classroom to prepare the next generation to live a civic-minded life. The literature review considered several citizenship frameworks that address the need for civic education. Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) model was selected and provides a framework that addresses three unique stages of citizenship including the Personally Responsible Citizen, Participatory Citizen, and the Justice-Oriented Citizen. Boyte and Kari’s (2000), Three Models of Citizenship, reflects the typical model of civic education. This model closely aligns with more traditional civic education centered on government, political and civil rights, and the democratic process. In the third and final model, Musil discusses a framework that assimilates citizenship into the school curriculum (2003). The literature expressed a great need for U.S. schools to increase the level of civic engagement; it also demonstrates a need for a new pedagogy to develop the next generation of citizens. 52 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The goal of this mixed-methods study was to investigate if a difference exists between three different generations and citizenship. The study also sought to determine if a difference or a relationship exists between three unique town vitalities and citizenship. Town vitality is defined by Grigsby (2001) as a community’s ability to work collectively and to come together to address problems and issues. This process requires relationship buliding among its citizens to build towards common goals that in turn will build a better stronger community for all citizens (Grigsby, 2001). NICHE’s (2002) framework was used to measure town vitality by assessing the strength and values of the community of an area at the town level. NICHE assigns a letter grade that takes into account key factors including community location, volunteer rates, crime rates, public education, diversity, and higher education rates (Carnegie Mellon University, 2002). The citizenship models include personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Personally responsible citizens understand the shortfalls of their community and on occasion, volunteer to assist with a problem that matters to them. Participatory citizens consider community before self. They desire to engage their community providing their unique attributes in the way of volunteering, serving on a committee, speaking up, attend meetings, and running for office. Justice-oriented citizens wish to find a source of the issue, correct it and terminate injustice and social ills of their community. The survey instrument used in this study, Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement (Flanagan, Syvertsen, and Stout, 2007), includes a set of 33 Likert scale quantitative questions. Data from the instrument explained how each generation engages in citizenship. ANOVA analysis of research question one determined how each 53 generation scored, allowing for a comparison of outcomes across all three generations. Further, aggregate results for each generation were identified. Research question two used ANOVA analysis to compare the three generations. Additionally, Pearson Correlation 2-tail analysis was used to measure if citizenship influences town vitality. For this reason, nine communities in vitalities from three counties were selected to explore possible connections among citizenship models and communities. The interview protocol added depth to the quantitative study. The interview isolated several participants from each generation and community to discuss their feelings on community engagement and civic mindedness. Four questions in each of the three citizenship models were asked of the participants, totaling 12 questions. The questions addressed specific concerns from each citizenship level. Interviews were then analyzed, and common themes surfaced. Research Questions The study’s purpose was to determine if a relationship exists between generation and citizenship and/or between town vitality and citizenship. Both generation and town vitality were analyzed for differences in personal beliefs, competence for civic action, personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. More specifically, the study asks the following: Quantitative Survey Data 1. Are there generational differences regarding citizenship? A. Are there generational differences regarding personal beliefs? B. Are there generational differences regarding competence for civic action? C. Are there generational differences regarding personally responsible citizenship? D. Are there generational differences regarding participatory citizenship? 54 E. Are there generational differences regarding justice-oriented citizenship? 2. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship? A. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding personal beliefs? B. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding competence for civic action? C. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding personally responsible citizenship? D. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding participatory citizenship? E. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding justice-oriented citizenship? Qualitative Interview Data 3. Which citizenship attributes are utilized by citizens? Null Hypothesis 1. Ho. There are no generational differences regarding citizenship. A. There are no generational differences regarding personal beliefs. B. There are no generational differences regarding civic action. C. There are no generational differences regarding personally responsible citizenship. D. There are no generational differences regarding participatory citizenship. E. There are no generational differences regarding justice-oriented citizenship. 2. Ho. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship. A. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding personal beliefs. B. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding competence for civic action. 55 C. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding personally responsible citizenship. D. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding participatory citizenship? E. There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding justice-oriented citizenship. Research Design A mixed-methods study was decided upon as the best approach for this study. Such an approach increases the overall strength of a study as compared to a stand-alone quantitative or qualitative study (Creswell, 2007). A combination of both quantitative and qualitative measures were used to gather data. A survey was used to address research questions one and two with the instrument, Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement by Flanagan, Syvertsen, and Stout (2007); additionally, interviews were used to collect qualitative information. Flanagan, et al. (2007) employed a mixed-methods study while using Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) work, which combined qualitative data from observations and interviews with quantitative analysis of pre- and post-survey data. Flanagan, et al. developed constructs to measure Westheimer and Kahne’s “Good Citizen” conceptual framework. Their reason for a mixed study followed what Datta (1997) suggested to be a logical approach for a study design. That is, Flanagan, et al. (2007) employed the combination of methods they felt were best suited to their research questions. 56 Research question three was addressed with qualitative analysis of seven interviews consisting of 12 interview questions for each. Interview subjects were selected from the participants who completed the survey. Participants had the opportunity to select “yes” or “no” on the survey to indicate their interest in being interviewed. An equal representation of all three generations among the interview participates was sought. Table 4 Research Questions and Research Method Research Question 1 Survey Questions Research Method 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, ANOVA 11,12,13,14,15,16,17, Bonferroni Post Hoc Test 18,19, 0,21, 22,23,24, Interview protocol 25,26,27,28,29,30,31, 32,33 Research Question 2 Survey Questions Research Method 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10, ANOVA 11,12,13,14,15,16,17, Bonferroni Post Hoc Test 18,19,20,21,22,23,24, Pearson correlation coefficient 25,26,27,28,29,30,31, Multiple regression analysis 32,33 Interview protocol Research Question 3 Interview Research Method Interview protocol All three research questions were studied in prescribed municipalities selected by town vitality. Town vitality was measured with letter grades: Town A = high vitality, Town B = medium vitality, and Town C = low vitality as defined by NICHE (Carnegie Mellon University, 2002). Each letter grade was assigned a percentage for the purpose of this study; percentages were necessary for statistical analysis. For example, a letter grade of A, equaling high vitality, was assigned 90 percent, a letter grade of B, equaling medium vitality, was assigned 80 percent, and a letter grade of C, equaling low vitality, was assigned 70 percent. Only towns with 4,000 residents or more were used in this study in order to increase the opportunities to obtain 57 completed surveys. Municipalities were chosen from Beaver, Washington, and Westmoreland counties in Pennsylvania as they all share comparable characteristics and demographics. The survey instrument was distributed to citizens of all nine municipalities. An equal number of high, medium, and low-scoring town vitalities were sought for the purpose of consistency. Due to the minimum population parameters set for the study, Beaver County does not have a municipality with C or C- score with a population of 4,000 citizens or greater. The other two counties do have equal representation for all scores. Target Population and Participant Selection The sample consisted of three generations including Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), Generation X (born between 1965 and 1979), and Millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) of the nine selected communities from Southwestern Pennsylvania. The minimum age of participants was 18 years old. All efforts to protect the subject’s identity were made. The survey asked the subjects to identify their birth year, zip code/town, and to provide birth month, year, and first letter of their first name. This information was used to assure no duplication of surveyed subjects as directed by the approved IRB. Since the purpose of this study was to compare three generations as separate entities and against each other, participants for this study were selected in a few ways. A qualifier for each survey participant was home zip code. Only those zip codes matched to the nine prescribed municipalities were used; all others were discarded. An additional qualifier for participant participation for both the survey and interview was age, as each participant had to be at least 18 years old. If a birth year was more recent than 1999, the survey was discarded. A total of 2,400 surveys were distributed using various mediums. A total of 322 were completed for a 13.4% completion rate. 58 Participant participation occurred in a few ways. The Washington County Chamber of Commerce assisted with survey distribution. The Chamber president agreed to distribute the survey to his members. An email was prepared by the researcher inviting them to take the survey. The Chamber president then emailed the survey request to all the chamber members. The president sent the survey on two separate occasions to over 1,000 members. Only those citizens who reside in one of the prescribed zip codes were used for the study. Three community colleges were asked and agreed to assist in the distribution of the survey. The first, Westmoreland County Community College (WCCC), accepted the IRB request and agreed to distribute the survey. WCCC emailed the survey four times to over 900 students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Only data from students who lived in the chosen municipalities were utilized. All other surveys were omitted from this study. The Community College of Beaver County (CCBC) also agreed to distribute the survey. CCBC sent the survey on two different dates to over 500 students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Again, only those in the prescribed zip codes were used for data collection; all others were discarded. The Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) was also used to gather surveys. Again, the application for the IRB was accepted and permission was granted for emailing surveys. CCAC sent the survey on three different dates and collected surveys from students, faculty, staff, and administrators. Although CCAC is in Allegheny County, which not a part of the study, many of its constituents reside in the neighboring counties. CCAC was helpful in collecting surveys from those students, faculty, staff, and administrators who reside in the neighboring zip codes. Hence, CCAC was a very important research site for collecting data from all three counties and nine communities. Table 5 presents colleges used for this study. 59 Many surveys were also collected via convenience sampling. This tactic allowed the survey to be texted or emailed to a known citizen of a particular community. Though this tactic did not result in a large yield, it was used in the data collection process. Social media was also used to distribute and collect surveys. This approach was beneficial as it allowed for a wider range of participants. In other words, participants were not necessarily school students or employees but instead represented different parts of the population. Surveys were collected primarily from Washington County with this tactic. Unlike the community colleges and the Washington County Chamber of Commerce, the researcher had control of how many times the survey was made available via social media. This effort was very successful as many surveys were collected from residents of Washington County. A shopping mall located in Washington County was also used to gather completed surveys. The mall manager granted permission via email, and on two occasions surveys were collected. To address research question one, data were broken down for each generation; for example, all surveys were completed by Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. At this point, the community in which a resident lives did not matter; only generation was the focus of analysis. To address research question two, data were categorized only by town vitality. All communities that shared a town vitality score of A were combined, all communities that shared a score of B were combined, and all communities that shared a score of C were combined for the purpose of studying research question two. 60 Table 5 Colleges and Universities Beaver County Washington County Westmoreland County Beaver County Community College Community College of Allegheny County Westmoreland County Community College Instrument The survey instrument was developed by Flanagan, et al. (Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement, 2007). They developed constructs to use with Westheimer and Kahne’s (2004) “Good Citizen” conceptual framework. Participants’ birth years, zip codes, and gender are independent variables. The survey measures areas such as community involvement, participation by activity, participation by action, and overall opinions. It uses a four-step Likert Scale to address community participation and civic engagement in 33 questions. The original code sheet contains a total of 14 civic measures and 152 questions. The instrument was modified for this study to include five civic measures and 33 questions. Questions with a focus on high school students were not deemed relevant for this study and were eliminated. The civic measures include personal beliefs, competence for civic action, personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement, 2007: Reliability of the Measures The goal of the Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement (2007) was to produce a set of civic measures with reliable psychometric properties appropriate for use with young people ages twelve through eighteen. The goal of the Civic Measurement 61 Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement (2007) was to produce a set of civic measures appropriate for high school students. Flanagan et al. collected data from high school students that included almost 2,000 students from “88 social studies classes in the northeastern United States” (Flanagan, Syvertsen, & Stout, 2007, p. 2). Several statistical models were utilized to conduct an analysis including ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and stepwise multiple regression. According to Flanagan, et al. (2007), it is ideal for the Chi square outcome to be non-significant. Non-significant test results indicate that the sample size behaved as expected, meaning the range of results, assuming a p-value of .05, occurred. However, the researchers found their results to be significant, meaning the findings are less than the predetermined alpha set by the researcher (Creswell, 2012). This result was expected due to the large sample size. Therefore, Flanagan, et al. (2007) used both the Comparative Fit Index and the Root Mean Square Error models, which are not sensitive to a large sample size. Table 6 Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement Scale Items and Reliability Levels ____________________________________________________________________ Scale/items in the scale Cronbach alpha ______________________________________________________________________ High Low Competence for Civic Action .80 .61 Personal Beliefs .80 .68 Personally Responsible Citizenship .88 .69 Participatory Citizenship .79 .55 Justice-oriented Citizenship .80 .67 Anger About Social Justice .87 .78 Note. Adapted from “Civic Measures Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement,” by C. Flanagan, A. Syvertsen, and M. Stout, 2007. Copyright May 2007 by the Circle Working Paper 55. 62 Survey Sections Subset One: Personal Beliefs This subset measures a person’s understanding of his or her personal belief system. There were five questions with a possible range including Strong Personal Beliefs (20-16), Average Personal Beliefs (15-11), and Poor Personal Beliefs (10-5). Subset Two: Competence for Civic Action This subset measures efficacy for civic engagement. More specifically, it asks students to rate their competence in various skills related to civic action. There are nine questions, with responses scored as Strong Competence for Civic Action (45-37), Average Competence for Civic Action (36-19), or Poor Competence for Civic Action (18-9). Subset Three: Personally Responsible Citizenship This subset measures a person’s level of active responsibility in his or her community (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). This person would not go beyond basic civic duties to serve his or her community. Core assumptions regarding this citizen include good character, law-abiding behavior, and honest and responsible actions within the community. Other traits include obeying laws, paying taxes, recycling, giving blood, and volunteering in times of crisis (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). There are a total of six questions, with scores of High Achieving Responsible Citizen (24-19), Average Responsible Citizen (18-13), or Low Achieving Responsible Citizen (12-6). Subset Four: Participatory Citizenship This subset measured the amount of activity a citizen displays in a community organization. This person not only volunteers but organizes community efforts to care for those in need. This citizen promotes and represents issues of economic development and advocates for 63 the environment. Mostly, this person understands how government agencies work together and knows key political and community leaders. In turn, this citizen has the confidence and know- how to use strategy to accomplish collective tasks. A participatory citizen, according to Westheimer and Kahne (2004), will actively participate and take leadership positions within established systems and community structures. There are six questions for this category, with scores including High Achieving Participatory Citizen (24-19), an Average Participatory Citizen (18-13), or a Low Achieving Participatory Citizen (12-6). Subset Five: Justice-Oriented Citizenship Citizens defined by this level of citizenship possess a skill set unmatched by the previous two. A justice-oriented citizen does not just volunteer for a cause but desires to find a solution. This person seeks out and addresses areas of injustice. A justice-oriented citizen knows about democratic social movements and how to effect systemic change. The core assumptions of the justice-oriented citizen include solving social problems, improving society, and challenging systems and structures that reproduce patterns of injustice over time. There are a total of seven questions for this categories, with scores that include high achieving justice-oriented citizen (28- 22), average justice-oriented citizen (21-15), or low achieving Justice-oriented citizen (14-7). Procedures This section will highlight the facilitation of both the pilot study and the data analysis for the research questions. In addition to explaining the processes for the pilot study and expert review analysis, the statistical analyses are described for each research question and include explanations for what information will be compared. 64 Pilot Study The Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) was the site for the survey pilot once permission was received from the Provost. The college population includes all three generations, including Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials. The Qualtrics survey instrument was emailed to approximately 30 administrators throughout the four campuses and four centers. Based on feedback from the pilot, a few adjustments were made. The first change dealt with the participant identifier. Prior to the pilot, participants were asked to provide the last four digits of their social security numbers. Many participants expressed concern regarding cyber security. The survey now asks participants to provide birth month, year, and first letter of their first names. Another alteration to the survey involved the scales in section five, which did not align with the questions. The Cronbach Alpha for all questions tested at .896, which was deemed acceptable as the benchmark is typically .70 or greater. Research question three, which relies on interview data, was piloted with two people at a college center. Non Expert Review A non-expert review was performed before the interviews in order to refine the interview questions, as well as to provide clarification for the research design (Yin, 2003). A study is considered reliable when the findings are consistent with the data collected (Merriam, 2002). The interview protocol was tested with two participants. One was a Generation X citizen who resides in a Town C community; the other was also Generation X but lived in a Town B community. The participants represented communities and generations included in this study. Responses were recorded with audio recorder and researcher notes. At the end of each interview, the individuals were asked for feedback on the experience. Revisions were made 65 according to respondent feedback and the researcher’s own experience with the protocol and recording responses. The non-expert reviews were audio recorded for review, critique, and modification of the protocol once each interview was completed. Information collected from the non-expert reviews were not included in the final study. Data Analysis Research question one: Are there generational differences regarding citizenship? An ordinal scale was thought to be the most appropriate type of measurement and a 4-point scale best for the measurement format. Each of the five survey sections measured a subset of the dependent variable citizenship, which included personal beliefs, competence for civic action, personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. The assessment information revealed how each generation impacted citizenship (personal beliefs, competence for civic action, personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship). The performance evaluation was done by matching the survey results with the Visions of Good Citizens Model (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004), which helped to determine how each generation utilizes citizenship models. Descriptive statistics were used to find the means and standard deviations for each generation’s citizenship attributes. Additionally, ANOVAs are useful for comparing three or more groups for statistical significance (Creswell, 2012). Finally, a Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was used to determine if significance existed among the mean differences for the three generations. Research question two: Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship? In the same way as research question one, descriptive statistics were used to find the means and standard deviations for each town vitality and citizenship. ANOVA, Bonferroni 66 Post Hoc Tests, Pearson correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression analysis were used to address research question two. The Pearson statistical analysis determined if the two variables co-vary, meaning a score can be predicted on an outcome based on knowledge about the other score (Creswell, 2012). The correlation coefficient addressed whether a relationship between town vitality and citizenship existed. A correlation might be determined through Pearson statistical analysis, which might indicate if town vitality impacts citizenship. Using this statistical analysis helped to determine if a person who lives in a lower town vitality is less apt to engage in the community and become less of a contributing citizen or vice versa. Surveys collected from each community by town vitality were as follows: Town A, n=38; Town B, n=68; and Town C, n=94. Stepwise multiple regression determined if town vitality (independent variable) could predict citizenship (dependent variable). It is the best way to anticipate values in the independent variable given the values of the dependent variable (Creswell, J. W., 2012). For example, in this study it will indicate if citizenship predicts town vitality. Research question three: What citizenship attributes are utilized by citizens? This research question consisted of interview questions derived from the work of Flanagan, et al. (2007). After completing the survey, participants were asked if they were interested in participating in an interview (Figure 3.1). This approach to interviewing is referred to as opportunistic sampling, a method undertaken after the quantitative data has been gathered (Creswell, 2012). Adding a qualitative element to this study allowed for the incorporation of participants’ personal values and perspectives. The formal structured interview consisted of 12 questions designed to identify which citizen attributes are important to individuals. Seven participants were interviewed: three Millennials, three Generation X, and one Baby Boomer. 67 Expected Findings This study determined how each generation is most likely to civically engage in their communities, based on Westheimer and Kahne’s Visions of Good Citizens Model (2004). First recommendations derived from the study could be made concerning the increased need for community and citizen education in the classroom. Second, findings from this study will be distributed to the communities in which the participants live. The leadership of the communities could share the information with their citizens. By doing so, citizens can gain a better understanding of citizenship. Third, Westheimer and Kahne’s model is designed with civic education in mind. Citizens must be able to move beyond civic education learned in a classroom and, therefore, learn to serve and nurture their communities (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Summary This study sought to determine if a difference existed among three generations and three unique town vitalities. Additionally, this study examined if a difference or a relationship existed among three town vitalities and citizenship. The survey instrument used in this study, Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement (Flanagan, Syvertsen, & Stout, 2007), included a set of 33 Likert scale quantitative questions. Research question one utilized an ANOVA to compare the statistical significance of the three generations mean scores. Research question two used an ANOVA to determine if a statistically significant difference existed among the mean scores of the three town vitalities. A Pearson Correlation test was also used to determine if relationships existed between town vitality and citizenship. Further, multiple regression was conducted to determine if citizenship can predict town vitality. Research question three was addressed by an interview protocol that found which community attributes 68 were utilized by citizens. In all, 322 citizens from three counties and nine communities completed surveys, and seven citizens were interviewed. 69 CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS OF DATA The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate if a difference exists among the three generations and citizenship and if a difference or a relationship exists between town vitalities and citizenship. A framework for citizenship was based on Westheimer and Kahne’s Visions of Good Citizens Model (2004). Town vitality was defined by NICHE (Carnegie Mellon University [CMU], 2002). For the purpose of this study, the nine communities (A, B, and C) were clustered based on their vitality score. For example, all three Town A communities were combined to create one pool of surveys representing Town A. The same process was used for Town B and Town C communities. Interviews were conducted to determine which citizen attributes are utilized by citizens. The geographic location of this study consisted of citizens who reside in three counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania. This study was guided by three research questions. First, Are there generational differences regarding citizenship (Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials)? Second, Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship? Third, an interview protocol was used to determine what citizenship attributes (civic qualities or characteristics) were utilized by citizens? An explanation of each research question is given in this chapter, including descriptive statistics and narratives to further explore the statistical analysis of survey data. Research question three is addressed by analyses of qualitative data gathered from interviews. Description of the Survey Sample (Quantitative) A total of 322 surveys were utilized for this research. The distribution of surveys per generation was as follows: Baby Boomers, n = 79; Generation X, n = 83; and Millennials, n = 70 160. Surveys distributed by community included: Town A, n = 60; Town B, n = 165; and Town C, n = 97 for a total of 322 responses. All participants came from nine communities covering three different counties. Surveys were completed from November 10, 2016, to February 15, 2017. The survey was distributed to community residents by way of social media, referrals, Community College of Allegheny County, Community College of Beaver County, Westmoreland County Community College, a local mall, and the County Chamber of Commerce. Table 7 shows the numbers of participants and their communities of residence. To validate the participants’ communities of residence, the survey provided a listing of nine communities and asked respondents to select their area of residence. If participants did not see their community listed, they selected “My community is not shown.” The survey was automatically terminated for those responses. In total, 42 participants selected the option of “community not shown.” Figure 1 presents the frequency chart for participants by generation. Figure 2 presents the frequency chart for participants by town vitality. 71 Table 7 Communities and Participant Totals Baby Boomers (1946-1964) Generation X (1965-1979) Millennial (1980-2000) Total 1 County X Town 1 0.00% 0 14.29% 3 85.71% 18 21 2 Town 2 28.57% 4 28.57% 4 42.86% 6 14 3 Town 3 0.00% 0 100.00% 1 0.00% 0 1 4 County Y Town 4 20.00% 3 20.00% 3 60.00% 9 15 5 Town 5 25.56% 23 26.67% 24 47.78% 43 90 6 Town 6 23.38% 18 33.77% 26 42.86% 33 77 7 County Z Town 7 14.81% 4 29.63% 8 55.56% 15 27 8 Town 8 35.82% 24 14.93% 10 49.25% 33 67 9 Town 9 26.32% 5 26.32% 5 47.37% 9 19 81 84 166 331 Figure 1. Frequency, participants by generation. 79 83 160 0 50 100 150 200 Baby Boomers Generation X Millennials Generation, n = 322 72 Figure 2. Frequency, participants by town vitality Description of the Interview Sample (Qualitative) In this mixed-methods study, 322 citizens were surveyed to determine if generation and/or town vitality has an impact on citizenship. Additionally, seven citizens were interviewed to better understand how the generations use civic attributes in their communities. In total, seven community residents were interviewed. Participant selection encompassed each generation and town vitality. Participants by generation were as follows: Baby Boomers, n = 1; Generation X, n = 4; and Millennials, n = 2. Participants by town vitality were as follows: Town A, n = 1; Town B, n = 3; and Town C, n = 3. Each participant signed an interview consent form prior to the interview. Details of Analysis and Results The statistical tools used to analyze research question one included an examination of means and standard deviation, ANOVA, and a Bonferroni Post Hoc Test. In addition, interview transcripts were analyzed for codes and common themes. Second, the findings for research questions one and two included a discussion of the following dependent variable subsets; personal belief, competence for civic action, personally responsible citizenship, participatory 60 165 97 0 50 100 150 200 Town Vitality A Town Vitality B Town Vitality C Town Vitality, n = 322 73 citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. The statistical tools used to analyze town vitality included an examination of means and standard deviation, ANOVA, Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Pearson correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression. In addition, interview transcripts were analyzed for codes and common themes among the citizens. The qualitative portion of this study was incorporated into the quantitative analysis in both research questions one and two under participatory citizenship and justice-oriented citizenship. Further, the interview protocol will be discussed more thoroughly later in research question three. Table 8 provides details on the analysis methods used for different data sources. Table 8 Overview of Research Questions, Data Collection, and Analysis Method Data Collection Analysis Method 1. Are there generational differences regarding citizenship Visions of Good Citizens Interview Means and standard deviation ANOVA Bonferroni Post Hoc Test Coded Interview Responses 2. Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship? Visions of Good Citizens Interview Protocol Means and standard deviation ANOVA Bonferroni Post Hoc Test Coded Interview Responses Pearson Correlation Coefficient Stepwise Multiple Regression 3. What citizenship attributes are utilized by citizens? Interview Protocol Coded Interview Responses Generation, Independent Variable, Analysis, and Findings Research Question One, Are there generational differences regarding citizenship? This section outlines the use of the research tools utilized to address the independent variable of generation. Statistical analysis of each of the five subsets (personal beliefs, competence for civic 74 action, personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship) will also be addressed. Personal Beliefs This subset measured a person’s understanding of his or her personal belief system (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Personal beliefs consist of four items, described below. Table 9 presents the means and standard deviations of this subset. In comparing this subset with the independent variable, generation, a contrast between the means appeared; for example Millennials demonstrated a higher mean average (M = 14.55, SD = 3.12) than both Baby Boomers (M = 13.56, SD 2.94) and Generation X (M = 13.87, SD = 3.03). Millennials (M = 2.69, SD =.769) scored a higher mean on the first item, steady jobs, than Generation X (M = 2.53, SD = .801) and Baby Boomers (M = 2.46, SD = .813). Baby Boomers (M = 2.71, SD = .719) scored a higher mean on the item money to support a family than Generation X (M = 2.88, SD = .847) and the Millennials (M = 2.88, SD = .864). Millennials (M = 2.96, SD = .764) scored a higher mean on the third item, worse off not better, than the Baby Boomers (M = 2.89, SD = .751) and Generation X (M = 2.83, SD = .746). Millennials (M = 3.06, SD = .738) scored a higher mean on the fourth and final item, people becoming poor than Generation X (M = 3.01, SD = .773) and the Baby Boomers (M = 2.46, SD = .813). Millennials scored the highest mean with the subset personal beliefs, including all four items. The subsequent sections will include an analysis of statistical tests including ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Tests that will determine significance among the mean scores between generation and the subset of personal beliefs. 75 Table 9 Means and Standard Deviation, Generation and Personal Beliefs Baby Boomer Generation X Millennial Mean N SD Mean N SD Mean N SD Personal Beliefs 13.56 79 2.943 13.56 83 3.039 14.55 160 3.08 Steady Jobs 2.46 79 .813 2.53 83 .801 2.69 160 .769 Money to support a family 2.71 79 .719 2.88 83 .847 2.88 160 .864 Worse, not better 2.89 79 .751 2.83 83 .746 2.96 160 .764 People becoming poor 2.46 79 .813 3.01 83 .773 3.06 160 .738 Table 10 presents Levene’s test of homogeneity of variance. As observed, all items met the assumption of variance test (p > 0.05); therefore a Welch Test was not required.
Table 10
Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Personal Beliefs
Levene
Statistic

df1 df2 Sig.
Personal Beliefs .189 2 319 .828
Worry about jobs .488 2 319 .614
Hard to support family .843 2 319 .431
Economic changes, worse .022 2 319 .979
Poor individuals .546 2 319 .580
Steady jobs .066 2 319 .936

An ANOVA test was used to determine if a statistically significant difference existed
among the mean scores of the three generations and the subset of personal beliefs. Table 11
presents the findings for the ANOVA test for generation and personal beliefs The first significant
finding was discovered with the subset of personal beliefs. The means for each of the three
groups were as follows: Millennials (M = 14.55, SD = 3.12), Generation X (M = 13.84, SD =
3.03), and Baby Boomers (M = 13.56, SD = 2.94); (p = .042): (F (2,319) = 3.20, p < .05). There was a significant mean score difference based on generation and the item steady jobs; the means 76 for each of the three groups were as follows: Millennials (M = 3.06, SD = .85), Generation X (M = 2.61, SD = .71) and Baby Boomers (M = 2.58, SD = .74); (p < .001): (F (2,319) = 8.59, p <.001). Table 11 ANOVA, Generation and Personal Beliefs df F Value Sig. Personal Beliefs Steady jobs 2 319 322 2 319 322 3.200 8.59 .042 .000 A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was conducted to determine if a statistically significant difference among the mean scores existed for the three generations and the subset personal beliefs. Table 12 provides differences for this subset. The item steady jobs had a statistically significant difference between the means for the Millennial generation (M = 2.69, SD = .769) and Generation X (SD = 2.53, SD = .801), (p < .05). This item also showed a difference between the Millennial generation (M = 2.69, SD = .769) and the Baby Boomer generation (M = 2.46, SD = .813), (p < .05). Table 12 Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Generation and Personal Beliefs Generation Mean Difference Sig. *Steady jobs Millennials Generation X Baby Boomers .348 .380 .004* .002* *the mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level 77 Summary: Personal Beliefs. An ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Test were conducted to determine if statistically significant differences existed among the mean scores or for the mean difference of the independent variable, generation, and the five items of the subset, personal beliefs. The first significant finding was discovered with the personal beliefs subset and generation. The means for each of the three groups are as follows: Millennials (M = 14.55, SD = 3.12), Generation X (M = 13.84, SD = 3.03), and Baby Boomers (M = 13.56, SD = 2.94); (p = .042): (F (2,319) = 3.20 p <.05). Another significant finding was discovered with the item steady jobs and generation. The means for each of the three groups are as follows: Millennials (M = 3.06, SD = .85), Generation X (M = 2.61, SD = .71) and Baby Boomers (M = 2.58, SD = .74); (p = .000): (F (2,319) = 8.59 p <.001). A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was conducted to determine if a statistically significant difference among the mean scores existed for the generations and the subset of competence for civic action. Millennials (p < .05) had a significant mean difference with Generation X with the item steady jobs. It was also found that Millennials (p < .05) had a significant mean difference with Baby Boomers. Competence for Civic Action The subset measured one’s competence for civic action. More specifically, it asked participants to rate their competence in various skills related to civic action (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Comparing the subset of competence for civic action with the independent variable generation, a contrast among the means appeared. For example, Baby Boomers scored higher with competence for civic action (M = 37.00, SD = 6.70) than Generation X (M = 35.76, SD = 8.02) and Millennials (M = 34.58, SD = 6.80). The subset included nine items; a 78 description of the means and standard deviations will now follow. Table 13 presents the means and standard deviations for competence for civic action. Millennials (M = 2.69, SD = .769) scored a higher mean on the first item care about a problem than Generation X (M = 2.53, SD = .801) and Baby Boomers (M = 2.46, SD .813). Baby Boomers (M = 4.41, SD = .829) scored a higher mean on the second item organize and run a meeting than Generation X (M = 4.22, SD = 1.27) and Millennials (M = 4.04, SD = 1.143). Baby Boomers (M = 4.20, SD = .838) scored a higher mean on the third item call someone on the phone than Generation X (M = 4.01, SD = 1.153) and Millennials (M = 3.50, SD = 1.149). Baby Boomers (M = 4.41, SD = .829) scored a higher mean on the fourth item organize a petition than Millennials (M = 4.21, SD = .963) and Generation X (M = 4.02, SD = .963). Baby Boomers (M = 3.90, SD 1.045) scored a higher mean on the fifth item create a plan than Millennials (M = 3.88, SD = .842) and Generation X (M = 3.80, SD = .934). Baby Boomers (M = 4.16, SD = .898) scored a higher mean on the sixth item express your views than Millennials (M = 4.05, SD = .830) and Generation X (M = 4.01, SD = .930). Baby Boomers (M = 4.23, SD = .933) scored a higher mean on the seventh item identify individuals than Generation X (M = 4.06, SD = 1.141) and Millennials (M = 3.65, SD = 1.161). Baby Boomers (M = 3.96, SD = 1.115) scored a higher mean on the eighth item write an opinion letter than Generation X (M = 3.75, SD = 1.174) and Millennials (M = 3.65, SD = 1.161). Generation X (M = 3.72, SD = 1.040) scored a higher mean average on the ninth and final item contact an elected official than Baby Boomers (M = 3.53, SD = 1.23) and the Millennials (M = 3.48, SD = 1.154). The subsequent sections will include an analysis of statistical tests including ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Test to determine if a significant difference existed between the mean scores on the subset of competence for civic action. 79 Table 13 Means and Standard Deviation, Generation and Competence for Civic Action Baby Boomer Generation X Millennial Mean N SD Mean N SD Mean N SD Competence for civic action 37.00 79 6.699 35.76 83 8.021 34.58 160 6.806 Get other people to care about a problem 2.46 79 .813 2.53 83 .801 2.69 160 .769 Organize and run a meeting 4.41 79 .829 4.22 83 1.127 4.04 160 1.143 Call someone on the phone 4.20 79 .838 4.01 83 1.153 3.50 160 1.149 Organize a petition 4.41 79 .829 4.02 83 .963 4.21 160 .963 Create a plan 3.90 79 1.045 3.80 83 .934 3.88 160 .842 Express your views 4.16 79 .898 4.01 83 .930 4.05 160 .830 Identify individuals 4.23 79 .933 4.06 83 1.141 3.91 160 1.039 Write an opinion letter 3.96 79 1.115 3.75 83 1.174 3.65 160 1.161 Contact an elected official 3.53 79 1.023 3.72 83 1.040 3.48 160 1.154 Table 14 presents Levene’s test of homogeneity of variance. As observed, all items but one met the assumption of homogeneity (p > 0.05) for the item call someone on the phone (p =
.006). A Welch test was used for the item call someone on the phone and did not meet
assumptions of variance test.

Table 14
Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Competence for Civic Action
Levene
Statistic

df1 df2 Sig.
Competence for Civic Action 1.433 2 319 .240
Create a plan 2.317 2 319 .709
Get other people to care .254 2 319 .776
Organize a meeting 2.709 2 319 .068
Express your views .854 2 319 .427
Identify individuals 1.657 2 319 .192
Write an opinion letter .742 2 319 .477
Call someone on phone 5.196 2 319 .006
Contact an elected official 1.961 2 319 .240

An ANOVA test was used to determine if a statistically significant difference existed for
the mean scores among the generational groups (Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials)
and the competence for civic action subset. Table 15 presents the ANOVA findings, which
discovered significant statistical findings on the subset competence for civic action. The mean
scores for the subset competence for civic action were as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 37.00, SD
= 6.699), Generation X (M = 35.76, SD = 8.021), and Millennials (M = 34.58, SD = 6.806). Two
items were also found to be statistically significant, the first significant difference was for
generation and the item get other people to care about a problem. The mean scores were as
follows: Baby Boomers (M = 4.32, SD = 1.03), Generation X (M = 4.17, SD = 1.16), and
Millennials (M = 3.87, SD = 1.13): (F (2,319) = 4.83, p < 0.05). A second significant difference occurred with the item organize and run a meeting. The mean scores were as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 4.41, SD = 0.83), Generation X (M = 4.22, SD = 1.23), and Millennials (M = 4.17, SD = 1.14): (F (2,318) = 3.26, p < 0.05). 81 Table 15 ANOVA, Generation and Competence for Civic Action df F Value Sig. Competence for Civic Action Get other people to care about a problem. Organize and run a meeting. 2 319 2 319 2 319 3.145 4.831 3.264 .044 .009 .040 A Welch test was conducted for the item call someone on the phone. The Welch test showed a significant difference for this item (F (2,181.185) = 15.085, p < .001). Table 16 presents the results of the Welch test. Table 16 Welch Test of Equality of Means, Competence for Civic Action Welch Statistic df1 df2 Sig. Call someone on phone 15.085 2 181.185 .000 Significance is at p < 0.05 A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was conducted to determine if there was a statistically significant difference among the mean scores of generations and the competence for civic action subset. Table 17 presents the Bonferroni Post Hoc Test for generation and competence for civic action. Four of the subset’s nine items indicated a difference among the three generations’ mean scores. For this subset, Baby Boomers (M = 37.00, SD = 6.699), (p < .05) had a significant mean difference with the Millennials (M = 34.58, SD = 6.806). Two subset items were also discovered to have a significant difference among the generations. The first item get other people to care 82 had a significant mean difference between the Baby Boomers (M = 2.46, SD = .813), (p < .05) and the Millennials (M = 2.69, SD = .769). The second item organize and run a meeting showed a significant mean score difference between the Baby Boomers (M = 4.41, SD = .829), (p < .05) and the Millennials (M = 4.04, SD = 1.143). Table 17 Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Generation and Competence for Civic Action Generation Mean Difference Sig. Competence for Civic Action Baby Boomer Generation X Millennial 1.241 2.419 .804 .042* Get other people to care. Millennial Generation X Baby Boomer .148 .448 1.00 .011* Organize and run a meeting Baby Boomer Generation X Millennial .193 .373 .759 .037* *the mean difference is significant at the 0.05 level Summary: Competence for Civic Action. ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Tests were conducted to determine if a significant difference existed among the mean scores or among the mean difference for the independent variable, generation, and the six items of the dependent variable, competence for civic action. The ANOVA suggested significant statistical findings on the subset competence for civic action and two items. The mean scores for the subset competence for civic action were as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 37.00, SD = 6.699), Generation X (M = 35.76, SD = 8.021), and Millennials (M = 34.58, SD = 6.806). The first significant difference was for generation and the item get other people to care about a problem. The mean scores were as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 4.32, SD = 1.03), Generation X (M = 4.17, SD = 1.16), and Millennials (M = 3.87, SD = 1.13): (F (2,319) = 4.83, p < 0.05). A second 83 significant difference was for generation and the item organize and run a meeting. The mean scores were as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 4.41, SD = 0.83), Generation X (M = 4.22, SD = 1.23), and Millennials (M = 4.17, SD = 1.14): (F (2,318) = 3.26, p < 0.05). A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was conducted to determine if a statistically significant difference existed among the mean differences of the three generations’ mean scores and the subset of competence for civic action. Four of the subset’s nine items indicated a difference among the three generations’ mean scores. For the subset competence for civic action, Baby Boomers (M = 37.00, SD = 6.699), (p < .05) had a significant mean difference to the Millennials (M = 34.58, SD = 6.806). Two subset items were also discovered to show a difference among the generations. The first item, get other people to care, had a significant mean difference between the Baby Boomers (M = 2.46, SD = .813), (p < .05) and the Millennials (M = 2.69, SD = .769). The second item, organize and run a meeting, indicated a significant mean difference between the Baby Boomers (M = 4.41, SD = .829), (p < .05) and the Millennials (M = 4.04, SD = 1.143). Personally Responsible Citizenship The subset personally responsible citizenship measured a citizen’s commitment to civic responsibility in his or her community. However, this person would not go beyond basic civic duties to serve his or her community. This citizen obeys laws, recycles, gives blood, and volunteers to assist (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Table 18 presents the means and standard deviation for participatory citizenship and subset items. The subset personally responsible citizenship showed little difference among the three mean scores among the generations. Generation X (M = 21.60, SD = 2.40) scored a higher mean than the Baby Boomers (M = 21.42, SD = 2.17) and the Millennials (M = 20.89, SD = 2.34). The personally responsible citizenship subset included six items. A description of the means and standard deviations follows. 84 Generation X (M = 3.44, SD = .569) scored the highest mean average on the first item, assist those in need in comparison with Baby Boomers (M = 3.39, SD = .608) and Millennials (M = 3.41, SD = .638). Generation X (M = 3.67, SD = .498) scored the highest mean on the second item follow rules and laws compared to Baby Boomers (M = 3.62, SD = .514) and Millennials (M = 3.41, SD = .638). Generation X (M = 3.48, SD = .593) also scored the highest mean on the third item help people in need compared to Millennials (3.47, SD .537) and Baby Boomers (M = 3.46, SD = .501). Generation X (M = 3.50, SD = .593) scored the highest mean on the fourth item help without being paid compared to Baby Boomers (M = 3.44, SD = .500) and Millennials (M = 3.38, SD = .581). Baby Boomers (M = 3.75, SD = .438) scored the highest mean on the fifth item kind to other people over Generation X (M = 3.74, SD = .492) and Millennials (M = 3.63, SD = .497). Both the Baby Boomers (M = 3.76, SD = .430) and Generation X (M = 3.76, SD = .460) scored the highest mean on the sixth and final item in this subset important to tell the truth in comparison with Millennials (M = 3.64, SD = .493). The subsequent sections will include analyses of statistical tests including ANOVA and a Bonferroni Post Hoc Test that will determine if a statistically significant difference exists among the mean scores of the three generations and the subset of personally responsible citizenship. 85 Table 18 Means and Standard Deviation, Generation and Personally Responsible Citizenship Baby Boomer Generation X Millennial Mean N SD Mean N SD Mean N SD Personally Responsible Citizenship 21.42 79 2.176 21.60 82 2.403 20.89 160 2.346 Assist those in need 3.39 79 .608 3.44 82 .569 3.36 160 .576 Follow rules and laws 3.62 79 .514 3.67 82 .498 3.41 160 .638 Help people in need 3.46 79 .501 3.48 83 .593 3.47 160 .537 Help without being paid 3.44 79 .500 3.50 82 .593 3.38 160 .581 Kind to other people 3.75 79 .438 3.74 82 .492 3.63 160 .497 Important to tell the truth 3.76 79 .430 3.76 82 .460 3.64 160 .493 Table 19 Presents Levene’s test of homogeneity of variance. As observed, three items of the subset personally responsible citizenship did not meet the assumption of variance (p > .05).
The items that failed include follow rules and laws (p = .001), kind to other people (p = .002),
and important to tell truth (p = .000). A Welch test was used for the items that did not meet the
assumptions of variance test.
Table 19
Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Personally Responsible Citizenship
Levene
Statistic
df1 df2 Sig.

Personally Responsible
Citizenship
.181 2 318 .835
Assist those in need .302 2 318 .740
Follow rules and laws 6.932 2 318 .001
Help people in need 2.824 2 318 .061
Help without being paid 1.460 2 318 .234
Kind to other people 6.367 2 318 .002
Important to tell truth 7.997 2 318 .000

An ANOVA test was used to determine if a statistically significant difference existed
between generation and the subset personally responsible citizenship. No significant findings
were discovered for generation and personally responsible citizenship.
The Levene’s Test of Homogeneity found the item follow rules and laws (p < .001) not to meet the assumption of variance. This item was then tested using the Welch Test, and though it did show this item as having a statistically significant difference (p < .001), it must be noted that there was a discrepancy in degrees of freedom. Though the item was found to be significant, the degrees of freedom dropped to 184.464, which was just 57 percent of the total survey participants. The researcher decided not to use this finding based on the variance of the degrees of freedom. Table 20 Welch Test of Equality of Means, Personally Responsible Citizenship Welch Statistic df1 df2 Sig. Follow rules and laws 6.810 2 184.464 .001 Significance is at p < 0.05 A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was conducted to determine a difference among means of the three generations and the subset of personally responsible citizenship and one item of the subset. No differences were found between the subset and any of the items. Summary: Personally Responsible Citizenship. ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Tests were conducted to determine if a significant difference existed among the mean scores or among the mean difference of the independent variable, generation, and the six items of the dependent variable, personally responsible citizenship. An ANOVA test was used to determine if a significant difference existed between the generational groups of Baby Boomers, Generation 87 X, and Millennials and the subset of personally responsible citizenship. No significant findings were discovered between generation and personally responsible citizenship. The Bonferroni Post Hoc Test showed no statistically significant differences among the means. Participatory Citizenship The subset participatory citizenship model measures the amount of activity a citizen displays in a community organization. Participatory citizenship involves being an active member of community organizations and/or improvement efforts. For example, participatory citizens are the ones who step up to organize efforts and inspire others to volunteer for a community case. They have the ability to work with local government (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Table 22 presents the means and standard deviation for participatory citizenship and related subset items. Comparing the subset participatory citizenship with the independent variable of generation revealed a contrast among the means; for example, Baby Boomers (M = 18.23, SD = 2.85) scored a higher mean than Generation X (M = 16.90, SD = 3.21) and Millennials (M = 16.28, SD = 3.07). Participatory citizenship as a subset included six items; a description of the means and standard deviations follows. Baby Boomers (M = 3.09, SD = .536) scored a higher mean on the first item, involvement in the community issues, than Generation X (M =3.05, SD = .607 ) and Millennials (M = 2.82, SD = .635). With the second item I do make a difference both Baby Boomers (M = 3.04, SD = .587), and Generation X (M = 3.04, SD = .722) scored the same mean, followed by Millennials (M = 2.70, SD = .725 ). Baby Boomers (M = 2.97, SD = .620) scored a higher mean on the item I have helped to make things better in comparison with Millennials (M = 2.74, SD = .750) and Generation X (M = 2.72, SD = .690). Baby Boomers (M = 2.96, SD =.706) scored a higher mean 88 on the item get involved in issues like health or safety than Generation X (M = 2.55, SD = .723) and Millennials (M = 2.43, SD =.776 ). Baby Boomers (M = 2.90, SD =.744) scored a higher mean on the fifth item solve a problem than Generation X (M= 2.50, SD = .741) and Millennials (M = 2.40, SD = .755). Both Baby Boomers (M = 3.27, SD = .473) and Generation X (M = 3.27, SD = .629) scored a higher mean on the last item being concerned than Millennials (M = 3.19, SD = .586). Baby Boomers scored the highest mean with the subset participatory citizenship, including all six items. The subsequent sections include an analysis of statistical tests including ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Tests in order to determine if a significant difference exists between the mean scores for generation and the subset of participatory citizenship. Table 21 Means and Standard Deviation, Generation and Participatory Citizenship Baby Boomer Generation X Millennial Mean N SD Mean N SD Mean N SD Participatory Citizenship 18.23 79 2.85 16.90 82 3.21 16.28 159 3.07 Involvement in community issues 3.09 79 .536 3.05 82 .607 2.82 159 .635 I do make a difference 3.04 79 .587 3.04 82 .587 2.70 159 .725 I have helped make things better 2.97 79 .620 2.72 82 .690 2.74 159 .750 Get involved in issues like health or safety 2.96 79 .706 2.55 82 .723 2.43 159 .776 Solve a problem 2.90 79 .744 2.50 82 .741 2.40 159 .755 Table 22 presents Levene’s test of homogeneity of variance. As observed, four items of the participatory citizenship subset did not meet the assumption of variance test (p > .05). The
four items that failed include involvement in the community issues is my responsibility (p = .014),
I do make a difference in my community (p =.000), by working with others in the community I

have helped make things better (p = .001), and get involved in issues like health or safety that
affect your community (p = .008). A Welch test was used for the items that did not meet the
assumptions of variance test.
Table 22
Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Participatory Citizenship
Levene
Statistic
df1 df2 Sig.

Participatory Citizenship

.762

317

.468
Involvement in the
community issues is my
responsibility
4.292 2 317 .014
I do make a difference in my
community.
2.151 2 317 .000
By working with others in the
community I have helped
make things better.
8.996 2 317 .001
Get involved in issues like
health or safety that affect
your community.
4.890 2 317 .008
Work with a group to solve a
problem in the community
where you live.
1.561 2 317 .212

An ANOVA test was used to determine if a statistically significant difference existed
between the three generations and the participatory citizenship subset. Table 24 presents the
findings for the ANOVA test for generation and participatory citizenship. The ANOVA test
showed statistically significant differences among the mean scores on two of the six items in this
section. The first significant finding was discovered with the subset, participatory citizenship
and generation. The mean scores for generation are as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 18.23, SD =
2.85), Generation X (M = 16.90, SD = 3.21), and Millennials (M = 16.28, SD = 3.07): (F
(10.735), p < .01). The second significant mean score finding was discovered for generation and 90 the item work with a group to solve a problem. The mean scores for generation are as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 2.90, SD 0.74), Generation X (M = 2.50, SD = 0.74), and Millennials (M = 2.40, SD = 0.76): (F (6.785), p < .01). Table 23 ANOVA, Generation and Participatory Citizenship df F Value Sig. Table 24 presents the results of the Welch test, which was conducted for the four items that did not meet the assumption of the variance: Involvement in the community issues is my responsibility (F (2, 177.157) = 7.125, p = .05), I do make a difference in my community (F (2, 174.929) = 7.284, p < .05), By working with others in the community I have helped make things better (F (2, 179.013) = 4.251, p < .05), and Get involved in issues like health or safety that affect your community (F (2, 175.343) = 14.154, p < .01). Participatory Citizenship Work with a group to solve a problem in the community where you live 2 318 2 318 10.735 .000 6.785 .000 91 Table 24 Welch Test of Equality of Means, Generation and Participatory Citizenship Welch Statistic df1 df2 Sig. Involvement in the community issues is my responsibility 7.125 2 177.157 .001 I do make a difference in my community 7.284 2 174.929 .001 By working with others in the community I have helped make things better 4.251 2 179.013 .016 Get involved in issues like health or safety that affect your community 14.154 2 175.343 .000 A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was conducted to determine if there was a statistically significant mean score difference among the three generations and the participatory citizenship subset. Table 25 presents the Bonferroni Post Hoc Test findings. Five items were discovered to have a difference among the three generations. The subset of participatory citizenship had a significant mean difference between the Baby Boomers (M = 18.23, SD = 2.85), (p < .05) and Generation X (M = 16.90, SD = 3.21). The Baby Boomers (M = 18.23, SD = 2.85), (p < .05) also had a significant mean difference compared to the Millennials (M = 16.28, SD = 3.07). Also, the item work with a group to solve a problem in the community where you live had a significant mean score difference for the Baby Boomers (M = 2.90, SD = .741), (p < .05), who had a significant mean difference over Generation X (M = 2.50, SD .744) and Millennials (M = 2.40, SD = .751), (p < .001). 92 Table 25 Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Generation and Participatory Responsible Citizenship Generation Mean Difference Sig. Participatory Citizenship Baby Boomer Generation X Millennial 1.325 1.951 .019* .000* Work with a group to solve a problem in the community where you live. Baby Boomer Generation X Millennial .399 .503 .002* .000* *Significance is at the 0.05 level Qualitative Findings: Participatory Citizenship. The interview portion of this study varied widely on the topic of participatory citizenship. All three generations provided examples of contributing to solving a problem. For example, a Generation X participant commented, “Believe in the change you want to see.” She said this statement really expresses the attitude necessary to be a change agent in your community. Another Generation X participant stated, “When you have a love for where you live, that’s what you do.” The qualitative data aligns with the Bonferroni Post Hoc Test in this instance. In regards to the subset item, making a difference in your community, Generation X participants provided many examples; for example, a participant explained her passion for animals. A local pet charity only featured dogs on their website. Therefore, that pet charity was not adopting cats as often as they would have liked. Her passion for others to adopt animals instead of paying a breeder motivated her to speak with a marketing administrator from the pet charity. She recommended for cats to be more prominent on their website. The administrator took her advice and, within two weeks, the pet charity noticed a positive spike in cat adoption. Similarly, a Millennial explained her volunteerism in her local fire department, which involved working with others in the department to upgrade the department’s classification. She 93 went on to express the importance of this collective action for the community as the department became a Bureau of Fire, which allows more calls to the department to get answered in a timely fashion. She explained her passion for this upgrade to occur for the betterment of serving her community and how it took a collective effort of the department. Citizens of various generations expressed many passions and interest of importance to them. All but one citizen, a Millennial, shared a story of working with others to solve a community issue. The quantitative data revealed Baby Boomers as being significant on all subset items; however, the interviews were a valuable component as they presented a different perspective which indicated that Generation X citizens do participate in their communities. Summary: Participatory Citizenship. An ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Test were conducted to determine if significant differences existed among the mean scores or among the mean difference of the independent variable, generation, and the six items of the dependent variable, participation citizenship. Several key findings were discovered that showed significant relationships among the subset items. The ANOVA test showed a significant difference among the mean scores on two of the six items in this section. The first significant finding was discovered with the participatory citizenship subset, and generation. The mean scores for generation were as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 18.23, SD = 2.85), Generation X (M = 16.90, SD = 3.21), and Millennials (M = 16.28, SD = 3.07): (F (10.735), p < .01). The second significant mean score finding was discovered for generation and the item work with a group to solve a problem. The mean scores for generation were as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 2.90, SD 0.74), Generation X (M = 2.50, SD = 0.74), and Millennials (M = 2.40, SD = 0.76): (F (6.785), p < .01). 94 The Welch test also found four items to have significance among the mean scores; they were as follows: Involvement in the community issues is my responsibility (F (2, 177.157) = 7.125, p = .05), I do make a difference in my community (F (2, 174.929) = 7.284, p < .05), By working with others in the community I have helped make things better (F (2, 179.013) = 4.251, p < .05), and Get involved in issues like health or safety that affect your community (F (2, 175.343) = 14.154, p < .01). Refer to Table 21, Millennials are the generation that scored the lowest mean score with the subset, participatory citizenship and on all five items. A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test found the participatory citizenship subset and one subset item to have a statistically significant difference among the three generations’ mean scores. The participatory citizenship subset had a significant mean difference between the Baby Boomers (M = 18.23, SD = 2.85), (p < .05) and Generation X (M = 16.90, SD = 3.21). The Baby Boomers (M = 18.23, SD = 2.85), (p < .05) also had a significant mean difference with the Millennials (M = 16.28, SD = 3.07). Also, the item work with a group to solve a problem in the community where you live had a significant mean score difference between the Baby Boomers (M = 2.90, SD = .741), (p < .05) and both Generation X (M = 2.50, SD = .744) and Millennials (M = 2.40, SD = .751), (p < .001). Baby Boomers out scored the other generations on the subset participatory citizenship and on all five items. The interview portion of this study discovered citizens of all three generations expressed many passions and interests of importance to them. Largely, the interviews revealed Generation X citizens as strong contributors to participatory citizenship. Justice-Oriented Citizenship A justice-oriented citizen will critically assess social, political, and economic structures to see beyond surface causes of community problems. This person seeks out and addresses areas 95 of injustice and knows about social movements and how to effect systemic change. These citizens endeavor to solve social problems and improve society; they believe citizens must question and change established systems and structures when they reproduce patterns of injustice. A justice-oriented citizen, for example, explores why people are hungry and acts to solve root causes (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Table 26 presents the means and standard deviation for justice-oriented citizenship and its subset items. Comparing the justice-oriented citizenship subset with the independent variable, generation, a contrast among the means appeared; for example, Baby Boomers (M = 18.59, SD = 3.51) had higher mean scores than Generation X (M = 17.93, SD = 3.17) and Millennials (M = 17.65, SD = 3.46). The justice-oriented citizenship subset included seven items; a description of the means and standard deviations follows. Baby Boomers (M = 1.74, SD = .813) scored a higher mean on the first item, worked to change unjust laws, than Generation X (M = 1.62, SD = .624) and Millennials (M = 1.43, SD = .711). Baby Boomers (M = 1.85, SD = .823) scored a higher mean on the second item, protest when needed, than Generation X (M = 1.64, SD = .730) and Millennials (M = 1.52, SD = .784). Baby Boomers (M = 2.69, SD = .726) scored a higher mean on the third item, purchase products safe for environment, than Millennials (M = 2.58, SD = .874) and Generation X (M = 2.56, SD = .775). Baby Boomers (M = 2.47, SD = .849) scored a higher mean on the fourth item, challenge inequalities, than Generation X (M = 2.40, SD = .904) and Millennials (M = 2.32, SD = .939). Baby Boomers (M = 3.31, SD = .631) scored a higher mean on the fifth item, I get angry about conditions people live in, than Generation X (M = 3.21, SD = .666) and Millennials (M = 3.23, SD = .726). Generation X (M = 3.46, SD = .573) scored a higher mean on the sixth and final 96 item, I get mad when hear people treated unjustly, than Baby Boomers (M = 3.44, SD = .656) and Millennials (M = 3.41, SD = .662). The subsequent sections will include an analysis of statistical tests, including ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, that will determine if a statistically significant difference exists for the mean scores between generation and the subset, justice-oriented citizenship. Table 26 Means and Standard Deviation, Generation and Justice-Oriented Citizenship Baby Boomer Generation X Millennial Mean N SD Mean N SD Mean N SD Justice-oriented citizenship 18.59 78 3.518 17.93 81 3.173 17.65 155 3.173 Worked to change unjust laws 1.74 78 .813 1.62 81 .624 1.43 155 .711 Protest when needed 1.85 78 .823 1.64 81 .730 1.52 155 .784 Purchase products that are safe for environment 2.69 78 .726 2.56 81 .775 2.58 155 .874 Challenge inequalities 2.47 78 .849 2.40 81 .904 2.32 155 .939 I get angry about conditions some people live in 3.31 78 .631 3.21 81 .666 3.23 155 .726 I wonder what is wrong with this country 3.09 78 .809 3.14 81 .737 3.14 155 .815 I get mad when I hear people treated unjustly 3.44 78 .656 3.46 81 .573 3.41 155 .662 Table 27 presents Levene’s test of homogeneity of variance. As observed, only one item, justice-oriented citizenship, did not meet the assumption of variance test (p > .05). The item,
protest when needed (p < .05), did not meet the assumption of homogeneity. A Welch test was used for the item that did not meet the assumptions of variance test 97 Table 27 Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Justice-Oriented Citizenship Levene Statistic df1 df2 Sig. Justice-oriented Citizenship 1.142 2 311 .321 Worked to change unjust laws .092 2 311 .921 Protest when needed 3.270 2 311 .039 Purchase products that are safe for environment .440 2 311 .645 Challenge inequalities 1.402 2 311 .248 I get angry about conditions some people live in I wonder what is wrong with this country I get mad when I hear people treated unjustly .887 .921 .408 2 2 2 311 311 311 .413 .399 .666 An ANOVA test was used to determine if a statistically significant mean score difference existed between the three generations and the justice-oriented citizenship subset. Table 28 presents the ANOVA findings for generation and justice-oriented citizenship. A significant finding was discovered with the item, I have/do worked with others to change unjust laws, and generation. The mean scores were as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 1.74, SD = .81), Generation X (M = 1.62, SD = .62), and Millennials (M = 1.43, SD = .71): F (5.519). Table 28 ANOVA, Generation and Justice-Oriented Citizenship df F Value Sig. I have/do worked with others to change unjust laws 2 311 5.519 .004 98 A Welch test was conducted for the item protest when something in society needed changing. The Welch test showed a significant difference among generation and the item protest when something in society needed changing (F (2, 168.393) = 4.314, p < .05). Table 29 presents the results of the Welch test. Table 29 Welch Test of Equality of Means, Justice-Oriented Citizenship Welch Statistic df1 df2 Sig. I have/do protest when something in society needed changing 4.314 2 168.393 .015 A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was conducted to determine a statistically significant mean score difference existed for generation and the subset justice-oriented citizenship. Table 30 presents the Bonferroni Post Hoc Test findings for justice-oriented citizenship. The item worked with others to change unjust laws had a significant mean score difference between the Baby Boomers (M = 1.74, SD = .813), (p = .005) and the Millennials (M = 1.43, SD = .711). Table 30 Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Generation and Justice-Oriented Citizenship Dependent Variable Generation Mean Sig. Difference I have/do worked with others Baby Boomer Generation X .803 .126 to change unjust laws Millennial .318 .005* *Significant 99 Qualitative Findings: Justice-Oriented Citizenship. The statistical findings discovered that Baby Boomers are more likely to have worked with others to change unjust laws than Millennials. Interview findings differed with the quantitative findings. For example, unlike the quantitative data, the interviews revealed that both Generation X and Millennial generations have worked to change unjust laws in their community. For example, a Millennial citizen said she has worked with groups to make a change approximately twice in the last year. A Generation X citizen said he worked with his cycling group to advocate policy changes. In fact, the Baby Boomer stated that he had no need to get involved in the past year to make a policy change. The statistical findings discovered that more Baby Boomers perform this items more often than the other generations: have/do protest when something in society needed changing, than both Generation X and Millennials. The interviews revealed very different findings. All participants except the two Millennials stated that they have not protested for a cause; the Millennials both participated in a Women’s March. Summary: Justice-Oriented Citizenship. ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Test were conducted to determine if a significant difference existed among the mean scores or for the mean difference of the independent variable, generation, and the seven items of the dependent variable, justice-oriented citizenship. The first significant ANOVA finding was discovered with the item I have/do worked with others to change unjust laws and generation. The mean scores were as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 1.74, SD = .81), Generation X (M = 1.62, SD = .62), and Millennials (M = 1.43, SD = .71): F (5.519). A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was conducted to determine if a statistically significant mean score difference existed among the three generations and the subset justice-oriented citizenship, including its seven items. The item worked with others to change unjust laws had a significant mean score difference between the Baby Boomers 100 (M = 1.74, SD = .813), (p < .05) and the Millennials (M = 1.43, SD = .711). The interviews revealed that both Millennials and Generation X citizens are committed to justice-oriented citizenship. Research Question One: Conclusions Are there generational differences regarding citizenship? Analysis of the results suggests several key findings: The ANOVA found several subsets and items to be significant with generation; they include the subsets for personal beliefs, competence for civic action, and participatory citizenship. The ANOVA also discovered significance among generation and the subset items of steady jobs, get other people to care, organize and run a meeting, solve a problem, and change unjust laws. The Bonferroni Post Hoc Test found several key findings regarding the mean differences of the three generations. First, Millennials had a significant mean difference with the item, steady jobs, with both Generation X and Baby Boomers. Baby Boomers had a significant mean difference with the subset of competence for civic action to Millennials. Baby Boomers also had a significant mean differences with the items get other people to care and call someone on the phone, to Millennials. Millennials had a significant mean difference with the item follow rules and laws to both Baby Boomers and Generation X. Baby Boomers had a significant mean difference with the participatory citizenship subset compared to both Generation X and Millennials. Baby Boomers had a significant mean difference with the items involvement in community issues and helped to make things better compared to Millennials; Baby Boomers also had a significant mean difference with the items get involved in issues and solve a problem compared to both Generation X and Millennials. Baby Boomers had a significant mean difference with the items change unjust laws and protest when something needs changing to 101 Millennials. Four out of the five subsets rejected the null hypothesis, as a difference among the three generations was prevalent for each. Table 31 Research Question One: Are there generational differences regarding citizenship? Personal Beliefs Ho: There are no generational differences regarding personal beliefs. Reject the null hypothesis Competence for Civic Action Ho: There are no generational differences regarding civic action. Reject the null hypothesis Personally Responsible Citizen Ho: There are no generational differences regarding personally responsible citizenship. Failed to reject the null hypothesis Participatory Responsible Citizenship Ho: There are no generational differences regarding participatory citizenship. Reject the Null Hypothesis Justice-oriented Citizenship Ho: There are no generational differences regarding justice-oriented citizenship. Reject the null hypothesis 102 Town Vitality: Analysis and Findings Research Question Two, Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship? This section outlines the use of various research tools utilized to address the independent variable of town vitality. The town vitality grade takes into account key factors, including community location, volunteer rates, crime rates, public education, diversity, and higher education rates. NICHE makes an effort to measure the quality and strength of the community in a quantitative way (Carnegie Mellon University, 2002). Each of the five subsets will be addressed individually by each of the statistical tools. Interview data are provided to explain each scenario as it addressed the research question. In the following sections, the five subsets will be addressed and will include personal beliefs, competence for civic action, personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. Personal Beliefs The personal beliefs subset measures a person’s understanding of his or her personal belief system (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Table 32 presents the means and standard deviation findings for town vitality and personal beliefs. Personal beliefs as a subset consist of four items; a contrast among the means appeared. For example, Town C demonstrated a higher mean (M = 14.28, SD = 3.08) for personal beliefs than both Town B (M = 14.01, SD 3.16) and Town A (M = 14.22, SD = 2.87). Town A (M = 2.87, SD = .747) scored a higher mean on the item steady jobs than Town C (M = 2.77, SD = .797) and Town B (M = 2.75, SD = .837). Town B (M = 2.61, SD = .802) scored a higher mean on the second item money to support a family than Town A (M = 2.58, SD = .787), and Town B (M = 2.58, SD = .788). Town C (M = 2.98, SD = .750) scored a higher mean on the third item worse off not better than Town A (M = 2.95, SD = .699) and Town B (M 103 = 2.85, SD = .778). Town B (M = 3.03, SD = .736) scored a higher mean on the fourth and final item people becoming poor than Town C (M = 3.01, .835) and Town A (M = 2.97, SD = .758). The subsequent sections will include an analysis of statistical tests, including ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, to determine if a significant difference among the mean scores exists between town vitality and the personal beliefs subset. Also, Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regressions will be conducted. Table 32 Means and Standard Deviation, Town Vitality and Personal Beliefs Town A Town B Town C Mean N SD Mean N SD Mean N SD Personal beliefs 14.22 60 2.871 14.01 165 3.164 14.28 97 3.081 Steady jobs 2.87 60 .747 2.75 165 .837 2.77 97 .797 Money to support a family 2.58 60 .787 2.61 165 .802 2.58 97 .788 Worse, not better 2.95 60 .699 2.85 165 .778 2.98 97 .750 People becoming poor 2.97 60 .758 3.03 165 .736 3.01 97 .835 Table 33 presents the Levene’s homogeneity of the variance test. As observed, all items of the personal beliefs subset did meet the assumption of variance test (p > 0.05).
Table 33
Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Personal Beliefs
Levene
Statistic

df1 df2 Sig.
Personal Beliefs .831 2 319 .437
Worry about jobs .017 2 319 .983
Hard to support family 1.262 2 319 .284
Economic changes, worse 2.033 2 319 .133
Poor individuals .436 2 319 .647
Steady jobs 1.580 2 319 .208

104

An ANOVA test was used to determine if a statistically significant difference existed
between the subset personal beliefs and town vitality. The test did not indicate any of the items
to have significance. A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was also conducted but showed no
significance among the mean differences for the three town vitalities and the personal beliefs
subset.
Table 34 presents the findings of a Pearson correlation test that was conducted to
discover if a relationships existed between town vitality and the personal beliefs subset and its
four items. No significant correlations were noted in the subset or its items. In fact, very weak
correlations were discovered between town vitality and personal beliefs.

105

Table 34
Pearson Correlation, Town Vitality and Personal Beliefs

Town
Vitality
Personal
Beliefs
Worry
about jobs
Hard to
make
money
Economic
change,
worse
Poor
individuals
Steady
jobs

Town Vitality 1
Personal
Beliefs
.013 1

Worry about
jobs

-.005

.764**

Hard to make
money

.049

.840*

.603*

Economic
change,
worse
.027 .759** .399** .574** 1

Poor
individuals

.015

.729**

.376**

.498**

.527**

Steady jobs

-.033

.798**

.585**

.576**

.477**

.456**

** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailied)

106

Summary: Personal Beliefs. An ANOVA test was used to determine if a statistically
significant difference existed between town vitality and the subset of personal beliefs. The test
did not show any of the items to have significance. A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was also
conducted but showed no statistical significance among the mean differences of the personal
beliefs subset. A Pearson correlation test was conducted to discover if a relationships existed
among town vitality and the subset personal beliefs and its four items. No significant
correlations were noted in the personal beliefs subset or its items.
Competence for Civic Action
The competence for civic action subset measured a person’s ability to work with others
within a community. More specifically, it asked participants to rate their competence in various
skills, such as calling others on the phone, or writing an opinion piece in the local paper.
(Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Table 35 presents the means and standard deviation findings for
town vitality and competence for civic action.
Analyzing the subset, competence for civic action, with the independent variable, town
vitality, revealed a contrast among the means. Town A scored higher with this subset (M =
36.02, SD = 6.65) than Town C (M = 35.58, SD = 7.49) and Town B (M = 35.34, SD = 7.17).
The subset included nine items; a description of the means and standard deviations will
now follow. Town A (M= 4.15, SD = 1.071) scored a higher mean on the item care about a
problem than Town B (M = 4.07, SD = 1.121) and Town C (M = 3.98, SD 1.181). Town A (M =
4.30, SD = .944) scored a higher mean on the second item organize and run a meeting than
Town B (M = 4.18, SD = 1.085) and Town C (M = 4.09, SD = 1.146). Town B (M = 3.83, SD =
1.057) scored a higher mean on the third item call someone on the phone than Town C (M =

107

3.82, SD = 1.190) and Town A (M = 3.70, SD = 1.197). Town A (M = 4.25, SD = .876) scored a
higher mean on the fourth item organize a petition than Town B (M = 4.17, SD = 1.106) and
Town C (M = 4.16, SD = .997). Town A (M = 4.03, SD .843) scored a higher mean on the fifth
item create a plan than Town B (M = 3.83, SD = .915 and Town C (M = 4.03, SD = .873). Town
A (M = 4.17, SD = .763) scored a higher mean on the sixth item express your views than Town B
(M = 4.05, SD = .892) and Town C (M = 4.03, SD = .873). Town C (M = 4.10, SD = .984)
scored a higher mean on the seventh item identify individuals than Town A (M = 4.03, SD =
1.008) and Town B (M = 3.98, SD = 1.099). Town C (M = 3.80, SD = 1.187) scored a higher
mean on the eighth item write an opinion letter than Town A (M = 3.77, SD = 1.015) and Town
B (M = 3.72, SD = 1.015). Town A (M = 3.77, SD = 1.136) scored a higher mean on the ninth
and final item contact an elected official than Town C (M = 3.52, SD = 1.068) and Town B (M =
3.52, SD = 1.068).
The subsequent sections will include an analysis of statistical tests including ANOVA
and Bonferroni Post Hoc Tests to determine if a statistically significant difference exists for town
vitality and to determine if a difference among the three mean scores exists between town vitality
and the competence for civic action subset. Also, Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple
regression analysis will be discussed.

108

Table 35

Means and Standard Deviation, Town Vitality and Competence for Civic Action

Town A Town B Town C
Mean N SD Mean N SD Mean N SD

Competence for
civic action
36.02 60 6.657 35.34 165 7.170 35.38 97 7.494
Get other people to
care about a
problem
4.15 60 1.071 4.07 165 1.121 3.98 97 1.181
Organize and run a
meeting
4.30 60 .944 4.18 165 1.085 4.09 97 1.146
Call someone on
the phone
3.70 60 1.197 3.83 165 1.057 3.82 97 1.190
Organize a petition 4.25 60 .876 4.17 165 1.016 4.16 97 .997
Create a plan 4.03 60 .843 3.83 165 .915 3.81 97 .961
Express your views 4.17 60 .763 4.05 165 .892 4.03 97 .873
Identify individuals 4.03 60 1.008 3.98 165 1.099 4.10 97 .984
Write an opinion
letter
3.77 60 1.015 3.72 165 1.015 3.80 97 1.187
Contact an elected
official
3.62 60 1.136 3.52 165 1.068 3.57 97 1.126

Table 36 Presents the Levene’s homogeneity of variance test. As observed, all items of
the competence for civic action subset did meet the assumption of variance test (p > 0.05).

109

Table 36
Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Competence for Civic Action
Levene
Statistic

df1 df2 Sig.
Competence for Civic Action .633 2 319 .532
Create a plan 2.33 2 319 .099
Get other people to care .619 2 319 .539
Organize a meeting .308 2 319 .735
Express your views .107 2 319 .899
Identify individuals .019 2 319 .981
Write an opinion letter 1.555 2 319 .213
Call someone on phone 1.606 2 319 .202
Contact an elected official .510 2 319 .601

An ANOVA test was used to determine if a significant difference existed between the
three town vitalities and the personal beliefs subset. The test did not show any of the items to
have significance. A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was also conducted but showed no significance
among the mean differences between the three town vitalities and the competence for civic
action subset.
Table 37 presents the findings of a Pearson correlation test that was conducted to
discover if relationships existed between town vitality and the competence for civic action subset
and its nine items. No significant correlations were noted in the subset or its items. In fact, very
weak correlations were discovered between town vitality and competence for civic action. Since
no correlation was discovered, the stepwise multiple regression tool was not conducted to
determine if any of these items can predict town vitality.

110

Table 37

Pearson Correlation Between Town Vitality and Competence for Civic Action

Town
Vitality

Competence
for Civic
Action

Create a
plan
Get other
people to
care
Organize
and run a
meeting
Express
your views
Identify
individuals
to help
with a
problem
Write an
opinion
letter
Call
someone
on the
phone
Contact
an
elected
official

Town Vitality

1
Competence for
Civic Action

-.026 1
Organize a
petition
-.027 .705**
Create a plan -.074 .687** 1
Get other people
to care
-.052 .845** .582** 1
Organize and run
a meeting
-.065 .749** .466** .671** 1
Express your
views
-.049 .779** .483** .622** .618** 1
Identify
individuals to help
with a problem
.031 .746** .396** .558** .497** .537** 1
Write an opinion
letter
.016 .773** .460** .570** .494** .543** .525** 1
Call someone on
the phone
.033 .765** .419** .552** .471** .513** .526** .582** 1
Contact an elected
official
-.010 .776** .494** .557** .457** ..524** .591** .587** .653** 1
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailied)

111

Summary: Competence for Civic Action. An ANOVA test was used to determine if a
significant difference existed between the groups (Town A, Town B, and Town C) and the
personal beliefs subset. The test did not show any of the items to have significance. A
Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was also conducted but showed no statistically significant mean
differences among the three town vitalities and the subset of competence for civic action. A
Pearson correlation test discovered no significant relationships in the competence for civic action
subset or on any of its items. Very weak correlations were discovered between town vitality and
competence for civic action.
Personally Responsible Citizenship
This section measured a citizen’s level of personally responsible citizenship in his or her
community. According to this definition of personally responsible citizenship, the citizen would
not go beyond basic civic duties to serve his or her community, such as obeying laws, recycling,
giving blood, and volunteering to lend a hand (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Table 38 presents
the means and standard deviation findings for town vitality and personally responsible
citizenship.
The subset of personally responsible citizenship showed little difference among the three
means among the generations. Town B (M = 21.43, SD = 2.13) scored a higher mean than Town
C (M = 21.26, SD = 2.50) and Town A (M = 20.48, SD = 2.46. Personally responsible
citizenship as a subset included six items; a description of the means and standard deviations will
now follow.
Town B (M = 3.42, = SD = .531) and Town C (M = 3.42, SD = .627) scored the same
mean on the first item, assist those in need, as Town A (M = 3.23, SD = .621). Town B (M =
3.58, SD = .530) scored a higher mean on the second item, follow rules and laws, than Town C

112

(M = 3.56, SD = .595) and Town A (M = 3.33, SD = .681). Town B (M = 3.51, SD = .537) scored
a higher mean on the third item help people in need than Town C (3.46, SD .541) and Town A
(M = 3.37, SD = .551). Town B (M = 3.47, SD = .588) scored a higher mean on the fourth item
help without being paid than Town C (M = 3.41, SD = .573) and Town A (M = 3.33, SD = .572).
Town B (M = 3.73, SD = .447) scored a higher mean on the fifth item kind to other people than
Town C (M = 3.68, SD = .513) and Town A (M = 3.60, SD = .527). Town C (M = 3.74, SD =
.464) scored a higher mean on the sixth and final item in this subset important to tell the truth
than Town B (M = 3.71, SD = .456) and Town A (M = 3.62, SD = .524).
The subsequent sections will include analysis of statistical tests including ANOVA and
Bonferroni Post Hoc Tests to determine if a significant difference among the mean scores exists
between town vitality and the subset of personally responsible citizenship. Also, a Pearson
correlation and stepwise multiple regressions will be discussed.
Table 38

Means and Standard Deviation, Town Vitality and Personally Responsible Citizenship

Town A Town B Town C
Mean N SD Mean N SD Mean N SD

Personally
Responsible
Citizenship
20.48 60 2.467 21.43 165 2.136 21.26 96 2.506
Assist those in need 3.23 60 .621 3.42 165 .531 3.42 96 .627
Follow rules and
laws
3.33 60 .681 3.58 165 .530 3.56 96 .595
Help other people
in need
3.37 60 .551 3.51 165 .537 3.46 96 .541
Help without being
paid
3.33 60 .572 3.47 165 .588 3.41 96 .573
Kind to other
people
3.60 60 .517 3.73 165 .447 3.68 96 5.13
Important to tell the
truth
3.62 60 .524 3.71 165 .456 3.74 96 .464

113

Table 39 presents the Levene’s test of homogeneity of variance. Two items did not meet
the assumption of variance test (p > .05): kind to other people (p = .006), and important to tell
truth (p = .019). A Welch test was used for the items that did not meet assumptions of variance
test. No significance was found using the Welch test.
Table 39
Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Personally Responsible Citizenship
Levene
Statistic

df1 df2 Sig.
Personally Responsible
Citizenship
1.458 2 318 .234

Assist those in need

1.932

318

.147

Follow rules and laws

2.184

318

.114
Help people in need

.140 2 318 .869
Help without being paid

.188 2 318 .828
Kind to other people

5.261 2 318 .006
Important to tell truth

4.021 2 318 .019

An ANOVA test was used to determine if a statistically significant difference existed
between the three town vitalities and the subset of personally responsible citizenship. The
ANOVA test showed a significant statistical difference between this subset and one item. Table
40 presents the ANOVA findings for town vitality and personally responsible citizenship. The
means for the three communities were as follows: Town B (M = 21.43, SD = 2.13), Town C (M =
21.26, SD = 2.50), and Town A (M = 20.48, SD = 2.46): (F (3.725), p < .05). The item I think it is important for people to follow rules and laws also demonstrated significance among the three 114 town vitalities: Town B (M = 3.58, SD = .53), Town C (M = 3.56, SD = .595), and Town A (M = 3.33, SD = .53): (F (2,318) = 4.253, p < .05). It should be noted that the Levene test failed two items: kind to other people (p < .05), and important to tell truth (p < .05) due to not meeting the assumption of homogeneity. The ANOVA did not indicate those two items as significant. Table 40 ANOVA, Town Vitality and Personally Responsible Citizenship df F Value Sig. Personally Responsible Citizenship I think it is important for people to follow rules and laws 2 318 2 318 3.725 4.253 .025 .015 The Bonferroni Post Hoc Test showed statistically significant mean differences among the three town vitalities and the subset of personally responsible citizenship and one item, importance of following rules and laws. Table 41 presents the Bonferroni Post Hoc Test results. For the subset, personally responsible citizenship, Town B (p < .05) had a significant mean difference to Town A. For the item importance of following rules and laws Town B (p = .05) had a significant mean difference to Town A. The test suggest that it is more important for Town B citizens to follow rules and laws. 115 Table 41 Bonferroni Post Hoc Test, Town Vitality and Personally Responsible Citizenship Dependent Variable Town Vitality Mean Sig. Difference Personally Responsible Citizenship Vitality B Vitality C .170 .127 Vitality A .947 .021* I think it is important for people Vitality B Vitality C .019 1.00 to follow rules and laws Vitality A .248 .014* *Significant A Pearson correlation test was conducted to determine if a relationship existed between town vitality and personally responsible citizenship. Table 42 presents the Pearson correlation findings for town vitality and personally responsible citizenship. This test discovered one positive significant relationship for the item I think it is important for people to follow rules and laws r(320) = .039, p < .05. This relationship indicated that it is more important for Town B communities to follow rules and laws when compared to the other two town vitalities. 116 Table 42 Pearson Correlation for Town Vitality and Personally Responsible Citizenship Town Vitality Personally Responsible Citizenship Assist those in need Follow rules and laws Help people in need Help others without pay Kind to other people Important to tell the truth Town Vitality 1 Personally Responsible Citizenship .095 1 Assist those in need .094 .741** 1 Follow rules and laws .116* .561** .232* 1 Help people in need .043 .810** .576** .261** 1 Help others without pay .029 .809** .571** .249** .713** 1 Kind to other people .040 .743** .429** .264** .545** .579** 1 Important to tell the truth .084 .679** .365** .382** .414** .386** .480** 1 *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailied) Qualitative Findings: Personally Responsible Citizenship. Examples during the interview phase of this study appeared to support the quantitative data. Four citizens from Town B communities identified local or state grants to build playgrounds and sought financial assistance from particular agencies for the project, e.g., the parks and recreation department support for residents’ fundraising efforts. The one exception arose for a Town B citizen who indicated that she was not “well aware” of resources. 117 Findings during the interviews strengthen the statistical data, which suggested that citizens in Town B communities abide by the laws and rules at a more significant level than Town A communities. An outlier to the statistical findings occurred during the interview phase of this study. A citizen from a Town A community uniquely stood apart from other citizens representing town vitality. He identified “Talking with community residents to see if they have the same concerns” as a behavior he engages in. This was deemed significant because no other participant proposed speaking with community residents. Instead, participants representing the town vitality communities indicated that their interactions with other residents depend on the project. The researcher, even with the remarks by a Town A citizen, stands by the decision declaring personally responsible citizenship as not a significant item. Summary: Personally Responsible Citizenship. The ANOVA test showed a significant statistical difference for the three town vitalities and the personal responsible citizenship subset and one item. The item, I think it is important for people to follow rules and laws, also demonstrated significance among the three town vitalities: Town B (M = 3.58, SD = .53), Town C (M = 3.56, SD = .595), and Town A (M = 3.33, SD = .53): (F (2,318) = 4.253, p < .05). The Bonferroni Post Hoc Test showed significant mean differences between town vitality and the personally responsible citizenship subset and one item, importance of following rules and laws. First, the subset showed a significant mean difference between Town B (p < .05) and Town A. The same item, importance of following rules and laws, had a significant mean difference between Town B (p < .05) and Town A. A Pearson correlation test was conducted to determine if a relationship existed between town vitality and personally responsible citizenship. This test discovered one positive significant relationship, I think it is important for people to follow rules and laws, r(320) = .039, p < .05). This relationship indicated Town B communities 118 have a stronger relationship than the other two when it comes to following rules. The interview portion of this study supported the quantitative data. Participants from Town B communities supported the qualitative data by giving examples of how they exercised personally responsible citizenship. Participatory Citizenship The subset participatory citizenship measures the amount of activity a citizen displays in a community organization. Participatory citizenship includes citizens who work to improve a community deficit or to meet a community need. For example, participatory citizens will intervene with local government officials when needed (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). A comparison of the subset, participatory citizenship, with the independent variable, town vitality, revealed a contrast among the means. Town B communities (M = 17.16, SD = 3.03) scored a higher mean than Town C (M = 16.92, SD = 3.34) and Town A (M = 16.25, SD = 3.12). Participatory citizenship included six items; a description of the means and standard deviations will follow in the subsequent paragraph. Table 43 presents the means and standard deviation for participatory citizenship and subset items. Town C (M = 2.97, SD = .640) scored a higher mean on the first item involvement in the community issues than Town B (M = 2.96, SD = .595) and Town A (M = 2.85, SD = .633). Town B (M = 2.87, SD = .651) scored a higher mean on the second item I do make a difference than Town C (M = 2.78, SD = .757) and Town A (M = 2.73, SD = .756). Town B (M = 2.84, SD = .685) scored a higher mean on the third item I have helped to make things better than Town C (M = 2.77, SD = .718) and Town A (M = 2.70, SD = .766). Both Town B (M = 2.63, SD = .701 and Town C (M = 2.63, SD = .798) scored a higher mean on the fourth item get involved in issues like health or safety than Town A (M = 2.43, SD = .909). Town B (M = 2.62, SD = .738) 119 scored a higher mean on the fifth item solve a problem than Town C (M= 2.52, SD = .808) and Town A (M = 2.40, SD = .807). Both Town B (M = 3.25, SD = .580) and Town C (M = 3.25, SD = .598) scored a higher mean on the last item being concerned than Town A (M = 3.13, SD = .503). The subsequent sections include an analysis of statistical tests including ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Tests that will determine if a significant difference exists for the mean scores of the participatory citizenship subset. A Pearson correlation and stepwise multiple regression will also be conducted. Table 43 Means and Standard Deviation, Town Vitality and Participatory Citizenship Table 44 presents the Levene’s test of homogeneity of variance. As observed, three items of town vitality and the participatory citizenship did not meet the assumption of homogeneity (p > 0.05). The three items are as follows: concerned about state and local issues (p = .017), I do
make a difference in my community (p = .049), and get involved in issues (p = .023). A Welch
test was used for the items that did not meet the assumptions of variance test.
Town A Town B Town C
Mean N SD Mean N SD Mean N SD

Participatory
Citizenship
16.25 60 3.122 17.16 164 3.03 16.92 96 3.399
Involvement in the
community issues
2.85 60 .633 2.96 164 .585 2.97 96 .640
I do make a difference 2.73 60 .756 2.87 164 .651 2.78 96 .757
I have helped make
things better
2.70 60 .766 2.84 164 .685 2.77 96 .718
Get involved in issues
like health or safety
2.43 60 .909 2.63 164 .701 2.63 96 .798
Solve a problem 2.40 60 .807 2.62 164 .738 2.52 96 .808
Being concerned 3.13 60 .503 3.25 164 .580 3.25 96 .598

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Table 44
Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Participatory Citizenship
Levene
Statistic

df1 df2 Sig.
Participatory Citizenship .683 2 317 .506
Concerned about state and
local issues
Involvement in the
community issues
4.152

.546

2
317

317
.017

.580
I do make a difference in my
community
3.035 2 317 .049
I have helped make things
better
1.225 2 317 .295
Get involved in issues 3.820 2 317 .023
Solve a problem .863 2 317 .423

An ANOVA test was used to determine if a statistically significant difference exists
between the mean scores of town vitality and the participatory citizenship subset. The test found
no significance for the item. The Welch test did not find any items to be significant. The items
tested included concerned about state and local issues (p = .297), I do make a difference in my
community (p = .401), and get involved in issues (p = .294). A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was
conducted to determine if there is a statistically significant difference among the mean scores
between town vitality and the participatory citizenship subset. Table 48 presents the Bonferroni
Post Hoc Test findings. The Post Hoc Test found no statistically significant mean differences
among the communities. A Pearson correlation test was conducted to determine if relationships
exist between town vitality and participatory citizenship. (See Table 45: Pearson Correlation
between Town Vitality and Participatory Citizenship.) This test discovered no relationships
between town vitality and participatory citizenship; in fact, all relationships in the test were
extremely weak. This finding strongly suggests no relationship for town vitality and
participatory citizenship.

121

Table 45
Pearson Correlation Between Town Vitality and Participatory Citizenship

Town
Vitality
Participatory
Citizenship
Community
Involvement
Local Issues Make a
Difference
Help Make
Things Better
Get Involved
with Issues
Work to Solve
Problems

Town Vitality

Participatory
Citizenship
.058 1
Community
Involvement
.059 .652** 1
Local Issues .062 .579** .535** 1
Make a
Difference
.011 .833** .395** .377** 1
Help Make
Things Better
.023 .828** .424** .303** .744** 1
Get Involved
with Issues
.074 .820** .379** .288** .610** .654** 1
Work to Solve
Problems
.037 .786** .334** .284** .594** .562** .670** 1

*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)
** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailied)

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Qualitative Findings: Participatory Citizenship. The interview phase of this study
yielded information that largely supported the quantitative data. For example, a Town B citizen
indicated a “strong push” in his community for citizens “to move that way.” This citizen went
on to suggest that “old people keep things the same and young people change things.” He
continued to express the importance of the next generation to transition into leadership roles in
his community.
Another Town B citizen described several agencies in her community, one in which she
is an active participant. She talked about her church, the Lions Club, and the Kiwanis Club. She
described, with no particular example, her membership on her church leadership team. She
detailed how important it is for her to serve on her church leadership team as it presents an
opportunity to serve many parishioners throughout the community.
A Town C citizen described the importance of citizens attending city council meetings
and school board meetings. He stressed that “it is in their best interest to attend these meetings
even if the topics do not pertain to you.” Another Town C citizen stated that she “did not know
of any” in regard to organizations that she can be a part of and make decisions in but went on to
say that “decisions are made during the elections.” This response might suggest that she is not a
prominent community decision maker.
Another Town C citizen took time to consider her response and, ultimately, concluded
that she was “not sure”; however, she described her involvement with community “influencers”
in and around her community as she volunteers her time twice per year to lead a youth program
aimed at promoting physical fitness.
A Town A citizen responded by talking about a “group of people that oversee things, like
the ball fields.” His response to this question indicated that his community interacts with each

123

other in some meaningful way and subsequently work together to achieve objectives that matter
to the community. Though all participants possessed some capacity to talk about organizations
in which citizens have decisions making abilities, only one person, a Town B citizen, gave
examples of her actions as an active decision maker in her community. All others simply
identified organizations.
Summary: Participatory Citizenship. An ANOVA test was used to determine if a
significant difference exists between the mean scores of town vitality and the participatory
citizenship subset. The test found no significance with the item. A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test
found no difference between the mean scores of town vitality and this subset. Finally, a Pearson
correlation test was conducted to determine if relationships exist between town vitality and
participatory citizenship. This test discovered no relationships between town vitality and
participatory citizenship; in fact, all relationships were extremely weak. All of the town vitalities
were able to support the data and explain examples of participatory citizenship.
Justice-Oriented Citizenship
A justice-oriented citizen desires to find a cause, correct it and terminate injustice and
social ills of their community. This person represents the marginalized group to address social
injustice to government agencies. Additionally, this citizen attempts to alter policy or
established systems if injustice is presented to citizens in their community (Westheimer &
Kahne, 2004).
Table 46 presents the means and standard deviation for justice-oriented citizenship and its
subset items. Comparing the justice-oriented citizenship subset , with the independent variable
town vitality, a contrast among the means appeared. For example, Town C (M = 18.27, SD =
3.43) had a higher mean score than Town B (M = 17.93, SD = 3.38) and Town A (M = 17.52, SD

124

= 3.49). Justice-oriented citizenship as a subset, included seven items, A description of the
means and standard deviations for the seven items in this subset follows.
Town B (M = 1.58, SD = .728) scored a higher mean on the first item, worked to change
unjust laws, than Town A (M = 1.57, SD = .752) and Town C (M = 1.51, SD = .717). Town C
(M = 1.71, SD = .867) scored a higher mean on the second item protest when needed than Town
B (M = 1.63, SD = .746) and Town A (M = 1.52, SD = .778). Town C (M = 2.62, SD = .871)
scored a higher mean on the third item purchase products safe for environment than Town B (M
= 2.61, SD = .789) and Town A (M = 2.55, SD = .865). Town B (M = 2.43, SD = .889) scored a
higher mean on the fourth item challenge inequalities than Town C (M = 2.38, SD = .966) and
Town A (M = 2.24, SD = .865). Town C (M = 3.39, SD = .626) scored a higher mean on the fifth
item I get angry about conditions people live in, than Town B (M = 3.19, SD = .708) and Town
A (M = 3.16, SD = .696). Town C (M = 3.20, SD = .828) scored a higher mean on the sixth item
I wonder what is wrong with this country than Town A (M = 3.14, SD = .805) and Town B (M =
3.11, SD = .770). Town C (M = 3.50, SD = .602) scored a higher mean on the seventh and final
item I get mad when I hear people treated unjustly than Town B (M = 3.41, SD = .617) and
Town A (M = 3.34, SD = .739).
The subsequent sections will include an analysis of statistical tests including ANOVA
and a Bonferroni Post Hoc Test in order to determine if a significant difference existed among
the town vitality mean scores of the justice-oriented citizenship subset. Additionally, Pearson
correlation and a stepwise multiple regression will be discussed.

125

Table 46

Means and Standard Deviation, Town Vitality and Justice-Oriented Citizenship

Town A Town B Town C
Mean N SD Mean N SD Mean N SD

Justice-Oriented
Citizenship
17.52 58 3.496 17.93 163 3.381 18.27 93 3.436
Worked to change
unjust law
1.57 58 .752 1.58 163 .728 1.51 93 .717
Protest when
needed
1.52 58 .778 1.63 163 .746 1.71 93 .867
Purchase products
that are safe for
environment
2.55 58 .799 2.61 163 .789 2.62 93 .871
Challenge
inequalities
2.24 58 .865 2.43 163 .889 2.38 93 .966
I get angry about
conditions some
people live in
3.16 58 .696 3.19 163 .708 3.39 93 .626
I wonder what is
wrong with this
country
3.14 58 .805 3.11 163 .770 3.20 92 .828
I get mad when I
hear people treated
unjustly
3.34 58 .739 3.41 162 .617 3.50 92 .602

Table 47 presents Levene’s test of homogeneity of variance. As observed, all items met
the assumption of variance test (p > 0.05); therefore a Welch test was not required.

126

Table 47
Levene’s Test of Homogeneity of Variance, Justice-Oriented Citizenship
Levene
Statistic

df1 df2 Sig.
Justice-Oriented Citizenship .018 2 311 .982
Worked to change unjust
laws
.299 2 311 .742
Protest when needed 1.676 2 311 .189
Purchase products that are
safe for environment.
.856 2 311 .426
Challenge inequalities. 1.198 2 311 .303
I get angry about conditions
some people live in
I wonder what is wrong with
this country.
I get mad when I hear people
treated unjustly
.404

.192

1.973
2

2
311

311

311
.668

.141

.982

An ANOVA test was used to determine if a statistically significant difference existed for
the mean scores of the three town vitalities and the justice-oriented citizenship subset. (See
Table 48: ANOVA, Town Vitality and Justice-Oriented Citizenship.) The test discovered one
significant item, it makes me angry when I think about the conditions some people have to live
in, out of the seven subset items: Town C (M = 3.39, SD = .63), Town B (M = 3.19, SD = .71)
and Town A (M = 3.16, SD = .70): F (1.068).

127

Table 48

ANOVA, Town Vitality and Justice-Oriented Citizenship

df F Sig.

It makes me
angry when I
think about the
conditions some
people live in

2
311

3.043

.049
A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was also conducted to determine if a statistically significant
difference existed among the mean difference of the three town vitalities. No significant
differences among the mean differences were discovered between communities. A Pearson
correlation was run to determine significance between the town vitality (independent variable)
and justice-oriented citizenship (dependent variable). Table 49 presents the Pearson correlation
findings. A correlation was discovered with one item, makes me angry to think of conditions
some people live in: r(311) = .13, (p < .05). 128 Table 49 Pearson Correlation Between Town Vitality and Justice-Oriented Citizenship Town Vitality Justice- oriented Citizens hip Work to change unjust laws Protest when a change needed Purchase products not harmful Challenge inequalities Makes me angry to think of conditions I wonder what’s wrong with this country Get mad when people treated unjustly Town Vitality Justice- Oriented Citizenship 1. 074 1 Work to change unjust laws -.035 .551** 1 Protest when a change needed .082 .652** .552** 1 Purchase products not harmful .028 .637** .277** .362** 1 Challenge inequalities .040 .710** .426** .472** .482** 1 Makes me angry to think of conditions .126* .643** .057 .154** .264** .201** 1 I wonder what’s wrong with this .035 .603** .023 .136** .163** .177** .682** 1 Get mad when people treated unjustly .085 .612** .054 .153** .197** .227** .639** .599* 1 *Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed) ** Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailied) 129 Of the two correlated items, only one suggested prediction ability. A multiple regression was conducted to determine if citizenship can predict town vitality. Table 50 presents the results of the multiple regression models of Visions of Good Citizens, including personal beliefs, competence for civic action, personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. Model 1 held the variable I think it is important for people to follow rules and laws and was able to predict one percent of the variance in town vitality. The variable, I think it is important for people to follow rules and laws ( = .117), explains 1.1 percent of the variance in town vitality. None of the correlated items has prediction ability to determine town vitality. Table 50 Stepwise Multiple Regression Models for Town Vitality and Justice-Oriented Citizenship Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std. Error of Estimate R Sq. Change F Change df1 df2 Sig F Change 1 .177 .014 .011 1.974 .117 2.082 1 312 .038 Qualitative Findings: Justice-Oriented Citizenship. The interview phase of this study revealed qualitative data that provided mixed results in supporting the statistical data. For example, a Town B citizen expressed the importance of all Americans voting in every election “because everyone has a voice, if you do nothing – change does not happen.” She added to the discussion by saying, “It takes people to make changes.” A Town A citizen expressed his thoughts on a couple of points. First, he expressed how individuals only have the ability to correct so many things on their own. Instead, they need to work as a collaborative to correct problems. He explained, “Citizens are the front line; they should report problems to city council to correct the issue.” In all his responses, a sense of community collaboration was prevalent. Others responded with limitations in their responses; 130 for example, a Town C citizen said that she does love her country and people do need to work together as they will have different ideas on how to correct problems. Another Town B citizen responded by saying, “yes I agree, it is easy to complain about the issues otherwise.” Perhaps the most profound response to this question came from a Town B citizen. She professed the need for citizens “to make an investment in themselves, country, employer, and community. By doing this, you become obligated to your community.” Summary: Justice-Oriented Citizenship. An ANOVA test discovered one significant item out of seven items. For the item, it makes me angry when I think about the conditions some people have to live in, a significant difference was discovered with town vitality among Town C (M = 3.39, SD = .63), Town B (M = 3.19, SD = .71) and Town A (M = 3.16, SD = .70): F (1.068). A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test was also run to determine if statistically significant mean differences existed among the three town vitalities. No significant differences were discovered between communities. A Pearson correlation was used to determine significance between the town vitality (independent variable) and justice-oriented citizenship (dependent variable). A correlation was discovered for one item, makes me angry to think of conditions some people live in: r(311) = .13, (p < .05). The item I think it is important for people to follow rules and laws was able to predict one percent of the variance in town vitality. The interview provided information that suggested that all generations, regardless of where they live, endeavor to implement justice-oriented citizenship. 131 Research Question Two: Conclusions Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship? An analysis of the results suggest several key findings: The ANOVA test found several subsets and items to have a statistically significant mean score difference among the generations, including the subset of personally responsible citizenship. The ANOVA also discovered significance among the means for the three town vitalities and subset items follow rules and laws and it makes me angry when I think about the conditions some people have to live in. The Bonferroni Post Hoc Test found several key findings between the mean differences of town vitality and the personally responsible citizenship subset. First, Town B had a significant mean difference with this subset compared to Town A; several items also demonstrated significance among the mean differences. Town B showed a significant mean difference with the item follow rules and laws in comparison with Town A. A Pearson correlation established a relationship among the items follow the rules and town vitality and makes me angry to think of conditions and town vitality. Stepwise regression analysis determined one item to have predictive behavior. The item follow rules and laws predicts town vitality. Two subsets rejected the null hypothesis (Personally Responsible and Justice-Oriented Citizenship), as a difference among the town vitalities was demonstrated. 132 Table 51 Research Question Two: Are There Town Vitality Differences or Relationships Regarding Citizenship? Personal Beliefs Ho: There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding personal beliefs Failed to reject the null hypothesis Competence for Civic Action Ho: There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding competence for civic action. Failed to reject the null hypothesis Personally Responsible Citizen Ho: There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding personally responsible citizenship. Reject the null hypothesis Participatory Responsible Citizenship Ho: There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding participatory citizenship? Failed to reject the null Hypothesis Justice-Oriented Citizenship Ho: There are no town vitality differences or relationships regarding justice-oriented citizenship. Reject the null hypothesis 133 Research Question Three What Citizenship Attributes are Utilized by Citizens? An interview protocol was included to identify themes that either paralleled the statistics or revealed different views. The interview questions were derived from the work of Flanagan, et al. (2007) and sought to determine the citizenship attributes utilized by the participants. The interviews consisted of 12 questions, four questions in each of the three citizenship subsets: personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. Each subset identified participants’ ability to recognize important citizenship attributes in their communities. Table 52 provides data on citizen attributes and how each generation and community utilized them. A total of seven citizens were interviewed and represented each of the three generations and town vitalities. Interviews were conducted from January 2017 to February 2017. Mutually convenient locations were agreed upon for the interviews. Four interviews were conducted in a restaurant, one in the researcher’s office, one via phone, and one at the participant’s workplace. All interview participants completed an interview consent form (see Appendix B). The frequency chart (Table 52) indicates how each participant responded to the interview questions. The table identifies participants’ responses regarding which attributes they utilized in their towns. Respondents were categorized in the following manner: M1, Millennial-Town B; M2, Millennial-Town C; X1, Generation X-Town A; X2, Generation X-Town B; X3; Generation X- Town B; X4, Generation X-Town C; and BB1, Baby Boomer-Town C. Table 52 presents the citizenship attributes utilized. 134 Table 52 Utilized Citizenship Attributes Differences in passions and citizenship attributes among the interviewees became apparent several times during the interviews. It was clear that many participants were knowledgeable about community resources, leaders, and agencies, but not as many residents utilized available community resources. The following three sections will address the participants’ responses to the 12 citizenship attributes described by Flanagan, et al. (2007) and will be followed with a section summary. Finally, a conclusion will outline specific findings as they relate to generation and/or town vitality. M1 Town B M2 Town C X1 Town A X2 Town B X3 Town B X4 Town C BB1 Town C Personally Responsible Citizenship Row Totals Knowledge of agencies yes yes yes yes yes yes yes 7 Ability to seek resources yes yes yes yes yes yes yes 7 Ability to identify resources no no yes yes yes yes yes 5 Ability to make decisions yes no yes yes yes no yes 5 24 Participatory Citizenship Ability to make a difference yes yes yes yes yes yes yes 7 Ability to share prospective no yes yes no yes yes no 4 Ability to solve a problem yes no yes yes yes yes yes 6 Ability to volunteer to help people yes yes yes yes yes yes yes 7 24 Justice-Oriented Citizenship Ability to correct problems yes yes yes yes yes yes yes 7 Ability to change policy or law yes no no yes yes yes no 3 Work on a political campaign no no no no no no no 0 Ability to march in a protest or demonstration yes yes no no no no no 2 12 135 Knowledge of Agencies What agencies do you contact when you have concerns about your community, and why do you select those agencies? This question explored if citizens were aware of agencies in their communities. More so, it sought to determine if citizens were able to name particular agencies they might call for specific concerns. All citizens, no matter their generation or community, indicated knowledge of community agencies. Participants from each vitality stated that it “depends” as to which agency they would contact. For example, their choice of agency depended on whether they were in distress or just needed assistance with a matter. Agencies mentioned frequently by the participants included two citizens representing Generation X: One from a Town A community and the other from a Town B community cited the police department. Three participants said they would contact the borough building for concerns in their community. When asked for examples, these respondents said they would contact the borough building for a variety of reasons, including leaf disposal, grass clippings, a downed tree, or concerns with abnormal behaviors. Two of these respondents were from Town C communities; one was a Millennial and the other Generation X. All seven interview respondents expressed their knowledge of agencies by providing examples. Knowledge of agencies, as indicated by the participants, is an attribute of personally responsible citizenship. Ability to Reach Key Individuals If you have an idea for a community project, who are the key individuals to whom you reach out? This question sought to determine if citizens know whom to contact if they have ideas for community projects, an attribute that is characteristic of personally responsible citizenship. In other words, can citizens identify key individuals in their communities? The findings for this question indicated that all three generations had the ability to seek community 136 resources. The participants were closely aligned in their thoughts and responses, no matter the community or generation. An exception to this uniformity came from a Town A participant who uniquely addressed this question in part by asserting, “Talking with community residents to see if they have the same concerns.” He expressed the need to reach out to his neighbors to determine if there was consensus. This was significant as no other participant advocated speaking with community residents. Participants from all three generations indicated that who they would contact for assistance would depend on the project at hand. This level of understanding is intuitive, as it suggests a knowledge of the various agencies available in each community. A Millennial from a Town B community was more specific as she outlined in detail examples of projects she was a critical part of and how key community stakeholders assisted. Another participant, a Generation X citizen from a Town C community, suggested using social media groups; her community utilizes a community web page in order to reach out for direction on community projects. In contrast, a Baby Boomer from a Town C community recommended asking his friends for references. All seven participants expressed knowledge of key individuals in their communities who could assist with a project. This question and the narrative responses provided information on citizens’ ability to reach out to key individuals for assistance. Citizens consistently conveyed a willingness to contact other people. Ability to Identify Resources What resources are you aware of that are available to help with a community project? This question addressed participants’ awareness of what resources might be available to help with community projects. The two Millennials were not able to answer this question; one commented that she was not “aware” of resources. All other participants representing the other 137 two generations offered responses. For example, a Generation X citizen from a Town B community identified local grants that are available for building playgrounds. She explained how a person could seek financial assistance from local agencies in addition to applying for grants. A Generation X citizen from a Town A community seemed well-versed in community resources and gave examples on how the community could work together to fund local projects. This participant spoke about collecting money from neighbors to build a playground. He also talked about reaching out to those in “charge of the county who make financial decisions.” He was astute in his responses by suggesting that residents then go to the “decision makers” once they have resources in place for a project. Town C communities were represented by three participants; all three were familiar with community resources and how to make the contacts or how to utilize them. A citizen from a Town C community talked about a possible lack of resources from her community but further explained “ways around the shortfall.” She identified restaurants that would support a cause or charity by donating 10 percent of a customer’s total receipt. She exercised a “never give up” attitude in her response to this question. Another participant from a Town C community indicated that she uses the local newspaper as a resource to "get the word out of an upcoming event.” Five participants expressed knowledge of resources available to help with a community project. This question provided information on citizens’ attribute for personally responsible citizenship. Ability to Make Decisions Tell me about organizations in your community where citizens get to make decisions about how the community operates. Citizens were asked to identify community organizations that encourage citizen input on decisions. All but two participants were able to identify organizations in which citizens have an opportunity to make decisions. Participants offered an 138 array of organizations ranging from church (Town B Millennial), voting, school board meetings, and city council meetings. A Town B Generation X citizen indicated a “strong push” in his community for citizens “to move that way.” This citizen went on to suggest that “old people keep things the same and young people change things.” His responses continued to express the importance of the next generation to transition into community leadership roles. A Town B Millennial described several agencies in her community, including one in which she is active. She talked about her church, the Lions Club, and the Kiwanis Club. She described, without examples, her membership in her church leadership team. She explained the importance of serving on her church leadership team as a way to serve many people throughout her community. Another Baby Boomer from a Town C community described the importance of citizens attending city council and school board meetings. He stressed, “It is in their best interest to attend these meetings even if the topics do not pertain to you.” A Generation X participant from a Town C community stated that she “did not know of any” regarding organizations in which she could play a decision-making role. However, she went on to say that “decisions are made during the elections.” This response suggests that she is not prominently involved in community decisions. A Millennial from a Town C community took time to ponder her response and, ultimately, stated that she was “not sure”; however, she described her involvement with community “influencers” in her community and surrounding communities as she volunteers twice per year to lead a youth running program, aimed at promoting physical fitness. The Generation X citizen who resides in a Town A community responded by talking about a “group of people that oversee things, like the ball fields.” His response to this question indicated that his community interacts with each other in some meaningful way and, subsequently, work together to achieve objectives that matter to the community. 139 Though all participants possessed some capacity to talk about organizations in which citizens have decision-making abilities, only one person, a Town B Millennial, actually gave examples of her actions as part of community decision making; all others simply identified organizations. With the exception of a Millennial and a Generation X citizen, all others discussed scenarios regarding how citizens can be involved in the decision- making process. Citizens exercise an array of passions; it is these passions that citizens will represent when decisions need to be made. This was the last interview question in which citizens expressed utilization or understanding of attributes of personally responsible citizenship. Summary: Personally Responsible Citizenship. The subset of personally responsible citizenship contained several findings. The data provided the ability to determine trends with generations and town vitality. For example, all seven participants, including all three generations, articulated their knowledge of agencies and ability to seek resources. However, only Generation X and Baby Boomers knew how to identify those resources. Millennials indicated a lack of ability to identify resources in their communities. Two out of three Town C citizens indicated a lack of ability to make decisions in their communities. Ability to Make a Difference Finish the sentence: I believe people like me can make a difference in the community and in my perspective, this is how…. The next four questions asked about participatory citizenship attributes. Results from all participants were compelling, as they not only identified how they can make a difference in their communities but, more importantly, also conveyed a strong sense of community efficacy. Citizens expressed their ideals of running for office, volunteering, and identifying community needs. Volunteering, picking up trash, and painting the playground are examples of participatory citizenship. This question regarding making a difference in the 140 community revealed a different way of thinking about one’s community from the other interview questions. Interview participants celebrated their own personal experiences as to how they have made a difference in their community. A Millennial from a Town B community said to “identify what we see” and “keep eyes open” in order to make a difference in one’s community. A Generation X citizen from a Town B community reported, “Do what you can do.” She gave examples of picking up trash and volunteering time in the community as well as participating in public meetings. Another Generation X citizen from a Town B community mentioned making a difference by “making others aware of the problem.” This person also said to “take the initiative to do it, take action.” Again, this citizen expressed her community efficacy by believing that she can be a change agent in her community. A Baby Boomer from a Town C community added the idea of “running for office if you desire or serve on a committee.” These tactics are different in action as they involve creating or modifying policy. A Baby Boomer identified a different tactic altogether in contrast with other generations. He spoke about serving in local government, while others only mentioned participatory citizen tactics Ideals that indicated efficacy included comments such as “believe in the change and taking the initiative to take action.” A Generation X citizen from a Town A community expressed his passion for his community by stating, “When you have a love for where you live, that’s what you do.” His response as a citizen of a higher town vitality mirrors research by Putnam (2000), who argued that a community that is “connected” provides overlapping networks that produce socially desirable outcomes (2000). A Generation X citizen from a Town C community said to “believe in the change you want to see”; she added that an upbeat attitude is necessary to be a change agent in your community. Another theme from the interviews included the need for a community to develop and retain participatory citizens, as the participants 141 illustrated, but the Baby Boomer stood apart from all other participants on this issue by giving examples of serving on political boards. Ability to Share Perspective During the last 12 months, how often have you used the internet to share your perspective on a social or political issue with a large group of people? Of the seven citizens’ responses to the question, three responded by saying they never used social media for political purposes. A Millennial from a Town B community added that she “stays away from political issues . . . how many times have I used it (social media), six billion times.” Obviously, she was exercising sarcasm, but the point was clear with this participant: She not only had not used social media for political issues but had no intention of doing so in the future. A Generation X participant from a Town B community made it clear that he “never uses social media for any reason”; he further emphasized the point by saying, “never, anti-social media.” Both of these participants expressed strong sentiments against using social media to express their political perspective. A Baby Boomer from a Town C community expressed his thoughts in much the same way. He described his social media presence as “not typically a person who voices a lot of opinions.” This participant shared his reasons for using the internet, explaining that he does use social media and the internet but mostly for information gathering reasons. The other four participants discussed their usage of social media for sharing political opinions. A Generation X citizen from a Town B community said she uses social media “maybe once or twice for political reasons; I feel like it can cause a fight.” She expressed her desire to use social media for other reasons besides political reasons. She also included social media behaviors of “commenting on other people’s post.” A Generation X citizen from a Town A community responded by testifying, “Almost daily, it’s in front of us.” He was jovial in his 142 approach to this question as he referenced the current political climate: “Politics is all that anyone talks about right now.” His claim is that “even if you don’t want to get involved, it’s all around u [sic] and you kind of have to.” The last participant, a Generation X citizen from a Town C community, was elated to address this question. She first responded by saying, “Wow, that’s kind of a loaded question right now.” She continued by adding, “Probably 100 times over the year.” Unlike the first three participants, she includes her thoughts and opinions aggressively on social media. Based on the participants interviewed for this study, it is difficult to draw strong conclusions as to generation and/or town vitality influences regarding how citizens share political thoughts on social media. A theme that emerged went beyond both generation and community. Instead, either a strong or weak attitude towards an expression of sharing political views on social media was prevalent. A secondary theme was the willingness of the participants to use social media for “social” reasons rather than political purposes. Participants seemed excited to address this question, as they all expressed strong opinions on the topic. This attribute addressed participatory citizenship. Ability to Solve a Problem Tell me how you worked with a team to solve a problem in the community where you live. This question featured six out of seven participants describing a situation regarding how they helped solve a problem in their community. A Millennial from a Town C community was the only participant to say “I have not” regarding working with a group to solve a problem. She added nothing more to her comments. The remaining six participants each provided stories to address this question. They offered a wide range of approaches of citizen participation in their communities. 143 For example, a Generation X citizen from a Town A community discussed a situation in his community regarding oversized vehicles coming through private property to get to the other side of the neighborhood. He explained the harm the large, heavy vehicles caused to the neighborhood. He talked about how signs were already in place to warn against truck travel but were not adhered to. He and other neighbors approached city council concerning the issue, and they instructed the citizens to track not only frequency of travel but attitudes of the drivers when confronted and whether or not the police were called. He explained how they had to “build their case” and present factual information established over a period of time. The citizen was asked how long this process took and whether or not it was resolved. The citizen said the process took almost four months and, yes, it was resolved. This participant and his neighbors exemplified participatory citizenship to correct an issue. A Millennial from a Town B community discussed her volunteerism in her local fire department, which involved working with others in the department to upgrade the department’s classification. She went on to express the importance of this collective action for the community, as the department became a Bureau of Fire, which allows more calls to the department to get answered in a timely fashion. She explained her passion to help the community with the upgrade and how it took a collective department effort. Two Generation X citizens from two different Town B communities shared stories about working in their respective groups to solve important issues. The first citizen discussed a local park used for recreational purposes that included dog walking, walking, and jogging. He described owners allowing their dogs to run loose in the park and not picking up after them. He and other residents petitioned City Council to increase police awareness of this issue by asking if the police could patrol the park during busier times. They succeeded in reducing the nuisance as 144 a result of their efforts. The other Generation X citizen from a Town B community talked about her “initiative to make a change” in her Home Owners Association (HOA). Since she and other residents were on the front end of the HOA, among the first to purchase in the plan, they “formed a committee to begin writing bylaws that they best saw fit.” Two respondents from Town C communities addressed community issues in areas of personal interest. A Baby Boomer from a Town C community explained his past experiences with the school district in which his children were enrolled. He attended school board meetings involving budgetary concerns, faculty salary, and curricula. And finally, a Generation X citizen from a Town C community got involved with an animal rescue organization because of her commitment to helping animals. A local pet charity organization only featured dogs on their website. As a result, this pet charity was not adopting cats as often as they would have liked. Her passion for others to adopt animals instead of paying a breeder motivated her to speak with a marketing administrator from the pet charity. The administrator took her advice and, within two weeks, the organization noticed a spike in cat adoptions. The interview responses indicate that citizens use their passions to drive their actions. Community organizations must harness the collective passions of its citizens; in doing so, an engaged community will emerge. Ability to Volunteer to Help People How often do you volunteer to help other people? All participants discussed at least one scenario regarding how they volunteer to help other people in their communities. A Generation X citizen from a Town A community talked about how he and others volunteer twice a year to maintain playgrounds and the local ball fields. This resident said, “It’s all about family and 145 kids”; he talked about how the neighborhood kids also take part in cleaning up the playground and ball fields. Among Town C community residents, the first, a Millennial, described her volunteer commitment, which extends beyond her own community. She leads a local organization that promotes running for children. This mentoring program is for children in pre-kindergarten programs through middle school. Her duties include recruiting children to participate over a five-week period, soliciting other volunteers to assist on a weekly basis, motivating children to do their best, and even running alongside children. She expressed her passion for volunteering with this program and instilling confidence in the children as they improve from week to week. The other, a Generation X citizen, talked about her passion for animals. She claimed to volunteer at least twice per week at a local pet charity. She was clear in saying how important it is for these animals to have interactions with humans, explaining that “these animals were neglected and forgotten about” and ultimately given up by previous owners. A Baby Boomer from a Town C community is now retired from a community college; he talked about his volunteer work at local high schools to speak with parents of potential college students. He asserted, “It is important to educate as many parents as we can to become familiar with the financial aid process.” A financial aid director for many years, he said with satisfaction, “This is my way to give back to the community.” Of the two Generation X citizens, one from a Town B community joked about her volunteerism by stating, “Not often enough.” She explained that much of her volunteerism comes in the form of fundraising as often as five times per year. She added that the fundraising is to support her daughter’s participation in karate and dance. The other Generation X citizen from a Town B community claimed to volunteer about six times per year. He added no 146 additional detail as to what kind of volunteer work, and, when prompted, only said, “A variety of things.” The last participant, a Millennial from a Town B community, passionately discussed her monthly volunteering with the homeless. With delight, she added that this commitment helps her to value “her life” and how fortunate she is. She also added that she works annually with a team to raise money for the United Way. This question seemed to invigorate the participants as they all shared attributes in participatory citizenship. From these responses, it is evident that community organizations would do well to recognize their citizens’ commitment to volunteering. Summary: Participatory Citizenship. The subset of participatory citizenship revealed several findings. The data illuminated trends regarding generations and town vitality; for example, all generations had an interest in making a difference in their communities, no matter their town vitality. At least one participant from all three generations demonstrated apathy towards the civic attribute of sharing perspective. Those communities involved two participants from Town B and one from Town C. All participants with the exception of a Millennial (from Town C) indicated the ability to solve a problem in their communities. All citizens indicated the ability to volunteer to help other people in their communities. 147 Ability to Correct Problems If you love America, you should notice its problems and work to correct them. Do you agree? Why or why not? Participants were asked four questions regarding their justice-oriented citizenship abilities. None of the participants said no to the question, If you love America, you should notice its problems and work to correct them. All of them were able to articulate a way to demonstrate their passion for America. For example, a Generation X respondent from a Town B community expressed the importance of voting in every election “because everyone has a voice, if you do nothing – change does not happen.” She added, “It takes people to make changes.” Her sense of patriotism was clear. A Generation X citizen from a Town A community expressed his thoughts on a couple of points. First, he expressed how individuals only have the ability to correct so many things on their own. Instead, citizens need to work collaboratively to correct problems. He added, “Citizens are the front line; they should report problems to city council to correct the issue.” In his responses, a sense of community collaboration was prevalent, while other respondents focused on individual efforts. A Baby Boomer from a Town C community expressed an intriguing point about generational differences by saying, “Young people are not as involved.” He was expressing his view that Millennials are not as active in communities as older generations. He also argued, like other respondents, that citizens should vote. A Generation X citizen from a Town C community said that she indeed does love her country and people do need to work together. Another Generation X citizen, this one from a Town B community, responded by saying, “Yes, I agree; it is easy to complain about the issues 148 otherwise.” A Millennial from a Town C community also agreed that she loves America, saying, “I live here; I want it fixed.” Perhaps the most profound response to this question came from a Millennial from a Town B community. She professed the need for citizens “to make an investment in themselves, country, employer, and community. By doing this, you become obligated to your community.” She does not consider herself a Millennial; she believed her thinking aligned more with Generation X. Ability to Change Policy or Law In the last 12 months, how often did you collaborate with a group to try to change a policy of law in your community, state or nation? Describe the examples. Two participants, the first a Millennial from Town C, responded simply with “I have not” in regard to changing a law or policy. Likewise, so did a Generation X citizen from a Town A Community. A Millennial citizen from a Town B community said she has worked with groups to make a change “maybe twice” in the last year. Other respondents did cite efforts to effect changes in policy or law. A Generation X citizen from a Town B community said he worked with his cycling group to advocate policy changes; in this case, policy was redesigned to reflect more meaningful guidelines for members to understand and follow. Another Generation X citizen, this time from a Town C community, answered the question by reporting two examples in the last 12 months. She added that her involvement required minimal effort, such as signing a petition a couple of times throughout the year. A Baby Boomer citizen from a Town C community said that he believes there was no need to get involved in the last year to make a policy change. The last participant, a Town C Generation X respondent, recalled past examples of her involvement in changing policy. While an undergraduate at a local college, she described a time she worked with other students to make 149 viable changes in residence life. All participants expressed their ability to change a policy or law attributed to justice-oriented citizenship. Only four citizens exercised utilization of the ability to change a law or policy as a justice-oriented citizenship attribute. Ability to Work on a Political Campaign In the previous 12 months, how often have you worked on a political campaign? Describe the examples. All seven participants answered this question very quickly by declaring that they had not worked on a political campaign in the last year – or at all. One participant, a Generation X citizen from a Town B community, added, “I want to stay away from the controversy!” Evidently, none of the seven citizens utilize this attribute of justice-oriented citizenship. Willingness to March in a Protest or Demonstration In the previous 12 months, how often have you taken part in a peaceful protest, march, or demonstration? Describe the examples. Almost all participants responded by saying they have not participated in a protest. Two participants said they participated in a women’s march (both Millennials, one from Town C and one from Town B). Another, a Baby Boomer from a Town C community, said that he has not participated in a march or protest but added that he “would have to feel strongly about the topics and issues.” Citizens interviewed did not express a desire to protest; it seemed they brushed off the idea of participating in such an event. Participation in a march or protest is a community characteristic that is lacking in the communities studied here. Summary: Justice-Oriented Citizenship. The subset of justice-oriented citizenship led to several findings. The data illustrated trends with generations and town vitality. For example, no matter their generation or community, citizens had the ability to correct problems in their communities. However, all four of the Generation X respondents and one Millennial indicated the ability to change laws or policies in their communities, whereas the Baby Boomer from 150 Town C indicated a lack of ability to change a law or policy. The quantitative data suggested the opposite, finding that Baby Boomers are more likely to change policy, law, and fight to change unjust laws. No matter the generation or community, all participants indicated that they have not participated in a political campaign. Lastly, Millennials, both from Town C, were the only participants to participate in a protest or demonstration. Conclusion: Research Question Three What citizen attributes are utilized by citizens? Several trends were discovered by interviewing citizens defined by generation and town vitality. For one, both Millennials were comparable in utilization of citizenship attributes, although they expressed varied passions. Both Millennials lack the ability to identify resources for community projects, make decisions, solve problems, and share perspective. Neither expressed a willingness to work on a political campaign. However, they can be expected to have knowledge of agencies, ability to seek resources, a willingness to make a difference, and interests in volunteering, correcting problems, marching, or protesting. Generation X trends indicated by the participants in this study included knowledge of agencies, and the ability to seek and identify resources, make decisions, make a difference, share perspective, solve problems, volunteer, and correct problems. Three of the four Generation X participants expressed the ability to change law or policy. Trends could not be established with Baby Boomers since only one was interviewed; based on this sample, an alignment with Generation X could be justified. However, both generations expressed many of the same civic attributes during the interviews; for example, both paralleled ability to seek resources, identify resources, make decisions, make a difference, solve a problem, volunteer to help other people, and correct problems. Both generations agreed that 151 they could not share a perspective. The Baby Boomer participant did differ from Generation X on the attribute of changing policy or law, as he said he has not done so. It became apparent through the interviews that each generation, though there was overlap, has the potential to offer specific civic attributes. A community would benefit from civically engaged Millennials as they are most likely to participate in a march or protest. Generation X possesses attributes that are most likely to express the ability to change a policy or law. Finally, Baby Boomers are the generation more likely to make decisions. An idea found in the interviews is that community (town vitality) does not seem to influence a citizen’s perceived or measured desire to engage his or her community. This finding was also discovered in the quantitative data, as only four items had significance with town vitality. Another theme that occurred throughout the study was that people serve people. In other words, efforts to change the community are a people-first initiative, a grassroots effort. Citizens possess specific passions and desires; it is up to community leadership to harness community members’ energies to enhance the community. Community leaders may not be aware of issues if citizens do not raise concerns. There is a disparity among generations as to what civic attributes are more important and utilized in each community. Summary The statistical tools used to analyze research question one included an examination of means, standard deviation, and Analysis of the Variance. Also, interview transcripts were analyzed for codes and common themes to determine which community attributes were utilized by citizens. The ANOVA found statistically significant differences among the three generations with three subsets and five subset items. The ANOVA also found statistically significant differences among the three town vitalities with one subset and two subset items. Additionally, a 152 Pearson correlation test found relationships between two citizenship items and town vitality. Lastly, multiple regression tests concluded that citizenship is not a predictor of town vitality. Research question three was addressed by an interview protocol. Data revealed relationships recognized with the Personally Responsible Citizenship model and both Generation X and the Baby Boomers. Relationships were also established with the Participatory Citizenship model and Generation X. Finally, relationships were established with the Justice Oriented Citizenship model and both Generation X and Millennials. Data also revealed relationships with both the Personally Responsible Citizenship and the Participatory Citizenship model and all communities. No relationship was recognized with the Justice-Oriented Citizenship model and communities. Chapter 5 will now discuss the implications of the findings, limitations, and future research. 153 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the impact generation and town vitality have on citizenship. This study was directed by three research questions. The first research question asked are there generational differences regarding citizenship? (Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials). A framework to establish citizenship was based on Westheimer and Kahne’s Visions of Good Citizens Model (2004). The second research question asked, are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship? The framework to determine town vitality was established by NICHE (Carnegie Mellon University [CMU], 2002). The third research question used an interview protocol to determine what citizenship attributes (civic qualities or characteristics) were utilized by citizens? In this mixed-methods study, 322 citizens were surveyed to determine if generation and/or town vitality has an impact on citizenship. Additionally, seven citizens were interviewed to better understand how the generations use civic attributes in their communities. The geographic location of this study consisted of citizens who reside in three comparable counties; each county included one of each town vitality for a total of nine towns. For the purpose of this study, the nine communities were clustered based on their vitality, A, B, or C. For example, all three Town A communities were combined to create one pool of surveys representing Town A. The same process was used for Town B and Town C communities. Discussion of Results The quantitative findings determined generation to have an impact on citizenship. For example, in respect to the other generations studied, Baby Boomers demonstrated competence for civic action, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. Millennials reflected stronger personal beliefs for the future in contrast with the other two generations. This research 154 also established an impact between town vitality and citizenship; for example, citizens of Town B communities scored statistically significant mean differences compared with both Town A and C vitalities on the subset of personally responsible citizenship. The qualitative portion of this study presented supplemental data to support central themes from the quantitative findings and were critical to answering the third research question. The qualitative data also provided insight into which citizenship attributes were utilized by citizens. The following section is organized in order of the three research questions. Research Question One Are there generational differences regarding citizenship? Personal beliefs, the first subset tested using the Visions of Good Citizens Model, examined the generational outlook of a future economic forecast. An ANOVA test discovered a statistically significant difference among the mean scores between generation and the personal beliefs subset (F (2, 319) = 3.200, p < .05). Additionally, the item I worry that many people in my generation will not have steady jobs (F (2, 319) = 8.59, p < .001) also indicated a statistically significant difference among the three generations. A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test discovered a difference in scores to this item between the Millennial generation (M = 3.06, SD = .738) and both Generation X (M = 3.01, SD = .773), (p < .05) and the Baby Boomers (M = 2.46, SD = .813), (p <. 05). This finding demonstrates that Millennials are concerned about steady jobs in the future. The next subset with significant findings was competence for civic action. Competence for civic action was the second subset that was analyzed using the quantitative instrument. An ANOVA test revealed statistically significant differences among the mean scores between the competence for civic action subset and generation (F (2, 319) = 3.145), (p < .05). In addition, three items demonstrated significantly different scores among the generations: get other people 155 to care about a problem, (F (2, 319) = 4.831); organize and run a meeting, (F (2, 319) = 3.264); and call someone on the phone to get help with a problem, (F (2, 319) = 3.145, (p < .05). The Bonferroni Post Hoc Test indicated that Baby Boomers (M = 2.69, SD = .769) are the generation that can get other people to care in contrast to Millennials (M = 2.46, SD = .813), (p < .05). Lastly, Baby Boomers (M = 4.41, SD = .829) indicated they can organize and run a meeting in contrast to Millennials (M =4.04, SD = 1.143), (p < .05). The next subset, personally responsible citizenship are citizens who usually do not volunteer unless asked but they are aware of issues that matter to them (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). There was no finding for generation and this subset. The Levene’s Test of Homogeneity found the item follow rules and laws (p < .001) not to meet the assumption of variance. This item was then tested using the Welch Test, and though it did show this item as having a statistically significant difference (p < .001), it must be noted that there was a discrepancy in degrees of freedom. Though the item was found to be significant, the degrees of freedom dropped to 184.464, which was just 57 percent of the total survey participants. The researcher decided not to use this finding based on the variance of the degrees of freedom. Citizens interviewed shared examples that expressed an aptitude of personally responsible citizenship. The interviews suggested a different perspective than the quantitative data. For example, all four participants representing Generation X gave comprehensive examples as to how they exercise personal responsibility. Statements included, “when you have a love for where you live, that’s what you do,” “identify what we see and keep eyes open,” “believe in the change you want to see,” and “take the initiative to do it, take action.” Specific actions Generation X discussed included volunteering, picking up trash, and painting a 156 playground. In contrast to Generation X, a Millennial citizen stated she was not “well aware” of resources available to her when considering a community project. The next subset to be explored based on generational differences was participatory citizenship. This subset of the survey instrument measured the amount of activity citizens displayed in their communities. An ANOVA test discovered statistically significant differences among the mean scores between the participatory citizenship subset and the three generations: Baby Boomers (M = 18.23, SD = 2.85), Generation X (M = 16.90, SD = 3.21), and Millennials (M = 16.28, SD, 3.07), (F (2, 319) = 10.735), (p < .01). An ANOVA test also discovered the item solve a problem to have a statistically significant mean score difference among the three generations: Baby Boomers (M = 2.90, SD =.741), Generation X (M = 2.50, SD = .744), and Millennials (M = 2.40, SD = .751), (F (2, 319) = 6.785), (p < .001). Putnam, the author of Bowling Alone (2000), offered a potential explanation, stating that middle-aged and older people participate more frequently in almost all civic categories (2000). He provided clarity as to why a Bonferroni Post Hoc Test found Baby Boomers to rank higher than the other two generations on the subset and one item within that subset. First, the participatory citizenship subset revealed a statistically significant mean difference between Baby Boomers (M = 18.23, SD = 2.85) and Generation X (M = 16.90, SD = 3.21), (p <.05). The item that demonstrated significant difference among the groups was work with a group to solve a problem in the community where you live. Baby Boomers (M = 2.90, SD =.741) had a statistically significant mean score difference over both Generation X (M = 2.50, SD = .744) (p <.05), and Millennials (M = 2.40, SD = .751) (p <.001). Of the three generations, Baby Boomers had three statistically significant mean score differences on the participatory citizenship subset. These finding support the 157 literature of Musil (2003), Putnam (2000) and Westheimer & Kahne (2004) that state Baby Boomers do civically participate more than the other two generation. The interviews provided additional information that suggest that other generations also participate in their communities. For example, a Generation X citizen, in response to personally responsible citizenship, said to “identify what we see” and “keep eyes open.” A Baby Boomer added the idea of “running for office if you desire or serve on a committee.” The approach recommended by the Baby Boomer was different in action as it involves creating or modifying policy. A Millennial offered an example that differed from the quantitative data by describing her volunteer work, which extends beyond her own community. This finding is supported by the work of Howe and Strauss (2000), who indicated that Millennials feel empowered to take responsibility for issues, are civic in thinking, and focus on community first. A Millennial from a Town C community was the only participant who responded by stating “I have not” regarding working with a group to solve a problem. In contrast, a Millennial from a Town B community described her volunteer efforts in her local fire department, which involved working with others to upgrade the department’s classification. She spoke about her “initiative to make a change” with her fire department where she volunteers. The fifth subset explored based on generational differences, justice-oriented citizenship, assessed social, political, and economic structures to see beyond the surface causes of social injustice. An ANOVA test found a statistically significant difference between generations and one item in this subset: I have/do work with others to change unjust laws. The mean scores on this particular item were as follows: Baby Boomers (M = 1.74, SD = .81), Generation X (M = 1.62, SD = .62), and Millennials (M = 1.43, SD = .71): F (5.519), (p < .01). The test suggests that Millennials strongly disagree more than Baby Boomers. A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test found 158 Baby Boomers to have a statistically significant mean score difference with the other two generations on one justice-oriented citizenship item. The item, worked with others to change unjust laws, had a significant mean score difference between the Baby Boomers (M = 1.74, SD = .813), (p < .05) and the Millennials (M = 1.43, SD = .711). Interview data provided information that supported the Millennials’ possession of justice- oriented citizenship qualities. The two Millennials interviewed indicated that they participated in a march that supported women’s rights – no other citizens indicated participation in a demonstration or protest. This finding was contrary to the research, which indicated that Millennials are less likely to protest, march, or demonstrate for a cause and less likely to have political interests in contrast with Baby Boomers (Howe & Strauss, 2000). In contrast to the data, the Baby Boomer interview participant declared that he did not recognize a need to change a policy or law. The statement by this Baby Boomer differed from the item, I have/ do protest when something in society needed changing (F (2, 311) = 4.650, (p < .05). The analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data suggests a difference among the generations and the justice- oriented citizenship subset. Although the qualitative data provided insights that reached beyond the quantitative data, it also must be noted that only one Baby Boomer was interviewed. The findings demonstrated the impact generation has on citizenship. Particularly with the Baby Boomer generation, they demonstrated the willingness and the civic skills necessary to serve their communities. Literature suggests (Wilson & Simson, 2006) that each generation since the Greatest Generation has declined in their civic pursuits. If this trend continues, society will suffer from an individualized society, each citizen only concerned with oneself. It is the responsibility of all constituents that comprise a community (citizens, community leaders, school 159 districts, and business owners) to reverse this apathetic civic desire. Nevertheless, generational differences did appear in four subsets and on eight items. As a result, the null was rejected. Research Question Two Are there town vitality differences or relationships regarding citizenship? Town vitality was the second independent variable examined in this study. Town vitality was used to consider how three different vitalities might impact citizenship. Town vitality considered key factors, including community location, volunteer rates, crime rates, public education, diversity, and higher education rates. A community that is “connected” provides overlapping networks to produce socially desirable outcomes (Putnam, 2000). A town with increased social capital can maintain connections among its citizens; increased social capital lends to high levels of trust and citizen participation (Putnam, 2000). Researcher Jane Jacobs, author of the book The Death and Life of Great American Cities (1961), coined the term ‘social capital’ to distinguish between safe and organized cities from unsafe and disorganized ones, including the connections of individuals through common values (Jacobs, 1961). The framework to determine town vitality was established by NICHE (Carnegie Mellon University [CMU], 2002). The first two subsets on the Visions for Good Citizen Model found no statistically significant findings. The first subset, personal beliefs, examined a citizen’s future economic outlook perspective. To better understand if a statistically significant difference among the mean scores existed between town vitality and the personal beliefs subset, an ANOVA test was conducted. The test found no significant difference among the mean scores for the personal beliefs subset or any of the items based on town vitality. The second subset, competence for civic action, determined a citizen’s civic knowledge and willingness to serve in one’s community. To examine the impact town vitality had on the competence for civic action subset, 160 an ANOVA was conducted. The test found no statistically significant mean score differences among town vitality and the subset. The third subset, personally responsible citizenship are citizens that are aware of social problems in their communities and volunteer occasionally to meet community needs (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). An ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Test were conducted to determine if either a statistically significant difference existed among town vitality and this subset or to discover a difference among the town vitality mean scores. The ANOVA found the subset and one item to have a statistically significant difference for the three town vitalities mean scores. The ANOVA first revealed a statistically significant difference among the three town vitalities mean scores on the personally responsible citizenship subset: Town A (M = 20.48, SD = 2.467), Town B (M = 21.43, SD = 2.136), and Town C (M = 21.26, SD = 2.506), (F (2, 318) = 3.725), p < .05). Additionally the item, I think it is important for people to follow rules and laws (F (2, 318) = 4.253), p < .05), was found to have a statistically significant difference among the mean scores: Town A (M = 3.33, SD = 3.58), Town B (M = 3.58, SD = .530), and Town C (M = 3.56, SD = .595). A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test showed Town B (M = 21.43, SD = 2.136), (p <.05) to have a statistically significant difference among the mean scores on the personally responsible citizenship subset over Town A (M = 20.48, SD = 2.467). The Bonferroni Post Hoc Test found the item important to follow rules and laws to have a statistically significant difference among the mean scores between Town B (M = 3.58, SD = .530), (p < .05) and Town A (M = 3.33, SD = .681). The statistical data acknowledged Town B communities to have a statistically significant difference in comparison with the other town vitalities. A relationship among town vitality and follow rules and laws was found when a Pearson correlation test was conducted r(320) = .039, p 161 < .05. During the interview phase of this study, a Town A citizen stated a unique perspective compared to the other generations. He spoke about the importance of communicating with community residents to see if they have the same concerns. No other interview participant expressed this view. The fourth subset to be explored on town vitality differences was participatory citizenship. This subset measured the amount of activity a citizen displayed in a community organization. An ANOVA and Bonferroni Post Hoc Test were conducted and demonstrated no statistically significant differences among the three town vitalities’ mean scores. The final subset that explored differences based on town vitality was justice-oriented citizenship. This subset assessed social, political, and economic structures to see beyond surface causes. An ANOVA test indicated one statistically significant difference among the mean scores of the three town vitalities with the item it makes me angry when I think about the conditions some people live in: Town A (M = 3.16, SD = .696), Town B (M = 3.19, SD = .708), Town C (M = 3.39, SD = .626), (F (2, 311) = 3.043, (p < .05). A Bonferroni Post Hoc Test found no statistically significant mean score differences among town vitality and the subset of justice- oriented citizenship. Though insignificant on the Post Hoc Test, Town C citizens did show more concern for this item than both Town A and Town B communities. A Pearson correlation test discovered a relationship between town vitality and the item, makes me angry to think of condition. While the findings were nominal, differences were discovered with subset personally responsible citizenship and two items. The findings suggest that Town B communities are more inclined to exercise personally responsible citizenship more that Town A and C. A point to make beyond addressing the research question is that only one town vitality had a statistically 162 significant difference when compared to each other. Jacobs (1961) stated that towns that utilize social capital the best are towns that were developed with community in mind. In other words, these towns have a down town district that is simple to navigate and all the city departments are accessible. Future research could explore why Town A and C communities do not embrace the citizenship models. A hypothesis might include the thought that Town A or C communities are not well laid out or that citizens do not work collectively to volunteer or collaborate on correcting social injustice in their communities. However, for this study, evidence was brought forth to determine that town vitality impacts citizenship; therefore, the null was rejected. Research Question Three What civic attributes are utilized by citizens? To answer the third research question, a series of interviews were conducted. The interviews included seven participants who encompassed all generations and town vitalities. This portion of the study helped to determine, of the three citizenship models, how each model was utilized by the three generations and town vitalities. The interviews consisted of 12 questions with four questions representing each of the three citizenship models (personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship). The interviews provided a mix of perspectives and anecdotes, sometimes aligning with the quantitative data and other times conveying a contrast in findings. The first citizenship characteristic to be discussed is personally responsible citizenship. Conclusions drawn suggest that no matter the generation, participants were knowledgeable concerning agencies in their respective communities. All interview participants identified agencies in their communities. Selected quotes from interviews included the following: “when you have a love for where you live, that’s what you do,” “identify what we see and keep eyes open,” “believe in the change you want to see,” and “take the initiative to do it, take action.” 163 Residents, no matter their generation, can seek assistance for a community project. However, they may seek information among a variety sources, e.g., in person, or with the use of technology. Citizens from each of the communities had no trouble in identifying resources. The second citizenship characteristic to be discussed is participatory citizenship. Interviews found Millennials to have a strong civic participation ability. Selected quotes from interviews included the following: “identify what we see” and “keep eyes open.” The data provided the ability to determine trends with generations and town vitality; for example, all generations had the ability to make a difference in their communities, no matter their town vitality. A participant from all three generations declared a lack of ability to share perspective; the communities included two respondents from Town B and one from Town C. All participants, except for a Town C participant, indicated the ability to solve a problem in their communities. All citizens indicated the ability to volunteer to help other people in their communities. The third and final citizenship characteristic is justice-oriented citizenship. The interview protocol revealed trends with generations and town vitality; for example, no matter their generation or community, citizens had the ability to correct problems in their communities, but only Generation X and one Millennial indicated the ability to change laws or policies in their communities, whereas the Baby Boomer (Town C) indicated a lack of ability to change a law or policy. The quantitative data suggested the opposite, finding that Baby Boomers are more likely to change policy, law, and fight to change unjust laws. No matter the generation or community, all participants indicated that they have not assisted with a political campaign. Lastly, the two Millennials, both from a Town C community, were the only participants who discussed participating in a protest or demonstration. 164 The interviews provided anecdotal narratives that helped to explain the data. Citizens shared perspectives that mostly aligned with the data, but, more importantly, delivered a deeper understanding. Citizens possess citizenship skills, particularly with personally responsible and participatory citizenship, but all three generations lacked justice-oriented citizenship. The data collected via the interview protocol established that all generations and vitalities take part in utilizing citizenship attributes. A hypothesis set forth to analyze research question three was that Baby Boomers who reside in Town A communities demonstrate an unparalleled combination of citizenship utilization. The results of the interviews did not provide evidence to support the hypothesis; therefore, the null hypothesis failed to be rejected. Implications The implications of this study and other research offer insights concerning the expressed need for civic learning at an early age for citizens, school districts, and community leaders alike. This section will discuss what the findings and the literature provide as areas of focus for such groups. The citizenship framework used here, based on Westheimer and Kahne’s work (2004), identified three distinct models of citizenship: personally responsible citizenship, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. All three models are unique in their characteristics and citizenship attributes. Since this study examined generation and town vitality, the implications will be arranged by how findings from each of those sections apply to each group. For all citizens who reside in one of the nine communities studied, the implication of developing citizenship skills directly affects the civic climate of communities. The task is to prepare the next generation for civic competency, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship aptitudes. This study showed the Baby Boomer generation to have civic qualities in civic competency, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship skills. Gaylor (2002) along with Reaves and Oh (2007) identified core values of Baby Boomers to include 165 optimism, team orientation, personal gratification, money-oriented, health and wellness, personal growth, youth, work, and involvement. This study also discovered Millennials to score a lower mean average than Baby Boomers in all three citizenship models. As discussed in the literature review, it is yet to be determined if this is attributed to a life cycle pattern or a generational trend. If it is a life cycle trend, one could expect a Millennial to lead a civic life. Research by Reeves and Oh (2007) suggests that Millennials are every much as engaged as Baby Boomers just differently. If it becomes a generational trend, this would not be known for another ten years or more, then it becomes certain to make mandatory civic-service learning in each school district. An implication for citizens suggests the need for future generations to develop their civic capacity to include participatory and justice-oriented citizenship skills – not for the future, but for the present so that we not suffer another civic-apathetic generation. It is important for citizens of all generations to understand which citizenship model and attributes they possess now. An implication for Baby Boomers suggests the need to volunteer with Millennial and Generation X citizens. By volunteering, communities could establish citizenship skill-building incubators. Community organizations could volunteer to contribute to the citizenship skill building process. In turn, Baby Boomers would teach the importance of civic action, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. Baby Boomers should want to mentor the younger generation in order to stave off an apathetic generation and to develop a meaningful civic identity and prepare them to become a vital integral component of civic life. Civic learning must go beyond the classroom: citizenship, an important quality of future leaders, must translate into action and become a palatable part of life (Musil, 2012). Citizens and communities can 166 develop the citizenship skills required to create a vibrant community. Musil provided examples on how young citizens can develop these necessary skills, they include the development of: civic ethos, civic literacy, civic inquiry, and civic action. Musil’s work presents an opportunity for Baby Boomers to guide Millennials by working side by side on community projects and social injustice issues. The responsibility to develop the next efficacious generation must happen now, and Baby Boomers must be part of the development process. Survey data and the interview protocol both revealed Millennials’ concern about future employment. Characteristics of Millennials include being empowered to take responsibility for issues, civic involvement, and a community first attitude (Howe & Strauss, 2000). Millennials concern for future employment is a concern for society. The community as a whole including industries at the forefront of technology, should address this issue by educating young adults of the changing workforce now and in the future. The communities of the future should do more to provide employment opportunities to Millenials, if not, the outcome could create a workforce limited of human capital. This study did not examine why Millennials are concerned about future steady employment. However, scholarly works suggested that young adults are apprehensive about the changing workforce, i.e., automation and artificial intelligence taking the place of humans (Stubbings & Williams, 2017). The Workforce of the Future Report (Stubbings & Williams, 2017) stated that 37% of Millennials are worried about automation or artificial intelligence replacing the individual. This same report says that 60% of Millennials believe few people will have stable, meaningful employment (Stubbings & Williams, 2017). The report declares that many current jobs will indeed be replaced by automation or artificial intelligence, but a new sector of employment will also be created to replace current occupations. 167 A take away for the community is to educate the youth on what type of employment is obtainable for each now and in the future. Millennials and young adults need to be assured that meaningful work will exist in the future, it is imperative that the whole of society convey this message. When this finding and research are considered in tandem, an implication for the Millennial generation suggests secure steady employment in the future will be obtainable (Winsten et al., 2004) (Stubbings & Williams, 2017). Implications for school districts include the importance of adding a civic education component to the curriculum. The positive ramifications of doing so were highlighted in the literature review and are also apparent in this study. The National Task Force on Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (2012) stresses the need to reinvent curricula to include civic learning at every level of education, from elementary school to graduate school, across all fields of study. Such curricula has the potential to alter the apathetic civic mindedness of a young generation (Millennials) by facilitating participatory and justice-oriented citizenship at an early age. Although Millennials are characterized as civic minded (Howe & Strauss, 2000), this study found Millennials to rank lower than Baby Boomers on the participatory citizenship subset, and last on the justice oriented citizenship item work with others to change unjust laws. These two findings suggest, and the literature supports, that young generations are not as willing to participate or get involved in social issues in their communities. Several studies suggest the importance of younger generations becoming involved in community issues. Astin and Sax (1998) reported that students who spend more time participating in community, or civic service, can develop stronger self-perceptions of citizenship. Communities can no longer wait for a generation to age and become civically active, as maturing is a timely process. Several case studies, presented by Westheimer and Kahne’s, such as the 168 Madison County Youth in Public Service and Bayside Students for Justice discussed in the literature review, showcase civic growth in students (2004). Data from both studies suggests development of civic awareness as well as a refined ability to care and take action in their communities. Data from this study help to affirm the need for civic service learning opportunities to occur in all school districts. Communities, when organized by vitality, showed few differences in this study. Findings suggest that vitality has minimal impact on citizenship; however, a difference was discovered with the personally responsible citizenship subset. This study did not examine the “why” regarding Town B communities’ tendency to follow rules and laws, but, knowing they do, an implication for community leaders should be to preserve this attribute in their communities. Community leaders should inform the citizen base of this attribute; it should not be assumed that citizens understand it on their own. Another implication for community leaders of Town B communities should be to collaborate with leaders of various town vitalities. In doing so, community leaders of Town B communities could share perspectives as to why their citizens follow rules and laws and, in turn, help other town vitalities to duplicate the result. The findings of this study, if addressed by citizens, school districts, and community leaders, could help communities to understand the value of educating their citizens on how to develop or deepen personally responsible, participatory, and justice-oriented citizenship skills and to discover what the results of their actions could mean for their community. An implication for all three stakeholders – citizens, community groups, and schools – is that all are equally responsible for educating citizens. A comprehensive approach on teaching actionable citizenship traits can begin to alter the outcome for future generations. Findings in this study revealed that all three generations offer unique features and characteristics that can enhance the well-being of 169 a community. Putnam (2000, 2003) reported that all communities require citizens to faithfully take care of primary citizenship attributes to fulfill the core functions of local government. It is this action, of satisfying core functions of civic community and connecting social capital, that can provide a pathway for both citizens and communities to flourish. Limitations This study sought to determine if differences or relationships could be established by better understanding the role of citizenship and community. It is important to highlight several limitations of this study. The first limitation occurred due to the geographical limitations of utilizing three counties in western Pennsylvania. Future scholars could increase the population pool by adding diversity among the counties studied. Perhaps if communities were studied in the central or eastern part of Pennsylvania as well as with the western section of the state, more palpable data could support generalizations of the findings. The generalization ability is a limitation, as only three counties were used in this study. The second limitation occurred with a specific county, as it was a challenge to obtain an adequate number of surveys based on the researcher’s distance from the county. Several efforts were made to collect surveys, including using social media, as this county had a Facebook site to promote news and local events. Even with sharing the survey via Facebook, few completed surveys were submitted. Additionally, the researcher reached out to a few known residents of the selected towns and asked for surveys. The largest source of completed useable surveys came from the local community college, which has a student body of about 3,000 students. The college sent the survey on two different dates to those students and to college employees who reside in the selected communities. 170 A third limitation involved the self-reporting nature of the data. It should be recognized that all data were controlled by the researcher. While most surveys were completed using the Qualtrics platform, a dozen surveys were completed in person. Therefore, each survey had to be entered into Qualtrics. A final limitation occurred during the interview phase of this study. Generation representation was unbalanced and small. The seven interview participants consisted of two Millennials, four Generation X respondents, and only one Baby Boomer. Initially, two Baby Boomers scheduled for interviews, but one did not respond to efforts to schedule a date and time. At that point, a Generation X participant was asked to participate, hence creating an imbalance of generations in the study. This limitation restricted the fullest potential of the interview protocol. Generation X had four participants, which equated more than half of all participants. Further, these four Generation X representatives expressed views and abilities that surpassed the quantitative data. This limitation should be a recommendation for future research, the qualitative study would contain a more stratified representation of all three generations hence allowing for a deeper understanding of citizens and their utilization of citizenship attributes. Recommendations for Future Research The results from this mixed-methods study revealed several opportunities for a future scholar. This study revealed many data points that can be used to better educate a community, from it, ideas for future research emerged. A few recommendations will now follow. The first recommendation for future research is to examine the relationship of both independent variables as one; generation, and town vitality. This approach would examine for example, Millennials that reside in Town A against Millennials that reside in Town B and against Millennials that reside in Town C. In doing so, this research might find differences among a 171 singular generation and town vitality. The findings from this potential study might find different results and indicate an even stronger need to educate communities of the importance of building citizenship skills. A second recommendation for future research is to interview the community groups to determine if and why they are experiencing a decrease in volunteers, i.e., rotary, city council, chamber of commerce, church leaders, and volunteer fire departments. The future scholar should employ a qualitative study that would aim to explore needs of a community. Much like the current study, the future scholar should consider communities by town vitality. By doing so, the future scholar would understand if civic needs of the community vary by vitality. The perspective of community leaders would offer insights that vary from those of community members. It would be of value to understand where the civic gaps exist based on community groups. Later, both studies could be examined to better understand a community’s landscape. A final recommendation for future research is to design a qualitative study examining why Town A communities ranked last on the Bonferroni Post Hoc Test with all seven items, participatory citizenship. The future scholar might have the opportunity to understand why citizens of Town A communities seemed to show an actionable disregard towards their communities. Conclusion The purpose of this mixed-method study was to determine if generation or town vitality impacts citizenship. Implications of this study include the following: community leaders should establish community-based programs or maintain existing programs to build a better, stronger citizen base. Attributes and passions of all citizens must be utilized to better connect communities. Community leaders must develop a citizenship education plan and educate 172 citizens on the value of citizenship. Both Westheimer and Kahne (2004) and Musil (2003) described the need to incorporate citizenship service learning in the classroom. By doing so, the next generation is prepared to experience the benefits of an efficacious community. The survey results revealed that generation is impacted by eight citizenship items from the Visions of Good Citizens Model, as follows: personal beliefs, steady jobs, competence for civic action, get other people to care about a problem, organize and run a meeting, participatory citizenship, solve a problem, and work to change unjust laws. Particularly, the findings indicated the Baby Boomer generation to demonstrate the most competence for civic action, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship abilities in their communities. Generational apathy was indicative in this study, as well. Millennials did not show a statistically significant mean difference to Baby Boomers or Generation X on any of the citizenship models. Apathy cannot persist with young generations; it is now time for young adults to develop the necessary citizenship attributes to serve their communities. But they should not be alone in this endeavor; citizens (particularly Baby Boomers), school districts, and community leaders should all take responsibility in building civic identify for the future. According to the work of Berg, Melaville, and Blank (2006) and Musil (2003), young adults are just not fulfilling their civic duty, thus creating a lack of civic participation. Town vitality was found to have an impact on citizenship. The ANOVA results suggest that town vitality is impacted by three citizenship items: personally responsible citizenship, important to follow rules and laws, and makes me angry when I think about the conditions some people live in. The impact of the ANOVA findings helps to make sense of how community leaders can better understand their citizen base. This study was limited to three towns with a B vitality score, but, all three provided consistent data. Particularly, Town B communities 173 indicated a statistically significant mean difference to Town A with the personally responsible citizenship subset. Additionally, Town B had a statistically significant mean difference with the item follow rules and laws compared to Town A. As the impact of these two items becomes understood, the necessity for teaching citizenship skills within each town vitality becomes more apparent. This research explored the impact of generation and town vitality and demonstrated their importance regarding effects on citizenship. This study has deepened the understanding of and has added to scholarship on citizenship. The findings in this study were based both on empirical and interpretive data, which provided a deeper understanding of generations, town vitality, and citizenship. Summary Results of the study included the quantitative data substantiating generation to have an impact on citizenship. For example, Baby Boomers demonstrated competence for civic action, participatory citizenship, and justice-oriented citizenship. Millennials reflected stronger personal beliefs for the future in contrast to the other two generations. This research also established an impact between town vitality and citizenship; for example, citizens of Town B communities scored statistically significant mean differences compared with both Town A and Town C vitalities on the subset of personally responsible citizenship. The qualitative data also provided insight into which citizenship attributes were utilized by citizens. Implications of this study suggest the following actions occur: first, community leaders must establish community-based programs or maintain existing programs to build a better, stronger civic-minded citizen base. Programs would allow Baby Boomers to teach Millennials the value and importance of participatory and justice-oriented citizenship; Millennials should be 174 encouraged to be an active component of the community. Second, community groups must work with other communities of varying vitalities. Town B communities should work with other town vitalities to share best practices in responsible citizenship. Third, school districts should add a civic education component to the curriculum. Such curricula have the potential to alter the apathetic civic mindedness of a young generation by facilitating participatory and justice- oriented citizenship at an early age. This implication is grounded in the fact that this study found Millennials to rank lower than Baby Boomers on the participatory citizenship subset, and last on the justice oriented citizenship item, work with others to change unjust laws. Fourth and finally, an implication for citizens suggests the need for future generations to develop their civic capacity to include participatory and justice-oriented citizenship skills – not for the future, but for the present, so that we do not suffer another civically-apathetic generation. 175 References Astin, A. W., & Sax, L. J. (1998). How undergraduates are affected by service participation. Journal of College Student Development, 39(3), 251-263. Barnes, R., & Lowery, L. 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Retrieved from The Pennsylvania State University, The Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development website: http://www.cas.nercrd.psu.edu Hampson, R. (2008, November 7). Number of volunteer firefighters is declining. USA Today. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-11-06-volunteer- firefighters_x.htm Hartnett, B., & Matan, R. (2014). So volunteerism is declining: Now what? Retrieved from http://sobel-cpa.com/sites/default/files/Volunteerism%20is%20Declining Higher Education Research Institute. (1996). A social change model of leadership development guidebook(3rd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Higher Education Research Institute, University of California. Hoffer, C.R. (1931). Understanding the community. The American Journal of Sociology, 36, 616-624. Howe, N., & Strauss, W. (2000). Millennials rising: The next great generation. New York, NY: Vintage Books. Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities. New York, NY: Random House. Jansen, J. (2011). The civic and community engagement of religiously active Americans. Washington DC : Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2011/12/23/the-civic-and-community-engagement-of- religiously-active-americans/ 179 Keeter, S., Zukin, C., Andolina, M., & Jenkins, K. (2002). The civic and political health of the nation: A generational portrait. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED498892 Khane, J., & Westheimer, J. (2003). Teaching democracy: What schools need to do. Phi Kelta Kappan, 85(1), 34-40, 57-67. Mabey, C. (1992). The making of the citizen leader. In Kettering Foundation, Public leadership education: The role of citizen leaders, 10-16. New York, NY: Kettering Foundation. McCullough, D. (2001). John Adams. New York, NY: Touchstone. McKnight, J., & Block, P. (2012). The abundant community: Awakening the power of families and neighborhoods. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Merriam, S. B. A. (2002). 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Franklin: The essential founding father. Washington DC. : Regnery Publishing. Stubbings, C., & Williams, J. (2017). Workforce of the future: The competing forces shaping 20130. Sujansky, J. (2002). The critical care and feeding of Generation Y. Workforce, 81(5), 15. Taylor, P. (2014). The next Amercia. New York, NY: Perseus. Turner, Y. S. (2014). How can corporate community engagement inspire active citizenship? National Conference on Citizenship. Washington, DC. Retrieved from National Conference on Citizenship website: http://ncoc.net/index.php? Vitality. (2015). In Oxford Dictionaries.com Retrieved from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/vitality Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2004). What kind of citizen? The politics of educating for democracy. American Educational Research Journal, 41(2), 237-269. Wilson, L. B., & Simson, S. P. (2006). Civic engagement and the baby boomer generation. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press. 182 Winsten, J., Stanton, F., Moses, S., Grodner, T., Roberts, M., & Gerteis, M. (2004). Reinventing aging. Boston, MA. Wood, G. S. (2011). The idea of America: Reflections on the birth of the United States. New York, NY: Penguin. Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Zapf, K. (2009, November 18). Lawmakers push incentives to get, keep firefighters. Tribune Review. Retrieved from http://triblive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_580182.html Zukin, C., Andolina, M., & Delli Carpini, M. X. (2006). A new engagement: Political participation, civic life, and the changing american citizen. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 183 Appendix A Survey Consent Form Dear Citizen, You are invited to participate in a research study that examines generational differences in engagement of citizens in their communities. This survey consists of 33 total questions and should take no more than 10 to 15 minutes of your time. This is part of my doctoral research as a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. There are no potential risks or burdens associated with this study. The responses to the questionnaire will be anonymous and no personal identifying information about individual citizens will be noted within the study. Participation in this research is voluntary and you are free to refuse to participate and free to withdraw from the research at any time. The results of the survey will appear in the data analysis tool without any identifying factors of the respondents. The potential benefits from your participation in this study include identifying specific citizenship attributes that are important among the Baby Boomers, Generation X, and the Millennial generations. This study may help school districts and communities to better understand the importance of increased civic knowledge and engagement in our valued communities By completing the survey you are giving consent to participate in the research. You understand that the data collected from your participation will be used primarily for a D.Ed. dissertation, and you consent for it to be used in that manner. Please understand that that your participation is completely voluntary and your responses are completely anonymous and that you have the right to withdraw from the study at any time. I will give you an unsigned copy of the informed consent form to keep. If you have any questions, please contact the investigator and/or faculty sponsor at the following email addresses: Justin A. Tatar Doctoral Student Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Professional Studies in Education ptqs@iup.edu Stouffer Hall Indiana, PA 15705 David Piper, Ed.D. Professor Indiana University of Pennsylvania Department of Industrial and Labor Relations dpiper@iup.edu 434 Davis Hall Indiana, PA 1570 I am also interested in conducting a separate interview with some participants. This interview is OPTIONAL for those who participate in the survey. Those interested in participating in the optional interview will be provided a separate informed consent prior to beginning the interview. Please sign up to be considered for the optional interview in this manner: 1. For those taking the survey in paper-pencil format, provide your name and contact information on the separate sheet. 2. For those taking the survey online, you will be prompted at the end of the survey to enter your name and phone number into a list that is NOT connected to your survey responses.” This project has been approved by the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects (phone number 724-357-7730). mailto:ptqs@iup.edu mailto:dpiper@iup.edu 184 Appendix B Interview Consent Form 185 Appendix C Survey Choose your Generation ___Baby Boomer (1946 – 1964) ___Generation X (1965 - 1979) ___Millennial (1980 – 2000) Please list your birth month, birth day and first letter of your first name. Example (0728J) This information is used as a participant identifier. __________________ CIRCLE YOUR HOME TOWN: Beaver County Washington County Westmoreland County Borough of Ambridge 15003 Town of Canonsburg 15317 City of Greensburg 15601 Chippewa Twp 15010 McMurray 15317 N. Huntingdon Twp 15642 Hanover Twp 15026 City of Washington 15301 City of Jeannette 15644 186 SECTION ONE PERSONAL BELIEFS NEXT PAGE SECTION TWO COMPETENCE FOR CIVIC ACTION How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements? Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 1) When I think about the future, I worry that there will not be enough jobs to go around. 2) I think it will be hard to make enough money to support a family in the future. 3) Economic changes in our country are making the life of the average person worse, not better 4) A few individuals are becoming richer but many people are becoming poorer. 5) I worry that many people in my generation will not have steady jobs. If you found out about a problem in your community that you wanted to do something about (for example, illegal drugs were being sold near a school, or high levels of lead were discovered in the local drinking water), how well do you think you would be able to do each of the following? I Definitely Can’t I Probably Can’t Maybe I Probably Can I Definitely Can 6) Create a plan to address the problem. 7) Get other people to care about the problem. 8) Organize and run a meeting. 9) Express your views in front of a group of people. 10) Identify individuals or groups who could help you with the problem. 11) Write an opinion letter to a local newspaper. 12) Call someone on the phone that you had never met before to get their help with the problem. 13) Contact an elected official about the problem. 14) Organize a petition. 187 SECTION THREE PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE CITIZENSHIP (PR) NEXT PAGE SECTION FOUR PARTICIPATORY CITIZENSHIP (PC) How much do you agree or disagree with each of these statements? Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 15) I think people should assist those in their lives who are in need of help. 16) I think it is important for people to follow rules and laws. 17) I try to help when I see people in need. 18) I am willing to help others without being paid. 19) I try to be kind to other people. 20) I think it is important to tell the truth. How much do you agree or disagree with each of these statements? Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 21) Involvement in community issues is my responsibility. 22) Being concerned about state and local issues is an important responsibility for everybody. 23) I do make a difference in my community. 24) By working with others in the community I have helped make things better. How much do you agree or disagree with each of these statements? Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 25) Get involved in issues like health or safety that affect your community. 26) Work with a group to solve a problem in the community where you live. 188 SECTION FIVE JUSTICE-ORIENTED CITIZENSHIP (JO) Anger about Social Justice End of Survey Please indicate how often you participate with the following. Never Rarely Often Always 27) I have/do worked with others to change unjust laws. 28) I have/do protest when something in society needed changing. 29) I have/do purchase products from businesses that are careful not to harm the environment. 30) I have/do challenge inequalities in society. How much do you agree or disagree with each of these statements? Strongly Disagree Disagree Agree Strongly Agree 31) It makes me angry when I think about the conditions some people have to live in. 32) When I think about the hard times some people are going through, I wonder what’s wrong with this country. 33) I get mad when I hear about people being treated unjustly 189 Appendix D Interview Protocol Research Question 3: What citizenship attributes are important to Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millennials? Civic Measurement Models: Tapping Adolescents’ Civic Engagement (Flanagan & Levine, 2007) Responsible Citizen 1. What agencies do you contact when you have concerns about your community, and why do you select those agencies? 2. If you have an idea for a community project, who are the key individuals to whom you reach out? 3. What resources are you aware of that are available to help with a community project, i.e., financial backing, agencies, individuals, etc. 4. Tell me about organizations in your community where citizens get to make decisions about how the community operates? Participatory Citizen 1. Finish this sentence: I believe people like me can make a difference in the community and in my perspective, this is how: __________. 2. During the last 12 months, on average, how often have you used the internet to share your perspective on a social or political issue with a large group of people? 3. Tell me how you worked with a team to solve a problem in the community where you live. 4. How often do you volunteer to help other people? Justice Orientated 1. If you love America, you should notice its problems and work to correct them. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not. 2. In the past 12 months, how often did you collaborate with a group to try to change a policy or law in your community, state or nation? Describe the examples. 3. In the past 12 months, how often have you worked on a political campaign? Describe the examples. 4. In the previous 12 months, how often have you taken part in a peaceful protest, march, or demonstration? Describe the examples. 190 Appendix E What is NICHE? NICHE is a research site that blends community reviews with hard data to help people explore what a place is really like. Every year, we help millions of Americans choose a Place to Live, College, or K-12 School. While rankings play an important role in these major life decisions, they’re just a small part. Our rankings help people discover and compare. They’re a springboard to more in-depth research on NICHE’s core product - authentic, comprehensive profiles of schools and places. NICHE Local Rankings The goal of our Local Rankings is to provide accurate, comparable, and thorough evaluations of places. To do so, we’ve collected and analyzed dozens of rankings factors from federal, state, and local government datasets. We’ve combined those with proprietary NICHE data and community reviews about K-12 schools in each area. All NICHE reviews and data are scored and standardized so that each place is comparable. We then assign each place to a cohort based on population and urban clustering. Local Area Cohorts Classification Suburbs* A place located within a Census-defined urbanized area, but outside the principal city with a population of at least 1,000. Towns* A place located within a Census-defined urbanized cluster OR a principal city for an urbanized area with a population greater than or equal to 5,000 and less than 100,000. Cities* A principal city for an urbanized area with a population of 100,000 or more. Counties A county with a population of 10,000 or more. Metros The largest Census-defined metro areas, with at least one metro area per state. States All 50 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Note: Due to how the census classifies places, there may be areas that are represented by more than one place. For example, the area of Manhattan is represented as both Manhattan and part of New York City. Each place is then ranked against all other places in its cohort both overall and by key attributes. Why do we grade and rank places? While our rankings show the Top 100 places for each ranking, we use grades to provide the user with some context to those rankings and also to provide insight into those that did not make the Top 100. In each ranking, it’s important to focus on more than just the number. Given the high number of places included in our rankings, there may not be a large gap between the 15th and 30th ranked place in a given ranking. In reality, both are exceptional when compared to https://local.niche.com/ https://local.niche.com/ https://colleges.niche.com/ https://k12.niche.com/ 191 the total population of all places. Grades can often provide greater context because they are assigned based on how each place compares to all others included in the ranking. Grades are determined using the process defined below. How do we compute our rankings? To compute our rankings and grades, we go through a series of steps. These steps are in place to ensure that our rankings are statistically sound and offer the most amount of guidance to those looking to make a school choice. In general, the process used to compute each ranking was as follows: 1. First, we carefully selected each ranking’s factors to represent a healthy balance between statistical rigor and practical relevance in the ranking. 2. Next, we evaluated the data for each factor to ensure that it provided value for the ranking. (The factor needed to help distinguish places from each other and accurately represent each one.) Factors built from factual information were inspected for bad data including outliers or inaccurate values. Where applicable, this data was either adjusted or completely excluded depending on the specific data. 3. After each factor was processed, we produced a standardized score (called a z-score) for each factor at each place level. This score evaluates distance from the average using standard deviations and allows each place’s score to be compared against others in a statistically sound manner. 4. With clean and comparable data, we then assigned weights for each factor. The goal of the weighting process was to ensure that no one factor could have a dramatic positive or negative impact on a particular area's final score and that each final score was a fair representation of the place. Weights were carefully determined by analyzing: • How different weights impacted the distribution of ranked places; • Industry and market research; • Each factor’s contribution to our intended goal of the ranking, as described in the introduction above. 5. After assigning weights, an overall score was calculated for each place by applying the assigned weights to the individual factor scores. This overall score was then assigned a new standardized score (again a z-score, as described in step 3). This is the final score for each ranking. 6. With finalized scores, we then evaluated the completeness of the data for each individual place. Depending on how much data the area had, we might disqualify it from the numerical ranking or from the grading process. Here is how we distinguished these groups using the weights described in step 4: • Places missing the data for more than 50 percent of the factors (by weight) were completely excluded. They did not qualify for the numerical ranking or a grade. • Places that had at least 50 percent of the factors (by weight) but lacked one or more of the factors or did not meet minimum population thresholds* were not included in the numerical ranking but were assigned a grade according to the process outlined in step 7 below. • Places that had all of the factors (by weight) were deemed eligible for both a grade and a numerical ranking. 7. Lastly, we created a numerical ranking and assigned grades (based on qualifications discussed in step 6). Here is how we produced these values: 192 • The numerical ranking was created by ordering each place (when qualified) based on the final z-score discussed in step 5. • Grades were determined for each place (when qualified) by taking the ordered z- scores (which generally follow a normal distribution) and then assigning grades according to the process below. Grading Process Grades are assigned based on how each place performs compared to all other places included in the ranking by using the following distribution of grades and z-scores. While most rankings generally follow this normal distribution, there are slight variances across each ranking, so the actual counts and distribution may vary. Grade Final Z-Score Frequency Cumulative Frequency (Score at least) A+ 1.96 ≤ z 2.5% 2.5% A 1.28 ≤ z < 1.96 7.5% 10% A- 0.84 ≤ z < 1.28 10% 20% B+ 0.44 ≤ z < 0.84 13% 33% B 0.00 ≤ z < 0.44 17% 50% B- -0.44 ≤ z < 0 17% 67% C+ -0.84 ≤ z < -0.44 13% 80% C -1.28 ≤ z < -0.84 10% 90% C- -1.96 ≤ z < -1.28 7.5% 97.5% D+ -2.25 ≤ z < -1.96 1.3% 98.8% D -2.50 ≤ z < -2.25 0.6% 99.4% D- -2.50 > z 0.6% 100%
Note that we intentionally did not assign a grade below D- in any rankings.

REGENT UNIVERSITY

EFFECTING TRANSFORMATION THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS:
A CASE STUDY IN BUILDING NETWORKS OF HOPE

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO
THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF MINISTRY

BY
JOHN E. DOOLEY

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA
NOVEMBER 2015

All rights reserved.
This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
ProQuest LLC.
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, MI 48106 – 1346
ProQuest 10118959
Published by ProQuest LLC (2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author.
ProQuest Number: 10118959

iii

School of Divinity
Regent University
This is to certify that the dissertation prepared by:
John E. Dooley
Titled
EFFECTING TRANSFORMATION THROUGH COMMUNITY
PARTNERSHIPS: A CASE STUDY IN BUILDING
NETWORKS OF HOPE

Has been approved by his/her committee as satisfactory completion of
the dissertation requirement of the degree of Doctor of Ministry

Approved By:

James T. Flynn, D.Min, Committee Chair
School of Divinity

Martin K. O’Rourke, D.Min., Committee Member
Rector, Church of the Messiah, Chesapeake, Virginia

May, 2016

ABSTRACT
Is it possible for the faith community to come together with itself, community
organizations and governmental entities to bring about transformational change? This
dissertation not only says, “Yes,” it demonstrates it. Accomplishing this required the
networking of resources within the faith community, and between the faith community
and secular authorities. As demonstrated by the author’s project, when integrated
correctly these alliances served as the key to success when the faith community, the City
of Chesapeake, the Chesapeake Police Department, civic leagues, and members of the
business community came together.
The author focused his project in areas known as “revitalizing” neighborhoods
according to a study released by the City of Chesapeake, Virginia entitled City of
Chesapeake 2006 Neighborhood Quality of Life Study. The study measured “quality of
life” issues in various neighborhoods, determined by measuring twenty-three factors
organized into four areas: social, crime, physical, and economic variables. The author and
his non-profit organization, Heart of Compassion Partnerships, has been working in two
of these revitalizing areas known as the South Norfolk area of Chesapeake.
The Campostella community in South Norfolk is considered one of the most at
risk areas. At first, the author’s project involved a simple partnership between the
author’s former congregation, Apostles Lutheran Church, and Refuge Church of God in
Christ lead by Bishop Joseph T. Williams. During the period of this two-pastor

v
partnership, there was a transformation of the physical appearance of the community with
the influx of Community Redevelopment Block Grant funds. As a result, streets once
lined with cinderblock homes became replete with modern single-dwelling homes.
Regardless of this physical change however, the lives remained paved over with drugs,
and gangs, and hopelessness.
In response, the author’s project resulted in community partnerships that began to
change the social and spiritual dynamics of the area. According to the Chief of Police,
there was a reduction in crime. Additionally, over seventeen urban and suburban
churches came together, children were earning honor roll status for the first time, and
$144,600 in volunteer labor was donated to the citizens of Chesapeake.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This dissertation has been a journey through the most challenging terrain the
author has undertaken, and one he came very close to not finishing. It began with a
broken heart when the author was excused from the Ph.D. program in Renewal Studies.
This dismissal came after he had completed all the course work in what had been called
an exemplary manner. This was not only devastating, it was humiliating.
Thus, to enter the Doctor of Ministry program, not only meant more course work,
it felt like taking a degree of reduced value. Dr. Flynn would singlehandedly turn this
thought around. Dr. Flynn spoke so powerfully and insightfully about the Doctor of
Ministry degree, that it both uplifted the author’s spirit and enabled him to believe in
himself again. Unbeknownst to the author however, was how the challenge of changing
from the Ph.D. to the Doctor of Ministry would pale in comparison to what lie ahead.
The author had no sooner completed his course work and was now in the
dissertation phase of the program when he was admitted to the hospital with a life
threatening illness. For the next two months the author would teeter between life and
death. By the end of the hospitalization, the author would have to adjust to a loss of
mobility, a life in constant pain, and most devastating of all, being released from the
congregation he had served for nearly twenty years. With that, the author entered a period
in which he had to deal with a mind numbing wound.
There were two lifelines the author clung to at this point. First, because Dr. Flynn
had won his heart regarding the Doctor of Ministry degree, crossing the finishing line did

vii
not seem futile. Second, and this is the heart of this dedication, was the constant,
unwavering support and love of the author’s family.
The author is alive today because of the family Father God gave to him. Too
much for this venue, suffice it for now to say, his daughter, a family physician, literally
was used of the Lord to save his life. Then, with the Sword of Damocles behind him, his
wife and daughter went to work to give back to the author a purpose for living.
Gently and persistently they encouraged the author to press on toward completion.
Patiently and in the absence of criticism, they expressed understanding as he struggled to
kick start the process again. Endlessly and without complaint they read and reread the
chapters over and again helping him to fine tune and craft the right words. Then at the
end, his son willingly and lovingly read the dissertation one last time. With all their other
responsibilities, my wife, a high school department head in special education; my
daughter, a practicing physician; and my son, married with a young son, uncritically and
unwaveringly helped the author across the finish line. From his friends, to his professor,
to his family, if there is a more blessed man on earth, the author would like to meet him.
To you all, thank you from the depth of my heart.

viii

CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. iv

ACKNOWLEGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………vi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT ………………………………………………..1
Overview ……………………………………………………………………………………………….1
Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………………………………3
Rationale for Doing the Case Study …………………………………………………………..8
Limitations and Assumptions ………………………………………………………………..144
Biblical, Theological and Historical ………………………………………………………155
Literature Pertinent to the Case Study ……………………………………………………..19
Methods of Solving and Analyzing the Problem ……………………………………….20
Evaluation of the Case Study ………………………………………………………………….22
Results and Conclusions ………………………………………………………………………..22
Summary ……………………………………………………………………………………………..23
CHAPTER TWO: SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE……………………………………………..25
Overview ……………………………………………………………………………………………..25
Framing the Discussion ………………………………………………………………………….26
The Unity Shared within the Liberal and Conservative Perspective .……26
The Strident Voice of the Conservatives ……………………………………………31
The Ill-Conceived Compassion Outreach of the Liberals……………………..37
The Heart of the Issue is Poverty ………………………………………………40
The Way Forward ……………………………………………………………..43

ix
Summary ………………………………………………….………………….46
CHAPTER THREE: BIBLICAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT ……………………………47
Overview ……………………………………………………………………………………………..47
Father God’s Unconditional Love for the Poor As Found in Scripture …………48
The Foundational Support Found in the Pentateuch …………………………….48
Father God’s Love and the Believer’s Responsibility……………………51
Father God’s Love Beyond the Pentateuch………………………………53
The Cost to be Paid for Loving the Poor and Oppressed………………….56
Two Divergent Perspectives: One Common Experience…….…………..58
A Brief History of the Lutheran Church’s Service to the Poor……………….64
Overview…………………………………………………………………64
Pietistic Roots of the Lutheran Church’s Social Ministry Movement……65
A Christian and A Democrat – The New Deal & The Great Society…………85
Summary……………………………………………………………………104
CHAPTER FOUR: DESCRIPTION OF THE MINISTRY PROJECT………………..106
Overview………………………………………………………………………106
Essential Principles for Building Networks of Hope………………………….107
The Journey Must Begin with Relationship……………………………..107
The Action Steps………………………………………………………..111
The Binding Principle: Prayer……………………………………….…118
The Birth of Heart of Compassion Partnerships………………………………121
The Birth Pangs………………………………………………………….121
The First Project is Born: The Urban Outreach Center…………………125
The Second Project is Born: Serve the City Chesapeake………………135

x
The Partnership Expands: The Compassion Network is Born…………143
Summary……………………………………………………………………..149
CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS, ANALYSIS, AND FUTURE WORK…………………153
Overview……………………………………………………………………..153
The Cost of Working with the Poor…………………………………………154
It must be understood: Satan hates the Poor……………………………154
Analyzing the Triumphs and Tragedies: Heart of Compassion Partnerships’
Goals…………………………………………………………………………158
Did the Author Achieve What He Set Out To Do?……………………………158
What Went Right & What Could Have Been Done Better?………………..160
What Were the Joys & Sorrows that Occurred in the Context of the
Journey?…………………………………………………………………164
Elements Essential to the Future Development of Heart of Compassion
Partnerships………………………………………………………………….168
What Hopes Does the Author have for this Ministry Project?…………….168
What Does the Author Hope to Achieve before his Ministry Ends?…….171
What needs to occur for this Ministry Outreach to Outlive the Author?.172
Conclusory Remarks…………………………………………………………175
WORKS CITED………………………………………………………………………..179

APPENDIX A: God’s Heart for the Poor A Scriptural Overview………………………183

APPENDIX B: The Kingdom Project of Apostles Lutheran Church…………………..190

APPENDIX C: Step by Step Instructions for Establishing a Non-Profit……………….192

APPENDIX D: Urban Outreach Center Parent Manual…………………………….….194

xi
APPENDIX E: Serve the City Chesapeake Planning Manual………………………….204

APPENDIX Fa: Sermon Outline – Living Like A Follower of Christ…………………224

APPENDIX Fb: Sermon – Living Like a Follower of Christ…………………………..227

APPENDIX G: Sample Memorandum of Understanding………………………………234

APPENDIX H: Building Networks of Hope: A Planning Guide………………………236

APPENDIX I: Suggested Reading for Further Growth………………………………..239

xii

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1. The Binding Principle of Prayer………………………………………………108

Figure 2. Student Mentoring Process…………………………………………………………………….131

Figure 3. Student Leadership Mentoring Process……………………………………………………132

Figure 4. Serve the City Faith Partners…………………………………………………162

xiii

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE 1. Case Study Overview…………………………………………………………21

TABLE 2. Historic Minnesota Lutheran Milestones…………………………………….83

TABLE 3. Essential Principles…………………………………………………………108

TABLE 4. Urban Outreach Center Partners……………………………………………136

TABLE 5. Community Partners for Serve the City Chesapeake……………………….139

TABLE 6. The Vision, Mission, & Purpose of the Compassion Network……………..150

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT
Overview
Since the opening days of the Church, the distribution of material goods has been an issue
that caused distress in the Body of Christ. In the Book of Acts it was the Gentiles who felt their
widows were being neglected (Acts 6:1). In the Books of 1 and 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul
had to address a number of issues surrounding the disparity of goods and their relative
distribution. These included; first, the need to deliver a severe rebuke to the rich who were eating
and drinking to excess before the Lord’s Supper, while the poor had nothing to eat (1 Corinthians
11:20-22); and second, the need to encourage the Corinthians to participate in a collection for
Jerusalem in its time of need (2 Corinthians 8:1-7).
The challenges faced by the early church have not changed as we journey ever deeper
into Twenty-first Century America. Still, the division between rich and poor has grown wider.
Still, the suburban churches have grown richer and larger while the urban churches have grown
smaller and poorer. Still, the in-reach to urban areas by the wealthy suburban churches remains
pathetic. In fact, Ray Bakke, in his book A Theology as Big as the City, compared the growing
separation of rich and poor, which he stated no one could honestly say was not happening all
around the world, to the sin of Sodom. He then gave this warning: “That, my friend, is the most
biblical sign that your city is in grave danger of God’s judgment.”1 For this problem to be

1 Ray Bakke, A Theology As Big As The City (Downer’s Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1997), 42.

reversed, a new way of forming partnerships must be found. Walter Brueggemann spoke of this
as “prophetic energizing.” He linked it in fact, to the hope of what may be: “We are energized by
what we might possess NOT what we have.”2 Thus “prophetic energizing” is fueled by
imagination: “The task of prophetic imagination is bringing forth from people that which was
suppressed so deeply they didn’t know it was there.”3,4 Brueggemann summed up the purpose of
“prophetic energizing” in this way: 5
1) The task of prophetic ministry is to evoke an alternative community that knows
it is about different things in different ways.
2) The practice of prophetic ministry (must be present in all we do).
3) Prophetic ministry seeks to penetrate the numbness that dulls our senses and
keeps us participating in the very body of death (that is killing us).
4) Prophetic ministry seeks to penetrate despair so that new futures can be
believed and embraced…

Don Browning made a similar observation; “For individuals to be free to change social structures
that oppress them, they must be liberated from their psychologically internalized structures of
oppression.”6 In other words, people must be enabled to see a different future if there is any
chance of them being able to live it.
Thus the new way this author proposes to bring about “prophetic energizing” is to build
community partnerships into networks of hope. These networks consist of a dynamic partnership
between faith-based groups, governmental, community organizations and business alliances.

2 Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 14.

3 Ibid, 65.

4 Another great resource that tells in story form the releasing of God-given dreams is Bruce Wilkerson’s
The Dream Giver, Multnomah Publishers, 2003.

5 Brueggemann, 117.
6 Don S. Browning. A Fundamental Practical Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press), 247.

Thus, this chapter seeks to answer the following questions: What is the problem this partnership
addresses? Why is this partnership important? What are the limitations of the partnership? What
are the biblical and historical perspectives of the problem, and the literature pertinent to
addressing this problem?
Statement of the Problem
The purpose of this dissertation is to present an analytical case study that answers the
question: What are the foundational elements required to form community partnerships, between
urban and suburban faith communities, community organizations, and governmental entities, into
networks of hope that bring about transformational change? The author of this dissertation has
seen firsthand the urban-suburban dichotomy from a number of perspectives: first, as a
pharmacist in a small Midwestern town in Ohio known as “the Appalachia” of Ohio, second, as a
pastor who served a congregation in a small struggling agricultural village in Ohio, third, as a
Navy Chaplain where for the first time he experienced a truly urban center in California, and
finally for the last twenty years, as a pastor in suburban Chesapeake, Virginia. During these
separate seasons of service, the author has seen people forced to make decisions on whether to
buy prescriptions or food, while at the same time, watching as one bad decision after another is
made by individuals and governments cementing people into a cycle of poverty.
In each step of the journey, the author attempted to act as an advocate on behalf of the
poor, even becoming involved in politics in a run for the State Legislature in Ohio. The driving
force behind this however, was a liberal perspective that informed the reason for the author’s
involvement, but that was not based in an understanding of the Holy Spirit. Since then, while the

author’s heart for the poor has not changed, the author has changed radically in his relationship
with the Lord, becoming Spirit-filled.
For the past nineteen years, the author served as senior pastor of Apostles Lutheran
Church. In that role, he saw the power of the Holy Spirit at work to transform a congregation
devastated by tragedy and desperately focused inward. Over the last seventeen years, the author
watched Apostles go from a yearly outreach budget of $1,000 to one of over $40,000. What is
more, the author started two non-profit organizations in the Hampton Roads area: PROMOTE
Family Learning Centers, Inc. and Heart of Compassion Partnerships, Inc. PROMOTE was
designed to render services that strengthen the family. Heart of Compassion Partnerships was
designed to network resources in order to bring about neighborhood transformation. The
principle target neighborhood of Heart of Compassion Partnerships has been the Campostella
area of Chesapeake, Virginia because of its designation by the City of Chesapeake.
On June 6, 2006, the City of Chesapeake released their City of Chesapeake 2006
Neighborhood Quality of Life Study.7 The study’s objective was to measure “quality of life”8
issues in the various neighborhoods of the City of Chesapeake, Virginia. “The factors used in the
analysis were primarily derived from local government agencies and organizations. These factors
ranged from social measures of community to environmental quality criteria.”9 The designation
of a neighborhood with a “desirable quality of life” was based on whether or not there existed
“… a mix of older and younger residences…served by strong public schools, and residences that

7 Metropolitan Studies Group, “City of Chesapeake 2006 Neighborhood Quality of Life” (Charlotte, NC:
Chesapeake Neighborhood Services Department, 2006).

8 Ibid, 3.

9 Ibid, 15.

are involved in their community.”10 This was determined by measuring twenty-three variables
organized into four areas: “social, crime, physical, and economic…”11 The assessments were
applied to the city’s “Neighborhood Statistical Areas (NSAs).” Each of the four variables was
measured in each NSA and was then designated into one of three groupings: “Developing,
Sustaining, or Revitalizing.”12
The author, utilizing his non-profit, faith-based organization13, worked in NSA 60, 61,
and 46 known as the Campostella and Portlock areas respectively. Campostella is considered one
of the most at risk areas by the City of Chesapeake due to the number of Title 1 Schools
requiring free meals and other services to its students. The author has worked in this area for
about seven years. At first, the effect of the initial ministry effort in Campostella was marginal,
nonetheless, the author made several observations:
1) The people were skeptical about outside groups. Too many of them had
come to do a short-term project and then use it for their own personal
media promotion.
2) The building of relationships of trust was essential before starting a
major ministry effort.
3) It was essential to come humbly, recognizing that there had been those
who had labored long and hard in that vineyard long before the
suburban church arrived: i.e. the suburban church was not the “great
white hope.”

Since the start of the ministry outreach efforts, the author witnessed firsthand that the
need is critical. In fact, every day of delay sees any number of young people enter a path of pain
and personal destruction. For the author, it was nothing short of agonizing to watch this unfold.

10 Ibid, 17.

11 Ibid, 15.

12 Ibid, 17.

13 Heart Of Compassion Partnerships. Urban Outreach Centers. Online:
http://heartofcompassionpartnerships.com [18 March 2012].

For example, in the early years of life, the faces of the children in these areas are just as bright
and beautiful as the face of any child in the suburbs. By the time they reach their teens however,
a terrible transition begins to take place, and one can literally start to see the light in their eyes
begin to dim by the reality of their circumstances; a reality that points to drugs and gangs as the
only way to a life of material means.
Observing the transition from childhood to young adulthood was enough to break the
author’s heart, but when it became obvious that the only consistent partner these people had was
the government, it was devastating. As one pastor and friend of the author noted, the resultant
lesson that pervades the urban population is one of “take as much as you can and give as little in
return as possible.” Observing this caused the author to spend a significant amount of time and
resources to find another way of ministry delivery that involved the indigenous population. The
author’s passion is to mobilize and bring to bear the Body of Christ in deeds of love that make
real the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:33-40. It was therefore essential for the author to find
another means of ministry delivery to the urban poor.
In his book, Announcing the Kingdom, Arthur Glasser referred to Jeremiah 29:4-7 as
critical to our understanding of urban ministry. In this passage, Jeremiah calls the people of
Israel, now in exile, to pray for the welfare of the city, and then tells them that as the city
prospers, so too will they. “They were to be socially responsible people among the
Babylonians….No longer were Jews to form encapsulated societies living in withdrawal from
other peoples…”14 This remains the challenge for the Church today as well. Conservative
Christians live in isolation and withdrawal, with their emphasis on home schooling and the

14 Arthur F. Glasser, Announcing the Kingdom (Grand Rapids: Baker Academics, 2003), 167.

development of the “Christian version” of entertainment spots and vacation destinations. The
result has been a fierce independence that even isolates one brand of Christian from another.
In order to identify and implement a new ministry delivery system therefore, the author
had to rethink the nature and composition of partnerships. The larger churches were unwilling to
form partnerships unless they were the predominant leader. The smaller churches were willing
but lacked woefully in resources, volunteers, and sometimes, leadership. So the author began to
look at ways of forming private-public partnerships that maintained an unapologetic, full-
throated Christian witness. With nothing to start with but a vision and the backing of the author’s
congregation, the outreach to Campostella began in earnest.
At the heart of this outreach effort was the need to become a “missional church.” Mark
Driscoll defined the missional church in the following ways: 15
 Missions is every Christian being a missionary to their local culture.
 Churches are the people who love Jesus and serve his mission.
 Community means the church is a counterculture with a new way of life through
Jesus.
 Pastors are missiologists who train Christians to be effective missionaries.
 Faith is lived publicly together as the church and includes all of life.
Thus the outreach began by forming partnerships within the culture. The first partnership
was with the real estate company that owned the subsidized housing units in the area. This
company received a grant from HUD (Housing and Urban Development) to convert a group of
apartments into a community center. Consequently, they were now required by HUD to provide
programming, which necessitated the need to have someone run the programming. Together,
stakeholders forged a partnership that included a local church (at the author’s insistence), the

15 Mark Driscoll, Confessions of a Reformissional Rev: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Church (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 19-20.

police, the Office of Neighborhood Development for the City of Chesapeake, the work-study
office of a local university and, through the author’s participation on the Governor’s Council on
Faith-based Initiative, the Commissioner of Virginia’s Department of Human Services.
The concept of public-private partnerships to build networks of hope is presented in this
case study as a model delivery system for effective and transformative ministry. The study
addresses the time frame that began when the Urban Outreach Center was established in the
Campostella area under the direction of Heart of Compassion Partnerships. The study analyzes
strategies used in the networking process, and includes a start-up manual that provides a template
for a memorandum of understanding, the essentials for operating a Spirit-filled ministry in a
secular environment, the importance of mentoring in breaking the cycle of poverty, and
strategies for reaching the parents/caretakers while serving the children.
Rationale for Doing the Case Study
During the mid to late Twentieth Century, the delivery of goods and services to the
needy, by and large moved from being an outreach effort of small communities taking care of
their own, to a governmental system of delivery. Governmental involvement in the delivery
system came as a result of widespread hunger and joblessness in the Great Depression. Although
it would be hard to argue that this action was not necessary, it began to create a sense of
entitlement, dependence, and release. In the urban settings where poverty remained a constant
way of life, there grew a sense of entitlement to government assistance and dependence on this
aid. In the suburban area, there came a release of responsibility as people began to see the care of
the poor as belonging to the government which was bought and paid for through their taxes.

Thus began the rise of the self-focused suburban congregation. Hundreds of churches
began to rise in the resource-rich neighborhoods of the predominately white middle and upper-
middle class areas of our nation. In fact, lured by the wealth and the relative lack of problems
within the suburban population as compared to the urban poor, there were even some
congregations that relocated from urban areas to the suburbs. This attitude was even adopted
among church planters and thus became a prevalent means of establishing new churches. Bakke
codified this in his research. “Protestants generally have cut themselves off from ‘parish’
thinking – an ongoing commitment to their place of ministry – so that when a church’s location
became ‘inconvenient’ it simply relocated to a new place, often near a freeway.”16 Don
Browning in A Fundamental Practical Theology said, “In the middle-class white churches that I
knew, there was little concern with concrete issues of welfare, housing, employment, and
financial counseling.”17
Whether denominationally tied or independent, church planters looked to the
demographics of a region to identify the fast growing areas where it can be relativity assured that
a quick-start mission would have success. Some even marketed the choice of a name to see what
would best sell. In this regard, the author has been unable to identify a single mission start by
denominations traditionally associated with middle/upper-middle class American Christians in
areas marked urban and poor in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Walter Brueggemann
observed that this reality caused the suburban church to become so bound by materialism it no
longer even sees the need for God’s Kingdom principles, much less responds to the need around

16 Ray Bakke, A Theology As Big As The City (Downer’s Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1997), 42.

17 Don S. Browning. A Fundamental Practical Theology (Minneapolis: Fortress Press), 254.

them. “For those who regulate and benefit from the order of the day, a truly free God is not
necessary, desirable, or perhaps even possible. Compare this to the social setting of most
churches in America.”18
Driving this rush to the suburbs was the insatiable appetite created by the church growth
movement in the concept of the “attractional” church. The purpose of the attractional church is to
draw people in by a whole array of goods and services. Mark Driscoll puts it this way, “The
primary task of the ‘attractional’ church is to bring people from the culture into the church to
partake of programming that targets their felt needs.”19 There is much debate in the literature
about this phenomenon, with some that point to the vast numbers of people in the church that
would not otherwise be there, while others point to a damaging theology that has been
established by this approach. By in large however, the analysis has not been positive. Reggie
McNeal in Missional Renaissance, Changing the Scorecard for the Church, observed that the
church had inadvertently reduced the activities of God from King of the Universe to an activities
director in a church.20 Alex Roxburgh and Scott Boren agreed that the Gospel has even been
compromised by this approach. “Conversation about the missional church should be informed by
the Latin phrase: missio dei (Mission of God)…(but) the Gospel has been compromised in that it

18 Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 23.

19 Mark Driscoll, Confessions of a Reformissional Rev: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Church (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), 25.
20 McNeal discusses this concept and the damage done on pages 42 to 45 of his book. He states that the
worst part of this has been the idea of the “church culture” to which people must be converted and then convinced to
withdrawal into from the world.

has become all about us and how God is supposed to meet our needs and we have created the
attractional church to show God does just that.”21
Regardless of the missional vs. attractional debate, the result of this suburban outlook by
the Body of Christ has been an abandoning of the urban poor to the government. Worse yet, it
has created a cycle of poverty from which it is very difficult to break free. As Brueggemann
observed, “…you destroy hope when the present is also the future.”22
In response to this demeaning cycle, many in the conservative branch of Christianity have
become very vocal about how government intervention is a waste of their tax dollars and have
called for an end to government welfare programs. Yet their in-reach to the urban area has been
woefully inadequate, and in no way could it replace what the government is doing. In fact, in-
reach by the Body of Christ has fallen into a rather dysfunctional pattern. Conservatives want to
preach the Gospel but are not known for their involvement in the material lives of the poor.
Liberals want to provide material aid but are little interested in the spiritual development of the
poor where true transformation is to be found. It is a sad commentary on the Church that this
situation was identified twenty-one years ago by Lesslie Newbigin: 23
“On the one hand, there are those who place exclusive emphasis on the winning of
individuals to conversion…(with) numerical growth (as)…the central goal of mission –
for these, action for justice and peace in the world is a secondary matter. On the other
hand, there are those who condemn this as irrelevant or wrong. The gospel is about God’s
Kingdom (on earth).”

21 Alan J. Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren, Introducing the Missional Church, What it is, Why it Maters,
How to Become One (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 69.

22 Walter Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2001), 61.

23 Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, 1989), 135.

Newbigin struck a very careful balance in discussing this issue, but he gave these warnings as his
conclusion: 24
1) “A Christian community which makes its own self-enlargement its primary task may
be acting against God’s will.”25
2) “The conflict between these two ways of understanding mission is profoundly
weakening the Church’s witness.”26
3) “To set word and deed, preaching and action, against each other is absurd. Action or
justice and peace in the world is not something which is secondary, (or) marginal to the
central task of evangelism. It belongs to the heart of the matter.”

This classic dichotomy between liberal and conservative churches begs the question:
“Why are “Spirit-filled” Christians less responsive than traditional mainline groups?” Larry
Christenson in his book, The Charismatic Renewal Among Lutherans, challenged the new
Lutheran Charismatics by observing, “When we have prayer meetings and Bible studies, the
charismatics are right there. But when there’s work to be done around the church, it’s the old-line
Lutherans I can count on.”27 Thus, the challenge of this project was to identify the foundational
elements that enable suburban church members to move beyond the comfort zone of serving
their fellow members, to the places of real need in their communities. Equally important was the
means to inspire and empower urban church members to move from a position of entitlement to
one of servant-leaders in their communities.
Also undergirding the problem is the seeming inability of the Body of Christ to work
together. Laying aside the Apostle Paul’s words that in Christ there is to be no Jew or Gentile,

24 Ibid, 137.

25 Ibid.

26 Ibid, 136.

27 Larry Christenson, The Charismatic Renewal Among Lutherans (Minneapolis: International Lutheran
Renewal Center, 1985), 124.

circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free (Colossians 3:11), we remain
divided over prayer, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, worship, and almost anything else one would
want to name. Overcoming sectarian attitudes is imperative for the Body of Christ if our witness
is to be persuasive and our communities transformed. The author makes the case that delivery of
ministry to the urban poor is the most effective way to overcome these attitudes, with the result
that the Body of Christ is brought together to bring about true spiritual transformation in our
neighborhoods.
The author further believes the concept of public-private partnerships addressed in this
case study demonstrates a model delivery system for effective and transformative ministry.
Historically, it even aligns with the original concept behind the word “church.” As Roxburgh and
Boren observed, “The Greek word used for church in the Bible – ecclesia – wasn’t a religious
word, but rather a political word meaning, ‘public assembly.’ They chose this word because they
saw themselves as a ‘public sign’, i.e. a local church is to be an embodiment of what God is
calling all creation to be through the Spirit.”28 Thus for the author, the model necessarily
includes essentials in operating a Spirit-filled ministry in a secular environment that also seeks to
break the cycle of poverty. As Ray Bakke observed, “God’s Kingdom agenda seeks the personal
salvation of all persons and the social transformation of all places.”29 Thus the building of
networks of hope needs to be accomplished by bringing together people of goodwill in both the
secular and sacred world, and by marrying an outreach of sustenance with an in-reach of spiritual
empowerment.

28 Alan J. Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren, Introducing the Missional Church, What it is, Why it Maters,
How to Become One (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 71.

29 Ray Bakke, A Theology As Big As The City (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1997), 66.

Limitations and Assumptions
The intent of this case study is to present a model that the author believes is both
transferable and brings together urban and suburban congregations in meaningful partnerships
meant to endure over long periods of time. Thus the case study will present a broad range of
activities that were engaged in as part of the outreach efforts in the Campostella area of
Chesapeake, Virginia only. To demonstrate its transferability however, it will have to be
replicated in other areas. While the author intends to do that, this dissertation does not address
this possibility.
In addition, while the author does not in any way limit the power of the Holy Spirit to
bring about sudden and instantaneous change, it is long term, on-going change that the author
seeks when using the term “transformation.” The time period covered by this case study does not
allow for outcomes over a sufficient time to demonstrate long term change. Instead, the author
was limited to identifying the initial signs of transformation.
Additionally, this case study analysis takes place in a certain kind of American culture.
Thus, it may not transfer well to other cultures, or to large metropolitan areas of our nation. This
would need to be demonstrated through cross-cultural studies.
Finally, future doctoral projects besides those mentioned thus far, include quantitative
studies that develop testing instruments to measure behavioral changes and choices made by
clients in this or future studies. An example might be the measurement of the number of long
term productive partnerships that remain vital after twenty years or more or the transformational
impact on individuals or neighborhoods.

Biblical, Theological and Historical
Arguably, the most significant moment in the interaction of Jesus with His disciples came
on the night He was betrayed. Up to that moment, the disciples were for the most part, unwitting
observers of servant leadership in the Kingdom that had been brought into their world. Over and
over, they indicated by their response and actions that they did not understand what was
happening in their midst. So on this night, Jesus did not speak in parables or lessons. Instead He
demonstrated in word and deed how essential it was for them to become servant leaders.
It is the Apostle John who captured this teaching and laid it out for us clearly and
succinctly in the words of Jesus, words that are truly given with the care of final instructions. In
other words, Jesus is saying this is what I have been teaching you, and this is the legacy of
service I wish to leave to you. Two strong teachings emerged, but not until He gave them a
demonstration that stunned them all. Thus after supper, Jesus removed His outer garments,
girded Himself with a towel and began to wash the disciple’s feet. This moment was so shocking
that at first, Peter steadfastly refused. No way was someone of such prominence going to do the
work of slaves. But Jesus replied unless they entered into this moment, they had no part in Him.
Following this life-shaping moment, Jesus began to teach. He started by telling them how
they must carry out their mission, He told them the effect it would have on the mission, and then
He told them the mission. First He told them how they were to carry out the mission: 30
Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you
are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also
ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should
do just as I have done to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his
master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things,
blessed are you if you do them.

30 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Jn 13:12–17. Note:
all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version unless otherwise noted.

In a single masterful stroke, Jesus encapsulated the heart of God. As with all His teachings,
however, Jesus drew this teaching from the Hebrew Scriptures.
All through the Old Testament, God’s heart for the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the
sojourner in their midst is evident. In fact, if the poor are neglected, there are curses and
punishments that are prescribed, and if they are cared for, there are blessings.31 This lesson
would not be lost on the new Church as the office of Deacon was established by the Apostles in
Acts 6:1-6. Thus it was critical to our Lord in His final moments with the disciples, that He
anchor in their hearts the absolute necessity that they be servant leaders. In His next phase of
teaching, Jesus told them why this was so important.
Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have
loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my
disciples, if you have love for one another.” (Jn 13:34-35). Jesus knew that servant leadership
was so different from how the world operated, that it would be the one distinguishing mark the
world could not ignore. In fact, when Jesus had to teach this lesson to the disciples for the third
time, because they had slipped into an argument about which one was the greatest, He said to
them:
You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise
authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among
you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave,
even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many. (Matt 20:25-28).

Does this mean then, that the principle mission of the Church is to do good works? The answer
is, “No.” After driving home the methodology and its purpose Jesus told them the mission.

31 See Appendix A: God’s Heart for the Poor

Jesus simply said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.” (Jn 14:6). Thus, the mission of the disciples was to show the world the way
to Heaven, and the only way to Heaven is through the Son. But first, they had to get the world’s
attention. They, like us, lived in a pluralistic culture that embraced the worship of many gods.
Thus, without getting the world’s attention that they were different, they would not get a hearing
on this “New Way” they were to introduce.
This is what is so disturbing to the author and why he feels this project is not only on
solid biblical ground, but is desperately needed. The current standing of outreach by the faith
community is nothing short of disturbing. In conservative faith-based publications (e.g.:
Charisma Magazine), there is an all-out attack on the government and anything having to do with
the government, including the care of the poor. In liberal publications (e.g.: Sojourners
Magazine), the zeal for community organizing is so fervent among mainline groups that if
getting a community to come together to demand government help means dropping the name
Jesus, then so be it. In other words, “interfaith” is in, “Christian” is out.32 To embrace this
thinking; however, is to embrace only two-thirds of the teaching of Jesus.
The faith community is not called to merely engage in good works for the sake of good
works. What is accomplished if someone is well fed and fashionably clothed if ultimately they
go to hell? Transformation must be a function of BOTH body and soul. In fact, the biblical-
historical record demands it.
So how did the Church get so disengaged from the mission and so focused on the
methodology? For the American Church, the answer seems to point to the era of the Great

32 As an example, see page 15 of Sojourners magazine the April 2010 issue.

Depression. Prior to this time, the work of charity was done neighbor to neighbor and local
church to community. In fact, in Freedom from Fear, David Kennedy points out that prior to this
moment it was unheard of for the government to meet the social needs of our nation.33
Overwhelmed with the need presented by an unemployment figure of 25%, relief agencies and
local churches found it impossible to meet the need and began to look for help from wherever it
might come. The Franklin Delano Roosevelt Administration responded with the New Deal.
The architect of the New Deal was a devout Christian named, Francis Perkins. She was
the first woman to hold a presidential cabinet position. Kristin Downey wrote about Perkins in,
The Woman Behind the New Deal-The life of Francis Perkins, FDR’s Secretary of Labor and his
moral conscious. With the best of intentions and a heart for the poor, Perkins helped construct
the infrastructure that laid the ground work for government intervention. Before one heaps
criticism on Ms. Perkins however, it must be remembered there was a different cultural overlay
in that day in which the integration of one’s faith into their work would not have been questioned
as it is today. As times changed however, the cry of separation of church and state became
louder and louder and government intervention took a decidedly secular turn.
Thus, it is crucial for the Church to reemerge as the principle provider of outreach to the
neediest of our society. If we seek true and lasting transformation, the Church of Jesus Christ is
the only one equipped to lead the way. As such, the author believes ministry outreach such as the
one presented in this dissertation is the future of the church.

33 See Kennedy’s discussion in chapters two and three.

Literature Pertinent to the Case Study
The literature encompasses a wide array of subjects both sacred and secular. The history
of service delivery to the poor and the transfer of responsibility from individuals and churches to
the government will need to be documented. This will require literature covering the Great
Depression, the New Deal and the Great Society. Additionally, literature covering how the
church has responded to the needs of the poor will need to be reviewed.
Finally, the author would need to make an argument about how experience of the Spirit
brings about change in people, with the net result of outreach to the poor. Most of the evidence
in this regard is experiential, but in “academic terms” this must be quantified. Thus, it might be
necessary to review some sociological research on religious experience and how this experience
impacts people toward outreach.
One primary resource was Karla Poewe’s essay “Rethinking the Relationship of
Anthropology to Science and Religion.”34 Several of the authors in this volume are indebted to
Poewe for their research into religious experience, relying upon her concept of metonym rather
than metaphor. Another of Poewe’s works might be her article, “On the Metonymic Structure of
Religious Experience: The Example of Charismatic Christianity.”35
A theme repeating itself in the literature was the necessity for the church to engage
culture. This author found Roxburgh and Boren’s observation particularly helpful: “All the
church does and is should live out God’s life in the midst of the world; missional people should

34 Karla Poewe, “Rethinking the Relationship of Anthropology to Science and Religion,” in Charismatic
Christianity as Global Culture, 234-54.
35 Karla Poewe, “On the Metonymic Structure of Religious Experience: The Example of Charismatic
Christianity,” in Cultural Dynamics 2:4 (1989): 361-80.

practice God’s life before a watching world.”36 The implication is clear, the Body of Christ must
learn to come together and work together because it is in our unity that we witness to the world
of the power of Christ. As Bakke states, “If the Bible teaches that cities are important beyond the
fact that they are collections of individuals, then our ministry in cities must be both public and
private, personal and corporate.”37
Methods of Solving and Analyzing the Problem
Heart of Compassion Partnerships, the author’s 501c3 non-profit group currently
operating in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia, has served as the vehicle for outreach into the
Campostella area of Chesapeake. The mission statement for HOCP follows:

Heart of Compassion Partnerships (HOCP) is a faith based organization seeking to
transform lives one neighborhood at a time through the power of social convergence. By
working through private-public partnerships, HOCP identifies the needs in underserved
areas, and then brings to bear the resources and gifts of its partner organizations to
address those needs. The end result is neighborhood transformation.

Currently, HOCP carries out its mission by engaging in two ministry efforts. The first is
called The Urban Outreach Centers in which the mentoring and training of children occurs. The
operations of the center are based on a tutoring/mentoring model in which participants in the
program eventually become mentors for the younger students. The second is called Serve the
City which brings together the faith community to do free home repairs and community
improvement projects.

36 Alan J. Roxburgh and M. Scott Boren, Introducing the Missional Church, What it is, Why it Maters,
How to Become One (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2009), 54.

37 Ray Bakke, A Theology As Big As The City (Downers Grove: Intervarsity Press, 1997), 64.

It is the author’s intent through case study analysis, to identify and evaluate the
effectiveness of these programs in order to bring together the Body of Christ in meaningful
service that changes lives. Key questions explored and analyzed are in Table 1. The final phase
of evaluation will be discussed in the next section.
Table 1: Case Study Overview

Recruitment
Phase
1. What was the initial response of pastors who
were invited to be involved?
2. Was there a difference in the response of
large churches verses small churches?
3. How did residences of Campostella respond
to the opportunity given by the ministries
offered?
4. What were the setbacks and how were they
overcome?
5. What community organizations were
identified as important partners and was the
recruiting process different than the faith
community?
6. What was necessary for government and
community groups to have a comfort level
in working with the faith community?
7. Was the name of Christ honored in the
recruitment phase?
Implementation
Phase
1. What programs were identified as key to life
change for the residences of Campostella?
2. What level of participation was seen by the
churches compared to the initial
commitment made?
3. Were there evaluation instruments used to
measure progress in life change of the
program participants?
4. What setbacks occurred and how have they
been overcome?
5. Emphasis has been placed on children
throughout the implementation phase. Why?
6. How were the faith participants kept free to
share the Gospel in light of community and
government involvement?
7. Was the name of Christ honored in the
implementation phase?

Evaluation of the Case Study
Although quantitative research is not part of a case study project, it was nonetheless
important for Heart of Compassion Partnerships to obtain these measurements in regard to the
educational activities of our Urban Outreach Centers. Thus, as part of the evaluation of the work
done in Campostella, the author presents the outcomes of pre- and post-testing completed as part
of the 2012-2013 school year. In addition, surveys were taken of the teachers whose pupils were
part of the afterschool program of the Urban Outreach Center, and this too is presented.
The qualitative analysis presented includes perceptions of the pastors whose
congregations participated in the various ministries of Heart of Compassion Partnerships. The
author presents analysis from such questions as whether or not participants’ views of the poor
have changed and whether or not there has been increased involvement in the life of the
congregation by those who were volunteers, including the Chief of Police of the Chesapeake
Police Department regarding the impact on crime. Testimonies are included from those who
were the beneficiaries of the outreach ministries.
Results and Conclusions
The completion of this case study resulted in a fully operational picture of a community
partnership organized into a network of hope for the purpose of transformational change. As a
result of this study, faith groups desiring to impact their community are now utilizing the manual
included as Appendix E to serve our city.
Additionally, the author, who serves as the founder and leader of Heart of Compassion
Partnerships, desires this ministry to continue long after his involvement ends. The model

resulting from this project provides succeeding generations the blueprint to enable building
networks of hope without hindrance.
Finally, the author continues shaping the building process for networks of hope that has
enabled it to be adapted for other believer’s particular context of ministry. It is also the author’s
passion to promote the building of networks of hope to his denominational fellowship as well as
missionaries with whom he has developed a relationship. One such example is the work being
done in Belarus as a result of the author’s guidance.
Summary
There are few mandates clearer in the Bible than our responsibility to care for the poor in
our midst. By the same token, there are few mandates neglected more by the Church than the
care of the poor. There are many excuses given for this, but none of them are biblical. If the Lord
were to return today, how would the Church in America fair in relationship to the mandate of
Matthew 25? Would we be numbered among the sheep or the goats? This author seeks through
networks of hope to link, train, and inspire partnerships so that lives may be transformed.
The crucial question of this case study is, “What are the foundational elements required
to build community partnerships, between urban and suburban faith communities, community
organizations, and governmental entities that result in networks of hope that bring about
transformational change?” The City of Chesapeake, Virginia identified Campostella as a
targeted area for revitalization through their Quality of Life study. This author became involved
in this area through a partnership with Refuge Church of God in Christ, Lawson Reality, and the
City of Chesapeake. The facilitating group designated to oversee the partnership is the author’s
non-profit corporation, Heart of Compassion Partnerships.

The problem addressed is the lack of involvement in urban areas by suburban churches
leaving the urban population caught in a devastating cycle of poverty that kills hope, destroys
lives, and steals dreams. By building networks of hope, the author sought to reverse this trend by
restoring hope, mentoring success, and building dreams. Building networks of hope is
accomplished through training and education that will address parenting and education skills and
community improvement projects. This requires a coming together of urban and suburban
congregations, city governments, civic leagues, businesses, and universities.
The benefits to families as a result of this network are: the cycle of poverty is broken, a
firm relationship with Christ is established, and a future anchored in hope is enabled. In addition,
the faith community in partnership with the city unites in an on-going partnership of community
improvement for those who cannot afford this help. Additionally, specific goals and objectives
are laid out to guide the ministry of Heart of Compassion Partnerships and a framework is
provided to ensure that the program accomplishes its God given mission.
Heart of Compassion Partnerships, through the building of networks of hope, is the
product and producer of dreams. It is the dream of this author to see interracial bridging in the
ministry of urban and suburban congregations. In fact, this has been one of the major focuses of
his dream over the last decade. It is also the mission of Networks of Hope to help give birth and
new life to the dreams and futures of its participants and to awaken a new relationship with
Christ that will give them a future not only on earth but for eternity.

CHAPTER TWO: SURVEY OF THE LITERATURE
Overview
The literature surrounding the delivery of compassion based services is vast and growing
as more and more churches engage in this activity for legitimate and illegitimate purposes.38 As
the author read a wide array of literature and viewed a number of documentaries on the subject,
there emerged two ideological camps: one conservative, one liberal. As one might imagine from
the political morass in which our nation finds itself, the direction and terminology of these two
camps is quite divergent.
The purpose of this chapter therefore, is to bring to light how the choice of words not
only influences the tone of the conversation, but the delivery of services as well. Both camps
have strengths and weaknesses, and these will be pointed out. Additionally, the author found
himself at home in each of the camps, yet at other times he found himself repulsed by their
views.
Thus, this author drew the conclusion that a coming together of the two streams of
thought was the best direction to go. This direction, which combines the literary views, also
supports the author’s thesis, but may well prove to be unsatisfying to this intransigent culture that
seems to want everything labeled in black and white terms. To take one view over the other
however, is to ignore Scripture, history, and a decade of personal experience in the delivery of

38 This is taken up on pp 42-43 of this dissertation.

compassion ministry by the author. Every effort is made to present the literary views in a
balanced and fair manner. Even so, the author’s high view of Scripture is clearly the guiding
force that is not compromised. Thus the conclusions drawn from this chapter support the thesis
that the formation of community partnerships, between urban and suburban faith communities,
community organizations, and governmental entities, into networks of hope represent the wave
of the future to bring about transformational change in the lives of individuals and families.

Framing the Discussion
The Unity Shared within the Liberal and Conservative Perspective
The common perspective held within the two divergent perspectives of focus, liberal and
conservative, centers around the desire to fulfill a calling to the poor in time of need. There is no
disagreement on whether action should be taken by faith-based groups, rather, the disagreement
that frames the discussion is on when, how much, and under what conditions services should be
provided. The first point of contention to explore is the reasoning under which services are
provided.
Chapter one of this dissertation quotes Ray Bakke in A Theology as Big as The City when
he suggests that any city where the growing gap between rich and poor is getting greater, is a
sure sign that that city is in danger of God’s judgment. To understand what created the condition
that warranted such a stark statement, this author believes one must understand Walter
Brueggemann’s, The Prophetic Imagination.
Brueggemann begins with the premise that there is no freedom of God without the
politics of justice and compassion and no politics of justice and compassion without the
freedom of God. To this end, Timothy Keller, in his book, Generous Justice: How God’s

Grace Makes Us Just, argues the same point. He wrote that many would call generosity
to the poor mercy or charity, this however, is not supported in Scripture. He noted, “In
the Scripture, gifts to the poor are called ‘acts of righteousness,’ as in Matthew 6:1-2. Not
giving generously, then, is not stinginess, but unrighteousness.”39 Historically, few have
embodied the politics of justice and compassion more than Martin Luther King Jr.
Many outside King’s circle of influence, particularly white Americans, tried to get
African Americans to be satisfied with freedom in Christ, but it is very hard to experience
contentment when one has a foot on their neck. On the other hand, many within the Black
power movement, also outside King’s influence, attempted to have justice without Christ.
This prescription did little except to release fear and violence. This is highlighted in
Donald S. Browning’s book “A Fundamental Practical Theology” involving a case study
on the ministry of Rev. Arthur Brazier. At the time of Browning’s research, Rev. Brazier
was Senior Pastor at the Apostolic Church of God in Woodlawn, near Chicago. In a
sermon in which he addressed racism he said, “White Americans…are not like the South
Africans. Martin Luther King Jr. knew that, underneath it all, most white Americans do
have the right values. These values can be appealed to …”40
Perhaps the most poignant of the appeals was Dr. King’s, “I Have a Dream”
speech, delivered in Washington D.C on August 28, 1963. In that speech, he articulated a
dream of transformation not just for African Americans, but for all people. Timothy
Keller seems to support this idea when he said, as he was pointing to the life’s work of
Martin Luther King Jr., “There are not gradations in the image of God…We will know

39 Timothy Keller. Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just (New York: Dutton, 2010),
15.
40 Donald S. Browning, A Fundamental Practical Theology (Minneapolis Fortress Press, 1991), 251.

one day that God made us to live together as brothers and to respect the dignity and worth
of every man. This is why we must fight segregation with all of our nonviolent might.”41
In other words, King was not satisfied with the present as it was. This is what Walter
Brueggemann meant by “prophetic energizing,” when he wrote, “We are energized by
what we might possess, not by what we have.”42 Put another way, if the future looks the
same as the present, there will be no transformative power in our lives to drive us to that
future. That is, “you destroy hope when the present is also the future.”43
Two important outcomes of prophetic energizing are;1) “…to penetrate the
numbness that dulls our senses and keeps us participating in the very body of death that is
killing us,”44 and 2) “…to penetrate despair so that new futures can be believed and
embraced.”45 This is also the role of compassion ministries.
Acts of kindness that do little more than perpetuate the current condition of the
individual, accomplish no more than keeping that individual in a cycle of poverty. In
other words, anyone can keep the physical steps clean leading into one’s house, but only
Jesus can keep the threshold leading into our souls cleansed. Thus to be effective,
compassion ministries must see themselves as agents of transformation. That is,
“…bringing forth from people that which was suppressed so deeply they didn’t know it

41 Keller, 86-87.
42 Walter Brueggemann. The Prophetic Imagination (Minneapolis Fortress Press,
2001), 14.

43 Ibid, 61.
44 Ibid, 117.
45 Ibid.

was there.”46 Both the liberal and conservative views agree with this premise. As Helen
Barnes, a member of Rev. Brazier’s church47 who started the Christian Action Lay
Ministry stated in her interview with Don Browning, “Many important religious beliefs
and values are communicated by the way we care for one another.”48
The second area of agreement involved the need to do outreach itself. When the
economy collapsed at the end of the Bush Administration, it revealed the state of “poor
America” in terms not seen since the Great Depression. One of the more telling
documents in this regard, especially in terms of this dissertation, is the report, “Poverty in
Virginia.”49
What makes this report especially revealing is the fact that most of its work was
done prior to the economic collapse of 2008. To account for this, the report cited the
following from the Brookings Institute, “The poverty rate will increase rapidly through
2011 or 2012 and will not return to its 2007 level for more than 10 years.”50 This
ominous prediction is bearing itself out. By the time the 2011 United States Census
Report on poverty was released, the poverty level in Virginia had increased to 11.5%,51

46 Ibid, 65.
47 See Footnote 47.
48 Donald S. Browning, 253.
49 The report’s purpose was to present to the Governor recommendations for addressing poverty in
Virginia and was completed by Virginia’s Poverty Task Force in 2009. The author obtained a copy of the
report by virtue of his participation on the Governor’s Advisory Panel on the Faith-Based Initiative. The
author has served on this panel from 2002 to the present.

50 Emily Manea and Isabel Sawhill, “Stimulating the Effect of the Great Recession on poverty.” Sept 2009,
cited in Poverty in Virginia, Recommendations for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Poverty Task Force 2009.
51 Alemayehu Bishaw, Poverty: 2010 and 2011 Issued September 2012, American Community
Survey Briefs US Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acsbr11-01 .

up from 9.9% in 2007.52 53 Faced with the reality of these figures, there is no
disagreement on either side of the theological perspective on the need to act.
Of equal importance to the author’s thesis were the factors identified in the “Poverty in
Virginia” report for why families and individuals find themselves in poverty. “[T]he strongest
predictors of poverty are marriage and work. Virginia families headed by women have a 60%
chance of being in poverty, compared to 4% of married families with children. Female headed
households having at least one person working, lowers the probability (of being poor) from 60%
to 18%”54 55 A major concern by both liberal and conservative groups is the breakdown of the
family and its implications. In fact, to emphasize the importance of this factor, the “Poverty in
Virginia” report quoted this statistic, “Census data shows that if all Americans finished high
school, worked full time at whatever job they then qualify for with their education, and married
at the same rate as Americans married in 1970, the poverty rate would be cut by around 70%.” 56

52 Alemayehu Bishaw, Poverty: 2007 and 2008 Issued September 2012, American Community
Survey Briefs US Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/prod/2009pubs/acsbr08-1 .

53 The “Poverty in Virginia” report noted that even these figures probably underestimated the level
of poverty. Poverty levels are determined by taking the subsistence cost of food for a family and
multiplying it by 3 to cover all other cost. Yet it was noted that the cost of housing during this period, for
the first time since figures had been collected, had outpaced the cost of food.

54 Poverty in Virginia: Recommendations from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s
Poverty Task Force 2009, 9.

55 When this report was presented to the Faith-Based Initiative Advisory Council on which the author sat,
this statistic was so stunning, that an extended discussion ensued to ensure that this was indeed an accurate figure.
56 Ron Haskins “Getting Ahead in America” National Affairs (1) 1; 2009, quoted in Poverty in Virginia:
Recommendations from the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Poverty Task Force 2009, 11.

These figures were echoed by Ron Sider in Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming
Poverty in America, 57
The best single predictor of whether a child will suffer the agony of poverty is whether
Mom and Dad are married. Marital status is a better predictor of who will become poor
than education, race, neighborhood, or family background… Children in one-parent
families are eleven times more likely to experience persistent poverty than children in
two-parent families. Seventy-three percent of all children fall into poverty at some point
in their childhood.

These are stunning statistics, but they point to a real opportunity for Christians on both ends of
the theological spectrum to have a transformative impact.
Therefore, to summarize this section:
1) Both conservative and liberal believers agree on the call to care for the poor in our
midst.
2) Both conservative and liberal believers agree on the growing need to care for the
poor in our midst.
3) Both conservative and liberal believes agree on the need for compassionate ministry
to be transformative.

With agreement on the need for compassion ministry to be an agent of transformation and
on the fact that the need for compassion ministry is great, one would think that common ground
could be found for the two theological camps to come together. Unfortunately, this common
ground lies fallow. In its place are the strident voices of politics that have so damaged our ability
to govern ourselves as a nation, while at the same time bringing division between brothers and
sisters of the faith. The next section presents an overview of these voices.
The Strident Voice of the Conservatives
Several voices emerged from the conservative perspective, but none as prolific or
influential as Marvin Olasky. Thus his writings dominate the discussion, with the other voices
occupying a supportive role. As stated previously, conservatives do not deny nor feel led to flee

57 Ronald J. Sider, Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America (Baker Books,
Grand Rapids, 1999), 121.

from the plight of the poor. They do however spend much energy on deciding who among the
poor should be helped. In fact, there is no term in the writings of the conservatives that appears
more than “worthy poor” or its derivations such as “deserving poor.” Added to this are the terms
“lazy” and the “pauperized.”58
Olasky begins his history, The Tragedy of American Compassion, by putting God on his
side: “The only question might be, how would we want God to deal with us? As a cold official
who provides material without love? As a warm sugar daddy who gives without discipline?
Cultures build systems of charity in the image of the god they worship, whether distant deist,
bumbling bon vivant, or ‘whatever goes’ gopher.”59 He clarified this statement by pointing out
that different cultures viewed God in different ways, but that the views of the colonialist where
more in line with truth. “When ideas of God changed, so did systems of charity, but early on, it
was considered right to place sinners in the hands of a challenging economy.”60 What is more,
“Punishment for refusal to work and continued alcoholism could include whipping. But
enforcing work among the able-bodied was not seen as oppressive.”61
The “enforcing of work” was a dominate theme among the conservatives. In an article
written by Clive Beed and Cara Beed, “Assisting the Poor to Work: A Biblical Interpretation,”
they stated the following, “The basic problem is to restore the ‘productive capability’ of the
poor…enabling people to be self-sufficient. We believe that God’s and Jesus’ teachings suggest

58Pauperized was a term used by Olasky to describe the efforts to help the poor that he felt lead to a
condition that proliferated a class of lazy, overly dependent people.
59 Marvin Olasky, The Tragedy of American Compassion (Wheaton, Ill, Crossways Books,
2008), 8.
60 Ibid.
61 Ibid, 11.

that the poor are to be encouraged into forms of work organization exhibiting particular
characteristics and structures that are of optimal benefit to humankind.”62 But, as Timothy Keller
observed, this attitude often leads to blaming the poor for their condition, “Conservative theorists
put the blame on the breakdown of the family, for the loss of character qualities such as self-
control and discipline, and other habits and practices of the poor themselves…”63
In fact, in reading the material, it seemed important for the conservatives to make a clear
and distinct line between those who are worthy of help and those who must demonstrate a
turnaround in attitude before receiving help. For example, the following questions were offered
as guidance for those who are approached for help in church offices in When Helping Hurts:
How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself:
First, is there really a crisis at hand?…Second, to what degree was the individual
personally responsible for the crisis?… [I]t is…important to consider the person’s own
culpability in the situation. …allowing people to feel some of the pain resulting from
any irresponsible behavior on their part can be the tough love needed… [W]hat if this
person’s fundamental problem is not having the self-discipline to keep a stable job?…In
this case…it would be better not to do anything at all than to give [a] handout…[A
better]—and far more costly—solution would be for your church to develop a
relationship with this person.64

But how does one “build a relationship” in the case that Corbett and Fikkert suggest? The
individual is in crisis. They are looking for relief in their situation. Their utility service is about
to be cut off and they are told, “You will have to sit in the dark for a while because of the bad
choices you have made, but eventually we will get you straightened out.” The fundamental
problem with the conservative’s argument is that it releases the one from whom charity should

62Clive Beed, and Cara Beed. Assisting the Poor to Work: A Biblical Interpretation, in Christian
Scholar’s Review, Vol XL #1, Fall 2010, 15.
63Keller, 33.
64 Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert. When Helping Hurts: How To Alleviate Poverty Without
Hurting The Poor and Yourself (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2009), 106 & 55.

flow from doing what they know they should do. As Timothy Keller put it, “You could make a
good argument that our problem in society today is not that people don’t know they should share
with others and help the poor. Most people do know and believe this. The real problem is that,
while knowing it, they are insufficiently motivated to actually do it.”65 In other words, while
expressing concern about the importance of guarding against the excuses of the poor that prevent
them from making right choices, the wealthy among us are not willing to guard against our own
excuses from doing what is right. As problematic as this is, even more so is the strident language
used by conservatives.
As one reads the work of the conservative authors, one can almost forget that we are
talking about fellow adults: human beings made in the image on God. For example, Marvin
Olasky made this observation regarding the “poorhouses” of the past century, “Their existence
meant that no one would starve, but their poor reputation also meant that no one would be
attracted into pauperism…Poorhouses were never the major societal form of charity—the worthy
poor continued to receive help through private means.”66 In talking about the economic crash in
the late 1830’s, he observed that “all Americans” were in agreement for the need of a quick
response to the situation, but in stating it this way, the implication is that “all Americans”
concluded that, “…some in wanting to do so much so fast, failed to establish personal
relationships with recipients, and did not sufficiently discriminate between the needy and the
lazy. They pointed out that contributors were entrusting them with funds ‘solely’ to give
generous help to the worthy poor and nothing to the lazy.”67

65 Keller, 79.
66 Olasky, 45. For a definition of pauperism, see footnote 61.
67 Ibid, 26-27.

It is not that the conservative writer’s underlying points are not sound. They are sound.
For example, in discussing the goal of material poverty relief, Corbett and Fikkert said, “First
material poverty alleviation involves…empowering people to earn sufficient material things
through their own labor, for in doing so we move people closer to being what God created them
to be…”68 They made clear that the goal should not be to create middle-to-upper-middle-class
Americans, “Rather, the goal is to restore people to a full expression of humanness, to being
what God created us all to be, people who glorify God by living in right relation with God, with
self, with others, and with the rest of creation.”69
Both Corbett and Fikkert and Olasky rightfully pointed to the fact that compassion
outreach moved away from relationship with the poor to checks written for the poor. The effect
of this was to lose sight of what outreach was doing to the poor. In other words, the focus turned
inward to how good the giver felt in the act of giving, rather than how diminished the recipient
felt in the act of receiving. Corbett and Fikkert observed, “For a host of reasons, low-income
African-American males sometimes struggle to find and keep jobs which makes it even more
difficult to apply for jobs. The last thing these fathers needed was a group of middle-to-upper-
class Caucasians providing Christmas presents for their children…”70
Olasky however, went so far as to compare the poor to animals, “They [the poor] find
champions who would prefer to see a Department of Housing and Animal Development passing
out free cages.”71 That is, it’s the fault of the poor who seek out enablers. This strident language

68 Corbett and Fikkert, 78.
69 Ibid.
70 Ibid, 67.
71 Olasky, 229.

may get big applause lines in conservative circles, but they do great damage to a person’s self-
worth, and this is the heart of the problem with this language. In the 1976 Presidential campaign,
then candidate Ronald Ragan described a woman on Chicago’s Southside who had been arrested
for welfare fraud, and although he did not say it, it was from his description that the phrase
“welfare queen” emerged to describe women, predominately Black, who were receiving
assistance, legitimately or not.72
Olasky continued his tyrant by stating that, “Government groups and many charities…
tended to offer ‘Velcro compassion’ –the poor, like children unable to tie their own shoes, were
treated to a continual supply of sneakers with Velcro closers.”73 The damage this kind of
language has done is incalculable. Even conservative writers Corbett and Fikkert agree that this
kind of language has been demeaning and damaging, “Instead of seeing themselves as being
created in the image of God, low-income people often feel they are inferior to others. This can
paralyze the poor from taking initiative and seizing opportunities to improve their situation…”74
Cornel West, an African American scholar, noted that this is at the very core of the
challenge facing Black America,. He said, “The most basic issue now facing black America is
the nihilistic threat to its very existence…It is primarily a question of speaking to the profound
sense of psychological depression, personal worthlessness, and social despair so widespread in
black America.”75 Nothing short of transformation brought about by compassion ministry efforts

72 See Wikipedia’s discussion of “Welfare Queen.”
73 Olasky, 222.
74 Corbett & Fikkert, 64.
75 Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System, Why Not the Best? Results
from the National Scorecard on U.S. Health System Performance, 2008 (New York: Commonwealth Fund, July
2008), 12.

is needed to address this tragic situation and the debate that surrounds it. However, it is not just
the strident language that is at the heart of the problem, it is also the ill-conceived compassion
outreach of the liberals.
The Ill-Conceived Compassion Outreach of the Liberals
How strange it seems to this author that the best critique of the delivery of liberal
compassion ministry, comes from the liberals themselves. For example, the liberal writers, like
the conservatives, readily acknowledge the problem of created dependency. But conservative
Marvin Olasky pointed to the issue through a critique of Josephine Shaw Lowell saying, “Above
all, Mrs. Lowell wanted to stop the spread of the dependency disease (emphasis added).”76 The
liberals also acknowledge this issue, but stated it in a way that not only preserves the dignity of
the people they were referring too, but also put the blame on themselves. For example, Sider,
Olson, and Unruh stated: “We follow Christ, but we are not Christ. [Thus] ‘One of the greatest
dangers we face…is that we create dependencies not on God but on ourselves and our
programs’.”77 This same team of writers also stresses the importance of community development
verses community handouts as a way, “to shape the community to be more consistent with God’s
design for shalom.”78 By doing this, they emphasized it would, “…guard against paternalism and
break cycles of dependency by creating opportunities for people to become self-sufficient.”79 80

76 Olasky, 78.
77 Ronald J Sider, Philip N. Olson, and Heidi Rolland Unuh. Churches that Make a Difference:
Reaching Your Community with Good News and Good Works, (Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2002), 140-
141.
78 Ibid, 41.
79 Ibid
80 The author could not help but be struck by the care these writers used in the language they chose as
opposed to the conservative writers like Marvin Olasky. For example, see footnotes 77, 79, & 83.

The ill-conceived compassionate outreach of the liberals, indeed did both create
dependencies, and create a cold system whose main focus became the delivery of goods instead
of compassion. Again, Sider, Olson, and Unruh, wrote of a program that was known for its
caring, friendly atmosphere, and then compared it to a liberal government program
characterizing it in this way, “…the treatment received from other bureaucratic programs…
[as]…’get in line, show us your I.D., okay, next’.”81 As Jim Wallis noted, the conservatives have
demonized the poor, but “the liberals have bureaucratized…[them].”82
What is more, the liberal writers pointed to the fact that the growing support of
government aid not only went unquestioned, but began to be imitated by faith groups. As a
result, the focus shifted from eradicating poverty to the proliferation of giving. Sider, Olson, and
Unruh warned that this kind of approach not only did not address poverty at its core, it caused
other problems to arise. When it came to the act of alleviating physical deprivation, they said,
“Social ministry may alter people’s circumstances, but unless there is inner change, the root
problems will manifest themselves in other forms.”83 This could not have been truer as alternate
problems manifested themselves, both in the poor communities and in those who served them.
In the communities where compassion ministry originated, a growing indifference to, and
diminishing relationship with, the poor developed. Although utilizing sarcasm to do so, Marvin
Olasky pointed how we hide behind systems to provide for and avoid contact with the poor, “We
like the way a welfare system, corrupt and inefficient though it is, removes the burden of basic

81 Ibid, 24.
82 Wallis, 148.
83 Sider, Olson, and Unruh, 37.

material care from our consciences, and protects us from the mean streets that we traverse only
by day.”84
Sadly, the motive behind “helping the poor” has not always been pure either. Church
growth and church image in conservative and liberal churches alike, have been driving forces
that have taken churches in some unholy directions. As a result, the poor can feel taken
advantage of. In this author’s target community, one of the pastors of a black church shared how
a predominately white church from the suburbs came in and did a project, cameras in tow, so that
they could make commercials showing how benevolent their church was in that area. If church
growth and church image are the driving forces, the poor are dehumanized and the act of serving
is enthroned. To this, Dennis Jacobsen wrote, “How can a church be concerned only with its own
growth …? As Bonhoeffer wrote, ‘the church is the church only when it exists for others.’ Self-
preservation is antithetical to the cross of Jesus Christ.”85
Jim Wallis identified the core issue when he wrote, “overcoming poverty, not simply
servicing it, is the vision to strive for.”86 This statement delineates more than any other, the
difference between the conservative and the liberal writers. In fact, if making sure that only the
“worthy poor” were helped was a dominate theme among the Conservatives, the idea of
overcoming poverty was at the heart of the Liberal writers.

84 Olasky, 232.
85 Dennis A. Jacobsen. Doing Justice: Congregations and Community Organizing, (Minneapolis,
Fortress Press, 2001), 15.

86 Wallis, 111.

The Heart of the Issue is Poverty
The desire to overcome poverty saturated the liberal writings. But, it did something else,
it opened the door to honest assessment of how liberals and conservatives alike handled the topic
of poverty. Jim Wallis in Faith Works: How Faith-Based Organizations are Changing Lives, in
Neighborhoods and America, tells this story: 87
A man is drowning in the Potomac. The Republicans hear about it and rush down
to the river. He’s slowly sinking…about one hundred feet offshore crying for
help. The Republicans throw him fifty feet of rope and tell the man, “The rest is
up to you!” Then the Democrats hear about it. They too rush to the Potomac…
The Democrats throw him two hundred feet of rope and then let go of their end!
Why is this joke so popular everywhere except inside the Beltway?…(because)
The public (outside the Beltway) is reacting to the heartless conservatism and
mindless liberalism that have dominated the political landscape for so many years.

This story, told by a liberal, wonderfully describes the destructive debate that rages around the
delivery of compassion ministry, whether by the faith community or by secular agencies. As a
result of focusing on the debate instead of the issue of poverty, a coherent theology was not lived
out with consistency. For example, Jacobsen pointed out that, “…Christians who are so generous
with food baskets at Thanksgiving or with presents at Christmas often vote into office politicians
whose policies ignore or crush those living in poverty…‘It makes me feel good to be charitable,
but I don’t really want to understand or challenge the systemic causes of poverty’.”88
Furthermore, right and left became at enmity with each other over the methods to be
employed: 89

87 Jim Wallis. Faith Works: How Faith-Based Organizations are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods and
America, (Berkeley, CA: PageMill Press 2009), 141.
88 Jacobsen, 20.
89 Wallis, 142.

It is true enough that the conservative ideals like personal responsibility, hard work,
strong families, and moral values are absolutely essential for social change, as are the
liberal ideals of social and racial justice, human rights, and economic fairness. But the old
solutions posed by conservatives and liberals have created false choices between these
ideals…that have unnecessarily polarized us and become obstacles to real progress.

In other words, right and left became intransigent in their views and refused to see or to
be open to the ideas of each other. As a result, the outcomes were tragic, “The liberal moral
failure was to block welfare reform for so long that it became too late to transform the system
positively.”90 That is, welfare reform would have been so much better had right and left listened
to one another and incorporated each other’s ideas into the bill. As Jim Wallis wisely observed,
“Too often, people just continue to talk to others in their own group about solving social and
community problems, and we wonder why no progress gets made.”91 Where this perception was
concerned, there was amazing agreement on the part of both conservative and liberal writers
regarding the fact that little is being accomplished.
Conservative writer and activist, Richard Stearns92, observed, “In the last thirty years or
so, the word Christian, and even more so the word, evangelical, has become associated with an
ideological battle raging in our country, sometimes called ‘culture wars’.”93 He continued, “If
we are not trying to reach out with the positive message of the gospel…to those who have not
accepted the Christian faith, then we either have a major problem with our message or with our
methodology—or both!”94 Chip Sweney lamented, “All our good efforts are covered by the

90 Ibid, 147.
91 Ibid, 162.
92 Richard Stearns was president of World Vision at the time he wrote his book.
93 Richard Stearns, The Hole in Our Gospel. (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 2010), 227.
94 Ibid

sense that we are proud, angry, and vindictive in our selective approaches to those needing some
form of redemption, I don’t want to be perceived as a hard person with an accusatory message
who occasionally does good deeds.”95 Sider, Olson, and Unruh noted, “The evangelical church’s
witness has been sadly tarnished by decades of infighting and skepticism about social ministry.
Stereotypes of fallen television preachers, abortion clinic-bombing fundamentalists, and finger
pointing political activists leap all too easily to mind in association with the word Christian.”96
Even more devastating is the way in which both sides of the debate come with surety that
they have the answers. For example, liberal writer, Jim Wallis asked the question, “Why do we
continue to believe the myth that poor people don’t know anything and can’t be trusted?…Are the
best solutions conceived in the corridors of power, or in the neighborhoods? Do the poor really
have no assets or resources, as most people think?”97 Wallis concluded that, “Listening to the
poor opens up whole new possibilities, ideas, and directions in overcoming poverty.”98 Olasky,
approaching the topic from the negative side of this issue, noted the impact of not listening,
“Every time we tell someone he is a victim, every time we say he deserves a special break today,
every time we hand out charity to someone capable of working, we are hurting rather than
helping.”99
The only hope of defeating poverty is transformation, and that transformation must be
pursued one life at a time. In fact, “Those in holistic ministry face twin temptations…if the first

95 Chip Sweney, A New Kind of Big: How Churches Of Any Size Can Partner To Transform Communities.
(Grand Rapids, Baker Books, 2011), 97.

96 Sider, Olson, & Unruh, 43.
97 Wallis, 156.
98 Ibid
99 Olasky, 231.

temptation is to despair of our ability to cope with the demands of ministry, the second
temptation is to think that we are capable of handling all the problems on our own.”100 In a
profound statement of hope and change, Chip Sweney wrote: “If it is true that the gospel brings
restoration along with redemption, then we must lead the way in movements of restoration. We
can do that by connecting, equipping, and deploying our people in their channels.
Transformation will slowly take place if we do. But we must be more than participants in our
culture; we must be conveners of change as well.”101 It was in this area of transformation that the
liberal writers shone brightly.
The Way Forward
Two distinct themes came forth from the liberal writers; the power of prayer and the
work of the Holy Spirit. Ron Sider said, “Prayer is not incidental to evangelism or peacemaking.
Prayer is not peripheral to empowering the poor, protecting the unborn, and restoring the
environment. Prayer is a central part of how we do those things.”102 Steve Sjogren made it clear
that, “The goal in servant evangelism is to shine the spotlight on God’s Kingdom by coming in
the spirit of Jesus.”103 In other words, without the work and power of the Holy Spirit, there is no
transformation. Sider, Olson, and Unruh, said, “If you believe that the Holy Spirit endows people
with the divine power greater than themselves to heal emotional wounds and break destructive

100 Sider, Olson, Unruh, 136.
101 Sweney, 141.
102 Ronald Sider, Living like Jesus: Eleven Essentials for Growing a Genuine Faith. (Grand Rapids, Baker
Books, 1996), 60-61.
103 Steve Sjogren, Conspiracy of Kindness: A Refreshing New Approach to Sharing the Love of Jesus with
Others. (Ann Arbor, MI, Servant Books, 1993), 19.

habits, your social ministry should offer to pray with people to invite God to do this work of
supernatural transformation…”104
There were two essential works of the Holy Spirit in compassion ministry that Sider,
Olson, Unruh pointed to:
1. The Holy Spirit…provides specific guidance in the practice of holistic ministry. For
instances, there is sometimes a fine line between meeting a legitimate need and
enabling a destructive habit.
2. The Holy Spirit…gives ministry practitioners the vision to discern underlying
spiritual realities, While Jesus walked the earth, he rebuked evil spirits and healed
people of demonic possessions…105
They concluded by affirming that the Spirit is still alive and active in combating spiritual forces
of darkness today.
As a Christian reading the breadth of opinions and insights on the topic of compassionate
ministry outreach, this author could not help but be stirred by the compelling need that grips so
many who are in poverty in this, the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. As Ron Sider
said, “For the richest nation on earth, this situation is unnecessary. For Christians, it is
immoral.”106 It became equally compelling that meeting this need provides an incredible
opportunity to share God’s love. As Steve Sjogren affirmed, “It seems people don’t necessarily
remember what they are told of God’s love, but they never forget what they have experienced of
God’s love.”107 As Christians, we must never forget that we are to be at all times, dispensers of
God’s love. The people we are called to serve may or may not be believers; they may be easy to

104 Sider, Olson, & Unruh, 103.
105 Ibid, 135.
106 Sider, Just Generosity, 46.
107 Sjogren, 30.

love or not. As Timothy Keller wrote, “Jesus refuses to let us limit not only how we love, but
who we love…By depicting a Samaritan helping a Jew, Jesus could not have found a more
forceful way to say that anyone at all in need—regardless of race, politics, class, and religion—is
your neighbor.”108
To the conservative side of the discussion, so apparently concerned with identifying the
“worthy poor”,109 this author wants to point to the fact that the only thing that makes any human
being “worthy” is our faith in Jesus as the Christ. To the liberal side of the discussion, so
apparently enamored with “doing good”, the author wants to point out that “doing good for the
sake of good” gains us nothing in the eyes of Father God who measures only by His infinite and
lavish grace. Our only concern as Christians is to care and love for those who are made in God’s
image, and that is everyone. Of this, Keller said, “We must treasure each and every human being
as a way of showing due respect for the majesty of their owner and Creator.”110 In the words of
Sider, Olson, and Unruh, “We are neither good souls trapped in evil bodies, nor soul-less bodies
destined to rot and disappear forever. The spirit, the body, the mind, and the emotions are all part
of what it means to be created in the image of God, together making up the total human
package.”111

108 Keller, 67.
109 See the opening paragraph on page 35 and footnote 72.
110 Keller, 85.
111 Sider, Olson, & Unruh, 49.

Summary
This dissertation seeks to make the case that the wave of the future and the best hope of
the poor, lies within our intentional efforts to build networks of hope. If poverty is to be
effectively attacked and reduced in our lifetimes, it will occur only as we come together,
conservative and liberal; charismatic and liturgical; protestant and Catholic; secular and sacred.
As Richard Stearns observed, 112
[O]ur greatest power to change the world is released when we come together in
collective action to organize and focus the resources of the whole body of Christ…if
Church leaders do not have an outward vision to become salt and light…to promote
social and spiritual transformation, pursue justice, and proclaim the whole Gospel, then
the Church will fail to realize its potential as an agent of change.

In the next chapter, the author looks at the biblical and secular history surrounding the delivery
of compassion ministry focusing particularly on the dictates of God when human beings finds
themselves in one of life’s most challenging conditions: poverty.

112 Stearns, 179.

CHAPTER THREE: BIBLICAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT
Overview
“If (someone who claims Christ) doesn’t care about the poor, it reveals that at best he
doesn’t understand the grace he has experienced, and at worst he has not really encountered the
saving mercy of God. Grace should make you just.”113 This powerful statement by pastor and
author Timothy Keller lays bare the essence of what should be a believer’s relationship to the
poor where Father God is concerned. In this chapter, the author will demonstrate that Keller’s
statement is completely in line with Scripture as it relates to God’s unquestionable love for the
poor. As a result of this fact, he will also demonstrate that Divine love results in a demonic
backlash that one must be prepared to endure. In addition, he will also demonstrate through
Scripture that for a congregation to call itself a part of the one true church of Christ Jesus, they
cannot ignore the poor in their midst.
In addition, the author will look at a brief history of the church’s involvement with the
poor through the eyes of the Lutheran expression of Christianity. In doing so, he will claim that
Pietism, which has its root in Lutheranism, not only laid the foundation for the Lutheran church’s
involvement in social ministry, but also opened the door for the Lutheran Charismatic
movement. It was in fact, as the author believes, the influence of this movement within the
Lutheran Church that culminated in the national expression of the Lutheran Church’s social

113 Keller, 94.

concern entitled Lutheran Social Services (L.S.S.). So influential was L.S.S., that President
George H.W. Bush, would tag them one of his “Points of Light.”114
Finally, the author will give an overview of the secular movement involving social
ministry in such programs as President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, and President
Lyndon Baines Johnson’s Great Society. The history of the secular movement in the social
service arena is too vast for this dissertation, but it would be a hallow effort indeed not to shine
light on these two programs that have so shaped the political debate in our nation for over
seventy years. The conclusions drawn from this chapter will support the case that Scripture never
intended individual believers nor local congregations to meet the needs of the poor. Instead, it
will support the fact that building networks of hope by bring together elements of both the faith
and secular community, is the best way to bring about transformational change in the lives of
individuals and families.

Father God’s Unconditional Love for the Poor as
Found in Scripture

The Foundational Support in the Pentateuch
The Holy Scriptures are literally replete with God’s love of the poor from Genesis to
Revelation.115 As Timothy Keller stated in Generous Justice: How God’s Grace Makes Us Just,
“While some texts call for justice for members of the well-off classes…the calls to render justice

114 President H.W. Bush used the phrase, “A 1000 Points of Light” in both his nomination speech at the
1988 Republican Convention and in his inaugural address on January 20, 1989. The Points of Light Foundation was
formed in 1990. L.S.S. was a designee.
115 See Appendix 1 for a comprehensive list of Scriptures found in The English Standard Version of God’s
love for, protection of, and charges concerning the poor.

to the poor outnumber such passages by a hundred to one.”116 Richard Stearns observed that,
“…we see throughout the Old and New Testaments the bright thread of God’s concern for the
poor and the marginalized…We learn that Christ’s criterion for determining the authenticity of
someone’s profession to follow Him is whether or not he or she tangibly cared for those in
need.”117
In general, the Scriptures point to a God who, without question, makes provision for the
poor. The reason for this lies with the fact that the Bible is a collection of writings penned by
different human beings, but authored in its entirety by the Holy Spirit. As such, it is critical to
have a basic understanding of its structure. Again, this topic cannot be handled with any depth in
this dissertation, therefore, put simply, the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch,
or the Law of Moses, is the foundation from which the remainder of the Bible flows. In other
words, one cannot read the words of Jesus or the Epistles without a grounding in the Law from
which the insights of these writings flow.
Thus, it is imperative to start with the Book of the Law to understand the grounding for
God’s love of the poor. For example, in the Book of Leviticus, the farmers are not to glean their
fields from end to end. Instead, they are to leave in the field a remnant so that the poor may come
behind and glean some of the provisional residue. “When you reap the harvest of your land, you
shall not reap your field right up to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your
harvest. And you shall not strip your vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen
grapes…You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.”
(Lev 19:9-10) This and other passages like it, demonstrate God’s care and concern for the

116 Keller, 7.
117 Stearns, 60.

ongoing, daily needs of the individual. But Father God is not just interested in the bare
subsistence of life, Father God is a lavish, generous God.
Because Father God is a lavish, generous God, we find passages like this from
Deuteronomy, “’At the end of every three years you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce
in the same year and lay it up…And the Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance with
you, and the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow, who are within your towns, shall come and
eat and be filled, that the LORD your God may bless you…’” (Deut 14:28-29). The author likes
to call these verses, “A feast for the poor!” It is not enough to just meet the need. God wants His
people to celebrate with joy. It’s like God is saying, “You may not have a regular experience of
abundance in your life, but every so often, I want you to experience the joy of the abundant life;
that is, to be able to eat until you are full!”
The other phrase that is very interesting in this passage, which can be easily missed, is the
phrase, “…who are within your towns…” Too often, whether it is because of denominational
pressure, or the desire to be seen as a “world-class” organization, or feeling overwhelmed by the
magnitude of the problem, congregations ignore the poor in their midst. However, if one is called
as a pastor to “Anytown”, America, then that is the place where their major focus is to be. We
are to work where we are planted. We are to care for those within our towns.
Besides this emphasis on the care of the poor, the Book of Deuteronomy also gives us a
glimpse as to what is behind this emphasis in Scripture. In chapter fifteen, it says, “For there will
never cease to be poor in the land. Therefore, I command you, ‘You shall open wide your hand
to your brother, to the needy and to the poor in your land.” (Deut 15:11) The first thing to note, is
the influence of the Book of the Law in the Words of Jesus and the Epistles. In this case, Jesus
would counsel the same thing to the disciples, “For you always have the poor with you.” (Matt

26:11) In other words, we must understand that, in this life at least, the issue of poverty will
never be solved. It can be lessened, but not eradicated. As Corbett and Fikkert wrote, “There is
real mystery concerning how much progress we can expect to see before Jesus comes again…
Fortunately, what we are to do every day does not hinge on resolving this issue, for the task at
hand is quite clear.”118
Father God’s Love and the Believer’s Responsibility
The next thing to note, is God’s expectation regarding our interaction with the poor.
Father God tells us to be like Himself. In other words, we are to be outrageously generous. In
this regard, it is hard to image that it is even possible to call oneself a believer and at the same
time be stingy. Timothy Keller noted, “…just men and women see their money as belonging in
some ways to the entire human community around them, while the unjust or unrighteous see
their money as strictly theirs and no one else’s. After all, they earn it, and that’s the main reason
that view of life is naïve…and it collides head-on with the Bible.”119
There can be no hedging on this issue of provision for the poor. Again, we see the
influence of God’s commands in the Words of Jesus. In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 14, verses
twelve to fourteen, Jesus could not make clearer our obligation to the needy in our midst. He
says when we have a dinner party, that numbered among our guest are to be the crippled, the
lame, the poor, and the blind. The reason He says, is the fact that these people cannot possibly
pay us back. Musing on these verses, John Newton, most noted for his beloved hymn Amazing
Grace after his conversion from a slave trader to a Christian, wrote, “One would almost think

118 Corbett & Fikkert, 77.
119 Keller, 90.

that Luke 14:12-14 was not considered part of God’s word…nor has any part of Jesus’s teaching
been more neglected by his own people…”120
One of the questions the author was presented with most often as a pastor was this: “Why
do so many suffer with hunger and the maladies associated with poverty?” The answer seems
clear if one cares to take the Scriptures at their word. The verses surrounding the issues of
provision are neither suggestions nor self-declarative statements regarding what the speaker
intends to do. Instead they are commands. “I am the LORD Your God,” the Scriptures say after
Father God gives a command regarding our interactions with the poor. “YOU, open your hands
wide…YOU, leave the edges of your field unharvested…YOU, if you have two tunics give one
away.”
Richard Stearns wrote that the Kingdom of Christ was one where the poor and indeed all
those in need were to be given special attention. He said, “It was a world order in which justice
was to become reality, first in the hearts and minds of Jesus’ followers, and then to the wider
society through their influence.”121 Put another way, the reason the poor go without is NOT
because of a lack of material goods in the world, but a lack of generosity at best and
disobedience at worst. As Timothy Keller observed, “Jesus’ advice would have looked like
economic and social suicide. He is saying we should spend far more of our money and wealth on
the poor than we do on our own entertainment, or on vacations, or on eating out and socializing
with important peers.”122 Richard Stearns pointed out that God wants us, “…to embrace a

120 Ibid, 46.
121 Stearns, 17.
122 Keller, 47-48.

kingdom view of our money, possessions, and abilities, recognizing that all we have comes from
Him.”123
The third thing to note in Deuteronomy 15:11 is how it delineates those in need into three
categories. Often times in Scripture when it presents a listing like the one in verse eleven, it also
indicates order of importance. Thus it could be said that when it comes to the allocation of
resources, our first obligation is to our fellow Christians, followed by those who find themselves
in a position of temporary need, and finally to the chronic poor. The Commands given in the
Pentateuch are not limited to the Words of Jesus pointed out thus far, they are found throughout
the pages of Scripture.
Father God’s Love Beyond the Pentateuch
One of the more profound statements outside the Pentateuch is one found in the Book of
Isaiah. “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of
the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with
the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?” (Isa 58:6-7). Fasting was not something that was
a suggested activity in the Hebrew Scriptures, it was an absolute requirement for relationship
with Father God. Thus when Isaiah changed the foundational understanding of fasting as an
activity, it was an earthquake moment.
Speaking through the Holy Spirit, Isaiah said that fasting was not an activity involving
the consumption of food, but instead a lifestyle of obeying God through service to those in need.
The profundity of this verse was so deep that Jesus would, in His final teachings in Matthew 25,

123 Stearns, 207.

connect Isaiah’s words with eternity. Who is it that enters into Father God’s favor? Those who
save and build a fortune for themselves on earth? No, those, who care for the poor, clothe the
naked, and visit the sick and imprisoned. After setting forth a litany of activity involving those
who cared for the poor and those who didn’t, Jesus said, “…‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not
do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt 25:45b-46)
While eternal life is surely the ultimate and most wonderful of blessings regarding our
interaction with the poor, Scripture points to other blessings as well. In the Book of Proverbs for
example, it says, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for
his deed.” (Prov 19:17) In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, he tells believers they are to be
cheerful, willing givers. In doing so, he quotes Psalm 112:9 saying, “As it is written, ‘He has
distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ He who supplies
seed for the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase
the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your generosity…” (2
Cor 9:9-11a) As generous as the Scriptures indicate the blessings of the Lord are, where the
favorable treatment of the poor are concerned, so too is the extent of the punishment for those
who intentionally turn their back on them.
To begin with, Father God considers it a personal insult to mistreat the poor. “Whoever
oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him.” (Ps
14:31)124 The Psalms indicate two consequences for this action. In Psalm 21:13 it says that the
Lord will no longer hear us when we cry out. For anyone who has developed a relationship with

124 The same sentiment is expressed in Psalm 17:5.

Father God, this is a chilling statement. Imagine being desperately in need and calling to
someone once close to you. You know they can hear you, but they do not respond. Now imagine
screaming out for eternity and getting no response, and one has a picture of Hell. The other
consequence is found in Psalm 22:22-23. Here, it indicates a sudden loss of life. “Do not rob the
poor…or crush the afflicted at the gate, for the LORD will plead their cause and rob of life those
who rob them.” (Ps 22:22-23) The most chilling of all are the words found in the Book of James
where we get a description of this loss of life:
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your
riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have
corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like
fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who
mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the
cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. (Jam 5:1-5)

The scriptural foundation of God’s heart for the poor can be summed up in one word. It is
the word that ultimately sums up all of God’s activities, and indeed God Himself. This word is
“love.” In fact, in 1 John it says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in
need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 Jn 3:17) As Ron
Sider stated, “God identifies with the poor so strongly that caring for them is almost like helping
God.”125 Perhaps this is the reason that God the Son began His ministry with these words from
Isaiah:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news
to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to
the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s
favor.” And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And
the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them,
“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk 4:18-21)

125 Sider, 58.

Reflecting on Jesus’ use of Isaiah at such key moments, Timothy Keller said that Jesus so
connected His mission with that of Isaiah, both here and in the words of Matthew 25:31-46, that
it can be said, “Like Isaiah, Jesus taught that a lack of concern for the poor is not a minor lapse,
but reveals that something is seriously wrong with one’s spiritual compass, the heart.”126 The
alignment of God’s heart with the poor could not be made clearer. As Ron Sider stated, “…God
demands that God’s people share God’s special concern for the poor…The Bible, however, goes
one shocking step further. God insists that if we do not imitate God’s concern for the poor, we
are not really God’s people—no matter how frequent our worship or how orthodox our
creeds.”127 Richard Stearns observed, “When we say that we want to be His disciple, yet attach a
list of conditions, Jesus refuses to accept our terms.”128
Thus with the case being made that God’s love for the poor is uncompromising, it also
must be understood that the logical backlash to this Divine love is a demonic counter attack. That
attack comes surely and clearly from the enemy and his hatred of the poor and those who work
with the poor.
The Cost to be Paid for Loving the Poor and Oppressed
Why does Satan hate the poor? It doesn’t make sense. What can the poor do that would
cause Satan to give so much attention to them? The first and most compelling reason that can be
given, is the fact that Father God loves the poor; a fact that the author demonstrated earlier in this
chapter, as well as in Appendix A. Thus, the question that grows in importance as a result of this
fact, is why does God love the poor so much?

126 Keller, 51.
127 Sider, 59.
128 Stearns, 39.

In the Scripture, when the poor are mentioned, it is not unusual to find the same concern
being extended to the widow, the orphan, and the sojourner. What this grouping of people have
in common is vulnerability. In biblical times in particular, and even in underdeveloped countries
today, widows and orphans find themselves in a precarious position. Without a male head of
house, much of the world was closed, making survival very difficult. In addition, the courts were
prejudiced against them, making it difficult to even get justice.
Sojourners shared much the same fate as widows and orphans. As strangers and
wanderers, they are much like the undocumented aliens of today. In other words, without the
rights of a citizen, it was easy to take advantage of them, making them vulnerable to injustice.
Father God insists that He will not let those, whose only hope is the Lord God, be
abandoned. They depend upon Him solely and completely. Father God desires this kind of
dependence from all people, but for those with means, they have other sources to turn to, and
look to God only when all else fails. Thus, it is the love and trust of the poor, even in the face of
want and hunger that defeats the devil. Perhaps that is why Father God trusted Mary and Joseph,
a poor and displaced couple, with His most precious of treasure—His very life as lived out in the
birth of Jesus. This may be speculation, but the author feels he is on solid ground in saying this
moment of incarnational in-breaking, made Satan hate the poor even more.
Therefore, to align oneself with Jesus, is to align oneself with all that is hated by the
enemy. Taken a step further, to align oneself with the poor in service to Christ, is to stick a finger
in the eye of Satan who has come to kill, steal, and destroy. The enemy wants them left right
where they are, in misery and hopelessness. Thus, to take up a call to minister to the poor is to
paint a target on one’s back. It is toward this target that the enemy is all too anxious to hurl a
spear. To illustrate this point, the author could point to endless examples of those who have paid

dearly for their love of the vulnerable and powerless, but for the purpose of this dissertation, he
will lift up two examples wildly different in their spiritual orientations.
Two Divergent Perspectives: One Common Experience
In his most powerful work, The Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated, “When
Christ bids you come, he bids you come and die.”129 There are few phrases that sum up
Bonhoeffer’s theology more than this one. The driving focus of his theology is the teaching of St.
John, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”(Jn 1:14). For Bonhoeffer, the
presence of Christ calls us to a radical lifestyle of living in community with others. Lisa Dahill, a
professor at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, Ohio, observed this about Bonhoeffer’s
emphasis on the Incarnation: “We are called to follow the Lamb wherever he goes: into worship,
into mercy, into political life, into wilderness and beauty and prayer, into soup kitchens and
nursing homes, into Nazi prisons and Birmingham, Ala, jails.”130
Bonhoeffer’s theology on the Incarnation developed while he was in prison awaiting
what would eventually be his martyrdom on a direct order from Hitler. John W. Matthews, in
Christian History Magazine summarizes the theology this way:
 “Incarnation” means that God’s presence in Jesus Christ is physical, not just
spiritual; broken, not just blessed; vulnerable, not just venerable; and imperfect, not
just inspirational…
 “Crucified” means that God’s presence in Jesus Christ is in the disease, dysfunction,
and defeat all around us, as well as in the world’s health, wealth and wholeness…

129 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Simon Schuster, 1995), 42.
130 Lisa Dahill, “The Call of Discipleship For Bonhoeffer, it means following Jesus—wherever he leads,” in
The Lutheran, Vol 19 No 2 Feb 2006, (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Pub, 2006), 18.

 “Resurrected” means that God’s presence in Jesus Christ creates hope in God’s
promise to live beside—yet beyond—the despair that is seen, to a life-giving future
that is promised…131

Matthews noted that Bonhoeffer’s final remarks were found in an outline he developed in
his final days of life, “In it he wrote: ‘A transformation of all human life is given in that Jesus is
there only for others’…faith is participation in this being of Jesus (incarnation, cross, and
resurrection)…the church is the church only when it exists for others.”132 As can easily be
surmised from this summary, for Bonhoeffer the existence of the Christian in true discipleship is
directed at serving, loving, and being in community with those around them.
In fact, for Bonhoeffer, God is as close as the nearest neighbor. In the same article in The
Lutheran, Matthews, said of Bonhoeffer’s “other” theology, “‘Existing for others’ requires
‘participation in the sufferings of God in the secular life.’”133 He concluded his summary with,
“The greatest temptation for Christians ‘fortunate’ enough to live in positions of privilege and
places of safety is to then avoid any pain and pathology in sight. Not so for Jesus, and not so for
those following after him. It’s precisely in the nitty-gritty of suffering, of participating with
others, that people meet God.”134
To Bonhoeffer, the Christian is called to suffer, if necessary, to live out what it means to
be Christ to those around them, and that suffering is found most keenly among the poor. In 1928
and 1929, according to Christian History Magazine, Bonhoeffer lived out this understanding by

131 John W. Matthews, “What Will we make of his legacy? At 100, Bonhoeffer,” in The Lutheran, Vol 19
No 2 Feb 2006, (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2006) 13.
132 Ibid.
133 Ibid, 14.
134 Ibid.

serving an internship in Barcelona, Spain. The Great Depression was underway around the
world, so he started an outreach program to the unemployed. So moved was he by their plight,
that he begged his wealthy family in Germany to put financing into the outreach.135 Reflecting on
Bonhoeffer’s theology, John D. Godsey, said, “Just as Jesus lived his life completely for others
(even unto death on the cross), so the church is to serve God by serving the world of need. The
church represents that gracious realm of God where sinners are welcomed, the wounded are
healed, the oppressed are set free, and the poor receive the good news of the gospel.”136
Bonhoeffer believed that through the Holy Spirit Christ lives in the church as it lives, and is
willing to suffer for others.
To work with the poor and the persecuted requires a willingness to suffer, something
Bonhoeffer was willing to do so even unto his death. The example of this 20th Century saint is
powerful and convicting. But as convicting as the example of Bonhoeffer, so too is the example
of a 21st Century saint still working in Africa.
The name of the saint is Heidi Baker. Heidi has worked with her husband in Mozambique
for many years. She was an active missionary for many years before attending meetings of what
came to be known as the Toronto Blessing. The Toronto Blessing is a term that first appeared in
a British newspaper to describe the outflow of events following revival meetings at the Toronto
Airport Vineyard church which began in January 1994. The Toronto Airport Vineyard church is
an evangelical church in the tradition of what is known as the “neo-charismatic” movement. This
movement was considered the next wave of blessing from the Holy Spirit (thus, neo: i.e. “new”

135 Bonhoeffer’s father was a successful and well-to-do psychiatrist and neurologist in Berlin. He was
disappointed in his son’s choice to be a pastor when he had the ability to be a physician.
136 John D. Godsey, “Bonhoeffer’s Costly Theology,” in Christian History Magazine, Issue 32 Vol X, No 4,
(Carol Stream, Ill, Christianity Today, Inc.), 23.

charismatic), following the first outflow that impacted churches in the Roman Catholic and
mainline tradition such as the Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches.
While there were similar effects between the charismatic and neo-charismatic
movements, and their predecessor, the Pentecostals, like “falling down” in the Spirit, speaking in
tongues, intense prayer, and prophesying, there were other effects that placed the Toronto
Blessing in a more controversial place. These effects included holy laughter, barking like dogs
and other animal noises, and healing induced by thumping with the palm of the hand that
sometimes left bruising. In fact, Hank Hanegraaff, in his book, Counterfeit Revival, gave
powerful and documented evidence for his claim that the revival has done more damage than
good. Sadly, the rift between the evangelicals and charismatics widen substantially as a result of
this debate.
None-the-less, the more traditional effects such as speaking in tongues, intense prayer,
“getting a word” from the Lord for others, and even “falling down” under the influence of the
Spirit, seemed to reinvigorate churches that had become staid in their practices. It is curious
indeed that the very churches who claimed to worship the Third Person of the Trinity through
their creedal formulas, were the harshest critics of the charismatic movement, almost to the point
of denying that the Holy Spirit was even active in the post-first century world.
Regardless of the debate, the fact remains that when Heidi went to visit the Toronto
Airport Vineyard, she was sick and worn out, having contracted a strain of pneumonia she could
not shake. After multiple hospitalizations, she decided she had to visit. Thus, she checked herself
out of the hospital and went to a meeting. At the meeting, her lungs opened up and by the time
the visit was ended, she was rejuvenated in a way she had not experienced before. As a result,
upon her return to Mozambique following her experience, things began to change.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counterfeit_Revival

As word spread of Heidi’s ministry in Africa complete with miracle after miracle, so too
did the curiosity and skepticism. In an effort to find out, Christianity Today, the leading
evangelical publication, sent reporter Tim Stafford to find out. What Stafford discovered, would
leave the evangelical world scratching their heads as he uncovered evidence that could not be
denied. Heidi’s ministry did in fact, result in what had to be called, miracles.
In fact, according to the article by Stafford, Candy Gunther Brown of Indiana University,
who was determined to find out the validity of the claims, did a scientific study of Heidi’s
ministry and its results. “Testing 24 Mozambicans before and after healing prayer…(Brown’s)
team detected statically significant improvement in hearing and vision. (The results were
published in the September 2010 edition of the Southern Medical Journal, and are available
online.)”137 Sadly though, when the same test was conducted in a North American charismatic
service, there were no statically significant results recorded.
Stafford points to five significant characteristics of the Baker’s ministry, known as Iris:
1. The Bakers believed in the possibility of experiencing God…
2. The Bakers expect miracles as a normal part of the Christian life. They provide
medicine and food as they are able, but miracles are central…
3. Heidi and Rolland emphasize going to the poor and the powerless…
4. [The Bakers] expect to suffer, and so reject a theology that claims Christians
deserve an easy life…[In this regard,] she points out to Pemba students that Iris
children die, that they build homes for blind people who aren’t healed, and that
suffering continues in spite of prayer…
5. The Bakers emphasize the joy of the Lord.138
In the final analysis, the Bakers have a Holy Spirit driven ministry that has achieved an

137 Tim Stafford, “Miracles in Mozambique” Christianity Today May 2012, (Carol Stream, Ill, Christianity
Today International), 24.
138 Ibid, 23.

incredible authenticity and balance. Besides their love of Jesus, the Bakers and Bonhoeffer may
have little theologically in common except for one thing – their spiritually mature understanding
that serving the Lord, especially in the arena of the poor, can and often does bring suffering. As
Rolland and Heidi indicated by their own words, they are driven to the poor, and in doing so,
expect to suffer.
Consequently, with Father God’s heart so clearly aligned with the poor, is it any wonder
that God the Son began His earthly ministry in the bosom of the poor? What is more, with God
the Son’s initial ministry so clearly identified with the poor, is it any wonder that it would go
through the cross in order to bring about salvation for the whole world? Even his earthly mother
would be inspired by the Holy Spirit to sing out the importance of the Messiah’s connection to
the poor: “…my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has
looked on the humble estate of his servant…he has filled the hungry with good things, and the
rich he has sent empty away…” (Lk 1:47 & 53)
Thus, to love God is to love that which God loves, and while surely it must be said that
God loves the whole world, it is equally clear that He has a special place in His heart for the
poor. As Keller said, “Do you love God with every fiber of your being every minute of the day?
Do you meet the needs of your neighbor with all the joy, energy, and fastidiousness with which
you meet your own need? That is the kind of life you owe your God and your fellow human
beings.”139 Indeed, it would be the driving force of that love which would shape the social
outreach of His church.

139 Keller, 64.

A Brief History of the Lutheran Church’s Service
to the Poor

Overview

The social outreach of the church regardless of the denominational connection, can trace
its origins to the Book of Acts,
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said
that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in
common…There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of
lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the
apostles feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. (Acts 4:32, 34-35)

The motivation for this selflessness was revealed in verse thirty-three of this text where it said
they were under “great grace.” In other words, the intent and end result of this ministry outreach
was transformational.
It is ultimately the outcome of transformation that must be pursued by any social ministry
activity. This fact was discovered to be a common denominator found by Sider, Olson, and
Unruh in their book Churches that Make a Difference. In fact, of one of the churches highlighted
in their book, New Creation Lutheran Church of Philadelphia, the authors said this, “Rev.
(Patrick) Hansel believes the role of the church is to sustain a compassionate, empowering,
transformational presence in the midst of poverty and hopelessness. As people experience God’s
love through the church’s demonstration and proclamation of the gospel, they are freed and
empowered to work for change.”140 By maintaining this focus, Rev. Hansel stated, people
experience the love and forgiveness of God and are then set free from the evil that oppresses
them. This is the driving force of social ministry in the Lutheran Church that the author contends,
began with a movement called Pietism.

140 Sider, Olson, & Unruh, 30.

The Pietistic Roots of the Lutheran Social Ministry Movement
Steve Sjogren observed the following, “For centuries Christians have been identified
through a variety of badges which vary from one culture to another… According to the Bible,
only one true and lasting sign identifies us as followers of Jesus through all times and cultures.
The world around us recognizes the same sign that Jesus pointed to: our love.”141 As the era of
the Middle Ages142 came to an end, the state of the church was marked by anything but love. A
legalism fueled by humanistic authority was the order of the day. No longer did the Scriptures
serve as the governing authority for the church and its congregants. Instead, clericalism was the
order of the day. In this system, what little Scripture the laity received, they received from the
clergy who would both read the verses and tell them what to believe regarding those verses.
As a result of the top heavy, clergy dominated system, the abuses of the church became
widespread. The office of Bishop was bought and sold by the wealthy class of the day. If more
than one son was eligible to inherit the father’s business, the oldest son would receive the
business and the youngest an office of Bishop, purchased for him by his father. The worship of
Mary as someone who, when prayed to, could persuade Jesus regardless of the judgement of
Scripture, and the veneration of relics as fragments of bone or cloth or cross that belonged to
either Jesus or the Disciples, had become well entrenched. As might be easily deduced, there was
little in the way of care for the poor during this time. In fact, there immerged an abuse of the
poor that would fuel the Reformation. This pinnacle of abuse came with the selling of
indulgences.

141 Sjogren, 29.
142 It is recognized by historians that the Middle Ages of the European continent ran approximately from
the 12th to the 15th Centuries. As is so often the case among historians, while there is much debate about the dates
themselves, there is little debate about the autocratic direction of the church.

An indulgence was a piece of paper endorsed by the Pope or his representative, that when
purchased for a loved one or one’s self, would reduce or eliminate their time in purgatory.143 The
amount of reduction was based upon the amount of money one was able to put into the coffer. If
one had enough reserve, one would even be able to pay off future sins. The money for this
scheme went for the construction of St. Peter’s Basilica. Thus, instead of being helped by the
church, the poor were abused.
It was into this scene of misery and abuse that the first Reformation led by Martin Luther
emerged. Luther’s own personal revelation of grace fueled the larger movement. It was this
encounter with the Holy Spirit that brought about the understanding of salvation as justification
by grace alone through faith alone. In other words, our salvation could neither be worked off nor
bought off through human means. It was instead, a pure, undeserved gift of the grace of God that
was poured out through the cross of His Son Jesus in His love.
The volcanic explosion of Luther’s revelation helped to reform the church by the power
of the Holy Spirit. With this reformation came an ethic of love that transformed the relationship
of believers among themselves and to the world. Dale Brown, in Understanding Pietism,
observed this: “The early Pietists espoused continuity with Luther and Reform theology. Pietist
writings were replete with quotations from the father of the Reformation, with special emphasis
on the young Luther’s use of personal pronouns and his description of faith as a dynamic force
which works through love.”144 Luther put this ethic of love into his Small Catechism.145 This

143 Purgatory is a place found only in the papal edicts of the Roman Catholic Church. It has no basis in
Scripture. Although, unpersuasive attempts have been made to use the pre-resurrection story found in Luke 16:19-
31. Purgatory is pictured as an intermediate stop that ALL believers must go to, to pay off their earthly sins before
they are permitted to enter into Heaven. While the suffering in Purgatory is said not to be as bad as Hell, it is none-
the-less said to be an agonizing wait.
144 Dale Brown, Understanding Pietism. (Grand Rapids, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1996), 15.

work, intended for parents to teach their children at home, emphasized the importance of loving
one’s neighbor as one’s self. So important is this idea of love-centered service, that in the
congregation where the author served as pastor, it was required that the catechism student do a
service project in their third year, along with what we called a Kingdom Project146 based on the
Parable of Jesus found in Luke 19:11-27.
Besides Luther’s “love ethic,” it is impossible to understand a Lutheran’s engagement
with the world unless one understands Luther’s “Two Kingdoms Doctrine.” The author found
one of the best discussions of this doctrine in J. Deotis Roberts’ book, Bonhoeffer & King:
Speaking Truth To Power. In it, he clearly stated how Luther believed that God ordained that
there be two governing powers, or realms, on earth. The first is the Kingdom of the Right, where
the affairs of humanity are governed by the Heavenly realm. In this realm, humanity is to operate
by faith and love. The second is the Kingdom of the Left, where the affairs of humanity are
governed by secular authority. In this realm, humanity operates by reason and law. Both
Kingdoms are under the authority and rule of God as St. Paul made clear in Romans 13:1-7, a
portion of which says, “Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no
authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God.”147
Roberts’ overview of this doctrine stated, “The two kingdoms are parallel…But the two
kingdoms are ultimately distinct. The early kingdom is distorted by sin and governed by law.

145 Luther’s Small Catechism was written by Luther for the use of parents with their children. It is a
powerful booklet that has stood the test of time with the other catechisms of the church. The first doctrine Luther
teaches is on The Ten Commandments. He takes each of the Commands, states them and then gives an explanation.
It is here that the foundation of his ethic of love is laid as each answer begins with the statement, “We should fear
and love God…”.
146 See Appendix B for a description of the Kingdom Project
147 St. Peter, in the face of intense persecution of the Christians, gave the same counsel in 1 Peter 2:13-15.

The heavenly kingdom is governed by grace and is guided by the gospel. Christians are citizens
of both kingdoms and come under the distinctive government of each.”148 To fully appreciate
this insight of Luther’s, it is important to understand the hierarchy of the time. For centuries, the
medieval church put the clergy on a higher level than the people in the pews who were called
laity. “Luther turned this hierarchical plan of society on its side. The relation between the two
kingdoms became horizontal in Luther’s view. Luther’s doctrine ‘laicized’ the clergy and
‘clericized’ the laity. He asserted ‘the priesthood of all believers.’ He considered the clerical
office of preaching and teaching as just one other vocation. Lay Christians could now freely
serve God and others.”149 How did the two interact, especially in cases of injustice?
While Luther saw the two kingdoms as essential until the return of Christ, of the two,
canon law, or the authority of the church, could overturn the secular law. The operational plan
went like this: “According to Luther, God has ordained three basic forms of governance of
earthly life: the domestic, the ecclesiastical, and the political – or the family, church, and state.
All three were ordained by God at creation, all are equal and all are needed to resist sin and
enforce positive laws…”150 It is more than interesting to see how two of the great leaders of the
Twentieth Century used Luther’s ethic of love to formulate their ethic of love.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, so key to the resistance of the Nazi regime that he was executed on
the direct order of Adolph Hitler, said this, “States…are divinely permitted political societies.
Government on the other hand, is ordained by God. People, culture, social organization, and the

148 J. Deotis Roberts, Bonhoeffer & King: Speaking Truth to Power. (Louisville, KY,
Westminster John Knox Press), 76.

149 Ibid, 77.
150 Ibid.

like are of the world. Government is order in the world that bears the authority of God. There is,
therefore, no Christian state.”151 The second leader, Martin Luther King Jr., a true American hero
worthy of his place on the Washington Mall in Washington D.C., said, “…love is concretely
relevant to human social action. Love expresses itself through respect for human personality,
concern for personal and social freedom for all persons, respect for the objective moral law, and
consistent respect for the social or community good.”152 Thus, “…when government is on the
side of injustice, King believed Christians had the responsibility to apply moral pressure to
compel unwilling authorities to yield to the mandates of justice.”153 In all three cases; Luther,
Bonhoeffer, and King, were battling institutional authority that could have swallowed them
whole at any minute. Of course, as we know from history, while Luther survived his
assassination attempt, Bonhoeffer and King did not.
As regards all three of these great leaders in history, they were addressing the absolute
necessity of institutional revitalization. Yet, despite the leadership and spiritual insight of Luther,
following the posting of his 95 Theses in 1517, it only took a 100 years, for the now established
Lutheran Church, to settle into a dead orthodoxy. Enter the Pietists with their ethic of love:
“More than just a protest against the moral decadence…Pietism was also a reaction to the
theological methods and creedal rigidity of what Pietists felt to be a ‘dead’ Orthodoxy.”154 Dale
Brown in Understanding Pietism who made the preceding observation, also said that, “…Unlike
Methodism in England…Pietism was not so much a reaction to the irreligious currents of the

151 Ibid, 78.
152 Ibid, 53.
153 Ibid, 80.
154 Dale Brown, 19.

scientific revolution and the Enlightenment as to the religious milieu within its own Lutheran
Church.”155
There were three notable leaders among the Pietist. Their work encompassed the period
of the latter seventeenth century and the early part of the eighteenth century. While there is
debate among the scholars as to who should legitimately be called the “father of Pietism,” most
modern historians point to Johann Arndt. He is the one according to Church History Magazine,
who incorporated Luther’s theology of the Word into an ethical praxis. Arndt asserted, “…There
should be a point in each Christian’s life when worldliness has been put aside for a will and
affection that are wholly committed to God. And, above all else, the love of God and the love of
one’s neighbor must go together to form a full Christian experience.”156
The man on the other side of the founding father debate is Philip Jacob Spener. His
ground breaking work, Pious Desires, published in 1675, served as a manual for Lutheran
congregations seeking to institute Pietistic reforms. According to John Weborg in Christian
History Magazine, Spener was deeply concerned about the lack of vitality among Lutheran
believers, and would be credited with raising the level of personal piety among believers. Thus,
“…Through his preaching, writing and influence upon other pastors, Spener gradually turned the
spiritual tide in German Lutheranism and beyond…Among the privileges he enjoyed were close

155 Ibid.
156 “The Gallery—Thumbnail Sketches of Important Leaders in the Pietist Movement,” Christian History
Magazine-Issue 10: Pietism: The Inner Experience of Faith (Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute, 1986), 13.

associations with political rulers in the House of Saxony.”157 The importance of this cannot be
over stated. James Stein made this observation, 158
Spener deserves considerable credit…for appealing both to the government and to
concerned individual Christians for their participation in this ameliorative work. As a
result, the steady support of available tax monies was administered not solely by
government bureaucracy, but also by volunteer workers motivated by Christian love and
zeal for service…

In the next chapter, the author will point to the importance of his relationship with public
officials as well.
Although the third of the leaders is not seen as a founding father, his influence was none-
the-less, profound. Auguste Hermann Francke was first and foremost a pastor. He led a vigorous
program of preaching and catechetical instruction for the youth in the suburban church in
Glaucha, Germany that lasted thirty-six years. “He was also keenly interested in foreign missions
and he produced a new spirit of ecumenism throughout Europe.”159 He also penned a work which
laid, “the groundwork for a ministry which he described as ‘a life changed, a church revived, a
nation reformed, and a world evangelized.’”160 Francke may not be considered the “father of
Pietism,” but he embodied its heart and soul. Roger E. Olson in Christian Scholar’s Review,
gave a comprehensive one sentence description of the Pietist’s position as found in Francke and
the other leaders. “The hallmarks of true Pietism…include the belief that authentic Christianity

157 Ibid.
158 K. James Stein, Philipp Jakob Spener: Pietist Patriarch, (Chicago, Ill, Covenant Press, 1986), 240.
159 “The Gallery—Thumbnail Sketches of Important Leaders in the Pietist Movement,” Christian History
Magazine-Issue 10: Pietism: The Inner Experience of Faith (Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute, 1986), 14.
160 Ibid.

always includes a dimension of inner spiritual transformation accompanied by religious
affections.”161
The characteristics of the Pietistic movement as found in its leadership was indeed
transformational. Its primary focus was the individual. At the center of this was a “belief in the
Bible as the unfailing guide to faith and life.”162 Furthermore, it was not enough to be committed
to Christ in word only, it was essential that this commitment be evident in the Christian’s life.
The only way for this faith in praxis to sustain itself, was for the individual to engage in daily
devotions, along with sermons and worship on a regular basis. Finally, there was “…a concern to
apply the love of Christ so as to alleviate the social and cultural ills of the day.”163 In summary,
“Pietism’s primary concern was to carry out the Reformation in the area of Christian living.”164
The influence of Pietism continues to be felt today in many and a sundry way. The
Charismatic movement which came to the Mainline Denominations in the 1960’s, had many
characteristics in common with the Pietistic revival such as miracles and other manifestations of
the Spirit. Most important to this dissertation, is the way the movement influenced the care of the
poor. The foremost leader for the Lutheran Charismatic movement was Larry Christenson.
The importance of Christenson’s introduction to the fullness of the Holy Spirit cannot be
overstated. Indeed, his introduction was a launching pad for the Charismatic movement into the
Lutheran Church. It is this movement, as the author sees it that binds the movement with Pietism,

161 Roger E. Olson, “Pietism and Postmodernism: Points of Congeniality” Christian Scholar’s Review Vol
XLI Number 4, Summer 2012, 367.
162 “‘You’re Such a Pietist!’,” Christian History Magazine-Issue 10: Pietism: The Inner Experience of
Faith (Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute, 1986). 3.

163 Ibid.
164 Gary Sattler, “Moving on Many Fronts,” Christian History Magazine-Issue 10: Pietism: The Inner
Experience of Faith (Worcester, PA: Christian History Institute, 1986). 20.

and thus the love of the Lord, His Church in all its forms, and a heart for the poor. As with many
other believers, Larry’s experience with the Holy Spirit was a journey.
The definitive moment however, came while Larry and his wife, Nordis resided in the
Los Angeles area. While living in Los Angeles, Larry worked as a technical writer for a
corporation and studied creative writing with a private teacher. The Holy Spirit, however, had
other reasons for sending the Christensons to Los Angeles. This reason would come to fruit and
flower at Central Lutheran Church in Van Nyes, California. Nordis’ cousin, Rudy Ransif, was
the pastor at Central Lutheran and Larry became quite active in the church, even serving as a
deacon. Larry’s encounter with the Holy Spirit there would come in an unexpected way.
Central Lutheran had a strong missions program that periodically brought in top-notch
speakers. Nordis served on the missions committee and had recommended Ed Nerving, a man
under whose preaching she had been converted on V-J Day.165 Consequently, they invited him
and he came to do a series of evening programs.
That night, Pastor Ransif did what is almost unheard of in Lutheran churches … he gave
an altar call. In the invitation, he invited all who wanted to either commit or recommit their
faith. Here is how Larry describes the moment:
Nordis and I sang in the choir, so we were sitting in the choir, and I felt I wanted to go
up [to the altar]. So I took Nordis by the hand and we went down together. We knelt
down at the altar and prayed. It was a very beautiful moment for the congregation. A
number of people came forward. I guess Rudy [pastor of the church] was going to ask
me if I thought this was too Baptist or something [laugh] … I don’t know what I would
have said. But I’m glad Betty Ann [Rudy’s wife] told us…to get to church. Because I
think if he had told me ahead of time, I would have been on an intellectual bent to sort
that thing out, and this thing caught me totally by surprise, and I responded
spontaneously. We went home that night, and we were lying in bed, and I said to

165 This common historical shorthand for the day the Japanese surrendered in World War II.

Nordis, “You know when we were kneeling at the altar, I just had the feeling that God
came and put His arms around me, and I think it means I am to go to the seminary.”166

Nordis greeted Larry’s desire to enter the seminary with the joy of a prophetic
fulfillment. As Nordis would later share with Larry, she had gone to St. Olaf with the objective
of marrying a pastor. But when she and Larry fell in love, and Larry announced his intentions to
be a professional writer, she thought her desire would have to be set aside.
Larry went on to be pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church at San Pedro. The empowering
effect of Holy Spirit enablement in Larry’s life would come very simply as a request by an
elderly Norwegian lady to issue invitations to some people at Trinity to a series of special
services being conducted at her Foursquare Gospel Church. Two of her grandsons were attending
Trinity and because Larry knew her to be a devoted woman of prayer, he told her she was
welcomed to do so.
The revival was being led by a husband-wife team: Mary and Wayne Westburg. Intrigued
by what was happening, and having nothing on his schedule on that Thursday evening in August,
Larry decided to attend one of the services. The account of that night is best told in Larry’s own
words from my interview with him:
Mary was preaching that night on the gifts of the Spirit…and afterwards I came up to
her and just said, “I would like to have a more Spirit-filled life and would appreciate
your prayers.” I meant it in just a more general way, but she took it very realistically
[and said] “Well now, you just kneel down here and start praising the Lord and He’ll
give you a new tongue.”
WOW, well first of all she asked me, “Have you received the Baptism?” At that point, I
was so ignorant of Pentecostalism, I didn’t even know what she meant. So I kind of
stuttered, “Well, I was baptized as a baby.” I knew they didn’t practice infant baptism,
so I thought maybe that was going to be an [issue]. “No, no,” she said, “I mean the
baptism of the Spirit.”

166 Larry Christenson, Tape Recording, 10-12 November 2003.

Well then I realized that that was something Pentecostals talked about…so I didn’t want
to be impolite, so I knelt down, and they started to make a lot of noise, and I thought,
“What would my deacons think if they were in the back pew?”
But nothing happened, so I went home, (and went to bed.) I woke up that night, about
midnight, and I just suddenly knew if I laid my German aside and my English aside and
lift up my voice, I’ll speak in tongues, and I did! It was as clear as a bell.
See, my analytical mind [got in the way], because when they prayed for me I thought,
“What’s going to happen? What’s going to happen?” This old analytical mind was
going a-mile-a-minute and as a result, nothing happened. But when my mind was
relaxed, it just happened. But the thing of it was, I went right back to sleep and thought
I had dreamed it. I didn’t realize what had happened.167

Larry went on to say that on Saturday night, after having completed his message for
Sunday, he decided to go back to the Four Square Gospel Church for the Saturday night session.
Mary had gone on to the next engagement and Wayne was giving the closing message. At the
end of the message, Wayne invited people forward. Once again, Larry felt drawn to come
forward. This time, as Wayne prayed over him, Larry began to speak in tongues and Wayne
shouted, “Now that’s the Holy Ghost!”168 And he prayed a very practical prayer over Larry,
“Lord, increase his vocabulary!”169
At the conclusion of the Saturday evening service, the wife of the Four Square pastor
came up to Larry and said, “Pastor Christenson, we’re so glad this happened to you, because you
can reach people that will never listen to us because there is such a reproach on the Foursquare
Church.”170 When Larry heard those words he said he could have wept because she was such a
wonderful Christian. “So I thought almost without thinking, where does the reproach come

167 Ibid.
168 Ibid.
169 Ibid.
170 Ibid.

from? And the answer was right there…”171 Larry continued, “It’s from people like us who look
down our long Lutheran noses at people who theologize differently than you, calling them ‘holy
rollers.’ From that point on I knew I could never again distance myself from my Pentecostal
brethren.”172
The love of unity and diversity would be perhaps one of the most profound effects on
Larry and his ministry. Larry was known in college and seminary as someone not only capable
but also quick to cut someone off at the knees in an argument. After he came into the fullness of
Holy Spirit enablement all of that changed. He began to feel a love for the Body of Christ and
worked diligently at bringing diverse groups together. It is not only interesting but prophetically
important that, shortly after coming into the baptism, Larry met with David Du Plessis, a man
Larry referred to as “Mr. Pentecost.” After speaking with him for the first time Dr. Du Plessis
would speak these words of wisdom over Larry, “Don’t run with Pentecostals [in other words
what works for Pentecostals will not work for Lutherans] Go home and tell your wife what has
happened, tell your bishop, and then be quiet for a while and let God bring people to you, for if
they fail to see in you the marks of love and humility, they will have every reason to doubt the
authenticity of your experience.”173 Larry’s life would indeed bear out the authenticity of his
experience.
For example, like the leading Pietist in the inaugural era of Pietism, Larry would become
an advocate of the family, writing a number of books on family life, and the importance of

171 Ibid.
172 Ibid.
173 Ibid.

raising children.174 The connection to Pietism in this instance is clear. To illustrate, because of
the influence of Auguste Hermann Francke, the orphans in Halle, Germany were treated very
differently than the orphans in other providences. In the other providences, they were housed
with criminals, and beggars. But in Francke’s providence of Halle, they were educated to their
level of ability and were attended by physicians for their health needs.
It was not just children who were the recipients of this kind of care however. Addressing
the social ills of the day under the guidance of the Spirit, was a hallmark of the Pietist. Reflecting
on the values of the Pietist’s movement, James Stein noted that chief among their values was
their emphasis on the total person who has been captivated by the Christian life. He said, “The
Christian life is one that emanates no longer out of the impulses of the temporal order. Reborn
Christians cannot obey the world…A believer may do nothing that does not emerge from faith
(Romans 14:23); that cannot be done to God’s glory (1 Corinthians 10:31); and that cannot be
performed in the name of Christ (Colossians 3:17).”175 Pastor Christenson’s views regarding the
church and its social ministry are found in his book, Social Action Jesus Style.
At first, it appears that Christenson agrees with the Piestist’s position regarding the
engagement of the culture. He wrote, “Unless people see in our churches not only the preaching
of the truth, but the practice of the truth, the practice of love and the practice of beauty; unless
they see that the thing the humanist rightly want but cannot achieve on a human base—human

174 One of Larry’s book, The Christian Family, became a manual of choice literally around the world
having been translated in four languages.
175 K. James Stein, 233.

communication and human relationship—…then let me say it clearly: they will not listen, and
they should not listen.”176
On closer examination however, it is evident that Christenson’s main concern, is the way
the church fell prey to the liberal secular movement. He said, “The Achilles heel of modern
social theology is its preponderant emphasis upon man’s material and social needs.”177 In this
regard, he saw the church becoming too engaged with the physical needs of humanity verses the
spiritual needs of humanity. He tried to make the case that Jesus and the disciples had little
interest in the culture of their day. “The preaching of the Good News is the first order of business
of the church…Those who set aside this priority arrangement do not take man’s real condition
seriously. His material needs may be urgent, (but) his spiritual need is critical and therefore of
first importance.”178
Of course, Christenson is right, but the danger here is to shove the pendulum far to the
right and ignore the physical needs as if they are totally irrelevant to the case. Jesus clearly struck
a balance, as is seen in the feeding of the multitudes, where it is said that He taught AND healed
AND fed the crowd.179 In a Roman Catholic booklet entitled, Charismatic Renewal and Social
Action: A Dialogue, involving a dialogue with Cardinal Le’on-Joseph Suenens and Dom Helder
Camara, it was stated by Cardinal Suenens, “ The Christian needs the Spirit and his gifts, his
charisms, not only for his personal spiritual life, but so that he may contribute to the healing of

176 Larry Christenson. Social Action Jesus Style. Minneapolis, MN: Dimension Books, 79-80.
177 Ibid, 75.
178 Ibid, 85-86.
179 See Matthew 14:14-21 and 15:29-38.

society’s ill…”180 In Christenson’s defense, he is reacting to a Lutheran Church that was
increasingly losing its focus on the mission of salvation. In this regard, the author agrees with
Christenson’s concern. In addition, he very interestingly pondered what would have happened if
the church had remained focused on the family of believers and its needs. In this regard, he
pondered what might have happened had the early Pentecostal movement, for example, had
remained focused on the mission of racial reconciliation he felt came from the Holy Spirit.181
In fact, much of the author’s concern with the strident voice of Marvin Olasky, was
echoed in Christenson’s admonishment of evangelicalism’s mixture of gospel and Protestant
Work ethic. To illustrate this point, Christenson said, “The tenets of a free enterprise economic
system, the sanctity of private property, an emphasis on self-reliance in the social sphere, and a
general reverence for the 19th Century tradition of independence and rugged individualism
became part of the status quo with which many evangelicals could identify.”182 He summarized
this point by saying, “The virtues of free enterprise and self-reliance were extolled alongside the
preaching of personal salvation through faith in Christ.”183 This concern of Christenson’s,
surrounded what he called, “…a one-sided evangelicalism [that revealed itself in a] rigid
dogmatism, legalistic standards of behavior, [and] self-righteousness.”184 This same concern of
legalism and negativity was also registered in the Roman Catholic document referred to earlier.

180 Le’on-Joseph Suenens and Helder Camara. Charismatic Renewal and Social Action: A
Dialogue. Ann Arbor, MI: Servant Books, 38.

181 Some scholars identify the birth of modern of Pentecostalism with the movement that took place at
Azusa Street in the Los Angeles area. The movement was led by a black man, William J. Seymour, and achieved a
remarkable level of racial reconciliation.
182 Larry Christenson, 29.
183 Ibid.
184 Ibid, 13.

Again, Cardinal Suenens said, “It is…a misconception of true Christianity to reduce it to the
negative aspect of the law: ‘Thou shalt not lie, [etc]…’ For apart from the evil to be avoided,
there lies before us the immense domain of good to be accomplished.”185
In conclusion, Christenson said, “A charismatic approach to social action seeks to remain
free of entanglement with a secular status quo whether conservative or liberal.”186 Here again, his
position aligns nicely with the Pietistic movement. Two phrases often found in the literature of
the Pietists are “God’s glory” and “neighbor’s good.” Regarding this fact, Gary Sattler noted
that, “One’s neighbor was not only the person next door or the friend in one’s small group;
neighbor also meant the poor and disadvantaged in one’s town…”187 This has become the
foundational principle of what is now known as Lutheran Social Ministries.
Because of the nature of the Lutheran Church itself, identifying a single history is
difficult. The Lutheran Church got its start in America not as a mission, but instead as a service.
In other words, Lutheran pastors were sent to America to take care of Lutheran families that had
immigrated to America and requested the help of the mother church in Germany or Sweden. In
response, pastors were sent essentially to be chaplains. Thus, there was a fierce independence
that developed. For many years, the congregations were separated by language, at first the
languages of the old country and then by those who wanted to change to English and those who
wanted to keep the former languages.
As clusters of congregations formed into synods or districts, depending on the desired
governance format, the collection of congregations would form a social service agency as the

185 Le’on-Joseph Suenens and Helder Camara, 34.

186 Larry Christenson, 32.
187 Gary Sattler, 21.

need arose. The author spoke with Pastor Mary Brown, director of congregational relations for
Lutheran Social Ministries.188 She affirmed that identifying a single history for the ministry
would not be possible. In brief, she shared that each Lutheran social ministry organization must
tell their own story of faithful people motivated by Christ’s love. Each group in its formation,
was responding to a particular need, whether it was care for others or the need to advocate
against some form of injustice. In other words, whether the need was for a place to care for aging
people in a rural community or for opportunities for those marginalized by city life, Lutherans
simply responded with little fanfare. Therefore, the author will focus on the development of
Lutheran Social Ministries in two of the larger population centers for Lutherans in our nation,
Minnesota and New York, in order to demonstrate how these organizations came together.
First, in Minnesota, as with the Pietist before them, the impetus for forming care agencies
revolved around children. Due to the harsh conditions of life, in the later part of the 19th Century,
congregations began to come together to address the needs of children who found themselves
without parents. The first of these efforts took place in 1865 when Vasa Lutheran Church near
Red Wing, Minnesota opened its church to care for four children in need according to the
Lutheran Social Ministries website.189 Pastor E. A. Norelius spear headed this effort shepherded
its growth into the Vasa Children’s Home. This kind of effort was duplicated in a number of
areas and, according to Pastor Brown, the congregations began to form what she called “family-
finding” agencies to connect homeless children with Lutheran families. These efforts, over time,
grew into orphanages, some of which became quite large and still exist to this day.

188 Pastor Mary Brown, Phone Interview, 04 August, 2015.
189 http://www.lssmn.org/About-Us/History/

As time progressed, Lutheran congregations, which in the early years of their formation
were largely a rural denomination, began to be established in the ever growing cities, like
Minneapolis. With this growth of membership diversity, came the growth of diverse needs.
Besides children, now there were issues of social justice and an aging population which began to
be addressed. Table 2 paints a statistical picture of this expansion of social ministry services by
Minnesota Lutherans.
In response to the growing needs of the city, congregations in urban neighborhoods
created community outreach for people struggling with mental illness, chemical dependency, and
transition from prison. These urban mission efforts required the mobilization of the resources of
more substantive suburban neighborhoods. In addition, congregations joined forces to provide
healthcare, transportation and services that ranged from house cleaning to grocery shopping for
people as they aged. In other words, people of faith came together to advocate, to organize and to
serve. The story in New York is very similar.
According to their website,190 the story of Lutheran social services in New York began in
1886 when eleven congregations came together in metropolitan New York. The reason for the
coming together of their common resolve was similar to the Pietists and the Minnesota
Lutherans, i.e., children. As with the Pietists and the Minnesota Lutherans, there was an outbreak
of sickness, in the case of the New York Lutherans, influenza, that was leaving children both
sick and without parents who had perished. The Lutheran Social Ministries website indicated that
on May 30, 1888, an asylum was dedicated to care for and educate children on both the secular
and sacred levels so that they would be productive members of society.

190 http://lssny.org/main/history/

Table 2. Historic Minnesota Lutheran Milestones

Throughout the first half of the 20th century, Lutheran mission societies began to address
a number of social and community needs. As with the Minnesota story, as time moved onward,
small community church-based societies formed larger ones. In 1970, even as the various
expressions of Lutheranism began to come together, so too did the various social service
Year Event
1865 Vasa Children’s Home, Red Wing
1895 Lake Park Children’s Home, Lake Park
1900 Lutheran Children’s Friends Society
1905 Lutheran Inner Mission Society
1916 Bethany Children’s Home Duluth
1923 Board of Christian Service
1927
Lutheran Inner Mission becomes Lutheran Welfare
Society
1946 Lutheran Social Services (LSS) is founded
1948-1953 LSS resettles 3000 refugees from Europe
1954
Vasa Children’s Home begins serving children &
youth with developmental disabilities in residential
setting
1963
Board of Christian Service and Lutheran Welfare
Society merge with Lutheran Social Services
1969
Lutheran Children’s Friend Society merges with
Lutheran Social Services
1973
Senior Nutrition Services begin with the passing of
Older Americans Act
1974
Lutheran Home for Unwed Mothers opens in
Minneapolis
1975
LSS begins serving 1000’s of Southeast Asian
refugees with the fall of Saigon
1976
First LSS residential home opens for adults with
developmental disabilities
1980 Outreach to homeless street youth begins
1984 Service for homeless families begins
1987
LSS begins financial counseling for those with
credit card debt
1991 Safe house opens for street youth
1997
3 year recovery effort for victims of Red River
Valley flood begins, including the opening of Camp
Noah with recovery services for children
2000
First LSS transitional housing effort opens for
homeless youth

agencies into Lutheran Community Services. The newly created entity began to address a variety
of human needs in New York.
As with orphanages all over the nation, in the early 1970s, Lutheran Community Services
of New York had to adjust to a new field called “foster care.” To respond to this change from an
orphanage orientation to a foster care orientation, Lutheran families were sought who would be
willing to bring children into their homes. Undaunted, the homes once used exclusively for
children were now used to address the homeless population.
According to their website, “…only two events have significantly affected daily
operations. In February 1999, the agency headquarters on Park Place in Manhattan suffered a
serious fire. Although workers were not able to return to the building for nine months, the staff
kept programs going and sustained the ministry by working from remote locations.”191 The
second event, as might be imagined in New York City, were the events of September 11, 2001.
With offices located just two blocks from the World Trade Center, they were forced to close. Of
this moment, the website states, “The staff faithfully tolerated three months of displacement,
while continuing to repair existing programs and look for new areas of growth…With assistance
from Lutheran Disaster Response of New York, “Project LIFE” (Lutheran Initiative for
Empowerment) was created as a care management program serving people who suffered losses
on 9/11.”192
The history of the Pietists and their successor bodies, such as the Lutheran Church, in the
area of social ministry, is really no different than the efforts of the myriad of Christian
denominational groups. Believers, faithful in their calling and service to their Lord and Savior

191 Ibid.
192 Ibid.

Jesus the Christ, reached out to the poor and distressed of their day and age. It is the author’s
intent as he moves into the final section of this chapter, to demonstrate it was these same
believers following the same calling of their heart, which formed the secular expression of social
ministry in our nation.
“A Christian and a Democrat” – The New Deal and
The Great Society”

During a press conference following his second inauguration as president, Franklin D.
Roosevelt was asked whether he was a socialist or a communist due to the myriad of social
legislation that was proposed and passed during his first term in office. He bristled as he said,
“no” to each of the characterizations. When finally he was asked what he was, President
Roosevelt responded by saying simply that he was, “a Christian and a Democrat.”193 This idea is
one that would be scoffed at today by the arrogant right that have clearly staked the position that
the only political posture for today’s Christian is that of the Republican party.
Roosevelt’s religion was heartfelt and genuine.194 By many accounts, his faith informed
many of his decisions.195 In fact, during the D-Day invasion, he led the nation in prayer, a
moment considered by many to be one of the largest single audiences for a prayer gathering in
history.196 It was not just policy decisions that were influenced by his faith, but the choice of

193 Geffrey C. Ward shared this in the Ken Burns’ documentary, “The Roosevelts, An Intimate History,”
Florentine Films, 2014, at 8:14 minutes into part 5.
194 Historian Jon Meacham, told the story of when Roosevelt secretly went to sea to meet Winston
Churchill. (Chapter 7 52.33 minutes into Part 6) At the conclusion of their meeting they attended a joint service in
which one of the hymns was “Onward Christian Soldiers.” When the service had ended, Roosevelt remarked to his
son, Elliot, “We are Christian soldiers and we will go on with God’s help.”
195 George Will, in the Ken Burns documentary (6.20 min in to Part 5) called Roosevelt’s Christian faith
one of the single most important factors informing the decisions he made.
196 Historian, Jon Meacham made this observation in the Ken Burns documentary, Chapter 3 13.45 minutes
into Part 7.

cabinet directors as well. One of those directors was the first female to occupy a cabinet position,
Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins.
Ms. Perkins has been called, “the Woman Behind the New Deal,” by many, including her
biographer, Kristin Downey. The faith Ms. Perkins shared with FDR was an important
connection between them. Prior to his inauguration, Roosevelt asked that a worship service be
organized and requested that all his incoming cabinet members attend. After the service, only
F.D.R. and Ms. Perkins remain, with F.D.R. continuing in prayer as he contemplated the task
before him. Of this moment, Perkins biographer observed about Ms. Perkins, “The faith she
shared with Roosevelt was a bond between them. When the service ended and the clergy
departed, Roosevelt remained seated for some time, praying silently.”197
The faith they shared was that of the Episcopalian Church. Perkins came to be an
Episcopalian as an adult. She was drawn to the church’s rituals. As her biographer noted, they
gave her peace in times of stress. Downey also pointed out that, “The church’s teachings…gave
her substantive guidance about the right path to take when confronted with decisions, and the
hopeful message of Christianity helped her retain her optimism.”198 As a result, it gave Ms.
Perkins a special focus, “When friends once questioned why it was important to help the poor,
Frances responded that it was what Jesus would want them to do.”199
Perkins had a heart for the poor and the plight of those who would be called the working
poor. As a result, she pursued a position in social work before she began her work with the

197 Kristin Downey, The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR’s
Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience. New York: Doubleday Publishing, p 129.

198 Ibid, 17-18.
199 Ibid, 18.

Roosevelt administration. Downey observed, “…one thing was clear in Frances’s mind: social
work was [a] calling.”200 Perkins’ early adult years were influenced by the work of author’s like
Upton Sinclair and events like the horrible Triangle fire in New York when multitudes of women
either perished in flames or jumped to their death in the garment workers disaster. Thus, when
she became a social worker, she was instantly drawn to a position in Philadelphia that was
investigating clandestine employment agencies that offered women good jobs. When they
arrived at the job however, they discovered it was a prostitute ring and they became trapped.
“Frances’s job was to find ways to put pimps and drug dealers out of business.”201
When she took the position of Labor Secretary, she came to Washington with the
following agenda:202
1. Put pressure on the states through federal legislation to enact public works bureaus.
2. Ensure that child labor is prohibited.
3. See that worker’s compensation is imposed across the country.
4. In light of the Triangle fire, push for safety regulation nationwide.
5. Enact legislation to allow private unemployment insurance.
6. Establish an old-age pension for the elderly to keep them from poverty. (This was
her most heartfelt item.)
The only one of the six Roosevelt was not enamored to, was the old-age pension for the elderly.
“Roosevelt thought an old-age pension might reward older people who no longer wanted to
work,”203 but Perkins persisted. Finally at a meeting with the president, Perkins had brought up
the idea again. It was then that Downey shares, “as [Perkins] rose to leave, Roosevelt spoke

200 Ibid, 21.
201 Ibid, 22.
202 Downey discusses the six points listed here on page 121 of her book. As can be seen, Perkins agenda
was, for the most part, enacted under her influence. She remained with the Roosevelt administration for its entirety,
and it is plan to see why she is considered the “woman behind the New Deal.”
203 Kristin Downey, 121.

again, ‘I suppose you are going to nag me about this forever.’”204 It was then that Perkins
remembered the advice of her grandmother who said, “[when a door opens], do the best you can,
for it means that it’s the Lord’s will for you.”205
The author has focused on Ms. Perkins for a number of reasons. First, she was a person of
great faith, who used that faith to shape the nation in which she lived. Second, as a result of
putting feet to her faith, it can clearly be seen that the very programs today’s politically
conservative Christians denigrate, was at its heart, birthed out of the very faith they claim. Sadly,
this denigration continues today as believers who have stepped out in what would be called a
liberal direction, have been tagged with various labels.
To illustrate this tendency to denigrate, after her job in Philadelphia, Perkins accepted a
position with the National Consumers League.206 In this position, she came under the direct
tutelage of Florence Kelley. According to Downey, Kelley “…saw the League’s work as the
Lord’s calling and instilled this belief in others. Kelley insisted on rigorous research before
proposing reforms. Kelley’s focus on social issues and her pacifism led some to call her un-
American.”207
The same thing happened to Robert Shriver while he was serving in the Johnson
administration. It was Sargent Shriver, as he was known, who was the driving force behind the
Peace Corps in the Kennedy administration. He continued to serve with Lyndon Johnson and
became the driving force for the Great Society which included programs like Head Start. Despite

204 Ibid
205 Ibid
206 The National Consumers League was founded by Florence Kelley and is still in operation today. It is a
non-profit organization that seeks to protect consumers from products that are harmful or of a low quality.
207 Kristin Downey, 31.

his heart felt efforts, it became important to denigrate his work. For example, Marvin Olasky in
an effort to cast a light of failure on Shriver’s work, wrote this,
Soon poetic (or at least doggerel) justice arrived: Shriver’s home outside Washington
was surrounded one evening before Christmas by sarcastic carolers who boomed out,
“Hark the Herald Angels sing/Glory to the newborn king/…Shriver go to LBJ/ Tell him
what the poor folk say”…And then: “O come all ye poor folk,/Soulful and
together/Come ye, O come ye to Shriver’s house,/Come and behold him, politicians’
puppet”…Other War on Poverty leaders who had expected to be praised for their
“compassionate” antipoverty work received their own share of jeers.208
The criticism leveled at the compassion workers of the past however, ignore three
important factors: 1) the hearts of those who founded the programs, 2) the historical realities of
the day, and 3) the biblical foundation for the work that was attempted. Let’s begin with the
Roosevelt administration. The author has already spoken of the grounding of Rooselvelt’s heart
in Christianity, so let us begin with the historical realities. When Roosevelt took office there
were many who wondered aloud whether there would soon be a United States of America.209
According to Kristin Kelley, “Between thirteen and eighteen million Americans, about a third of
the working population, had no jobs. One in six homes was lost to foreclosure, charitable
organizations ran out of resources and turned away the hungry.”210 Historian William E.
Leuchtenburg put it this way in the Ken Burn’s documentary, “The Roosevelt’s an Intimate
History,
At the time F.D.R. takes office there are fifteen million unemployed, probably more, a
quarter of the nation, maybe a third. To get a sense of this, imagine you are one of
100,000 people in a football stadium, and as you file out, you get a slip of paper saying,
“You’re fired.” Imagine next week 100,000 more come into the stadium and as they
leave, each of them is told you no longer have a job, and imagine that happening for

208 Marvin Olasky, 176.
209 Ken Burns, “The Roosevelts, An Intimate History,” Florentine Films, 4.05 minutes into Part 5.
210 Kristin Downey, 149.

fifty-two weeks of the year for three straight years, and you will then have
approximated the number of unemployed when Franklin Roosevelt takes office.211
As bad as it seemed in 2008 for this generation with the collapse of the economy, in
1932, there was absolute terror in the hearts of Americans. As George Will stated in the Ken
Burns Documentary, “We tend to forget, because we want to forget, that the word dictator,
dictatorial, dictatorship, did not have an unambiguously bad ring, not just in America, but in
Europe as well where people were terrified that things had spun out of control…”212 That is,
people were willing to experiment with dictatorship because things seemed so chaotic. This was
the state of people’s heart when Roosevelt began to roll out the New Deal in America.
Yet today, the New Deal is ravaged as the second worst thing that ever happened to
America, with The Great Society being the worst. Marvin Olasky had nothing positive to say
about the programs of the Great Depression. Mr. Olasky seemed to think the answer was in the
past. He lifted up people like Frances Peabody who was quoted as saying, “…that the charity of
several generations before ‘was as simple and natural a duty as the care of one’s family. It was
the friendly act of a well-informed neighbor’.”213
The author does not know how Ms. Peabody would respond to the needs of today, as she
was writing in late 1800’s. If however, this is a remedy Mr. Olasky would like to employ today,
the author would say, this is all well and good for that day and time, but today we live in gated
communities. The author’s neighbors have the same overflow of provision as does the author’s
family. The poor who use to live across town, maybe a mile or two away, are now separated

211 Ken Burns, 40 minutes into Part 5.
212 Ken Burns, 24.38 minutes into Part 5.
213 Marvin Olasky, 22.

from the well-to-do by super highways that serve as the railroad tracks once did in the small
towns of yesteryear. As Kristin Downey pointed out, charities were turning away the hungry,
unable to meet the massive needs of the day.
Yet, to down play the New Deal, Marvin Olasky quoted criticisms without context by
leaders of the New Deal itself. He quoted Harry Hopkins, a key Roosevelt advisor, as saying that
providing help without work, “pauperizes.”214 He further gave a quote from Hopkins that said,
“…the unemployed themselves [were] protesting against the indignity of public charity…”215
Olasky even found a quote by Roosevelt in which he says, “….When any man or woman goes on
the dole something happens to them mentally and the quicker they are taken off the dole the
better it is for them and the rest of their lives.”216
It should go without saying, that despite these quotes, both of these men, Hopkins and
Roosevelt, would have vigorously objected to the use of these quotes against a program each
would have defended to the hilt. In fact, the proper context of these quotes would have been in
discussions and debates on how to make the programs the best they could be, and indeed, the
New Deal programs are responsible for the accessibility of our national parks, the planting of
hundreds of thousands of trees, and the building of public schools, to name but a few. Even so,
Olasky found a quote that degraded the W.P.A. in derogatory language.
The inefficiency of some WPA projects was latent, and the difficulty in firing someone
who lazed (emphasis added) around was matched only by the reluctance of supervision
to do so in the midst of a depression. Critics soon were calling the WPA, ‘We Pay All’
and asking, “Why is a WPA worker like King Solomon?” Answer: “Because he takes
his pick and goes to bed.”

214 Marvin Olasky, 158.
215 Ibid, 159.
216 Ibid, 154.

It would be naïve to try and say there were no problems with the program, for what
program, even designed by the church, functions without problems? But it would be equally
naïve to say that the criticism had no basis in politics. Indeed, Republican criticism of Roosevelt,
as can naturally be expected, was immense. For example, Olasky quotes Kentucky journalist
John Pearce’s criticism of the New Deal as the predecessor of the welfare system.217 What he
doesn’t share is that at the time of this writing, he had become a Republican.
Yet, what about the Bible? Did Roosevelt, whose faith informed his decisions, violate the
Scriptures, or was there a biblical foundation for the work he attempted? In the days of Joseph,
prior to the moment when he became prime minister of Egypt, he interpreted a dream for
Pharaoh. As the interpretation went, there was going to be seven years of feast and seven years
of famine. Thus, it was imperative that Egypt get ready for the years of famine. In response,
Joseph was put in charge. Genesis 41:34-36 says, “Let Pharaoh proceed to appoint overseers
over the land and take one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven plentiful
years. And let them gather all the food of these good years that are coming and store up grain
under the authority of Pharaoh for food in the cities…”
How did Joseph, the servant of the Living God ultimately interpret this moment of
governmental action? Did he see it as government intrusion, or as government overreach, or
government interference with the natural order? No, this is how Joseph interpreted this moment
as found in Genesis 45:5-11,
And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for
God sent me before you to preserve life…And God sent me before you to preserve for
you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you
who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his

217 See page 153 of Olasky’s, The Tragedy of Compassion.

house and ruler over all the land of Egypt…You shall dwell in the land of
Goshen…There I will provide for you…so that you and your household, and all that
you have, do not come to poverty.
Thus began the first governmental intervention in a time of crisis. In other words,
government intervened on a massive scale to avert a national tragedy. However, it was not only a
governmental intervention, but one orchestrated by God. The main difference as the author sees
it, is how efficient the intervention unfolded in Egypt because a man of God listened to the Spirit
before the crisis unfolded. Whereas in 1932, if Father God spoke in the years prior to the Great
Depression, we didn’t listen until we were in the midst of crisis. But what about the years of the
Great Society and its architect, Lyndon Baines Johnson, what was in his heart?
First, the state of President Johnson’s heart was undeniably with the poor. Johnson grew-
up in poverty on a farm in West Texas. When he was yet in his teens, his father went bankrupt
and lost the farm. From the very beginning of his political life, his focus was on helping the poor.
In his first term in office, because he himself lacked political power as a freshman congressman,
according to David McCullough, “With the help of the White House, Johnson secured loans and
millions of dollars in grants for farmers, schools, housing for the poor, roads, and public
libraries.”218
It is important to understand how harsh the living conditions were where Johnson grew
up, and later served as a congressman. Again, according to McCullough, rural Texans in 1938
were still living without electricity. E. Babe Smith of the Pedernales Electric Co-op put it this
way, “It was a rather primitive life. There was no running water, no refrigeration, every meal had
to be started from scratch. They use to say that a man was a gentleman who provided his wife

218 David Grubin, “The American Experience: LBJ,” PBS Video, Chapter 4, 14 minutes into Part 1.

with a sharp ax…”219 Lyndon Johnson would journal some years later, as he reflected on his
congressional service, “Of all the things I’ve done, nothing has ever brought me satisfaction like
bringing power to the hill country of Texas.”220
Many point to the fact that Johnson’s voting record was not good when it came to the
issue of civil rights, but when looking more deeply into his history, one can start to see a picture
that is very different, and one that shaped his heart. For example, Johnson’s father stood up to the
Klu Klux Klan giving Johnson an example of speaking truth to power. Johnson himself,
following his graduation from high school, went to teacher’s college and became certified to
teach. He began doing so in the West Texas town of Cotulla, Texas teaching poor whites and
Hispanics, for whom he bought school supplies out of his own pocket. Of these formative
moments in L.B.J.’s life, Doris Kearns Goodwin said,
When [LBJ] was the director of the National Youth Administration in Texas, he did try
to do things for African Americans when he could as an administrator. True, once he is
representing the State of Texas when he has to deal with constituent public opinion,
he’s against anti-lynching bills, he’s against anti-poll tax bills. But always in his heart,
because he cares so much about poverty and he’s seen the prejudice for the kids in
Cotulla when he taught, I don’t think it’s that he morphed so much as a person, I think
when he moved from the Senate to the Presidency, he had the opportunity to allow his
convictions to be built upon because he didn’t have to worry about Texas anymore.221

As a result of the moral journey of L.B.J.’s life, his daughter, Luci Baines Johnson, said
when she asked him about poverty, her father responded, “You do not know poverty until you
see it in the face of a child.”222 She continued by saying that he understood when you are a

219 David Grubin, Chapter 4, 14.42 minutes into Part 1.
220 David Grubin, David McCullough quote, Chapter 4, 15.03 minutes into Part 1.
221 Alastair Layzell, Producer, Director, “JFK/LBJ: A Time For Greatness,” Colonia Pictures Chapter 1, at
6:15 minutes into documentary.
222 Ibid, Chapter 1, 7:40 into documentary.

person of color in this nation, you start out with less of a chance. One of the more telling
moments that demonstrated how far Johnson had moved in his understanding of the plight of
Black Americans, came in an address he delivered on Memorial Day of 1963 in Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania. In the speech, he spoke of the great injustice of asking Blacks to be patient and
wait for their justice to come when it had already been one hundred years since they were set
free. He then concluded with these powerful words, “Until justice is blind to color, and
opportunity is unaware of race, and until education is not concerned with the color of a man’s
skin, emancipation will be a proclamation, but not a fact.”223
When asked about his abysmal voting record before becoming president, Johnson said,
“Very few people in life have the opportunity to correct the mistakes they have made. I do and I
intend to use it.”224 Johnson would be true to the leanings of his heart. To this, “…his supporters
would say, ‘this is real Lyndon Baines Johnson.’”225 In other words, when Lyndon Johnson
became president, he cast off the politician and became the man who could follow his heart.
Johnson was told by Richard Russell, the powerful leader of the United States Senate, and an
avowed segregationist, that if he pressed this civil rights issue and won, he would lose the
Democratic vote in the South for a generation, “…but Johnson was prepared to sacrifice white
voters in the South for Civil Rights.”226
So, what does the Civil Rights activity of President Johnson have to do with the poverty
emphasis of this dissertation? There are two important connections. The first connection comes

223 Ibid, Chapter 3, 18:10 into documentary.
224 Ibid, Shared by Joseph Califano, Special Assistant to LBJ, Chapter 3 20:25 into documentary.
225 Ibid, 21:37 into documentary.
226 Ibid, 47:16 into documentary.

from Morgan Freeman who narrated the “JFK/LBJ: A Time for Greatness” documentary. He
said, in 1964, in the midst of one of the most historic floor fights in Senates history,
Lyndon Johnson was a man in a hurry. He was moving on Civil Rights, but also on
poverty. He was determined to do something about the millions who barely survived in
the world’s most prosperous country. While senators on Capitol Hill talked,227 LBJ set
out on what he called poverty tours. In his mind, economic progress, help for the poor,
what he liked to call a hand up not a hand out, were all linked. They found expression in
his idea of the Great Society…”228

In fact, Ronnie Dugger, a reporter assigned to cover the Johnson White House and an L.B.J.
biographer, said, “Most people don’t actively care for people, they don’t know people who are
suffering. It’s hard for us to remember those people. Lyndon never really forgot them.”229
The second connection comes as one reflects on the words of Jesus. It was Jesus who
said, you will know them by their fruits, in Luke 6:43-45. The fruit of Johnson’s life points
solidly to a heart that cared deeply for the poor and underprivileged. More importantly, Johnson
himself claimed to be a believer, and again, as Jesus said we are not to make the ultimate
judgement on anyone. Thus, it does not stretch one’s understanding to say L.B.J.’s heart was
motivated by a compassion for the poor that was informed by faith. What about the historical
realities of the day?
First, unlike the New Deal era, there were not hordes of people out of work in a desperate
fight for life. The situation was quite the opposite. Everything in the economy was going right.
America was still in the post-World War II boom. No nation on earth was better off. Thus, if
ever the situation was right to challenge the nation to respond to ending poverty, it was the early

227 The Senate was in the midst of one of the most historic filibusters in Senate history over the Civil Rights
bill.
228 Alastair Layzell, Chapter 6, 51:45 into documentary.
229 David Grubin, Part 2, Chapter 9, 1.25:16 into documentary.

sixties. It is a historical fact, that there were 35 million souls in poverty in a nation with the
greatest abundance in the history of world. As such, Johnson sensed that this was the time to
seize the moment. As Ronnie Dugger observed, Johnson saw it as his task to speak to corporate
American and, “…to argue that your interest as a business leader was the welfare state because
you keep everything stable. It must have been a very appealing argument to a corporate
executives who was to the right of Atilla the Hun that in a civilized country with such abundance
that we have; astounding abundance compared to the rest of the world, you can afford to be
liberal with the poor.”230
Yet, as criticism that is motivated by politics will often do, facts are set aside. One of the
criticisms appealed to by Marvin Olasky, is a criticism that dates back to the 1800’s. In sharing
Nathaniel Ware’s concern he said, “…officeholders liked to appeal to poor voters who would
give them power to distribute large amounts of money and the patronage that accompanied
expenditure.”231 This charge is unfounded. It is documented fact that the poor simply do not vote.
In fact, L.B.J.’s aids thought he spent too much time on issues of the poor as well. S. Douglas
Cater, special assistant to the President, even shared a recollection about a time he challenged the
president about his emphasis on the poor when, as he said it, the poor don’t vote. Johnson
replied, “I may not pass a single piece of legislation or get a single dollar appropriated, but by the
time I’m done no community in this nation will be able to ignore the poor in its midst.”232
More troubling was recalling the era when Dorthea Dix pleaded with President Franklin
Pierce to help the mentally ill whose plight had become desperate. Although the need was

230 Ibid, 1.30:00 into documentary.
231 Marvin Olasky, 48.
232 David Grubin, Chapter 9, Part 2, 1:25:16 into the documentary.

documented, Conservative Pierce responded, “…although he wished to help the mentally ill,
who were not responsible for their plight, even worthwhile appropriations would push the federal
government down a slippery slope.”233 This argumentation, that seems to be prevalent among the
conservatives, embraces the idea that it is better to cut off relief from all recipients than risk
being taken advantage of by a few.
In other words, as the author pointed to in Chapter Two of this dissertation, this is an
issue of the worthy poor verses the lazy poor. Without question, there are a number of us who
would prefer to help those who are kind and who act with integrity, who find themselves in a
place of poverty through no fault of their own, and who will respond to the help they receive
with humility and thankfulness. But, as Jonathon Edwards said, “Christ loved us, and was kind to
us, and willing to relieve us, even though we were very hateful persons, of an evil disposition,
not deserving of any good…so we should be willing to be kind to those who are…very
undeserving.”234
In fairness, there is no question that the liberal position of opening aid to all comers even
if the system is taken advantage of to whatever degree, can also lead to significant abuse. This is
precisely the charge levied by Olasky. “By the mid-1960’s… ‘justice’ equaled income
redistribution, and government officials soon worked alongside protesters…The result was a
welfare population explosion. Acceptances rose sharply in the middle and late 1960’s and client
protest were undoubtedly one cause.”235 In other words, according to Olasky, the system began
to be taken over by those seeking aid and those giving the aid. Therefore, his assessment was one

233 Marvin Olasky, 49.
234 Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 2 (Banner of Truth Trust, 1974), 168.
235 Ibid, 182.

of complete failure by the War on Poverty. “The War on Poverty of the 1960’s was a disaster not
so much because of its new programs but because of their emphasis on entitlement rather than
need…[Even] small efforts at…discernment were seen as plots to blame the poor rather than the
socioeconomic system that trapped them.”236 Labeling the War on Poverty a failure however,
ignores what happened to Virginia’s neighbor to the south, North Carolina.
When he came into office, Governor Terry Sanford, Democrat of North Carolina, was
determined to attack the twin blights on his state, i.e., poverty and inequality. He courageously
led the attack head-on, by enrolling his children in desegregated schools at a time when the
North Carolina populist was very unhappy about this turn of events. In other words, he led by
example, the fight against inequality. As bad as the inequality issue was however, worse yet was
the poverty level. “In 1960, census data revealed that 37% of all North Carolinians lived on less
than $3000 per year in family income, a full $1000 below the national poverty threshold defined
by multiple studies between 1959 and 1963.”237
Governor Sanford would move North Carolina in dramatic fashion. What helped him to
be successful however, was Johnson’s War on Poverty. Governor Sanford would use a truly
innovative means of attacking the problem, by establishing what he called the North Carolina
Fund. This fund, which was ahead of its time, was designed to bring into partnership the public
and private sectors. Governor Sanford reflected upon his efforts like this, “There are tens of
thousands who go to bed hungry… There are tens of thousands whose dreams will die. That
anguish, cried out for ‘institutional, political, economic, and social change designed to bring

236 Ibid, 221.
237 Korstad, Robert R. & James L. Leloudis. To Right These Wrongs: The North Carolina
Fund and the Battle to End Poverty and Inequality in the 1960’s in America. Chapel Hill, N.C., The University of
North Carolina Press, 57-58.

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about a functioning, democratic society.’ This, the Governor proclaimed, ‘is what the North
Carolina Fund is all about.’”238 The North Carolina Fund was established as a non-profit
organization. By this innovative approach, Sanford was able to, “…position the private non-
profit corporation and the state…in what would become a national, federally funded war on
poverty.”239
The approach that made The North Carolina Fund project such a success was the
intentionality of getting the poor involved in their own hand up. Instead of the imposition of
“solutions” from the outside in, this project sought to implement change from the inside out.240
Sadly, the thing that ultimately shut down the project according to Robert Korstad and James
Leloudis, authors of Right These Wrongs, was a resurgence of the politics of race. The
Republican Party of the late 1960’s, reorganized itself around opposition to civil rights and aid to
the poor and successfully shut down the program in 1968.
Finally, as the author did for the New Deal, he wishes to address the question of whether
or not the War on Poverty can be supported by Scripture. To begin, the author shared a quote
from L.B.J. biographer, Ronnie Dugger, that said Johnson’s task was to demonstrate to wealthy
corporate America, that we could “afford to be generous with the poor.” Is there a biblical basis
for this kind of national sharing in times of abundance? One such passage of Scripture is found
in Numbers 35:8.
In this portion of Scripture, the Lord is addressing Israel as they prepare to take
possession of the Promised Land. As they do, the Lord requires a set aside of land for the

238 Ibid, 1.
239 Ibid.
240 The author will share more about this in Chapter 4 of this dissertation.

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Levites. To accomplish this, the Lord does not use American sensibilities to take land from each
of the tribes, i.e. He does not take the same proportion from each of the family groups. Instead,
the Lord says, “And as for the cities that you shall give from the possession of the people of
Israel, from the larger tribes you shall take many, and from the smaller tribes you shall take few;
each in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, shall give of its cities to the Levites.” (Num
35:8) In other words, the more you have, the more is expected. This too is biblical. In Luke 12:48
Jesus said, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required.”
The second connection with Scripture is an income redistribution plan found in the Book
of Acts. Few passages of Scriptures have troubled American Christians more than the
redistribution of wealth that took place in the First Century church following the Resurrection of
Jesus the Christ. The passage is found in Acts 4:32-35: “Now the full number of those who
believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him
was his own, but they had everything in common.” Verse thirty-four says that “great grace” was
upon them. Then it picks up again: “There was not a needy person among them for as many as
were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it
at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.”
There is no more powerful principle than that of returning to the Lord. In fact, the author
is convinced by his 30 years of ministry, that if all Christians tithed there would be no need the
Christian church could not meet. This is even substantiated in Scripture. In the book of
Deuteronomy 15:4, the Lord God says to Israel, “There will be no poor among you, however,
because the LORD is certain to bless you in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess
as an inheritance – IF (emphasis added) only you obey the LORD your God and are careful to

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follow every one of these commands.”241 This promise is based solely on Israel’s obedience to
care for the poor. If the poor are cared for, there will be no poor. If this is not the correct
interpretation, then this verse contradicts verse eleven of the same chapter that says, “For there
will never cease to be poor in the land…”242
Therefore, it is not that building wealth is unbiblical. In fact, Deuteronomy 8:18 says,
“You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he
may confirm his covenant…” Thus the building of wealth has never been the problem, it is how
that wealth is used that marks the difference. Again, this is confirmed in Deuteronomy, “…you
must not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Instead you are to open your
hand and freely loan him enough for whatever need he has…Give to him and don’t have a stingy
heart when you give, and because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and
in everything you do.”243
Finally, as the author has demonstrated over and again, to care for the poor is saturated
with biblical truth. The Scriptures are firm and clear, if the poor cry out to Father God, He will
care for them. Therefore, could it be that when the church began to be deaf to their cries, Father
God looked to the Kingdom of the Left244, as Luther called it, to answer them? The outcomes of
The New Deal and the Great Society seem to suggest this possibility.
Ronald J. Sider in Just Generosity: A New Vision for Overcoming Poverty in America,
shared some stunning results. Statistics show that, “…without Social Security, 50 percent of all

241 The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Bible. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Du
15:4.
242 Ibid, Du 15:11.
243 Ibid, Du 15:7-10
244 See pages 67 – 68 of this dissertation.

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elderly Americans today would be mired in poverty.”245 Sider, in analyzing these statistics, point
to a sad reality. The percentage of those in poverty who are elderly is about 9 percent, but with
this change, the people group that is highest in the ranks of the poor are children. That figure is
now 20.5 percent.246
Another argument that is often put forth without thoughtful analysis is the cost these
programs place on the United States Federal budget. If one were to listen to the rhetoric, one
would think it is the largest line item in the budget. To the contrary, when someone qualifies for
TANF, they also qualify for food stamps, Medicaid, and various housing subsidies and training
programs. “Together, (these programs) add up to just 3 percent (of the total budget)!…Our
welfare programs have problems that demand correction, but it is dishonest to suggest that they
are bankrupting the government.”247Added to this are the charges made regarding the amount of
the welfare expenditure to those who qualify under the aid to dependent children act. The truth
is, only one quarter of the budget is expended in this category. To the contrary, “Government
spending for low income elderly and disabled Americans—which few people consider welfare or
want to abolish—makes up almost one-half of all means-tested entitlement costs…”248 249
Finally, the charge has frequently been made that those who were the authors of the
programs, e.g. Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Lyndon Baines Johnson, were given to throwing
money at America’s problems and handing out cash to anyone who needed it. To the contrary,

245 Ronald Sider, 34.
246 Ibid, 30.
247 Ibid, 176.
248 A means tested program is determined by the number of dependents, the income coming into the family,
and a percentage of the current poverty level.
249 Ronald Sider, 34.

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“The federally funded welfare program began very modestly in 1935. President Franklin
Roosevelt was vigorously opposed to cash grants to healthy adults. A cash dole, he argued in his
1935 State of the Union Address, is a ‘narcotic’ a subtle destroyer of the human spirit.”250 251
The success of the New Deal and the Great Society is undeniable in terms of the
reduction of human misery. When something goes this well in the church, we immediately point
to the blessing of God upon the activity. Will we apply a different standard to the Kingdom of
the Left?
Summary
The author spent a good deal of time on the topic of Pietism for a dissertation not focused
on Pietism. The reason for this centers around a discovery the author made about himself and the
ministry he feels called to. The author discovered that those called to serve among the poor, must
do so out a divine call. Roger Olson observed, “…for all true Pietists, this spirituality of
transformation leading to love activism is supernatural; it is not something that can simply be
willed. It has to come from the power of God.”252 The Pietists believed that the power of the
Holy Spirit directed and guided all things. Dale Brown observed that Luther’s Preface to Romans
was often quoted by the Pietists. There is a powerful section in the Preface that speaks of the
change that occurs under the influence of the Holy Spirit: 253

250 Ibid, 177.
251 This same fact was confirmed in a Roosevelt quote shared by Kristin Downey. See footnote 200.
252 Roger E. Olson, 375.
253 Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 25: Lectures on Romans, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C.
Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann, vol. 25. Saint Louis, Concordia Publishing House, 1999, 5.

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Faith, however, is a divine work in us. It changes us and makes us to be born anew of
God (John 1:13). It kills the old Adam and makes altogether different men of us in heart
and spirit and mind and powers, and it brings with it the Holy Spirit. O, it is a living,
busy, active, mighty thing, this faith, and so it is impossible for it not to do good works
incessantly. It does not ask whether there are good works to do, but before the question
rises it has already done them and is always at the doing of them…

This was the discovery the author made. It was not that he was influenced by Pietism, it
was rather that he, and perhaps all those who serve among the poor, is a Pietist; that is, one
directed and influenced by the power of the Holy Spirit. This too was the reasoning behind
sharing the story of Larry Christenson’s “Baptism in the Spirit.” For without this divine infilling,
service among the poor can quickly lead to “compassion fatigue.” This was a term coined after
Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The sheer magnitude of this disaster was enough to wear people
down, but in addition to Katrina, there were Hurricanes Wilma, Rita, and Dennis, along with the
drought and several major tornadoes that struck the Midwest. In response, the American people
were generous. But taken together, the accumulated effect on the people who were serving out of
the flesh in response to the manipulation of major organizations like the Red Cross and others,
lead to a state of being in which people eventually became exhausted in their giving.
To stay in the arena for the long haul, requires Holy Spirit empowerment. It is interesting,
that the victims of Katrina said that when all the other help agencies disappeared, the Christians
were still there. This ingredient of steadfast determination is essential if one is to make a
difference in areas of economic deprivation through the building of networks of hope. In Chapter
Four, the author will endeavor to detail the work of his non-profit, Heart of Compassion
Partnerships, in their mission of ten years and counting. The author, in recounting the story of
Heart of Compassion Partnerships, will also share the successes and failures, along with the key
components to beginning a ministry with the poor.

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CHAPTER FOUR: DESCRIPTION OF THE MINISTRY PROJECT
Overview
“Any sanctification that precludes involvement in the world must be rendered suspect.
And involvement in the world that disregards sanctification is dangerous. The activity of God in
the public arena is incarnational and co-creational. God’s work is done through human
beings.”254 From the beginning, the author saw the project he was engaged in as a ministry
calling to be about God’s engagement with the world. Thus, he sought from the outset to avoid
the trap that is so common to ministries of the Mainline, Charismatic, and Evangelical
persuasions: the tendency to either pray for the poor, but then do nothing in a tangible way to
help the poor; i.e. the James 2:14-18 admonition, or the tendency to help the poor, but then leave
them in abject spiritual poverty; i.e. the Matthew 16:26 warning.
In this chapter, the author seeks to describe a journey that is bringing together faith and
works in a way that addresses the root causes of poverty in both a physical and spiritual sense.
Three major themes will dominate this story: initiation of relationship, expansion of partnership,
and transformation of hearts and community. Firstly, he will describe how alliances were made
between secular and sacred groups without doing harm to the presentation of the Gospel.
Additionally, he will show how these alliances brought tangible benefits so real to the secular
authorities, that they have sought an expansion of the partnership.

254 Dennis A. Jacobsen, 18.

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Finally, the author will describe how the coming together of the Body of Christ presents a
picture so sweet and so powerful, that unbelievers are forced to pay attention. It is this aspect that
touched the author’s heart so greatly. He literally became a witness to the coming alive of Psalm
133:1 and John 17:21-23. The unity displayed was in fact, so powerful that unbelievers became
believers, and disconnected believers became connected believers, thus demonstrating that
networks of hope are a dynamic way to bring about transformational change in the lives of
individuals.
Essential Principles for Building Networks of Hope
Seven biblical principles governed the vision and formation of Networks of Hope. These
principles include: 1) Relationship, 2) Servant Leadership, 3) Humility, 4) Grace, 5) Love, 6)
Boundaries and, 7) Commitment. (Please see Table 3 in this chapter.) These principles were not
only guidelines for construction, but also validated doctrines in the implementation of the
ministry effort. In brief, they were fundamental to the effectiveness of the outreach and
transformative power of Networks of Hope.
The Journey Must begin with Relationship
The author cannot overemphasize the importance of relationship. It is the first of the
seven essential principles by which the author abided. The journey must begin with
“Relationship.” Relationship is key to all phases of building networks of hope. It is a factor that
cares about the individual as a person made in the image of Christ. As such, it requires patience.
At a number of places in his work entitled The Tragedy of American Compassion, Marvin
Olasky’s research revealed that one of the tragedies that developed over the centuries was a loss
of personal contact with those being served. The result of this disconnect was the trend of writing

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checks instead of giving time. While the author has noted his struggle with Mr. Olasky’s choice
of words, in this case the author is in full agreement with the point he has made.
Table 3. Essential Principles
Figure 1. The Binding Principle of Prayer

PRINCIPLE DESIRED IMPACT

Relationship
Key to all phases, it cares
about individuals as people
made in the image of Christ.

Servant Leadership
The leader is there to serve,
NOT build a reputation

Humility
Go into the process with an
open heart and mind: i.e. open
to input and open to change.
Cultural sensitivity is a must.

Grace
This principle requires the
leader to jettison all thoughts
of judgmentalism against
ministry volunteers and clients
of the ministry services.

Love
Are you serving in places of
poverty because Father God
has given you a heart for the
poor? i.e. Do you/have you
ever wept over the city?

Boundaries
This reminds the leader that
one can only do so much, and
that over-doing is a
prescription for burnout.

Commitment
Here, the leader must engage
in introspective reflection:
Am I committed for the long
haul?
Am I ready to commit to the
Lord to stay, until he releases
me?
Is it short programmatic burst,
or year-round ministry I’m
interested in?

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According to Olasky, one person who bucked the trend of providing support without
connecting to those in need, was Jerry McAuley. Jerry McAuley, after a most difficult start in his
life’s journey, was redeemed by the power of the Holy Spirit and literally pioneered the idea of
living with those you are trying to reach. Thus it was, that McAuley took up residence in the
“slums” of New York City as an agent of transformation no one thought possible. McAuley,
Olasky said, was a “riotous drunkard” who, with help and fervent prayer, overcame his
addictions and was determined to return to the slums from where he had come. Olasky lifted
McAuley up as a prime example of an “indigenous missionary,”255 i.e. those who lived among
the ones they served.
In a magazine article by Daniel Olasky, entitled “Loving Discipline” published in World,
he highlights a ministry called Youth Horizons that made a tangible difference in the lives of
young people by first connecting with them relationally. Olasky shared that the benefits of a
personal relationship manifested itself in the length of service the mentors gave to the program.
He said, “…when engaging new mentors…[Youth Horizons] asks for a minimum one-year
commitment and gets over 70 percent renewal rates after that year, with over 60 percent
renewing for two years and beyond.”256
Olasky and his son were not the only ones to recognize the importance of a personal
relationship, however. Dennis Jacobsen said, “An organizer must hold genuine interest in the
story being told and in the life journey of the other person” to be effective.257 Without

255 The story of Jerry McAuley and the concept of “indigenous missionaries” can be found in Marvin
Olasky’s book, The Tragedy of American Compassion, pp 92-ff.
256 Daniel Olasky, “Loving Discipline,” in World Vol 25, Num. 8. Ashville, NC: God’s Word
Publication, April 24, 2010, 57.
257 Dennis A, Jacobsen, 60.

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relationship, we not only lose our effectiveness, but we can become callous in our approach and
detrimental in the message we communicate to the world. Jim Wallis, reflecting on the
deleterious effects on the witness of Christians who have embraced Tea Party Libertarianism,
said this in Sojourner Magazine, “Emphasizing individual rights at the expense of others,
challenges ‘the common good,’ a central Christian teaching and tradition…Loving your neighbor
is a better Christian response than telling your neighbor to leave you alone. Without that
commitment, the freedom of individual choice will often ignore the poor and marginalized…”258
The importance of relationship is why the story of Heart of Compassion Partnerships begins
before its founding ten years ago.
The author was determined to make relationship the center piece of his ministry outreach.
Thus, he sought relationship with a local pastor in what is known as the Campostella area of
Chesapeake, Virginia. There, he became connected with a man he grew to respect and love:
Superintendent Joseph T. Williams of The Church of God in Christ denomination. Joseph had
served in the Campostella area for a decade before the author met him, serving as Pastor of
Campostella Refuge in Christ congregation.259 The initial step was getting to know each other.
This was done most often, by meeting for breakfast. During these times of breaking bread
together, the Lord knit the hearts of the author and Pastor Williams together in a very tender
way.
The conversations between the two were authentic discussions of their very divergent
realities, and went beyond discussions of ministry. At one point they started to share regarding

258 Jim Wallis, “The Theology of the Tea Party: Can the Philosophy of ‘libertarianism” be reconciled with
Christian faith?” in Sojourners, Vol. 39 no. 10, November 2010, 20.
259 Please see pages 4-6 of this dissertation for an overview of the Campostella area.

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their mothers, and these two women’s less than politically correct views of other races. The
men’s laughter so filled the air in the restaurant that a lady neither of them knew, came and sat
down wanting to get in on the fun. When they told the lady, who was there with her mother, that
they were talking about their mothers, she said, “Uh, oh, I’m out of here!” Such were the tender
and joyful memories that increasingly grew over the years and knit the men’s hearts together.
The Action Steps
The time finally arrived to put feet to their relationship. To do this, the author sought
ways that he and the congregation he was serving, could support the ministry outreach efforts of
Pastor Williams. There was a self-imposed principle that the author was adhering to when he
went the direction of seeking to support an existing program, rather than initiating a new
program. That principle was “Servant Leadership.”
Servant Leadership is a principle that was modeled and mandated by our Lord and Savior
Jesus the Christ. At its heart, Servant Leadership says, “You are there to serve, NOT build a
reputation.” It was of critical importance to the author that he not appear like the “great white
hope” coming in to fix the poor. The author was pleased to see this principle validated in his
research as well. For example, this concept was the key factor in the leadership of Howard Fuller
and the success of the North Carolina Fund discussed in Chapter Three. Howard Fuller was the
key neighborhood organizer for the Fund. In writing about the Fund, Korstad and Leloudis said,
“Fuller took seriously the idea of identifying and developing indigenous leadership…Fuller
sought not to impose organizational structures on the target communities, but to facilitate a more
organic process of self-organization.”260 In others words, let the local leadership lead.

260 Robert R. Korstad & James L. Leloudis, 180.

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Jim Wallis said, “The idea that poor people have no assets is a myth; the problem is how
to mobilize those assets.”261 Wallis called this concept, “asset-based community development.”
He further stated the gifts had to be identified, mobilized and utilized. This is not an easy process
in which to participate. Anyone who has been in a leadership position for any length of time,
develops a leadership persona in which one instinctively either senses the direction to be taken,
or just naturally takes the lead. Thus, a third principle must be applied to the building process:
“Humility.” Again, how can it be denied that our Master both modeled and mentored humility?
Contrary to what many think, humility is not saying and acting as if you are a worthless
worm. In fact, one must be gifted in some way in order to have anything about which to be
humble. This is why insecure people, gifted or not, tend to struggle with pride. None-the-less, the
Scriptures are clear, Exodus 10:3, James 4:10, and 1Peter 5:6, all call the believer to, “humble
yourself.” In other words, the believer is to take action not to steal God’s glory nor lift one’s self
up at the expense of others.
Therefore, to apply the principle of “Humility” to building networks of hope, one must go
into the process with an open heart and mind: i.e. open to input and open to change. This is
directly and inseparably linked to cultural sensitivity. Put another way, as the leader, one must
not think they possess all the answers nor think there is only one way to accomplish a task. Each
person wears a set of lenses tempered by many things; race, upbringing, economic standing,
Scriptural interpretation and life application, and generational position/experience (i.e. boomer,
gen-x, millennial, etc.). Without a keen awareness of these experiences and their impact on one’s
decision-making process, the building process will quickly disintegrate.

261 Jim Wallis, Faith Works, 110.

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In order to support Pastor William and his ministry, it was of upmost importance for the
author to try and understand the kind of pressures and issues that he faced on a regular basis.
This required yet another principle to come into play. When the author first connected with
Pastor Williams, he came with all the prejudices of an upper-middle class, white person serving a
congregation of essentially the same composition. Thus, it was essential to apply the principle of
“Grace.” The principle of “Grace” requires that one must jettison all thoughts of judgmentalism
against the ministry volunteers and the clients of the ministry.
People who live in, and serve out of their poverty, have life issues middleclass people
cannot begin to understand. Their hearts may earnestly have desired to volunteer for a ministry
project, but when the day arrived, they are physically exhausted from work; emotionally
exhausted from an incident in the home or “project”262 they live in; or spiritually exhausted from
trying to understand why this is happening to them. What is more, they may have been offered
the opportunity for desperately needed supplemental income or even forced to come in and work
their hourly job or face termination. Grace is needed.
While middleclass people without argument, have their own issues, the environmental
drain on the spirits of people in poverty is just heavier. For example, in addition to all the author
has listed, the stress of hunger and the real possibility that no one, including the children, got to
eat in the home last night is an all-too common circumstance in communities of need. In short,
the volunteers are often as needy as the clients, and the last thing they need is a judgmental spirit
being poured out on them for “their lack of commitment.” With regard to the clients of the
services, all the same issues apply. So if they are unable to come as planned to the ministry site,

262 Project is also used as a slang term to describe collections of income-based apartments. An older, more
pejorative term to describe this is “the slums.”

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the servant minister must guard against assigning this assessment to their character: “Well, if
they “can’t even show up…” Behind that assessment is the charge of laziness and a lack of will.
Furthermore, “a run-in with the law” is a concern that is unlikely to even enter the mind
of a typical middleclass person, but is an omnipresent concern for many in communities of need.
Brad Heath, reporter for the USA TODAY newspaper, did an extensive study of arrest rates in the
United States, entitled, “Racial Gap in U.S. Arrest Rates: ‘Staggering Disparity’.” The data they
used to analyze these rates came from statistics police departments are required to report to the
F.B.I. In a summary statement they said, “Whatever the reasons, the results are the same: Blacks
are far more likely to be arrested than any other racial group in the USA. In some places,
dramatically so. At least 70 departments scattered from Connecticut to California arrested black
people at a rate 10 times higher than people who are not black…”263
The NAACP reports that an African American is six times more likely to be arrested in
his lifetime than his white counterpart. With current trends, one in three African American males
are projected to serve time in their lifetime.264 The worst of the outcomes is being tagged as a
“felon”: forever impacting the individual’s ability to attain satisfactory employment or enjoy
upward mobility in providing for their family or future. For instance, possession of less than two
ounces of marijuana can result in a felony conviction. By any reasonable assessment, this offense
seems small when weighed against the social impact of being a felon. Once labeled, a “felon”
can no longer vote, join the military, hold certain jobs, nor even volunteer for certain positions!
Grace is needed. As Jim Wallis asked, “Why do we continue to believe the myth that poor

263 Brad Heath, “Racial Gap in U.S. Arrest Rates: ‘Staggering Disparity’,” in U.S.A.TODAY online:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/18/ferguson-black-arrest-rates/19043207/ [29 Sept 2015]
264 NAACP online: http://action.naacp.org/page/s/naacp-criminal-justice. [29 Sept 2015]

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people don’t know anything and can’t be trusted?”265 This is why the next principle is as
essential as the others; the principle of “Love.”
The principle of “Love” asks simply, “Are you building networks of hope because God
has given you a heart for the poor? In other words, like Jesus (Lk.19:41), has the depth of your
compassion for the city, lead you to weep over the city? As Tim Keller observed, “Jesus refuses
to let us limit, not only how we love, but who we love.”266 Put another way, our love must be, at
its core, a love like that of the Father. That is, we are not to judge the individual, nor are we to set
requirements that demand the individual be made clean of their short comings before they are
accepted.
Does this then mean we are to enter ministries with the poor with a blind eye?
Emphatically, no. Turning again to Tim Keller, he wisely reminds us that, “Another cause of
poverty, according to the Bible, is what we could call ‘personal moral failures,’ such as
indolence (Proverbs 6:6-7), and other problems with self-discipline (Proverbs 23:21).”267 We are
not called to be enablers when bad choices have been made. In other words, we are not to be
poor stewards. As such, it is important to employ the fifth principle – the principle of
“Boundaries.”
Where boundaries are concerned, there are two important points to keep in mind:
1. The problems and needs that emerge in poverty are immense and never ending,
because sin is never ending. The sins of greed and racism and hording and
consumerism and sensuality are a blight on humanity. Together, these sins form the

265 Jim Wallis, Faith Works, 105.
266 Timothy Keller, 67.
267 Ibid, 34.

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twisted, mangled root of poverty. They are sins of omission and commission that are
perpetrated by the individual, and on the individual with the effect of leaving people
mired in poverty. Satan loves this, and why not, he has come to kill dreams, steal
hope, and destroy lives.
2. Poverty by its nature screams out for enablers. Poverty is a miserable existence, so if
people caught in the twisted root of poverty cannot be set free, they at least want to
be made to feel justified in the midst of it. As one who comes from a home where
alcohol was abused, the author understands this better than most. But the author also
knows, that the worse thing someone can do is to enable an individual to remain in a
condition that may be changeable.
To state it clearly and plainly, we must be good stewards of all that Father God has given. What
is more, we must never forget who we are, and what we are as children of the Risen Lord and
King.
Remembering who and what we are is as easy as remembering that Father God has adopted
us and therefore has endowed us with spiritual powers of transformation as part of our
inheritance (Eph.1:17-23). Living in a state of expectation, we must therefore, be prepared to
deploy those spiritual powers when we are so directed by the Holy Spirit. Ron Sider, who sees a
lack of justice at the root of poverty, eloquently said, “Providing for the needy means ending
their oppression, setting them back on their feet, giving them a home, and leading them to
prosperity and restoration (Pss. 10:15-18, 68:5-10). Biblical justice does not mean we should

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merely help victims cope with oppression; it teaches us to remove it.”268 To that end, we are
called to be agents of transformation.
It is important therefore, to have an understanding of transformation. While transformation
can happen in an instant, it is more likely to happen in stages. The author believes in part, that
this may well have been one of the reasons that Father God commanded the setting up of
“Ebenezers” (1 Sa.7:12) and “memorial stones” (Jos.4:1-9) so that the people of Israel could look
back and see how far they had come on the path of transformation. As Sider, Olson, and Unruh
observed, “It is easy for holistic ministry to become so problem-centered that it loses sight of
victories won in the past, or of God’s quiet mercies that grace each day.”269
Although they didn’t call it transformation, Corbett and Fikkert, in When Helping Hurts,
gave an excellent description of transformation as a path, and the role believers play along the
way:
“Relief” can be defined as the urgent and temporary provision of emergency aid to
reduce immediate suffering from a natural or man-made crisis…”Rehabilitation” begins
as soon as the bleeding stops; it seeks to restore people and their communities to…their
precrisis (sic.) conditions…”Development” is a process of ongoing change that moves
all the people involved…closer to being in right relationship with God, self, others, and
the rest of creation.270

They concluded their overview by pointing out that the worst mistake American Christians make
is to apply relief in situations where rehabilitation or development is needed.
When finally the opportunity to move forward on a ministry outreach came for the author
and Pastor Williams, the last of the essential principles came into play – the principle of

268 Ron Sider, 56.
269 Ronald J. Sider, Philip N. Olson, & Heidi Rolland Unruh, 140.
270 Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert, 104-105.

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“Commitment.” The principle of “Commitment” is of critical importance and requires the
leader to do gut-honest, introspective reflection. To accomplish this, the author asked himself a
series of questions.
First, “Are you committed for the long haul?” This was important, because like so many
poverty areas, the Campostella area had been “used.” If it wasn’t politicians who came with
empty promises, it was mega-churches coming with promises of transformation, followed by the
reality of short-term programs of little consequence and commercials aired on the internet and
local media channels with the goal of showing how compassionate and caring was their church.
If one is going to make a difference in an area of poverty, a commitment of long-term duration is
required.
Each of the next two questions supporting the “Commitment Principle” therefore, is
meant to cement its long-term nature in some kind of measurable reality. The first of the
supporting questions is, “Am I ready to commit to the Lord to stay until released?” The author
literally committed to the Lord to stay in Hampton Roads until released. Finally, the second of
the supporting questions measures the character of the commitment. Is the leader there to engage
in programmatic burst that takes one in and out of the area, or is the interest in a year-round
ministry? In other words, is the commitment going to be characterized by a series of short term
projects, like Thanksgiving Dinners, or is it going to be characterized by a project that is
operational day in and day out? For the author, there was only one way to answer this question, it
required a year-round, day-in-day-out, ministry that targeted the alleviation of poverty.
The Binding Principle: Prayer
The commitment being made, the author turned to what would be the project’s rock bed
foundation. This final action principle however, is far from the final principle, but neither should

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it be considered just the first principle. Quite to contrary, this is the principle that overlays every
other principle, and the principle whose action must be constant and never ending. This is the
principle of “Prayer.”
There is nothing that has come about in the author’s project outside the realm of prayer,
either the author praying or being prayed for. It has already been noted that the vision of Heart of
Compassion Partnerships was born in prayer. The author believes this because he believes it is
through prayer that the power of the Holy Spirit is released. It is also the author’s belief that
prayer is one of three means by which the believer hears the Spirit speak.
The three means of hearing the Spirit speak are as follows: first is through God’s Word.
The author believes the Scripture is God breathed, and therefore the living Word of God. In other
words, a believer can read a passage of Scripture today and hear one message, and read it again
tomorrow and have the message go deeper. Second is through other believers. No one person can
have the mind of Christ, thus it is important to get confirmation from other believers when one
believes they have heard from Father God. Third, one hears from the Spirit through prayer. It is
in prayer that the believer learns to enter into conversation with Father God getting wisdom and
impressions. It is this conversational aspect that the author believes enables the believer to
literally pray constantly.
Prayer literally infuses and permeates every principle and every aspect of this ministry’s
substance. From the foundational first principle of “Relationship” to the anchoring final principle
of “Commitment,” prayer is the life’s blood of this project. One of the best ways for believers,
whether they are acquaintances, friends or husband and wife, to get to know each other is to pray
together. The author knows this through experience. Principle 1, Relationship, became a part of
the author’s life as a result of the pastor’s prayer circles of which he became a part. The first and

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most profound of the circles, was begun by Pastor Marty O’Rourke, senior pastor at Church of
Messiah in Chesapeake, Virginia. The author learned a great deal about prayer through his
friendship with Pastor O’Rourke. In fact, that friendship endures even unto today.
Marty brought together pastors from a wide spectrum of Christianity: United Methodist,
Charismatic, Assembly of God, Roman Catholic, Four Square, Presbyterian, Anglican,
Episcopalian, Lutheran, Vineyard, United Church of Christ, Church of God in Christ, et.al. Every
week, pastors from a wide expression of the church would come together and pray, followed by
the Lord’s Supper. The presiding duties were shared among the pastors from their own
expressions and understandings.
By praying with each other, the pastors got to know each other in very intimate ways that
enabled a breadth of understanding that would not otherwise have been possible. While the
author had learned much about ecumenism through his experience as a Navy Chaplain, it was
this experience, the act of praying with other pastors through the commonality they felt toward
our one Lord and Savior, that finally and forever wiped away his sectarian veneer of
Lutheranism as the best way. Put another way, learning to pray with others is a transformative
relational experience.
Prayer has not only formed the theoretical foundation of the ministry, but also formed the
framework of the daily activities and operation of the project. In her exceptional series of books
on prayer, Stormie Omartian speaks of how prayer opens the way to transformation. Thus, it is
an expectation in the Urban Outreach Centers, one arm of the project to be discussed next, that
the Center Directors and the tutors pray with the children. In fact, without it being a direct lesson,
the children are taught about the importance of prayer by being involved in prayer. As such, the

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children begin their time together in prayer, and if the children are having difficulty at school or
at home, they are prayed over.
In the Serve the City Chesapeake program, to be highlighted later in the chapter, prayer
also plays an intricate role. The volunteers are prayed for before leaving for their worksite. At the
end of every project, the homeowner is prayed for, an intimate moment that has seen people give
their lives to the Lord Jesus. Prayer is without debate, essential.
One of the finest descriptions of prayer’s place in ministry to the poor was given by the
team of Ronald J. Sider, Philip N. Olson, and Heidi Rolland Unruh in Churches that Make a
Difference: Reaching Your Community with Good News and Good Works:
When it comes to holistic ministry, prayer is not optional. Prayer is not a seasoning to be
sprinkled over social service to give it a pious flavor. Prayer must bathe the entire process
of development and implementation; it is not just a step in the process. Prayer is at the
heart of holistic ministry…Sometimes a one-sided dualism creeps into a church’s prayer
life: here there is a tendency to pray about people’s “spiritual” needs and organize action
steps to meet their social needs. [For example, it] is far more common to soak an
evangelistic rally with prayer than a housing construction project. But prayer and action
are both/and, not either/or.271

Thus, without prayer, there is no transformative ministry.

The Birth of Heart of Compassion Partnerships
The Birth Pangs
The author was of the opinion that it was advantageous for ministry starts to begin under
a 501(c)3. 501(c)3 is a classification under Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations that
allows a corporation to operate with a non-profit status.272 The advantage is twofold; 1) it allows

271 Ronald J. Sider, Philip N. Olson, & Heidi Rolland Unruh, 133.
272 See Appendix C for step by step instructions for establishing a non-profit corporation.

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a tax deduction for those who contribute to the organization, and 2) it provides a shield against
frivolous law suits against the church or individual starting the corporation.273
The establishment of Heart of Compassion Partnerships seemed to the author, to be an
anointed process born out of prayer. One of the early objectives of Heart of Compassion
Partnerships was to bring pastors and churches together in such a way that duplication of
services was avoided while at the same time, networking took place that enabled the
congregations that did not ordinarily work with one another, to do so.
Sectarianism is a difficult and prominent problem in the church world. Thus it seemed to
the author, if pastors could work together on projects, in which they believed, perhaps they could
set aside their differences and focus on that which bound them. It was a blessing therefore, when,
in the process of doing the research for this dissertation, the author came across the same focus.
Chip Sweeney in A New Kind of Big: How Churches of Any Size Can Partner to Transform
Communities, had successful results when he did the same thing: “As we began to build
relationships with other churches and ministries, we were encouraged to overlook our differences
except for the ones that really mattered…”274 The author’s vision of functional unity, birthed in
prayer, propelled him to get connected with the congregations in the area asking them to connect
with the same understanding.
Working hard at establishing relationships with other pastors therefore, became a driving
missional objective of the author. One of those blessed connections was his relationship with

273 Besides Heart of Compassion Partnerships, the author setup two other non-profits. PROMOTE Family
Centers Inc., from which Apostles Lutheran Church will be able to operate ministry outreach programs, and
Apostles Lutheran Church itself. According to our attorney, Douglas H. Cook of Regent University Law School,
Apostles Lutheran Church was the first church to take advantage of Virginia’s newly enacted law that enabled
churches to incorporate.
274 Chip Sweeney, 55.

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Hampton Roads United Christians (HRUC) under the direction of Raymond W. Styles. As
mentioned in the previous section in connection with The Principle of Prayer, HRUC’s main
focus was on prayer and the establishment of pastoral prayer circles. The hope of HRUC was to
eventually move toward a functional unity275 that would bring pastors together and
transformation to the community.
After years of hard work and relationship building, it was put on Ray’s heart to start
backing away from HRUC. When the time came, he contacted me and offered to sign over the
his 501(C)3 to me. This act of kindness was, the author believes, orchestrated by the Holy Spirit.
He believes this because it not only put the author instantly in business, but took a practical step
toward the functional unity that both Heart of Compassion Partnerships and HRUC had sought.
All that was needed at this point, was a “name change” request through the IRS. This being
accomplished, preparing the congregation was the next step.
There is nothing that hurts the author’s heart more than to point out, it is a tragic mistake
to assume that American Christians are ready to move out to help the poor. Americans by-in-
large, have convinced themselves they are “poor,” even with all our abundance. At the heart of
this misconception is consumerism. As Americans, the accumulation of things is an obsession,
and the more we have to spend, the more we accumulate. Many of us are constantly on the brink
of bankruptcy because we have over spent and under saved. It is this fear of losing what we have
accumulated that the author believes, lies at the heart of our perception of being poor.
It is not easy to break this perception Americans have of their economic condition. One
way however, is to take people on short term mission trips to underdeveloped countries. Even

275 By functional unity, it was meant that the coming together of the pastor would not lead to unity for the
sake of unity, but instead, would lead to a practical outreach that would change the community while bringing
people into relationship with Jesus.

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then, it does not always work, but for many, confronted by the abject poverty of much of the
world, short term mission trips help people’s eyes to be opened to their own wealth. Such was
the case for the congregation the author served. Trips to Honduras, Ecuador, Latvia, and India,
helped congregants to obtain a vision of outreach. But what is this vision and how do you get
there?
To get to this place of vision, there needed to be an exchange. Believers needed to begin
exchanging the view of themselves from an accumulator of things, to agents of transformation.
As Jim Wallis stated, “The great emphasis in the New Testament is that the gospel is not how to
escape the world; the gospel is that the crucified and risen Jesus is the Lord of the world. And
that his death and Resurrection transformed the world, and that transformation can happen to
you.”276 In other words, they needed to be changed in their hearts, before the Holy Spirit could
use them to change other’s hearts.
The second important form of transformation that was needed among the congregants
was the instilling of a love for ALL of Father God’s church, not just their denomination. For this
to happen, the author needed to both soften hearts towards those whom we would serve, and
toward those with whom we would be serving. In other words, this ministry outreach required
more than the involvement of just one denomination. They would in fact, be exposed to the
greatest diversity some of them had ever experienced.
To bring about this change of heart, Pastor Joseph and the author found ways to get our
congregations together. One such example was joint services. These moments really helped to
cement the congregations. It was particularly memorable for the author’s congregations when

276 Jim Wallis, The Great Awakening: Seven Ways to Change the World. New York: Harper Collins
Publishers, p 55.

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Pastor Joseph brought a dance team, something not experienced before by the people of Apostles
Lutheran Church. A second example were work parties, where Apostles’ people went to
Campostella Refuge Church of God in Christ to help with maintenance projects, and finally joint
men’s Bible studies at both locations. In addition, the author began to preach and teach on the
subject of community involvement and what it meant to be a follower of Christ.277 All these
activities were important steps in bringing us together before we launched out on any major
endeavor.
The First Program is Born: The Urban Outreach Center
Finally, the opportunity arrived for us to give birth to our first program. The
programmatic opportunity came in the form of an outreach to the Section 8278 housing unit
located behind Campostella Refuge Church of God in Christ. Pastor Joseph had been reaching
out to the residents for years. The difference in opportunity therefore, came as the corporation
that owns the apartment complex received a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grant to
turn a group of apartments into a Community Room for the enhancement of the entire complex.
The opportunity fit perfectly with the objectives. Pastor Joseph wanted an outreach to
children and we were looking for a commitment that put us in the community for the long haul.
We sought permission to begin work, and were given a green light. Both Pastor Joseph and the
author’s organization had put computers in the centers so the work could commence. It was at
this point that we experienced our first set-back.
The corporation, while giving us the okay to start was, unbeknownst to us, looking for a
“bigger player” to run the operation. This happened in part because at this time, the second Bush

277 Appendix F contains a sermon outline and sermon developed for this dissertation project.
278 Section 8 housing is federally subsidized housing in which the residence’s rent is income based.

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Administration had launched its “Faith Based Initiative.” The idea behind this initiative was to
level the playing field so that faith-based groups could compete for federal grants with secular
organizations on an equal footing. This however, is not how it was heard by some, and promoted
by others in unscrupulous ways. The result was a mad rush for money. Suddenly, faith-based
non-profits were writing for grants to fund programs they were not engaged in providing. Such
was the case of the group that caused us to be put out of the center.
The non-profit chosen by the housing corporation was a “large” organization out of
Philadelphia. Because the author had been invited to a number of meetings that launched the
Faith-Based Initiative, he had heard of the group that was tapped to replace Heart of Compassion
Partnerships. Sadly, the only thing large about the group was the mega-church in which it was
housed. Thus, they swooped in, took $22,000 from the corporation that owned the apartments,
and never provided a day’s worth of service. When asked if the corporation was going to sue,
they replied, “No.” After looking into it, they discovered it would cost them more in legal fees
than they would get in return.
Again, because of the relationships the author had developed, he was informed about
what happened. After being informed, he contacted Pastor Joseph to see if he wanted to try
again. Pastor Joseph and the author agreed to reapply. But because the corporation had been
burnt, they decided to go with what they thought was a more reputable group. This group did
provide services, not five days a week as promised, but instead, two days a week. They claimed
that based on what they were being paid by the corporation, two days was all they could afford.
Frustrated, the corporation contacted the author to see if he was still interested. This time,
he declined. A couple of days later, the corporation again contacted the author, asking him to
please reconsider. At that, the author and Pastor Williams proceeded to provide an after-school

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program five days a week. The program opened in September of 2005, and has been there ever
since with five-day-a-week programs; after school from September through June, and all day
from June through August. The opportunity was now before the ministry to impact the lives of
children.
There are few outreach ministries more important than working with children. No group
experiences poverty at a higher rate and thus, no group is more vulnerable. Consider these facts:
1. So many studies have confirmed [the] correlation between single parenthood and
poverty that scholars now view it as one of the best established findings of “social
scientific research.”279
2. Children of never-married mothers are 75 percent more likely to fail a grade in
school, and more than twice as likely to be expelled or suspended, than children
living with both biological parents.280
3. Only 46 percent of urban students can read at what specialists define as a “basic
level,” and in urban high poverty areas, the number is 23 percent.281
4. 16 million, or 22 percent of all children in the United States live in poverty.282
Added to these troubling statistics, was the lack of expectation adults held where the
children’s abilities were concerned. The author was shocked into reality when he saw the effect
of this attitude toward the children, as he tried to teach a lesson he had prepared for them. The
lesson focused on the anniversary of the legendary Supreme Court case, Brown vs Board of
Education. The grandparents of the children being served in the centers grew up in the Jim Crow
South. Therefore, the children had a direct link to these experiences. Trying to pick up on this
history in their midst, the author photocopied a major article that appeared in the Sunday paper

279 Ronald J Sider, 127.
280 Ibid, 128.
281 Ibid, 154.
282 The Trustees of Columbia University, National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), New York.
Online: http://nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html [September 15, 2015].

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prior to the anniversary, and gave it to them. He then, looked up several sites on the internet so
they could look them up and read the stories. Finally, an exercise was put together that would
teach them to do a Google search on this topic.
The result was devastating. The children were totally disengaged and unresponsive.
Finally, the author started to read to them. The atmosphere in the room changed, and they
became curious. Suddenly, it occurred to the author, the children were not able to connect with
the lesson because they were unable to read the material. He then quietly and in private asked a
few of the children whether or not they could read the material. They responded, “No.” This
experience caused the author to look at the larger picture of their education. Because there was
almost no parental involvement, the author talked to teachers. What he discovered left him in
tears.
What the author discovered was an education system that routinely passed children to the
next grade utilizing the lowest of standards, while other students were classified as learning
disabled, which put them in an entirely different trajectory. Worse yet, the author’s research
revealed that this method of “advancement” was widespread in the educational world. For
example, here is what Ron Sider found: “A loss of high expectations for students, and a
hesitation to measure success with standardized tests is especially harmful to poor and minority
children. Due to what one author calls a ‘poisonous brew of humanitarianism and
condescension,’ many educators have low academic expectations for minority and poor
children.”283

283 Ronald J. Sider, 158.

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As a result of this ugly reality, Heart of Compassion Partnerships’ Urban Outreach
Centers now have one objective: help this generation to make intelligent choices so that they can
be successful, and therefore be the first to break the poverty cycle within their families. What is
more, Heart of Compassion Partnerships believes there is only one way to break out of poverty
and that is through education. Consequently, as a ministry, neither sports nor dance nor any
number of other activities are emphasized. It is not that there is no value in these other activities,
it’s that Heart of Compassion Partnerships understands the reality of these children’s lives.
That reality is heartbreaking. When they go home, they may or may not eat; they may or
may not have supervised activities in the home; and they may or may not be asked about their
day much less their homework. Thus, it is highly probable that the staff and tutors are the only
ones in their day, outside the classroom, to focus on academics. As a result of this focus, Heart of
Compassion Partnerships’ Urban Outreach Centers have children who passed their Standards of
Learning (SOL) test for the first time. Furthermore, there are children who have been put on the
honor roll for the first time. A major reason for the success of the Urban Outreach Centers was
the individual the Holy Spirit brought to be the executive director.
One of the best decisions the author made regarding the stability and growth of Heart of
Compassion Partnerships was the hiring of an executive director. Mr. Mel Howell, the individual
hired, was a vice-president in the International Paper Company. He left the company through
early retirement, and began serving faith-based non-profits. Heart of Compassion Partnerships
was blessed to be one of them. One of the gifts he brought was an upgrade to the business
practices. Among those practices was collecting statistics. Here are the results, as measured by
Mr. Howell, of the education focus of the Centers:

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 In 2012, the Urban Outreach Centers had 40 students enrolled. No student was on
the Honor Roll and 20 students (50%) were below grade level.
 In 2013, the Urban Outreach Centers enrolled 46 students from 4 local schools;
Thurgood Marshall, George Washington Carver, Oscar Smith Middle, and Portlock
Primary. Of the 46 students, 30 (65%) made the Honor Roll, 38 students (82%)
were on grade level, and only 8 (17%) students were below grade level.
Imagine having a child come running into the center to announce they are on the honor
roll for the first time in their life. This has happened. Imagine being the adult who gets this honor
because you are one of the few adults who consistently has a positive interaction with that child.
This has happened.
To achieve the results listed above, it was necessary to think outside the box to develop a
program that could both help the children academically, and mentor them in the process of
making intelligent choices. Figure 2, shows how the program is intended to work. The goal of
the program is to help children succeed academically. Because of the difference in maturity, the
children are put into two groups: Kindergarten to 3rd Grade and 4th Grade to 6th Grade. After 6th
Grade, the student is given the opportunity to become a Junior Coach in the program during their
middle school years. These students serve as “Helpers” doing small errands and being mentored
by a Senior Coach.
Once they reach high school age, they have the opportunity to become Senior Coaches.
To become a Senior Coach, they must go through an interview process, thus giving them the
experience of interviewing for a job. The Senior Coach participates in the tutoring program and
receives a stipend.

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After the student graduates from high school, if they go on to college, they are invited to
be a Camp Director in the summer program. These students also receive a stipend for their work.
This too is an interview position. The Camp Director is responsible for supervision of the Senior
Figure 2: Student Mentoring Process

and Junior Coaches. As such, they are expected to be the mentors in the program. Figure 3

is an illustration of the mentoring chain, and it follows:

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Figure 3: Student Leadership Mentoring Process

There is of course, mentoring at every stage. In other words, the Junior Coach mentors the
Helpers, the Senior Coach mentors the Junior Coach, and the Camp Director mentors the Senior
Coach.
The key to the academic success at the Urban Outreach Centers is “routine.” This is how
the Urban Outreach Centers’ “After-School Program” works day after day:
 When the children arrive, they are immediately settled down and helped to get
started with their homework. Staff members and volunteer tutors are present to
assist the children. The importance of homework cannot be overstated. If a child
says they have no homework, their word is accepted the first time. If the next day
they claim the same thing, staff checks with the teacher. If the child has not told the
truth, the parent284 is contacted. If this happens again, a warning of dismissal from
the program is given.285 One more offense within a 30 day period and the child is

284 It is important to note that there are no two parent families in the program.
285 See Appendix D for the Urban Outreach Center Parent Handbook.

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dismissed. This may seem harsh, but space is very limited, and therefore there is a
waiting list.
 Once the homework is complete, if the child is having difficulty with reading, they
are asked to choose a book and a tutor sits with the child and aids them as they read.
 While the children are working on their homework, a staff member is preparing a
snack for the children. The Urban Outreach Centers administration tries to give
them more than they would normally receive in a traditional “after school snack,”
because for a number of the children, this is the only food they will get until they
return to school the next morning for a breakfast paid for by the federal government.
 Once homework, reading, math, and snack time have concluded, the children are
allowed, with supervision, to play on the computers. This is done to get them
familiar with this technology. Again, the children’s exposure to computers in the
Title 1 schools286 they attend is minimal, and in their homes, it is non-existent.
Imagine how far this puts the children behind their peers in the technological age of
these times.
As the first spring approached in the After-School Program, the staff suddenly realized
that a three hour program in the afternoon was not going to benefit the children. This reality was
confirmed by the public school teachers who relayed that much of the fall semester at the start of
school was spent re-teaching the previous year’s lessons. In response, Heart of Compassion
Partnerships put together a summer program that was also academically based.

286 Title 1 school status is determined by the number of children who qualify for the free lunch program,
which now also includes breakfast.

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Each summer the Center Directors develop a theme based curriculum that incorporates
reading and fun-based research that seeks to keep the math and reading skills of the children at
grade level. In addition, the staff plans some outdoor activities that includes summer fun
activities like water games. Finally, Heart of Compassion Partnerships participates in the
Department of Agriculture feeding programs through the Chesapeake School District that
provides the children with a substantial and nutritious breakfast and lunch.
Heart of Compassion Partnerships cannot accomplish all this alone of course. The
success of the Urban Outreach Centers depends on the participation of a number of community
partners.287 As the program has grown in success and viability, the Urban Outreach Centers has
added partners to the program. One of the first outside partners was Opportunity Inc.
Opportunity Inc. oversees federally funded workforce development programs that aid in
accessing qualified workers and jobseekers in finding suitable job openings. They also offer
training in order to increase the marketability of the worker. Heart of Compassion Partnerships is
the only off site location for Opportunity Inc. in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Another of the partners that came together with Heart of Compassion Partnerships was
Tidewater Community College (TCC). In a revolutionary agreement, TCC agreed to provide a
professor that would come to the Section 8 housing unit where the Urban Outreach Centers are
located, and teach students their first college credited course. This was an entry level required
course for all TCC students. Heart of Compassion Partnerships raised the funds through Apostles
Lutheran Church, to pay the reduced tuition, thus enabling the student to attend free.

287 Table 4 presents a list of partners and their contributions.

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Finally, an agreement was entered into for students from local universities to become
tutors and volunteers in the Centers. These students, many of whom are people of color, provide
an incredibly rich example of hope and possibility. For the Center students, without this example
of students who were once in their shoes, college is a distant dream.
The Second Program is Born: Serve the City Chesapeake
If Urban Outreach Centers are Heart of Compassion Partnerships’ attempt to reduce the
poverty rolls, Serve the City Chesapeake is Heart of Compassion Partnerships’ attempt to keep it
from growing. Serve the City Chesapeake is not the idea of Heart of Compassion Partnerships.
Serve the City Chesapeake came about through the relationships the author had built through the
years. In January 2008, Jon Hildebrand, on staff at Chesapeake Community Church, came to the
author’s office and shared an idea that Captain Tony Torres of the Chesapeake Police
Department had brought to him.
As with other interventions described in this case study, the author believes this moment
was orchestrated by the Holy Spirit. Jon’s visit to the office was for an entirely different purpose,
when suddenly, Jon felt compelled to share that meetings were being held to discuss an idea
based on the Broken Window Theory that Captain Torres had presented. The Broken Window
Theory is a criminological theory developed by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling that
measured the effect of vandalism on the social order of urban society. Captain Torres had been
working on a Masters project that involved the theory, and was seeking community support to
see if caring for the physical conditions of high crime areas in Chesapeake would have an impact
on lowering that rate.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Q._Wilson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_L._Kelling

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Table 4. Partners with the Urban Outreach Centers

288 SNAPET stands for “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training.” It is a
new program that is federally funded that is intended to aid people on welfare to enter the work force. As an agent of
the program, Heart of Compassion Partnerships agrees to provide work skills training to the recipient.

Goods & Services Provided

Lawson Reality Operational space, funding for center
directors and supplies.
Coastlands Community
Church & other area
Churches
School supplies for the children, volunteer
tutors.
Refuge Church of God in
Christ, Campostella
Activities for the children, tutors, federal
feeding program.
Chesapeake Police
Department
Security, weekend festival participants,
bicycles.
City of Chesapeake
Neighborhood Services
Books, weekend festival activities for the
residents.
First Baptist, South
Norfolk, Chesapeake
Workers for the summer camp program
paid for through a grant.
Cathedral of Faith
C.O.G.I.C.
Federal feeding programs providing snacks
after school.
Hope Charitable Services Snacks, food for the families, Christmas
gifts for the children.

Chesapeake Social
Services
HOCP is the first Chesapeake organization
to enter into SNAPET work site
agreement288 which pays for Urban
Outreach Center workers through social
service funds.
Norfolk State University,
Old Dominion University
Tidewater Community
College
Tutors through their student community
service program.

Opportunity Inc.
Opportunity Inc. oversees federally funded
workforce development programs, which
assist in accessing qualified workers and
jobseekers in finding suitable job openings
and marketability through training.

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The target area was to be the Fifth Precinct that included Harbor North, a targeted area
for crime prevention in Chesapeake. When the author’s organization came to the table, he
requested to continue his work in the Second Precinct. Captain Torres was delighted, and the
mission instantly expanded to cover what was considered Chesapeake’s most “at-risk” areas. If
the project was to have an impact, the first order of business was to expand the network. Jim
Wallis stated it best, “…[N]etworking and community building is essential…innovative
programs work best when they are fully supported by surrounding public and private
institutions—government, schools, police, courts, and businesses.”289
No potential participant denied the importance of this, but the challenge of bringing
different entities together is multifold. First on the sacred side of the ledger, one must overcome
a spirit of sectarianism. As discussed earlier in this chapter, churches tend to suffer under the
delusion that their way of doing things, whether it is the amount of water used in baptism or the
fermentation level of the juice, is the only correct way of doing it. Added to that is suspicion of
government that borders on the neurotic. Even the mention of the possibility of partnership with
government brings howls of ruination.
There is suspicion thick enough to cut on the secular side, too. Immediately, they hide
behind the “separation of church and state” cutting off even the possibility of discussion. Thus,
the objective is to get both sides to see the benefits of working together. This revelation came to
a prominent political leader less than a decade ago. Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister,
said this, “It is misguided to suggest that there is a straight choice between voluntary activity and
state activity. The two go together. And where the two do go together—the government fully

289 Jim Wallis, 176.

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realizing its obligations, looking to the voluntary sector as a partner not a substitute—the impact
is far greater than government acting on its own.”290
There were a number of things the author did to try and expand the network he had built.
First, relying on the principles in Table 3, the author relied on the importance of relationship. In
his third year of pastoring in Chesapeake, the author paid a visit with Mayor William E. Ward,
and asked if he would be opened to having a few pastors come and pray with him for the city
each month. He accepted the invitation. This one moment of outreach has provided immense
relationship dividends over the years. The author has prayed with all succeeding mayors and now
the City Manager of Chesapeake—some seventeen years. The result has been a building of trust
as the principles of servant leadership, grace, and humility were applied.
The city leaders needed to feel safe. In this regard, they needed to know that they would
not be embarrassed nor exploited by being in partnership with a group outside of government.
Once they saw that the author, and those associated with him, really wanted the best for the city
and were not looking for a handout, they themselves began to come up with ways to support
Heart of Compassion Partnerships efforts for the city.
With regard to the churches, what made the partnerships possible was a heart that
genuinely did not seek to build a reputation, but instead wanted the Kingdom of our Lord and
Christ to be built. This too was the key to bringing the churches together. What is more, they too
needed to feel safe. Like the city, they needed to know their very limited resources were not
going to be used to promote other churches at their expense, or worse yet, something that would
damage their witness.

290 Ibid, 189.

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Both ends of the partnership continuum satisfied, Heart of Compassion Partnerships was
able to go to work to expand the partnership. Table 5 list the stakeholders in the partnership and
their corresponding contributions to the collaborative effort. The African Proverb, “It takes a
Village,” was popularized in the United States by Hillary Clinton, but Christians have known this
to be true since the early church began its outreach.
A project like Heart of Compassion Partnerships and Serve the City Chesapeake, that
hopes to make a broad impact, cannot possibly be accomplished by a single church, with the
possible exception of megachurches like Rick Warren’s, Saddleback Church in California. While
the logistics may be easier, the richness of partnership is decidedly limited. Thus, for the first
time, the author feels pity for megachurches. A single entity cannot possibly experience the sense
of fulfillment that comes like that which happens when different entities unite and work in unity.
It is a mountain-top experience.
One of the key missions of Serve the City Chesapeake was to help the Chesapeake Police
regain the edge in neighborhood policing. It was the hope of Serve the City to play a role in this
endeavor. In these “at risk” areas, the police are often seen as a punitive or even a dangerous
presence. By creating opportunities for the police to go into homes and do repairs and bring
tangible improvement to daily life in the community, the tide of public opinion began to turn.

Table 5: Community Partners needed Serve the City Chesapeake
City Government Permits, refuse pick-up, goodwill, endorsement.
Police Security, volunteer workers, guidance on areas needing help.
Civic Leagues Advertisement, contact with neighbors needing help, volunteers.
Local Churches Volunteers, financing, connection with people needing help.
Local Schools Block party sites, work party head-quarters.
Area Businesses Donations & volunteers.

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In one neighborhood, the author was standing on the street next to the supply truck one
day, when a police squad car pulled up. Two officers got out and went into the home to assist
with the plumbing. As the author stood there, residents in nearby homes began to peek out their
windows. Heretofore, the arrival of the police was just not good news. Finally, one brave soul
came out and asked what was going on. When the author told her, she said, “What! Really?” At
that point, one of the officers came out to get a piece of equipment. The resident approached him
smiling and said, “Do you remember me? You arrested me for drunk and disorderly?” The
officer smiled and replied, “Yes, ma’am,” and they proceeded to have a conversation that ended
in her getting some help in her home.
In another encounter, the author was overseeing a block party at Pastor William’s church
(the author’s partner) following a Serve the City Chesapeake week. When the police arrived, the
children began to run away. The author had the adults gather the children and bring them to the
police. By the end of the day, the children were going up to the officers, having fun and laughing
and playing with them.
In the Book of Esther, Mordechai tells Esther that she was born for such a time as this.
Such was the case for Heart of Compassion Partnerships organization as well. In the City of
Chesapeake, in every key positon, there were committed Christians. In the position of mayor;
William E. Ward; followed by Dalton Edge; followed by Alan Krasnoff; all claimed Christianity.
The City Manager, William E. Harrell followed by James Baker, are committed Christians. The
assistant city manager, Dr. Wanda Bernard-Bailey, is a committed Christian. The head of
Neighborhood Services, Theo McClammy followed by Mary Riley (who is truly Chesapeake’s
Esther), are both committed Christians. The Chief of Police, Colonel Kelvin Wright, is a

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committed Christian. These people were not only faithful, they were visionary, and as a result,
Serve the City Chesapeake blossomed.
The activities of Serve the City Chesapeake were wide and varied. They included home
repairs and yard clean-up. In addition, city parks were cleaned, playground equipment repaired,
and litter picked up on the streets. At the end of each week, in the Second Precinct, a food basket
with a Bible was given to each homeowner. These were delivered by volunteers who visited with
the homeowner during which, they offered to pray with them. It cannot be overstated how
important this moment was. The stage had been set. The homeowner had experienced the love
and care of other volunteers who had done repairs or cleaned up their yards, now there was this
one last gift. It was during this time that the Serve the City volunteers were privileged to be used
of the Holy Spirit to set the table so that He could usher them to the banquet in the Kingdom.
The results of Serve the City Chesapeake exceeded our expectations. In the first year, the
results from the Second Precinct (the author’s project) were as follows:
 The team cleaned 19 streets, worked on 17 projects in 10 locations, and put in a total
of 604 volunteer hours, for a total valuation of $12,080.
 The team consisted of 89 volunteers from 7 Churches. In keeping with the goal to
employ local leadership, 32% of the volunteers were from the Campostella
community.
The team in the Fifth Precinct was equally successful. In fact, the first year was so
successful, the leadership team bringing Serve the City Chesapeake together felt it important to
create a handbook. This would serve not only as a guide for future years, but also as a blueprint
for those who might wish to start a Serve the City effort in other localities. Chris Williams, a
pastor on staff with Chesapeake Community Church put together the first handbook. The author

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was asked to do a revision of the handbook. The outcome of that revision is found as Appendix
E.
The second year Heart of Compassion Partnerships’ oversight became even savvier in the
keeping of statistics. This time, the volunteers were asked to check in and check out each day so
we could track the hours more closely. This was more difficult than it might sound. In the body
of Christ, there is a pattern of malpractice that stems from thinking that keeping good records
and applying good business practices are too “worldly.” As the Christian world has discovered,
this way of doing business, which focuses solely on the telling stories and the giving of anecdotal
evidence is not sufficient to qualify for, nor receive grant funding.
Christian groups would do well to heed the advice of Chip Sweeney in “A New Kind of
Big: How Churches of any Size Can Partner to Transform Communities,” who encouraged the
keeping of good records on the activity of the ministry. In doing so however, Sweeny gives one
word of caution, “The risk of measurement is that it not only highlights successes, but also points
to failures.”291 In the case of Serve the City Chesapeake, it demonstrated even more success. In
the Second Precinct alone where the author’s project was located, the figures looked like this:
 There were seven churches in addition to Hope Charitable Services, the Chesapeake
Police, and the Chesapeake Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
 The statistical analysis broke down this way—143 Volunteers, 66 Different
Projects, 15 Homes Repaired, 1000 hours volunteered, 58 children cared for in Day
Camp292, $8,060.04 Cash Spent, and $20,750.00 in valuation for volunteer time.

291 Chip Sweeny, 157.
292 This was reflective of the Summer Camp program initiated by Heart of Compassion Partnerships’ Urban
Outreach Center. Serve the City Chesapeake volunteers wanted to give their time to the children instead of manual
labor.

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The total figures for the second year went like this: 13 neighborhoods served, 485 volunteers,
423 different projects, 445 homes repaired, 7,230 hours volunteered, $144,600 worth of Labor293,
and $24,927.18 spent for supplies. The project was so successful, that the City of Chesapeake
nominated Serve the City Chesapeake for a national award through the Neighborhood USA
organization. The author’s organization won that award, beating out Arlington, Texas.
While the number of organizations participating varied between a low of seven and a
high of fourteen, the impact of the program continued to grow. The composite figures for the
years 2010 to 2014 in the second precinct only (again the author’s project area) are as follows:
501 jobs, 734 volunteers, and 15,979 hours given. The hours given totaled $343,808.25 worth of
volunteer labor.294 The value of this project to the City of Chesapeake for all precincts combined
was over one million dollars in volunteer labor alone. In addition, while harder to measurer, but
none-the-less equally as valuable, police officers expressed a greater satisfaction in the work they
were doing as “neighborhood police officers.” Finally, the chief of police, Colonel Kelvin
Wright, announced that there had been an 88% reduction in robberies and a 34% reduction in
overall crime in the Harbor North area, which he attributed to the presence and work of Serve the
City Chesapeake. The City of Chesapeake could not ignore the impact and turned to Heart of
Compassion Partnerships to expand the partnership.
The Partnership Expands: The Compassion Network is Born
There were two significant outgrowths from the efforts of Serve the City Chesapeake.
First, the churches themselves began to find ways they could serve the city. As a result, a

293 This figure was based on the allowable determination of the value of volunteer labor by the United
States Department of Labor. ($20/hour)
294 There were two hourly increases for the value of volunteer labor during the era noted—$21.79 in 2011
and $22.90 in 2013. The volunteers mused their joy at getting a raise.

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homeless ministry was born in which the homeless are housed in the churches on a rotating basis
during the winter months. Feeding programs began to grow, including one of the most significant
food distribution programs the author has seen in his 30 years of ministry. A ministry to the
homeless who live in their vehicles came onto the scene. Finally, the churches came together in a
ministry to partner with the Title 1 schools in Chesapeake.
The second outgrowth came as a result of the first. Again, the timing was divinely
orchestrated and the author believes the result of prayer. The city had entered a season of
revenue tightening due to the congressionally mandated “sequestration.” The Hampton Roads
area, because of its extensive military presence, was particularly hard hit. Consequentially, it
became necessary to cut back on city services. Thus, the timing couldn’t have been better for the
churches and parachurch ministries to begin moving outside their four walls into the city with the
ministries identified above.
With the number of ministry offerings growing, the city began to be contacted by those
ministries for possible assistance. As such, the City sought a way to streamline the process. At
first, they tried to solve the issue with an internally lead initiative. Initially, it brought a number
of the ministries together and there was good energy. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going anywhere
and soon their only activities revolved around calling meetings and casting the same vision over
and again. Eventually, chaos began to immerge as someone began to misrepresent themselves as
the representative of both the city and the Christian ministries in Chesapeake. Alarmed, the City
turned to Heart of Compassion Partnerships to bring together the compassion ministries.
The author had built a relationship with the city officials so they were comfortable and
confident working with his organization. In response, Heart of Compassion Partnerships went to
work to expand its outreach with the development of The Compassion Network. It was at this

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juncture however, that one of the sad realities of church life in Hampton Roads began to emerge;
the presence of a prideful, competitive spirit.
Nothing has held the church back like the spirits of pride and competition. These attitudes
prevent the various expressions of the church from celebrating each other. Instead, the prevailing
attitude becomes one of jealousy and envy. Thus, if a ministry begins to make inroads in a
particular area, instead of joining hands with what God is doing through that ministry (The
Principle of Servant Leadership: Table 2), “copy-cat” ministries emerge along with disparaging
observations of the successful ministry. On the other hand, the successful ministry, instead of
being inviting and willing to accept change or acknowledge the inputs of smaller ministries (The
Principle of Humility: Table 2), the successful ministry becomes self-promoting and exclusive.
Attitudes tainted with the stench of pride and competitiveness do anything but witness to
the authentic Christ. As Sider, Olson, and Unruh noted, “A good test of holistic ministry is
whether the church consistently points to Christ, or whether the glory goes to the church.”295
This is more difficult than it appears. Chip Sweeney in A New Kind Of Big: How Churches of
Any Size Can Partner to Transform Communities, alluded to the importance of this same
principle, and yet throughout the book, he highlighted the megachurch in which he was on the
pastoral staff. The reason the principle of Servant Leadership (Table 3) is so difficult, is because
it flies in the face of being a fallen human being. In other words, Servant Leadership requires the
setting aside of pride.
The difficulty pride presents was encountered as Heart of Compassion Partnerships took
the lead in calling together the compassion ministries in the city. There was immediately

295 Ronald J. Sider, Philip N. Olson, & Heidi Rolland Unruh, 141.

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suspicion by some and jealousy by others. The suspicious were afraid the author’s organization
had an ulterior motive. The jealous were upset that their organization was not chosen as the lead
organization to form the coalition. What they didn’t realize was what they lacked; the
connections they neglected to foster with City Officials, i.e., the crucial, years-in-the-making
relationship (The Principle of Relationship: Table 3). In other words, the City officials didn’t
know “of” Heart of the author and Compassion Partnerships, they “knew” the author and Heart
of Compassion Partnerships.
In this regard, by shunning the worldly principle of publicity, Heart of Compassion
Partnerships became the best kept secret on the block. This, however, happened intentionally.
The author avoided publicity even to the point of appearing uncooperative with the media. But
when Father God gives one a heart for the poor (The Principle of Love: Table 3), one does all
one can do to avoid exploiting the poor. The world practices exploitation every day in
commercials that picture children with bloated bellies and flies landing on their matted eye lids.
Manipulated by the pictures, the viewer jumps into mindless giving, never bothering to see how
much the C.E.O. of the organization makes, which can range into the high six figures or better.296
Again, applying the principles in Table 3, the author did all he could to help the
compassion ministries of Chesapeake feel safe in giving their allegiance to Heart of Compassion
Partnerships. The partners that have responded are as follows: House of Blessing, Adopt-A-Lot,

296 Charity Navigator is an online service that tracks C.E.O. compensation for charity organizations. One
example is their reporting on Boys and Girls Clubs of America. They reported the following from the charities 990
(a form that non-profits are required to file with the IRS: $455,829 Base compensation; $116,000 Bonus &
incentive; $1,242,764 Other. (The Other compensation refers to compensation that the CEO must report to the IRS
as taxable income in the current year, other than base salary and bonuses, Examples are payouts from deferred
compensation plans, severance packages, and perquisites such as housing allowances and club memberships.)
Charity Navigator location http://www.charitynavigator.org/_asset_/studies/2013_CEO_Compensation_Study_Final

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City of Chesapeake Community Programs, Chesapeake Social Services, Serve the City
Chesapeake, and Coastlands Community Church.
It is important at this point, to share how non-profits can link with each other and with
community organizations. The linking tool is called a “memorandum of understanding.” A
memorandum of understanding is a document that is signed for a specific period of time that
clearly lays out the responsibilities of both entities signing the agreement. Included in the
agreement is also a means by which the parties can amicably separate if either one deems it
necessary.297 Heart of Compassion Partnerships has signed memorandums of understanding with
the housing corporation in which the Urban Outreach Centers are located, Chesapeake Social
Services, Opportunity Inc., and the non-profits who have become a part of the network.
The author sees great potential for The Compassion Network. The role Heart of
Compassion Partnerships has played thus far can be seen in its mission, vision, and purpose
statements in Table 6 on page 143. It is the hope of both the City and Heart of Compassion
Partnerships to enhance the delivery of compassion services by the faith groups in the following
ways:
1. Increase the professionalism of the non-profits through training in best business
practices. An area of training that is desperately needed in the Body of Christ is the
importance of good business practices. One of those practices, for example, is
producing measurable results. If the Body of Christ is going to make a mark in this
culture, it is important to demonstrate “results oriented ministry.” This is not only
possible, it is faithful.

297 See Appendix G for a sample memorandum of understanding.

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2. Increase the fundability of grant applications through the power of convergence.
Besides the lack of professionalism and measurable results that can be duplicated,
Christian ministries are spread so thin, their results do not attract funders. The reason
lies simply in the fact that funders want as much return for their investment as
possible. Do not be deceived, most funders are not in the business of giving away
money just because they have a burning desire to do so. They are looking for a
philanthropic investment that will bring them notoriety. For example, John D.
Rockefeller, who was a devoted Baptist his entire life, was also a devoted capitalist
who believed in Social Darwinism. Social Darwinism was a practice that justified
the destruction of competitors, regardless of the field of practice, as survival of the
fittest. By the end of his business career he had accumulated much wealth and many
enemies. In part to repair his imagine, he established a philanthropic outreach that
set the standard for giving. Thus, his desire to do good works had a dual purpose; he
wanted to do “good,” both for his image and in response to his faith. It is important,
therefore, to keep this in mind when writing grants: this is an investment
relationship. While there are some “starter grants” that offer sums between $5000
and $10,000, if one desires to get something more substantial, it is important to
remember that several non-profits linked together by a “memorandum of
understanding” will increase the possibility of funding due to a more substantial
picture of activity by the non-profit.
3. End duplication of services. Another of the weaknesses in the Christian community
is the replication of outreach ministry. In other words, if one church has established a
food and clothing ministry, others follow suit with the effect of actually lowering

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their impact. If on the other hand, ministries can be convinced to come to together,
not only are the services more than doubled, the witness is profound. One such
example is House of Blessing at Harvest Assembly of God. They put together one of
the most powerful outreach ministries the author had experienced in his twenty-five
years of ministry. Pastor Durant Kreider of Coastlands Community Church was
doing the same thing in the Harbor North area. When he saw the operation at
Harvest Assembly, he immediately shut down his operation and convinced his
congregation to support House of Blessing. He did the same thing when he saw the
work of the Urban Outreach Center. He immediately began supporting this ministry
as well. For the author, Pastor Kreider has demonstrated leadership of a rare type in
the Body of Christ, and is to be commended.

Summary
With relationship as the cornerstone, and prayer as the mortar that holds together all
aspects of the ministry, the author has been humbled to be a part of a ministry team privileged to
be used by the Holy Spirit for the purpose of transformation. Extraordinary; Amazing; and
Awesome: the only way to describe being a part of a “God Moment” in which pastors of wildly
diverse denominations come together to pray for the transformation of their area, and then to lay
aside their ecclesiastical differences to experience the catholic (i.e. universal) nature of the
church as they enjoyed the Lord’s Table.
Extraordinary; Amazing; Awesome: the only way to describe a relationship between a
Church of God in Christ pastor and a Lutheran pastor, that blossoms into a partnership. A

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Table 6: The Vision, Mission, and Purpose of The Compassion Network
The Heart of Compassion Network…
Because We Can Do More Together To Serve Our City.
OUR VISION… To inform, educate, empower, and serve the local faith community, so that they
may be inspired to effectively reach out beyond themselves.

OUR MISSION… Because we can do more together to serve our city, our mission is to bring into
functional unity the compassion ministries with each other, the business community, the
educational institutions, and the governmental services of each city in Hampton Roads by 2020.

OUR PURPOSE… To serve compassion-based charities in Hampton Roads Through strategic
partnerships in order to facilitate transformation one child – one family – one community at a
time.
Unpeeling the Vision
1. To Inform—we seek to keep the compassion ministries connected with the churches,
our city officials, and the business community by facilitating communication with one
another.
Action Plan: Create and staff a communications position within the Heart of Compassion
Network.

2. To Educate—we seek to provide seminars open to the community at large on the critical
issues surrounding the ongoing delivery of compassion services.
Action Plan: Identify relevant topics that affect our city and the delivery of compassion
services. Then utilizing internal and guest speakers, speak to those topics. (e.g. the
recent conversation on Race) Future topics: homelessness, poverty, gangs, prescription
drug abuse.

3. To Empower—we seek to increase the competence and effectiveness of our network
members through training.
Action Plan: Plan and execute presentations on capacity building within the network.
4. To Serve—we seek to be servant leaders to the compassion network by supporting their
individuals missions through resourcing.
Action Plan: Create and staff a volunteer coordinator position and a fund-raising position
within the Heart of Compassion Network.

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partnership targeted toward children caught in a satanic, cultural trap that threatened to keep
them in a generational cycle of poverty. Suddenly they were given the tools be set free: tools that
enabled them to see their lives in the glow of hope and possibility as they headed in a different
trajectory with a different outcome.
Extraordinary; Amazing; Awesome: the only way to describe the coming together of a
secular, governmental entity with the faith community in a partnership that is producing outcome
based results that are blessing both groups. For the secular group, they are seeing their citizens
taken care of in a way that has helped them lead fuller lives; and a city that is experiencing a
reduction in the crime rate; and a police force with peace officers gaining respect, all with the
result of satisfied citizens. For the faith groups, they are seeing believers come together across
denominational lines; suburban congregations aiding urban congregations; people who could not
possibly have afforded to bring their homes and properties back to a livable condition, once
again experiencing their residence in a condition of being safe, warm, and dry; and most precious
of all, seeing people turning away from eternal death to Christ and eternal life, all with the
feeling of being a part of something bigger than themselves.
Extraordinary; Amazing; Awesome: the only way to describe compassion ministries
coming together in a network to increase their effectiveness and to support each other in ways
they had not thought possible in their lifetimes. Extraordinary; Amazing; Awesome: a God-
breathed ministry that is achieving a functional unity that is breaking down walls of division.
Extraordinary; Amazing; Awesome: all carefully chosen words that should not be used in
the absence of their ultimate mission to describe Father God, and that’s why they are appropriate.
For none of the outcomes of this ministry project would have been possible without the presence
of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. No one could look at the results of this

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project—the perfect timing, the presence of the right people at the right time both in the
government and in the faith community, and the patience to see it out—and give glory to anyone
other than the Author of Hope, making possible Networks of Hope.
In the final chapter, the author will analyze the results, pointing out that which caused
celebration and that which caused disappointment. He will in addition, point to the ministry he
hopes will emerge from this project while still in his care. Finally, he will share hopes for the
future, that is, how he hopes the ministry will outlive him.

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CHAPTER FIVE: RESULTS, ANALYSIS, AND FUTURE WORK
Overview
“How can the church be concerned only with its own growth and not publicly engage and
confront those forces that oppress the people of God?…Self-preservation is antithetical to the
cross of Jesus Christ.”298This quote, by Lutheran pastor Dennis Jacobsen, caught in a very
authentic way, the fact that if one is going to work with the poor, one must understand that one is
going to the frontlines of a spiritual war. There are few battle fronts, in the area of spiritual
warfare that are hotter than the work that takes place with the poor. Therefore, in analyzing this
ministry project the author will look at the results in this light.
The first objective will be to set the table by looking at the cost of working with the poor.
In doing so, the author will look at those closely associated with the author’s project, including
the author himself, and draw out the price paid by those closest to the project. In doing so, the
author will draw upon two lives highlighted in Chapter Three. The first is Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a
Lutheran pastor and martyr for the faith, and the second is Heidi Baker, a missionary whose
spiritual grounding is found in the Toronto Blessing.
The second objective will be to look at the ministry objectives in Chapter One of this
dissertation. Did the author achieve what he set out to do? What went right and what could have
been done better? Were there objectives the author had to change or set aside in order to move

298 Dennis A. Jacobsen, 15.

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forward? Was there room for the Holy Spirit to work? In the final analysis, what were the joys
and sorrows that occurred in the context of the journey? For this analysis, the author will draw
upon figures presented in Chapter Four.
Finally, the author will look forward. What hopes does the author have for this ministry
project? What does he hope to achieve before his ministry comes to an end? Lastly, what needs
to occur for this ministry to outlive the author? If those things are achieved, what will the
ministry look like after the author enters his eternal rest? Throughout this chapter, the author will
draw upon the writings of authors presented in Chapter Two.

The Cost of Working with the Poor
It must be Understood: Satan Hates the Poor
In Chapter Three the author shared from Scripture and through the lives of Dietrich
Bonhoeffer and Heidi Baker, that there is a cost for loving and serving with the poor. The reason
for this lies simply in the fact that Father God loves the poor. The core of this love is centered
first and foremost in who God is; God is love. The purest response to this love is found most
often among the poor because of their total reliance upon the Lord. As such, the poor are also
among the most vulnerable. It is this vulnerability that Father God seems to respond to over and
again. It is this reliance, even in the face of privation, that sets the poor apart for Satan’s hatred.
The author also pointed to the fact that Father God chose a poor couple to be the earthly
parents for His Son, Jesus the Christ. In doing so, the stakes were raised even higher as the
intensity of Satan’s hatred would grow. Therefore, if one is to work in mission to the poor, it
must be understood from the outset that Satan hates the poor. If one does not come to grips with
this fact, discouragement will quickly set in.

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The reality of Satan’s hatred and its depth, was experienced in ways that the author could
not have imagined. To illustrate this point, the author will highlight four individuals. The first is
the pastor with whom the author was brought into relationship in order to bring about his
ministry mission to the poor. The second is a pastor who was literally used to encourage and
convince the author to move forward with the ministry he thought he had been called to, at a
time when he was ready to let it go. The third is an individual who became the author’s executive
director, and in doing so, gave the most profound witness of sacrifice the author had experienced
to date. The fourth is the author himself.
The first pastor, introduced in Chapter One, is Superintendent Joseph T. Williams. Pastor
Williams’ commitment to the poor, the underserved, and the unjustly treated has been absolute.
His gifts and talents could have taken him to any number of positions with a higher financial
return, yet he remains committed to the Campostella area of Chesapeake. This, in and of itself,
has required a price of his family. For one, his wife, Brenda, has not only been by his side in an
extraordinary commitment to children, but she has also utilized these skills as a professional in
her chosen vocation. She like anyone, looked forward to full retirement, but the commitment of
this couple to their ministry calling has prevented that from happening. One of the great regrets
of the author was his failed attempt to try and hire Mrs. Williams at a livable wage for the Urban
Outreach Center.
But it was not just in the financial area that this couple suffered. Pastor Joseph has
suffered from a number of debilitating physical illnesses. These physical ailments have killed his
energy, stolen his stamina, and made numerous attempts to destroy his hope. He has faced no
small amount of discouragement in realizing his dream to equip young people with the training
and experience they needed to break the cycle of poverty by entering the technical aspects of the

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entertainment industry. The author contends that all these destructive forces on the ministry of
Pastor Williams are the stuff of demonic activity—kill, steal, and destroy. Yet, few of those to
whom he ministered could have imaged the toll on him emotionally and physically because of
his absolute commitment to the Lord. His commitment has, at any number of times, sustained the
author as well.
The second pastor is one of the author’s partners in Heart of Compassion Partnerships.
Bishop Frank Allen, a good friend and brother, has served in Portsmouth for many decades as the
founder and director of Hope Charitable Services. Frank considers himself a “missionary to the
poor.” By any measure, Frank has suffered in the position to which he is called. Frank has done
battle with cancer and a nervous disorder. His home has been broken into a number of times.
Most recently, young men, who thought he was not home, tried to execute a home invasion.
Because of privacy concerns, the author cannot share the full impact on his family, but suffice it
to say that it has been immense.
Pastor Frank’s wife too, has stood by him helping to keep the family afloat financially.
Through it all, Frank has remained steadfast, even when his bishop has offered him pulpits in
middleclass settings with a steady income. In other words, the influence of the demonic can be
seen – killing Frank’s financial security, stealing his contentment, and destroying his health.
The third individual is the author’s executive director, Mr. Mel Howell. Mr. Howell took
an early retirement from International Paper when his stock options had reached a point they
could support him. Upon exiting International Paper, he began to work for Hope Charitable
Services and Heart of Compassion Partnerships without pay. He was not with us but a few years,
when he was in an accident that nearly took his life. He had to be taken to the hospital by life
flight. When things became sour in the stock market, he could have left and returned to corporate

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work, but he felt a call to continue to minister to the poor. In the 2008 stock market crash, he lost
his financial security. Yet he decided God would provide, and he stayed. This too is another area
that causes the author great grief. Mr. Howell continues to serve for an income below what is
considered livable by any number of standards. Finally, Mr. Howell also continues to serve in a
state of chronic pain. Again, the demonic can be seen. Like Rev. Allen, the enemy has had his
way—killing Mr. Howell’s financial security, stealing his dream of helping his family achieve
their dreams, and destroying his ability to enter into the ministry with his full physical energy.
Yet, like Pastor Williams, his inspiration to his family, those he oversees, and most especially to
the author has been divine.
Finally, the author, who served in the military, developed a habit of running daily, rain or
shine. Several years after taking up the call to serve the poor however, suddenly one day, he
began to have trouble running, then walking, and finally ended up in a wheelchair after a serious
illness that nearly killed him. As he was recuperating, the congregational leadership of the
congregation he served for nearly 20 years, decided they needed to move on and let him go:
breaking his heart. He is now on disability. This turn of events has also levied a cost on his
spouse who, although she wanted to retire to spend time with a grandchild, has been forced to
continue to work full time.
In other words, like all the others in this montage, the demonic is evident – killing
security, stealing hopefulness, and destroying physical strength. Even so, his wife Cathy
continues to carry her burden with grace, and together, as a couple they refuse to let go of the
ministry to the poor to which they felt called. Put another way, suffering is a part of serving.
Are the similarities between these servants to the poor merely coincidence? The author
neither thinks it so, nor does he believe in coincidence. God is the author and orchestrator of the

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universe. His children, therefore, must operate under a different understanding. In other words,
they must learn to lean not upon their understanding, but on the Lord’s strength. As we saw in
Chapter Three, Heidi Baker instructed us that, “Suffering continues in spite of prayer,” and as
Bonhoeffer said, “Incarnation” means that God’s presence in Jesus Christ is physical, not just
spiritual; broken, not just blessed; vulnerable, not just venerable; and imperfect, not just
inspirational…” That is, we live in a fallen world, and therefore, the cost for serving the poor can
seem great to those looking upon that service. But beyond the cost are the joys of seeing
transformation which far outweighs the cost, driving forward those who serve with the poor.

Analyzing the Triumphs and Tragedies: Heart of Compassion Partnerships’ Goals

In Table 1 of Chapter One, the author set forth both “recruitment” goals and
“implementation” standards. Chapter Four dwelt thoroughly with the “recruitment” goals. Thus
the author will turn to the following “implementation” standards for analysis of the project:
1. What programs were identified as key to life change for the residences of
Campostella?
2. What level of participation was seen by the churches compared to the initial
commitment made?
3. Were there evaluation instruments used to measure progress in life change of the
program participants?
4. What setbacks occurred and how have they been overcome?
5. Emphasis has been placed on children throughout the implementation phase. Why?
6. How were the faith participants kept free to share the Gospel in light of community
and government involvement?
7. Was the name of Christ honored in the implementation phase?
The author will group the questions for the sake of clarity and efficiency.
Did the author achieve what he set out to do?
In this section, question one ultimately hinged on questions three and five, and thus they will
be taken together. The objective of all the programs was to ignite life change. As discussed in

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Chapter Four, when Heart of Compassion Partnerships negotiated with Tidewater Community
College to open the possibility of college for the adults in the housing units, it resulted in almost
no interest, even though the course was to be taught on the grounds of the apartment units. When
the trial period ended, only one adult took advantage of this opportunity.
In Chapter Four, the author discussed how Heart of Compassion Partnerships negotiated with
Virginia’s Workforce Development program, known as Opportunity Inc., to be their first offsite
unit. As a result, it afforded the adult residence of the housing units the opportunity to access the
latest job and training opportunities. Sadly, the opportunity has been significantly underutilized.
Why was it that both the T.C.C. opportunity and the Opportunity Inc. program were so
dismal in their utilization? For the author to answer this question, it would require him to get into
the realm of speculation. Was it fear of failure? Does it revolve around the individual’s ability to
read? Has the pattern of life become “comfortable” or at least “familiar” making it difficult to
imagine taking a chance that could make things worse? While the author greatly desires to get at
the heart of what is holding this population back, this will require further study that went beyond
the scope of this dissertation. But as discouraging as the results may have been with the adults,
the results of Heart of Compassion Partnerships’ work with children is a story of victory.
Question three asked about evaluative instruments. While this dissertation is not a
quantitative study but instead a case study, it is none-the-less possible and important to use
evaluative instruments that take into account the upward achievements of the children. Chapter
Four presented the figures demonstrating the percentage change in children passing their
Standards of Learning tests, and others being put on the honor role. Those figures showed that in
2012 there were no students on the honor roll. Two years later, there was a 65% increase in
students being put on the honor roll. As important as this figure is, added to this are the children

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coming to faith in Jesus. These results demonstrate powerfully the potential of programs that
focus on helping children complete successfully their homework assignments.
At the heart of this success is the confidence with which the children approached the school
day. With the homework completed and mastered, suddenly they are able to enter the classroom
on a more even plane with the other children. Furthermore, they begin to understand what is
taking place, and now, instead of fearing being called upon by the teacher, there is a readiness for
that moment. Again, the author believes that education is the only sure way out of poverty.
Therefore, while in no way would the author endorse setting aside outreach to adults, clearly the
most effective programs are those directed at children.
To summarize this section, the author posed the following question for analysis: Were there
objectives the author had to change or set aside in order to move forward? It was the author’s
deep desire to reach the adults in the community we were serving. In fact, he felt that the bulk of
the resources should go to enabling adults to achieve a lifestyle that would substantially move
the family out of dependence. It quickly became evident however, that shifting resources to
things such as school supplies and learning instruments such as books and educational games,
was achieving results that greatly justified the investments in ways that the resources directed
toward the adults were not. In response, we redirected resources so that the majority of them
either benefited the children, or better yet, benefited both.299
What went right and what could have been done better?
In this section, questions two and six will be explored. Question two asked about the level of
participation of the churches at the end of the measurement period compared to the beginning.

299 Examples of resources that crossed lines were programs that increased reading skills and computers.

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As might be expected, the participation did indeed grow. In Chapter Four, the author indicated
that the first year yielded 143 volunteers. The second year saw 485 volunteers for the project. So
the increase from year one to year two was significant. From there on, the figures leveled out
varying only slightly in the intervening years. Last year however, the number in all projects, not
just the author’s project in the second precinct, went down slightly.
It is exciting to think about the wide and varied expressions of the Christian Church in the
first year. Figure 4 provides a list of the faith partners that were involved the first two years of
the Serve the City effort. By the third year, five of these partners decided to move on to other
projects. When asked what projects, we did not get a definitive answer. But with the exit of these
partners, others came onboard like The Church of the Messiah, an Anglican church. The author
has singled out The Church of the Messiah because it serves as an incredible example of a
church that began to embrace outreach to the poor in a very significant way.
Despite the author’s relationship with the Senior Pastor, The Church of the Messiah was
not involved in the Serve the City Chesapeake program the first two years. This began to change
in the third year, and now they are one of the strongest supporters. They now support both the
Urban Outreach Centers and Serve the City Chesapeake with finances, volunteers, tutors, and
most recently free office space. What is more, they have gotten involved with the faith-based
outreach to the homeless called C.A.S.T. This is an amazing example of what is possible when a
congregation, already filled with loving people, is opened to ministry to the poor.
Despite this success, as the author already indicated, there has been a decrease in
volunteers in the past two years. The author believes at the heart of this issue is communication.
The communication and follow-up has not been what it should have been. Had there been regular

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Figure 4. Serve the City Faith Partners

contact with the faith partners, they might have remained connected. The issues impacting this
were the life issues impacting key personnel.
In the early intervening years of the program, both the executive director of Heart of
Compassion Partnerships and the author, as discussed earlier, nearly died. The executive
director’s near fatal accident happened in the third year of the program, and the author’s near
fatal illness occurred in the sixth year. Given the respective date stamps of these incidences, the
impact on the operations of Heart of Compassion Partnerships was not just the two years when
the incidents occurred, but instead nearly six years to include the recovery period, which in some
ways is still occurring.
Finally, in this section the author will deal with question six: How were the faith
participants kept free to share the Gospel in light of community and government involvement?
The Urban Outreach Centers are located in Section 8 housing owned and operated by a housing

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corporation. They have taken umbrage with the Center director’s sharing of their faith. While
they have used the fact that they are a HUD facility (see Chapter 1), this use is misplaced at best.
Nothing the corporation pays for goes directly toward “religious” material, therefore there is no
violation of church and state. In fact, this is true of any partnership with a governmental agency.
As long as public funds are not used for “religious materials” there is no violation of church and
state. As long as there is no “religious test” for participation, there is no violation of church and
state. Where the AmeriCorps Vista employees are concerned, as long as they are not asked to
teach any of the “Character Lessons,” there is no violation of church and state.
Thus, the author had to conclude that it was a more personal distain of a Christian
orientation. To get around this objection, there are two avenues we have used. First, we instruct
our tutors to answer any question the children ask regarding faith. Second, if the opportunity
presents itself in the homework assignment or other interactions to share their faith, they are free
to do so. Finally, lessons that use to focus on biblical characters, now focus on historical figures.
One of the lessons is based on the information that was presented in Chapter Three of this
dissertation regarding the influence of faith on President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Other
lessons include Martin Luther King Jr., Presidents Jimmy Carter and Abraham Lincoln, the
mayors of Chesapeake, and the Civil Rights Movement.
Where Serve the City Chesapeake is concerned, every home in which there is any work
done, either yard work or repairs, a food basket is taken to the resident at the end of the project.
In the food basket is a wonderful array of items from meat to fresh vegetables and a Bible. The
basket is delivered by a team of two volunteers who sit down with the home owner and ask how
the project went and if it was done to their satisfaction. At the end of the conversation, they ask
the owner how they can pray for them.

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The sharing of one’s faith is often intimidating to participants and thus met with
resistance because too many people see it as a confrontational moment. The process of faith
sharing is best done out of relationship. This is why, in both the Urban Outreach Centers and in
Serve the City Chesapeake, the process is centered around first building a relationship. Whether
it is a tutor with a child over a lengthy period of time, or someone exposed to the love and care of
a group of people during a week of work, a relational opening is made that enables one to easily
share their faith.
What Were the Joys and Sorrows that Occurred in the Context of the Journey?
Praise be to our God and Father, the sorrows have been few and far between. The biggest
sorrow for the author was without question, the way in which the congregation he served for
nearly twenty years, succumbed to fear and let him go. The hurt of that moment will be a long
time in healing. It was especially difficult, given the fact that this congregation was the absolute
leader in every way, finances, volunteers, and leadership, in establishing the outreach to the
Second Precinct in the Campostella area. I will forever be grateful to those who initially grabbed
hold of this vision and made it possible.
The second sorrow was the jealousy and competitive spirit that was evident in the body in
Christ. There is no question in the author’s mind that this project would be even further in its
development if it hadn’t been for these negative spirits. To that end, he regrets that he did not
have a more developed prayer team supporting his efforts.
The third sorrow lies in the struggle to get Christian congregations to commit for the long
term in the fight against poverty. Christian congregations fall into “compassion fatigue” all too
easily. The current struggle faced by Heart of Compassion Partnerships is moving the Serve the
City Chesapeake to a year-round program. The Heart of Compassion Partnerships leadership is,

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on a regular basis, requested to make home repairs that cannot wait for a once-a-year event. Yet
when this is being presented to churches, the response has not enabled us to meet the needs. To
address this, Heart of Compassion Partnership leaders are going to begin requesting the
opportunity to present to local churches this opportunity to serve. The objective is to identify
several individuals in each church who will commit to being available for such short-term project
request.
The joys, on the other hand have been innumerable. Beginning with the Urban Outreach
Centers, it cannot be overstated how significant it is to have children being placed on the honor
roll. In one of the programs, one of the young ladies finished the program, went to college, and
came back to the Center to volunteer. Imagine having been her tutor? Of course the greatest joys
have been seeing children who have given their lives to the Lord. So often with children, they
can say words without really grasping the meaning behind those words. With one of the children
however, there were not only words spoken, but changes in behavior displayed. He became more
thoughtful of the children around hm. Even his mother said there was a difference at home she
had noticed. These results are truly priceless.
In the area of Serve the City Chesapeake, again, the joys have been many. The crime rate
has gone down in every area in which we have worked according to the Chesapeake Police. The
physical appearance of the neighborhoods is improving. In a recent FBI conference in which the
author and the Captain of the Second Precinct of Chesapeake were ask to speak about Serve the
City Chesapeake, the Captain commented that at a recent civic league meeting in the South
Norfolk area, one of the residence shared that he saw a woman running past his house and he

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looked and no one was chasing her.300 The Captain noted how this was a sign of how the
residents were feeling more secure, as jogging was an activity that simply didn’t take place
because of the crime level just a few years back. Another important story of justice filled our
hearts with joy as well.
Anyone who dares to step out and work with the poor, must be prepared to do battle in
three areas: racism, deprivation, and justice. In the case of the residents of one Chesapeake
home, it was a matter of justice. For nearly sixty-five years, this Chesapeake couple lived in the
home that the husband built. The home was surrounded by woods. When he passed away, his
widow remarried and continued to live in the house her first husband built. Their life continued
in a peaceful serene manner until just a couple of years ago.
The peace in their lives started to dissolve when the land around them was sold to a
developer. The woods were ripped down, and in their place, brand new, half million dollar
homes were built. If the construction noise was not enough, suddenly the complaints began to
come in regarding their small home. It didn’t seem to be a problem when the new owners
purchased the home, but the longer they lived there, the more they determined that the house was
an eye-sore that needed to go.
To get action on their “new” problem, an owner or two went to the city. The city had no
choice but to investigate; enter Code Compliance. After investigating the state of the home, the
enforcers of Code Compliance had no choice but to condemn the house and eject the elderly
couple. Because this was the last thing the city authorities wanted, they called Heart of
Compassion Partnerships.

300 This was shared by Captain James Dunlap of the Second Precinct in Chesapeake, at an inclusion
conference held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on October 20, 2015 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

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As a result, Heart of Compassion Partnerships and their affiliate, Serve The City, began
to work with the Code Compliance Department and the neighborhood to reach a peaceful
resolution. The result? Justice was served as the needed repairs were made, and the precious
eighty-year-old couple were enabled to stay in their beloved home for their remaining years. Of
course the greatest joy was seeing people come to the Lord.
One example is that of a Hindu woman. She had lived in the neighborhood for three
years. She had some connection with those around here, but not many. She was referred to us by
the civic league. We saw the opportunity here as special, so we sent a team of ladies into the
home before the project was completed. They found a lonely woman. In the intervening days, a
relationship started to build. At the end of the week the food basket was delivered. It was then
that she gave her life to Jesus. Because the Hindu religion tends to add gods to their belief
system, the team knew it would be important to get her connected with a church right away. This
occurred and she is an active member of the faith community.
There were two questions asked in the opening of this chapter: 1) Was there room for the
Holy Spirit to work? 2) Was the Name of Christ honored? The author would contend that the
examples shared in this chapter, would indicate a resounding, “yes.” When opposition rose to the
use of Bible stories, the Holy Spirit’s activity in the lives of historical figures was used. As
regards the programming, when it seemed the Holy Spirit was working in a greater way in the
lives of children compared to the adults, the objectives were changed to focus on children. When
the opportunity presented itself to share Christ, we did so with the addition of souls to the
Kingdom. Taken collectively, the Name of Christ was indeed honored.

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Elements Essential to the Future Development of
Heart of Compassion Partnerships

What Hopes does the Author have for this Ministry Project?
The author posed the following question in the Abstract of this dissertation around which
the dissertation was framed: What are the foundational elements required in the formation of
community partnerships, between urban and suburban faith communities, community
organizations, and governmental entities, into networks of hope that bring about transformational
change? The premise behind this question is definitively the idea of networking. Networking has
become an increasingly important concept in business. There have arisen, in fact, websites
dedicated to the power of networking like, “LinkedIn.”
The reason behind this is the simple, yet inescapable fact, that more can be accomplished
when people work together, rather than alone. The idea has been hijacked by the secular world,
but the concept is thoroughly biblical. In the book of Isaiah, it says this, “Each one helps his
neighbor and says to his brother, ‘Be strong!’” (Is 41:6) “The craftsman encourages the
metalworker; the one who flattens with the hammer supports the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, ‘It is good.’ He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over.”301302
There is a clear and strong call to the importance of working together. The result, according to
the text is increased strength, mutual encouragement, and steadfast support. It was these
principles that the author put to work in the building of networks of hope.
The results have exceeded what even the author hoped for, but this should not be
surprising given just one of the scriptural promises found in the New Testament: “Now to him

301 The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Bible. (Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009), Is 41:7.
302 The author chose this path for readability and meaning. Is 41:6 is from the author’s standard utilization
of the ESV, which used two powerful words not found in the Holman translation: “neighbor” and “brother.”

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who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at
work within us…”, (Ep 3:20). It was the author’s hope that suburban congregations could have
their awareness raised about their sisters and brothers in urban areas that often struggle to obtain
even the basics. This hope was met as suburban congregations in the Great Bridge/Greenbrier
area of Chesapeake, were connected with urban congregations in South Norfolk, most notably
the Campostella area of Chesapeake.
The effect was a flow of resources, in ways not here-to-fore experienced in the
Campostella area. What characterized this flow of resources, was the “unmarked” way in which
they came. For congregations to participate in Serve the City Chesapeake, it was required that
they form partnerships with other congregations outside their denomination. This requirement
resulted in resources that flowed into the projects without any one congregation claiming credit.
In fact, for the most part, it was almost impossible to know who bought what in any given project
as left over resources were shared, as well as the gifts and talents of individuals who may have
been in one precinct, but were needed in another.
Additionally, it was the author’s hope, that governmental entities would find a comfort
level in working with the faith based community. As Korstad and Leloudis stated in their book
on The North Carolina Fund, “…an effective attack on poverty would require coordination
among agencies and institutions that too often competed rather than collaborated with one
another.”303 This hope of collaboration was met as not only did the Chesapeake Police
Department come together in partnership, but so too did Neighborhood Services for the City of
Chesapeake and the Chesapeake Public Schools. It turned out the delicate balance was not as

303 Robert R. Korstad and James L. Leloudis, 91.

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delicate as many thought. In fact, at the same FBI conference spoken of in the previous section,
when Captain Dunlap was asked about the separation of church and state, he replied, “The
concern is simply a bunch of garbage to prevent us from working with the faith community.”304
Finally, it was the author’s hope that community organizations would see the benefit of
including faith-based organizations in their idea of community. This hope too was met. Joining
Heart of Compassion Partnerships were the civic leagues, local businesses, and benevolent
societies such as Kiwanis. Again, the author thought that the faith element would be the hold
back, but was delighted to find that it was not so. One of the partners, BB&T, a major bank in the
area, helped by purchasing the food for the food basket distribution, but they also wanted to
volunteer. The author offered several options, but the bank director asked to be involved with the
distribution. The author explained that it was during this delivery that recipients were asked how
they could be prayed for, and because of that, the author didn’t want to put the bank employees
in an uncomfortable position. Nonetheless, the director said, “No, we would like to go on the
distribution.” The employees who volunteered for this were deeply moved, several of them
coming back in tears.
Thus, at every level of participation, the hopes of the author were met, especially this last
point. The author hoped most of all, to demonstrate that compassion ministry was a viable means
to share Christ and see people come to Christ. The author’s hopes were met. Despite the criticism
of many over the years, that this type of ministry outreach is purely social ministry at best, this
project helped to demonstrate that it does not have to be that way. The only way compassion
ministry becomes social ministry, is if the ones engaging in it are not intentional in their effort to

304 This was shared by Captain James Dunlap of the Second Precinct in Chesapeake, at an inclusion
conference held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on October 20, 2015 in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

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share Christ. It is true that it is very easy to get caught-up in the almost narcotic feeling of
“helping someone.” The gratitude of the one being helped is up-lifting beyond description. It
doesn’t have to stop there though, and if it does, the only one to look to for this failure is the one
who becomes seduced by the praise.
What Does the Author Hope to Achieve before his Ministry Ends?
What the author means by “ministry comes to an end,” is that point, Lord willing, when
the author has done as much as he can physically, and is therefore ready to, or must pass the
ministry to another. To even dream such dreams, the project would have to have achieved some
modicum of success. Now that this test case has shown it possible to build networks of hope that
include members of both the faith and secular communities, the author has a number of hopes he
wishes to present:
 First, the author hopes to see this ministry expand in his community. This effort has
begun in a small way with efforts in Portsmouth, Virginia, and in Norfolk, Virginia.
One of the avenues that helps the prospects of this hope, is the current emphasis on
“neighborhood policing” due to the tragic events involving shooting victims and the
police. Among Heart of Compassion Partnerships’ biggest advocates are the Chief
of Police and the City Manager in Chesapeake.
 Second, the author hopes to see the influence of this project expand. To accomplish
this, he plans on casting a vision to several influential congregations in Chesapeake
in order to further develop the Compassion Network. The Compassion Network is
the third arm of Heart of Compassion Partnerships that was birthed as a result of the
success of this project. If the Lord wills, and this expansion takes place, the author
hopes to take the project to his denomination to be used on a larger scale.

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 Third, because the author believes the tenets behind this project are basic to what it
means to be a follower of Jesus the Christ, he desires to create a small group study
that would include sermon ideas, Bible studies, and outreach projects that would
help to call Christians of all types to an understanding of the obligation to love and
serve the poor after the manner of Father God’s heart. A sample planning guide is
presented as Appendix H.
For any of these hopes and dreams to come to fruition however, there are aspects of Heart of
Compassion Partnerships that must change.
What needs to occur for this Ministry Outreach to Outlive the Author?
First, at the point of this writing, the funding base of Heart of Compassion Partnerships is
very small; the author’s family, the author and his wife, one church, and two businesses. This is
of great concern to the author, although it appears that it is not an unusual position in which to
be. Jim Wallis noted in fact, “So many innovative projects are underfunded, especially at first,
and really depend on the commitment of people willing to offer their gifts and creativity to the
enterprise at below market value.”305 The fact that Heart of Compassion Partnerships is typical in
regard to the funding stream, does not make its survivability any more certain. Not to mention
the fact, that it is unjust.
How can an organization dedicated to fighting poverty, be satisfied paying its employees
poverty wages? The answer for this author is, “He cannot.” It is for this reason, that broadening
the funding base has become a top priority for the organization. In fact, the author has
determined if he is unable to pay a livable wage by the Fall of 2016, he must let his dream go.

305 Jim Wallis, Faith Works, 56.

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Second, Heart of Compassion Partnerships potential is seriously limited by the space in
which it must operate. Here, the author is not just speaking of office space, although that too is
cramped at this time. He is speaking more definitively about the space occupied by our children.
The complex’s in which the organization currently operates is woefully inadequate. In addition,
the corporation providing the space knows that it is in violation of the Americans with Disability
Act (ADA). The children must climb sets of stairs that are steep, small, and dangerous. This is
the same corporation that complained about the use of religious materials because their
apartments are FDA funded.
Again, the author must make it clear at this point, that if one is to enter into a ministry
with the poor, one must be prepared for battles at many levels. According to 1 John 5:19, the
whole world lies in the hands of the devil. This being the case, until the return of Jesus, one must
be ready to face this reality.
The author believes that the people in the corporation providing the learning space, at
their hearts, do care about the children. But the lure of profits and the activity of the devil, which
is only effective as people cooperate with him, can easily blind people. Even the author must be
very careful in this regard. He has already alluded to the lack of funding. Therefore, he must
guard against the pursuit of money through unethical means, being blinded by the premise that,
“the ends, justify the means.” The corporation with whom Heart of Compassion Partnerships is
working, must survive, or there are no children. Thus, together, the corporation and Heart of
Compassion Partnerships must find a way to increase space that is both large enough and ADA
compliant.
Third, there must be a broadening of the partner base. The current partner base of Heart
of Compassion Partnerships, if unchanged, renders it a minor player on the field taking in

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resources that might be better used if merged with another group. One of the greatest challenges
any start-up organization faces, is getting established people to see the potential and be willing to
join in. Heart of Compassion Partnerships was truly blessed by two business people with this
kind of vision. The first is no longer with the organization, but the second, not only sowed into
Heart of Compassion Partnerships in ways that without it, the organization would have died long
ago. The Capstone Corporation is operated by a man with a good heart, and the author is truly
thankful for him.
The partnership base must broaden in three directions. First, and foremost, it is important
to help the churches see the potential of fulfilling their God given responsibility to work with the
poor. If history is any judge, this will not be easy. Richard Stearns, president of World Vision,
faced the same challenge that all faith-based groups have faced in regard to their relationship
with the churches. Reflecting on this challenge, Stearns highlighted the ministry of Martin
Luther King Jr. who said this, “…‘More cautious than courageous [they] have remained silent
behind the anesthetizing security of stained-glass windows.’…King then went on to conclude
that a church that has lost its voice for justice is a church that has lost its relevance in the
world.”306
In other words, it is very difficult to get churches to look beyond their own little world to
something bigger than themselves. In this regard, Heart of Compassion Partnerships has faced
the same challenge. There have been pastors who sat on the board of directors, and saw what was
happening; who knew that an infusion of funds would turn the trick, and yet would not move,
even though they had the ability to do so. Thus, for Heart of Compassion Partnerships to have

306 Richard Stearns, 193.

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sustainability, it must find a way to help faith partners see by sowing into this ministry, they are
“lending to God,” (Proverbs 19:17).
The second level of engagement must be with the other faith-based non-profits in the
area. They must be enabled to see the importance of leveraging our influence and fundability
through cooperation. By doing so, the duplication of services will be reduced if not eliminated,
with the result of increased the respect for the Christian non-profits, as they work in unity. Doing
this alone will enable the third expansion.
The third level of base expansion needs to occur with the business community. Heart of
Compassion Partnerships needs a few more businesses like Capstone Corporation, who are
willing to be investors in the future. The challenge here will be to get them to see, in the words of
Ronnie Duggar, “They can afford to be generous with the poor.”307 It is the author’s heartfelt
prayer that the Capstone Corporation will look back in the not-to-distant future with joy and
satisfaction that they were Heart of Compassion Partnerships lifeline that enabled it to become
the leading non-profit in the area.
Conclusory Remarks
There were many quotes the author came across in his research that truly touched his
heart with regard to the church’s responsibility to the poor until the return of Jesus. The author
would like to point to two additional quotes, one of which he hopes will characterize the project
he has undertaken, and a second one, that he hopes will not characterize the American church as
he attempts to call it to its responsibility. The first quote is from the work of Jim Wallis.

307 See footnote 237.

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While Rev. Wallis can push the conversation to the left of orthodoxy, there are few
believers like himself who stood in the gap, calling the conservative church from its excesses in
the realm of politics that threatened to identify Christianity with Republican politics completely.
In his book, Faith Works: How Faith-Based Organizations Are Changing Lives, Neighborhoods
and America, Wallis said, “Don’t do the trendy thing of grabbing the political center; instead,
search for the moral center of an issue or a public debate.”308 This thought is rich with sound,
biblical counsel for the American church on many levels.
There were few things that the author found as disturbing as the trendy Christianity that
so often invaded the Hampton Roads area. From The Prayer of Jabez to movie releases like The
Passion of Christ, the author began to wonder if there were any fads the Christian community in
Hampton Roads would say, “No,” to. Eventually they all came out with leather devotionals and
theme centered Bibles, key chains, and other trinkets, the consumer driven American church eat
up.
What Wallis was calling Christians to, was authenticity. By calling us to grab the moral
center, we were bound to end up sometimes on the political left, and sometimes on the political
right. In other words, it places the church squarely in the position of being a cultural compass.
This is not always the most comfortable place to be, but it is the most faithful place to be. What it
means, is that sometimes the political leaders like the message, and sometimes they dismiss the
message. As the author speaks out for the poor in his war against poverty, it is his sincere hope to
occupy the moral center.

308 Jim Wallis, 156.

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The second quote is by Martin Luther King Jr. The author was drawn to this one because
to occupy the moral center requires that one also deal with reality. Dr. King wrote,
The contemporary church is a weak, ineffectual voice with an uncertain sound. So often
it is an archdefender (sic) of the status quo. Far from being disturbed by the presence of
the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the church’s
silent and often even vocal sanction of things as they are. But the judgment of God is
upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial
spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity…and be dismissed as an irrelevant
social club…309

When Dr. King wrote those deeply penetrating words, he was sitting in a Birmingham,
Alabama jail because he had claimed the moral center of an issue. As he sat there reflecting on a
church that was reluctant to stand with him for justice, he feared for its survival; not as an
institution, but instead as a voice. The author would rather not think so, but there are times he
fears that Dr. King’s prophetic voice was sounding our reality. Even if he has to only be a part of
a faithful remnant, it is the author’s prayer not only to lead a ministry that has authenticity, but
also be a voice that calls the church to authenticity.
Thus, as this dissertation concludes, the author wants to make two points. First, an
important “take-away” from this dissertation is the fact that no one individual, no one church, no
one denomination, can hope to defeat, or even make much of a difference in the war to end
poverty. It is only together, that we become big enough for the task. It is only as we turn from
being a “me” to becoming a “we,” that we truly become effective.
Second, and finally, the author wants all who will enter into service with the poor to do
so with the right heart. There has been a great deal of emphasis on activity as regards the poor;
feeding, clothing, educating, housing, etc. The author also tried to put forth the warning that it is

309 Martin Luther King Jr., “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” April 16, 1963, available online at MLK
Online, http://www.mlkonline.net/jail.html.

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all too easy to get seduced by the good feeling of doing a good deed. When this happens, he
pointed out, that the importance of sharing Christ slides to the side.
The author also put a great deal of emphasis of the fact that Father God loves the poor.
He demonstrated this conclusively through the Scriptures. Therefore, with an emphasis on
activity, and an emphasis on Father God’s love, the author wants to make it absolutely clear, that
doing “good works” in order to open the doors of heaven, is a hollow, foolish path on which to
travel. Serving the poor is NOT a path of “good works” that gets one into heaven; instead,
serving the poor is a path of obedience to God’s directive, that leads to Satan’s hatred and God’s
pleasure.
The reason this understanding is so important, is because working with the poor is very
difficult work. As such it is easy to get discouraged and make errors along the way. But, when
one is secure in their salvation through faith alone in Christ alone, one can make mistakes and
yet feel the forgiveness and encouragement to get up and keep going. Therefore, with the love of
the Father, the eternal security of the Son, and the calling of the Holy Spirit, it is the author’s
dream and passion to break the grip of poverty by building networks of hope.

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APPENDIX A

GOD’S HEART FOR THE POOR: SCRIPTURAL SURVEY
Deuteronomy 26:6-9 And the Egyptians treated us harshly and humiliated us and laid on us hard
labor. Then we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw
our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty
hand and an outstretched arm, with great deeds of terror, with signs and wonders. And he
brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.310
Job 5:8-16 “As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, who does great
things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: he gives rain on the earth and sends
waters on the fields; he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to
safety. He frustrates the devices of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. He catches
the wise in their own craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end. They
meet with darkness in the daytime and grope at noonday as in the night. But he saves the needy
from the sword of their mouth and from the hand of the mighty. So the poor have hope, and
injustice shuts her mouth.
Job 34:17-19 Shall one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and
mighty, who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,’ and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,’ who shows no
partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor, for they are all the work of his
hands? In a moment they die; at midnight the people are shaken and pass away, and the mighty
are taken away by no human hand.

Psalm 10:14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it into your
hands; to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the fatherless.

Psalm 12:5 “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says
the LORD; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

Psalm 140:12 I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and will execute
justice for the needy.

Isaiah 25:4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress,
a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm
against a wall…

Isaiah 41:17 When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched
with thirst, I the LORD will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the
mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts

310 All Scripture text in this Appendix are taken from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (Wheaton:
Standard Bible Society, 2001).

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boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love,
justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

Luke 1:52-53 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble
estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.
Luke 4:16-21 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom,
he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the
prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the
poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to
set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” And he rolled
up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue
were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing.”

Luke 6:20-21 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are
poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be
satisfied. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.
Luke 7:22 And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind
receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up,
the poor have good news preached to them.

James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to
be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?
GOD’S COMMANDS CONCERNING THE POOR
Deuteronomy 15:7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your
towns within your land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or
shut your hand against your poor brother…”

Deuteronomy 26:12 “When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third
year, which is the year of tithing, giving it to the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the
widow, so that they may eat within your towns and be filled…

Leviticus 19:9-10 “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up
to its edge, neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. And you shall not strip your
vineyard bare, neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard. You shall leave them
for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the LORD your God.

Isaiah 1:16-17 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from
before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice
to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

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Isaiah 58:6-7 Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the
straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your
bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to
cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Jeremiah 22:3 Thus says the LORD: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of
the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the
fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place.

Jeremiah 22:13-17 “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms
by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages,
who says, ‘I will build myself a great house with spacious upper rooms,’ who cuts out windows
for it, paneling it with cedar and painting it with vermilion. Do you think you are a king because
you compete in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink and do justice and righteousness? Then
it was well with him. He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well. Is not this to
know me? declares the LORD. But you have yes and heart only for your dishonest gain, for
shedding innocent blood, and for practicing oppression and violence.”

Matthew 5:42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow
from you.

Luke 3:11 And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none,
and whoever has food is to do likewise.”

Luke 12:33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags
that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches
and no moth destroys.

2 Corinthians 9:6-9 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his
heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to
make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may
abound in every good work. As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”

James 1:27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans
and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

BLESSINGS ON THOSE WHO SERVE THE POOR

Deuteronomy 15:9-10 Take care lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and you say,
‘The seventh year, the year of release is near,’ and your eye look grudgingly on your poor
brother, and you give him nothing, and he cry to the LORD against you, and you be guilty of sin.
You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because
for this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.

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Psalm 41:1-2a Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD
delivers him; the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land…

Proverbs 19:17 Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his
deed.

Proverbs 22:9 Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the
poor.

Isaiah 58:10 If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then
shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday.

Jeremiah 7:5-7 “For if you truly amend your ways and your deeds, if you truly execute justice
one with another, if you do not oppress the sojourner, the fatherless, or the widow, or shed
innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own harm, then I will
let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers forever.

Luke 14:12-14 “He said also to the man who had invited him, “When you give a dinner or a
banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they
also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the
crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you
will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

CURSES ON THOSE WHO IGNORE OR EXPLOIT THE POOR

Exodus 22:21-27 “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in
the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them,
and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you
with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless. “If you lend
money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him,
and you shall not exact interest from him. If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you
shall return it to him before the sun goes down, for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak
for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am
compassionate.

Proverbs 14:31 Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the
needy honors him.

Isaiah 10:1-3 Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing
oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right,
that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! What will you
do on the day of punishment, in the ruin that will come from afar? To whom will you flee for
help, and where will you leave your wealth?
Jeremiah 5:27-29 Like a cage full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; therefore they have
become great and rich; they have grown fat and sleek. They know no bounds in deeds of evil;

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they judge not with justice the cause of the fatherless, to make it prosper, and they do not defend
the rights of the needy. Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD, and shall I
not avenge myself on a nation such as this?”

Ezekiel 16:49 Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride,
excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not aid the poor and needy.

Ezekiel 22:29-31 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They
have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. And I
sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me
for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore I have poured out my
indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their
way upon their heads, declares the Lord GOD.”

Amos 5:12 For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate.

Luke 16:19-25 “There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted
sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came
and licked his sores. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The
rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw
Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me,
and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in
this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good
things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in
anguish.

James 5:1-6 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you.
Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded,
and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid
up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you
kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the
ears of the Lord of hosts. You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have
fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned and murdered the righteous
person. He does not resist you.

1 John 3:17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his
heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
HOW BELIEVERS SHOULD RELATE TO THE POOR
Leviticus 19:15 “You shall do no injustice in court. You shall not be partial to the poor or defer
to the great, but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.”

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Proverbs 29:7 A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand
such knowledge.

Matthew 6:2-4 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I
say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left
hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father
who sees in secret will reward you.

Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other,
or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

Luke 6:33-34 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For
even sinners do the same. And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit
is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount.

Acts 2:44-45 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were
selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Acts 4:32-35 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one
said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as
many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold
and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

Galatians 2:9-10 …when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the
grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we
should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor,
the very thing I was eager to do.

Ephesians 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his
own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that
some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

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APPENDIX B
THE KINGDOM PROJECT OF APOSTLES LUTHERAN CHURCH
The Kingdom Project of Apostles Lutheran Church, Chesapeake, Virginia
As Shared by Dr. Cathy J. Dooley
Based on the parable of Jesus found in Matthew 25:14-30, the Kingdom Project is a
service activity emphasizing the importance of responsible stewardship of God’s resources. In
the parable, the Master entrusts his slaves with his possessions, then leaves them alone for a
period of time. Upon his return the Master calls each slave to account for what was entrusted to
him, and he rewards those who have made gains for the Master. Those who do nothing with what
was entrusted are rebuked and removed from protection of the Kingdom.
As in the parable, each student participant in the Kingdom Project is given a sum of
$50.00 for which they are responsible to return at a later date. The money is provided by
individual sponsors who promise to pray for a specific student to receive guidance from the Holy
Spirit as to how to invest in the Kingdom, but the donor remains anonymous to the student. At
the conclusion of the project timeline, the students are called before the congregation and each
must account for how their money was used for God’s Kingdom. After each accounting is made,
the donor is revealed.
At no time during the project timeline are the students instructed as to what to do with the
money, but they are continually encouraged to seek God’s guidance through prayer and to be
diligent to make gains for God’s kingdom. As in the parable of Jesus, the goal of each student is
to hear these words, “Well done, good and faithful servant, you were faithful with a few things, I
will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”

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APPENDIX C
ESTABLISHING A NON-PROFIT CORPORATION
Step by Step Instructions for Establishing a Non-Profit Corporation

STEP 1: Develop a vision and mission statement for the ministry you are starting. These statements
provide direction for the ministry. The mission statement is a document that remains the timeless
document that says who you are as long as the ministry is in operation. The vision statement tells the
world how you want things to be as a result of your ministry. It should be measurable. For example; the
children of Hampton Roads will read at grade level by the year 2020. (See Heart of Compassion
Partnerships website for an example of mission and vision statements.
www.heartofcompassionpartnerships.com)

STEP 2: Establish a board of directors. At a minimum, you need a president, vice president, secretary,
and treasurer. The vice president can be combined with either the secretary or treasurer. However, if a
spouse or family member occupies one of the positions it is wise to have all four positions filled and
possibly at least one additional board member. It is recommended that the board have no more than 7 to
10 members. Regarding membership, it is highly recommended that the board have a least one business
person and someone who is connected in the community where you are establishing yourself. If put
together correctly, the board could end up being your best friend in times of challenge.

STEP 3: Put together your organization’s articles of incorporation. These will eventually be filed with the
office of the Secretary of State. Much of the Articles are what is called boiler plate language. However, it
would be good to have a Certified Public Accountant, or an attorney, or the services of Legal Zoom for
example. These articles will put boundaries around what you can and cannot do, so get it right.

STEP 4: Compose your organizational bylaws. These are the rules by which you will operate. Again, a
professional’s advice would be helpful at this point.

STEP 5: It is time to call your first Board of Directors meeting. At this meeting, you will elect officers
and adopt your articles of incorporation and by-laws. Once this is done it is time to file your documents.
STEP 6: Apply for tax exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). This is what is referred to
as a 501(c) 3 status. You will be seeking to receive a tax deductible status so that you can receive
charitable contributions. You will want to check with your state and city governments to see what they
require.
STEP 7: You can begin to seek contributions at this point. However, it is necessary as you do, to let the
donor know your application is under review. Since you are seeking funding, you also will need to open a
business bank account.

Step 8: Apply for a federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). This will be necessary if you intend
to employ staff for your entity. This is the number, donors will use as well to receive their tax deduction.

Congratulations! You are under way!

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APPENDIX D
URBAN OUTREACH CENTER PARENT MANUAL

PROGRAM HANDBOOK
FOR PARENTS

Heart of Compassion Partnerships Inc.
816 Kempsville Road, Chesapeake, VA 23320
Phone: 757-647-6249
Email: mel.howell@wedefeatpoverty.org
www.heartofcompassionpartnerships.com

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The Urban Outreach Center Program Handbook
Table of Contents

4 Welcome
5 Who We Are – The Bridge
for Children

5-6 Who Can Attend
6 Operating Schedule
6 Breakfast and Lunch
During Summer Program

6-7 Code of Conduct
7 Program Rules for All
Participants

7-8 Dress Code
8 Safety Rules
8 Safety Rule Infraction
9 Severe Safety Rule
Infraction

9 Disciplinary Action Steps
9-10 Child Protection Policy
10 Complaint Process
11 Acknowledgement

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Heart of Compassion Partnerships
816 Kempsville Road
Chesapeake, VA 23320

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We are so glad you have shown an interest in signing your child up for our after school
programs. We look forward to working with you and your child over the course of the next
school year and summer and we hope to provide them a fun and safe educational environment.
The goal of our programs is to offer students an opportunity for FREE academic based after
school and summer programs.

Our after school program is a mentoring and tutoring program for students in Kindergarten
through 8th Grade. It is designed to help students with their homework and prepare them for
SOL testing.

Our summer program offers a child many positive and rewarding experiences. Heart of
Compassion Partnerships’ Urban Outreach Center summer program provides an opportunity for
students to develop activity oriented and interpersonal skills while offering them a chance to
become more responsible and independent. Our summer camp program experience has a
significant impact on a child’s life.

These programs, after school and summer camp, help students find positive environments to be
in after school that can be fun and educational at no expense to you. Please fill out all the
attached documents in this application and return them to the Program Director of the Urban
Outreach Center.

Thank you again for considering your child for our programs.

Dr. John Dooley, President
Heart of Compassion Partnerships Inc.

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Who We Are

The Bridge for Children
The Urban Outreach Center is a project sponsored by Heart of Compassion Partnerships Inc. We
provide a structured and safe bridge for children from Kindergarten to 8th grade to receive
mentoring, tutoring, and social skills training. Children who are enrolled also receive instruction
on basic college preparation and career discovery. Adults, high school and college level
volunteers are recruited to be tutors. The Urban Outreach Centers operate year round in
communities of need at no cost to the families living in those communities.

The Urban Outreach Center Goals for Students
1. Improvement in SOL scores
2. Increase in reading and math scores
3. One or more levels improvement in grade
4. Reduction in office referrals for behavior issues
5. Reengaged in education
6. Post-secondary enrollment in education
7. Improved self-concept including sense of belonging and competence
8. Decrease in dropout rate for young people ages 14-18

Who Can Attend
Heart of Compassion Partnerships’ Urban Outreach Center after school and summer camp
programs are designed for children in grade levels Kindergarten through 8 grade.

Parents interested in their children attending our programs must fill out an application and other
documentation to be considered for enrollment.

Applications will be taken on a first come first serve basis in each grade level group.

Grade level groups are as follows:
Group 1 – Grades K to 2
Group 2 – Grades 3 to 5
Group 3 – Grades 6 to 8

After students are accepted for enrollment, there will be an orientation for parents or legal
guardians to explain the program and answer all questions. This is mandatory to secure
placement in either the after school or summer camp and to complete all the required forms and
release documents.

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Operating Schedule

After School Program (September – June)
Monday – Friday 2:30pm to 5:30pm*
Summer Camp Program (June – August)
Monday – Friday 8:30am to 3:00pm*
Schedule times are subject to change with notice. *
During the school year, our days of operation are the same as the public schools. In event of
severe weather warnings and you are notified that the public schools are closed — WE WILL BE
CLOSED!

Breakfast and Lunch During the Summer Program
A balanced breakfast and lunch is served daily. Meals are provided by the USDA summer food
service program and available for all ages 18 and under. Breakfast is served for 1 hour beginning
at 8:30 a.m. Lunch is served for 2 hours beginning at 11:30 a.m.
Arrangements for campers with food allergies must be made in advance and provided by
parent/guardian.

Code of Conduct
The following pages contain Code of Conduct and program expectations. Upon completion of
reviewing the Handbook, you (parent or guardian) will be expected to sign the Handbook
Review Form stating that you have read and agree to the guidelines contained therein.
The Urban Outreach Center after school and summer program staff are committed to maintain a
safe learning environment, to the best of our ability, for students and staff.

We encourage students and staff to develop a strong personal sense of responsibility for their
own actions. We recognize that there is a need for clear and consistent guidelines to meet our
goals and to ensure that students have opportunities to experience success.

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Program Rules for All Participants
1. You are expected to follow staff directions, camp rules, and respect the rights of others.
2. You must enter the building immediately upon arrival and sign in.
3. Weapons (real or toy) of any kind may not be brought into the building. Should this happen,
the parent or guardian of any student will be notified immediately. The local authorities may also
be contacted.
4. You should not carry money or valuables. The Urban Outreach Center cannot accept
responsibility for your money or any valuables should they be lost or stolen.
5. You are expected to be on time and remain on the property and in class or activity for the
whole period unless excused by staff.
6. You are expected to respect the Center’s property and the property of others. You may be held
financially responsible for any damages you cause.
7. You can be excluded from camp for serious safety risks, either to yourself or others, or for
serious ongoing disruptions to the program.

Dress Code
1. All shirts and T-shirts should have sleeves.
2. Clothing should not display provocative content (i.e., references to violence, sex, drugs,
alcohol, gangs). Students wearing such attire will be sent home.
3. Underwear should be worn, but not seen.
4. No exposed skin between shirts and pants or low-cut blouses or sweaters.
5. Shorts and skirts must be knee length or longer.
6. Any large, excessive, and extending jewelry and other accessories deemed inappropriate by
staff are not allowed.
7. Pajamas are not to be worn as outer garments.
8. Provocative or extreme styles and clothing are not allowed.
9. Shoes are required and must be worn at all times.
10. Respect and treat others the way you want to be treated.
11. Staff retains the right to ask students to reveal any concealed items. Refusal to do so results
in dismissal from the program.
12. Students are not allowed to have cell phones or any personal electronic devices.
13. No chewing gum.
14. Students must sign in then sign out upon dismissal.

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Safety Rules
1. Shoes must be worn at all times.
2. Any large, excessive, and extending jewelry and accessories as deemed inappropriate by staff
are not allowed.
3. No excessive play, pushing, fighting.
4. No running inside or outside unless part of directed activity.
5. No gymnastic activity (flips, cart wheel, handstands, etc.) is allowed inside or outside unless
part of directed activity.
6. No threatening language, rude actions, verbal abuse or disrespect toward staff and peers.
7. No leaping or jumping from steps or stairs.

Safety Rule Infraction
First Offense – Warning Slip and parent or guardian conference before child can return to the
program. A parent or guardian conference within 2 days of written warning or child will be
dismissed from the program. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to make an
appointment. (See Complaint Process)
Second Offense – 1-Day Suspension
Third Offense – 2-Day Suspension
Fourth Offense – 3-Day Suspension
Fifth Offense – Dismissal from the program

Severe Safety Rule Infraction
Infraction of the following will result in being sent home immediately and we reserve the right
to call in local authorities.
Immediate Red Zone
• Weapons of any type
• Destruction of property
• Refusal to reveal concealed items
• Stealing
• Fighting, verbal abuse, or inappropriate physical contact

Disciplinary Action Steps
In effort to create a safe and fun environment and maintain a fair and balanced treatment of each
child, the following disciplinary guidelines will be enforced:
Program Rules Infraction:
Green Zone – verbal warning – defined as a one on one conference with Senior Coach or
Program Director
Yellow Zone – Violation in green level resulting in a one on one verbal conference with Senior
Staff Member.
Red Zone – Violation in yellow level resulting in a written warning slip to parent or guardian to
be signed and returned before child can return to the program.
5 Consecutive Yellows = A Warning Slip
10 Yellows (over the course of the program) = A Warning Slip
3 Warning Slips = 1 Day Suspension from the program

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Child Protection Policy
It shall be the goal of Heart of Compassion Partnerships and The Urban Outreach Center to
provide a safe environment for the physical and emotional well-being of all children
participating in activities, including participants in any daily or temporary childcare programs.
Heart of Compassion Partnerships’ goal is to train staff and volunteers to enforce our policies
that ensure all children are safe and well protected while attending scheduled activities at any of
The Urban Outreach Center locations.

A criminal background check of the National Sex Offender Registry maintained by the U.S.
Department of Justice (www.nsopw.gov) shall be required for all children’s worker positions,
both employee and volunteer workers. No one who has been convicted of a crime involving
misconduct with children will be allowed to work with children. A designated representative will
conduct criminal background checks notifying the appropriate program leader if a negative
report is received.

Background checks will be kept confidential in a locked file with access afforded only to
appropriate staff on a need-to-know basis.

Complaint Process
Anyone who believes that a student’s rights have been violated may request an appointment with
the Site Program Director to present their complaint.
Appointments will be given as soon as possible without interfering with or interrupting the usual
schedule of the program. Effort will be made to resolve the complaint as quickly as possible.
Should the complainant not be satisfied with the resolution from the Site Program Director; they
may seek an appointment with Heart of Compassion Partnership’s Executive Director. If the
complaint is not resolved at this level, the complainant may seek an appointment with the
President of Heart of Compassion Partnerships Inc. The decision of the President is final.

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The Urban Outreach Center
Program Handbook Review Acknowledgement
I have read and agree to the policies outlined in Heart of Compassion
Partnerships’ Urban Outreach Center Handbook, specifically the
following code of conduct policies:

1. Dress Code

2. Electronic Devices

3. Safety

Child’s Name: (Print)
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________
________________________________________________

Parent Name: (Print)
_______________________________________________

Parent Signature: ________________________________ Date:
_________

Check Urban Outreach Center Location your Child Attends:
__________Sanctuary of Hope – 3516 Winchester Drive, Portsmouth, VA 23707
_________ Forest Cove – 2218 Farmer Lane, Chesapeake, VA 23324
_________ Hunters Point – 4200 Reid Street, Chesapeake, VA 23324

September 6, 2014

200

APPENDIX E
SERVE THE CITY PROCEDURAL MANUAL
Serve the City
Chesapeake
Planning Manual

201

Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………3
What is Serve the City Chesapeake……………………………………………………4-5
How Do I Become “Part” of Serve the City Chesapeake…………………………….6-7
How Do I “Operate” a Serve the City Chesapeake Event………………………….…7
Organization and Leadership……………………………………………………7
Event Development………………………………………………………………9
Event Planning and Preparation…………………………………………….…11
Team Support and Preparation………………………………………………..14
Executing the Plan………………………………………………………………15

APPENDIX 1: Serve the City Points of Contact………………….…………..…..16

APPENDIX 2: Cross the Line…………………………………………….……….17

APPENDIX 3: Broken Window Theory………………………………………….18

APPENDIX 4: Team Preparation…………………………………………………19

SAMPLE FORMS MAY BE FOUND AT
WWW.HEARTOFCOMPASSIONPARTNERSHIPS.COM

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Serve the City Chesapeake

Introduction

Serve the City Chesapeake offers to churches, civic organizations, and businesses the
opportunity to work together with our City to serve the underprivileged in our
community through service projects, community events, and other activities. The
purpose of this manual is to assist interested groups in planning and organizing a
“Serve the City” event in cooperation with Serve the City Chesapeake. This manual is
NOT a step-by-step procedure, but is intended to be used as a guide based on the
lessons-learned and “best practices” of Serve the City Chesapeake. Serve the City
events are intended to be “neighborhood” driven and therefore do not necessar ily look
nor run the same as each other. To be “neighborhood” driven means that a Serve the
City effort should start by identifying a particular neighborhood or need in the
community, which is then led and organized by a team of leaders who have come
together for this purpose. Serve the City events are meant to be activities that serve
our city, not establish the reputation of one organization or group.

Even though there may be variation in the “look” and execution of Serve the City
events, if the name “Serve the City” is used, we still maintain a certain level of
oversight and central coordination among them. Our experience has shown that we
ultimately accomplish more (and do it more effectively) through a collective effort,
rather than individual and isolated efforts. To that end, Serve the City events are
coordinated and planned through the Serve the City Oversight Committee.
Additionally, the Committee exists to establish common processes and administrative
“helps” to aid with efficiency and continuity year-to-year among the participating
groups and organizations.

Finally, we want to preserve the distinctive philosophy that defines and motivates the
work of Serve the City Chesapeake in the community. For that reason, we ask that
groups or individuals organizing a Serve the City event do so in cooperation with the
processes and decisions overseen by the Oversight Committee and in a manner that
supports the principles and goals of the organization.

We trust this manual will help you plan and organize a successful Serve the City event.
We also hope that it will encourage and promote innovation and diversity – along with
unity of purpose and effort–that will make our combined work greater than our
individual accomplishments. Most of all, we hope you will join us as together, we
“serve our city!”

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What is “Serve the City?”

Serve the City Chesapeake was established in 2007 through the interest and efforts of local
leaders who wanted to work together to meet needs in a way that would bring about lasting,
transformational change within the community. From the start, it has been a cooperative,
faith-based initiative involving local churches, civic leagues, and the police. Serve the City is
supported by the City of Chesapeake and assisted by many local businesses. The Serve the
City Leadership Team oversees the initiation and coordination of numerous Serve the City
projects each year. The detailed planning and execution of each project is assigned by the
Leadership Team to one of several Serve the City “teams”–consisting of one or more partner
churches working together with community groups in an “adopted” neighborhood. Serve
the City Chesapeake desires to expand the participation and support of local churches,
businesses, and civic organizations (police, civic leagues, schools, etc.…) that share our
vision and philosophy and that want to partner with us.

Our Purpose:
We are a collective effort of the faith-based community, civic organizations, government, and
businesses to serve and meet needs in the community for the purpose of building trusting
relationships, instilling hope, and transforming lives.

Our Philosophy:
Producing healthy communities and transformed lives is our greatest hope. We believe this
to be the collective responsibility of the faith-based community and their partners of good
will. As such our service priority is with the underprivileged, the elderly, and those unable
to help themselves. By adhering to the biblical admonition to “love our neighbors as
ourselves,” we earnestly desire to counter the hopelessness, isolation, and fear that inhibit
trust and change in our communities. Similarly, Serve the City Chesapeake believes that
building healthy relationships within the community and among participating
organizations is essential to promoting greater unity and enduring change.

Consequently, we encourage participating Serve the City groups to develop long-term
commitments with communities of need, as opposed to short programmatic burst. We also
seek to foster ongoing interaction and support (i.e. relationships), between participating
churches and civic groups. As a faith-based organization, Serve the City Chesapeake sees
this philosophy of meeting needs, restoring hope, and building relationships as an integral part of
our commitment to introducing faith in our community and carrying out the transformational
work of the Great Commission.

Three aspects of our mission characterize us:
 First, by its very name, Serve the City Chesapeake’s objective is to reinforce and
contribute to the community development and revitalization efforts of the City of
Chesapeake. In addition, it is the objective of Serve the City to support the police in
their efforts to reinforce the importance of neighborhood policing, and thereby the
reduction of crime.
4

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 Second, Serve the City Chesapeake as an organization, is based on the concept
of citizen mobilization. Therefore, rather than confining our projects to existing
participants, we desire to provide a means for other organizations to join us in
the transformation of our communities, including, individuals and community
groups who want to get involved with the work we are doing.
 Third, Serve the City Chesapeake believes strongly in the importance of
partnerships in the pursuit of our purposes. Serve the City started with the
common vision and coordinated efforts of a handful of local churches, the police
department, and neighborhood civic leagues. We believe partnerships that share
information, can leverage our collective resources which will manifest itself in more
effective results in our communities. The following are examples of how partnerships
can contribute to our collective goals:
 City of Chesapeake: The city identifies distressed communities,
through the Quality of Life study, to recommend and help prioritize
neighborhoods for Serve the City. Serve the City in turn helps
identify needs for further or ongoing city intervention and support
within neighborhoods.
 Police: The police help identify struggling neighborhoods where
Serve the City involvement can encourage change and help with
crime prevention. Serve the City churches provide volunteers and
facilities to support youth intervention programs (sports leagues,
police science academies).
 Schools: Serve the City churches provide volunteers and facilities to
support after-school and summer enrichment programs. Serve the City
projects also provide community service opportunities for students.
Schools provide facilities, community meeting places, and volunteers
for Serve the City events.
 Civic Leagues: Serve the City provides a means of helping Civic
Leagues address individual and neighborhood needs. Civic
leagues help Serve the City teams to identify and prioritize
community service opportunities in neighborhoods.
 Neighborhood Services (City of Chesapeake): Serve the City helps
identify neighborhood and home repair projects requiring city
intervention and assistance. Neighborhood Services coordinates with
Serve the City to provide “clean-up” services in support of Serve the
City events.
 Businesses: Interested businesses provide materials and/or financial
support for Serve the City projects. Serve the City may “recognize”
supporters on signs, flyers, etc.…

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How do I become “Part” of Serve the City?
Churches
1. Discuss with your church leadership the idea of establishing a long-term
commitment to serving within a community.
2. Serve the City Chesapeake events are predominantly based on forming
relationships with a neighborhood in need of assistance and contact the
Leadership Team. (Appendix 1)
3. Decide if your church wants to support and partner with Serve the City
Chesapeake and work with Serve the City to identify a neighborhood to
“adopt.” This could involve starting a new neighborhood “adoption,” or joining
another “team” of churches already working with a neighborhood.
4. Review your church calendar (approximately 6 months in advance) to
check feasibility of participating in the next planned Serve the City area-
wide event (usually June each year).

Businesses
1. Local businesses interested in supporting Serve the City Chesapeake should review
this manual to understand the type of work and opportunities included in a Serve the City
event. Decide what kinds of resources your business might be able to provide.
Examples include:
a. Supplies and materials for neighborhood and home projects
b. Specialized labor/skills provided by your business
c. Financial contributions
d. Support services (e.g. water, debris removal, volunteer meals, etc.…)
2. Contact the Serve the City Chesapeake Leadership Team. (See Appendix 1 for
contact information.) A member of the Team will help determine the best way to help. If
your business already has a working relationship with a particular Serve the City event
or project, you may contact the event leader directly to discuss how to become
involved.

3. If materials or other project services/skills are going to be provided, the details (e.g.
exact materials needed, quantities required, when they are needed) will be coordinated
with one of the Serve the City event leaders. Businesses providing material or financial
support should expect that the project leaders will need those items about one mon th
prior to the event. Tax deduction arrangements are available through our umbrella
group, Heart of Compassion Partnerships. (www.heartofcompassionpartnerships.com )

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Individuals
1. Individuals who hear about Serve the City Chesapeake and want to get
involved should be referred to the Serve the City Leadership Team. (See
Appendix 1 for contact information.) Someone from the Team will help them
identify the best way to become involved; probably by working with a church
group running a local event near where they live.
2. Forms for joining Serve the City are found at
www.heartofcompassionpartnerships.com: click the Partners tab, then
click the Serve the City tab. Included with the forms is a volunteer
application and a medical/liability release form.
3. Serve the City churches and event leaders are encouraged to invite individuals
to get involved with their event. It is particularly important to look for
opportunities and to encourage involvement by members of the neighborhood in
which your group is working. Churches and event leaders should anticipate and
be ready for individual volunteers by having a point of contact on the ir team
and the necessary information and forms available to explain what Serve the
City is, discuss ways to get involved, and then “sign them up” if they are
interested.

HOW DO I “OPERATE” A SERVE THE CITY EVENT?
Organization and Leadership
1. Identify the neighborhood to adopt with the Serve the City leadership team, the police and the
city. Partner with one or two other churches to put together a team of churches and volunteers
interested in meeting the needs of the adopted neighborhood. This should be accomplished by
December (approximately 6 months prior to the event).

2. Establish a leadership team with church leaders and lay people from each of the churches
along with interested members of civic leagues, schools, businesses, and the local
community/neighborhood. Your leadership team should include some members with experience
in repair/project planning or management. Your team may also need “experience” in other areas,
depending upon other activities you may be considering (e.g. neighborhood children’s program,
outreach events, etc.…). Your leadership team should be established and start meeting by
January.

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3. Early, personal contact with the neighborhood civic league is important. Although not essential,
you should make it your goal to make your Serve the City “event” a vision that is shared and
supported by the neighborhood leadership. If your church is not physically “part” of the
neighborhood or does not have a pre-existing relationship with the neighborhood, it may take time to
develop a relationship with its leaders and an interest on their part in becoming involved with Serve
the City. Nevertheless, make it your goal to have a member of the civic league or neighborhood on
the Serve the City team. Recommend meeting civic league members or attending one of their
meetings 4-5 months prior to the event.

4. Begin to share the vision and opportunity with the congregation. Recommend starting this in
February. Early and repeated communication of “what” Serve the City is and “why” you’re doing it
is essential in helping your congregation understand and get involved. It’s very helpful if you explain
the type of work and opportunities for ministry that will occur during Serve the City. (Although you
may not have fully developed the projects planned for that week, illustrations of what you will
probably be doing will still help.) Active support and promotion by your church leaders is a key to
congregational participation.

Suggestions that may increase participation include:
 Present it as a “local” missions week for the church.
 Encourage individuals to take time off or use vacation time, as they would do for other
missions “trips.”
 Encourage families, the youth ministry, men’s ministry and women’s ministry (or other
ministry groups) to take this on as a ministry event for their group.
 Provide alternative ways for people to be involved, even if they can’t work during the Serve
the City event in June. Examples include: communication/promotion (signs, flyers),
administration (financial records, sign-up’s), prayer, and financial contributions.
 Consider other ways to “set aside” the week for the church volunteers (housing the teens
together for the week, serving breakfast or dinner for the team each day, church-wide prayer
meetings prior to the event, etc.…)
5. Begin a volunteer “sign-up” process. The sign-up process should include their anticipated
availability (all week, certain days that week, unknown, etc.…), their skills (carpentry, yard work,
painting, teaching, etc.…), and the areas they would like to work with. Although you’ll probably get
volunteers signing up right until the event actually starts, strongly encourage people to sign up early
so that you can estimate the size of your volunteer team and their skills –which will then help you
plan the types of activities and the number of projects your team is equipped to handle. Start
volunteer sign-up’s in March, with periodic updates and opportunities to sign-up every few weeks.

6. Begin to identify the types of teams and leaders you will need to support your event.
1) Identify volunteers who can serve as project/yard team leaders in March/April. The
majority of the work will be accomplished by “project teams” and “yard teams” that can
move from house to house working on the repair jobs in the neighborhood. Project teams can
be organized based on the skills and experience among your volunteers and the type of jobs
you decide are within your capacity and budget. Yard teams can also be organized to go from
house to house for the week.

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2) Identify team leaders to support special events. For example, you may want to organize
a children’s outreach program in the neighborhood during the event. The use of visitation
teams in the neighborhood (for prayer, answering questions about Serve the City, identifying
other needs, etc.…) is very effective. You may also choose to hold a community event, such
as a cookout, at the end of the week, which could be organized by a separate team.

3) Other recommended “support teams” are:
 Admin Team (process volunteer applications, neighborhood sign-up’s, finances).
 Logistics/Support Team (used during the event to run errands, obtain needed
supplies, provide transportation)
 Donations Team (work with local businesses for materials or financial
contributions)
 Food Team (water, snacks, lunch provided for volunteers if desired)
Event Development
1. Survey the neighborhood. Drive through the neighborhood, preferably with someone who lives
there or has some experience in the community. Look for homes in need of assistance, shut-in’s, and
problem areas in the neighborhood (common areas, empty lots, parks, etc…). The police may also be
able to help identify areas or homes of concern (shut- in’s, victims of crime). Recommend doing this
in February or early March.

2. Meet with the Civic League. Arrange to visit one of the Civic League meetings in the area where
you will be working. Share some of the goals and vision of Serve the City. Listen to their concerns
and recommendations and work to get them involved in planning your Serve the City event. They
should be able to provide additional insight into the neighborhood’s needs. Be prepared to adjust
your goals after meeting with the Civic League if need be. Recommend doing this 4~5 months prior
to the event.

3. Promote the Serve the City event in the neighborhood. The Civic League can be very helpful in
doing this, as well as flyers and signs in the neighborhood. (Please the Serve The City logo.)

4. Prepare a rough budget. If this is your first Serve the City “event” you won’t have previous cost
information to use. You can still estimate how much you expect to have in available funds (through
fund-raising, donations, or church operating funds). Use that to guide the types of activities and home
repair work you will undertake. Budget considerations include:
 Yard work is a “low-cost” type of work, with little needed other than borrowed tools and
yard equipment.
 Repair work can be very costly if you agree to do “structural” repairs. Even if they seem
“small” (e.g. bathroom repairs), they can become quite costly due to job “growth” once
started. Likewise, “replacement” is different than “repair” (e.g. replacing a door vice
adjusting or fixing it) and can lead to higher costs. You can keep your budget lower and more
predictable by limiting the type of work you will do (e.g. exterior paint, window and door
repairs, yard work, etc.….). Bottom line: job scope and budget have to be considered. Thus,
having knowledgeable people is essential to developing an accurate material lists and costs.

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 Include money for “food” IF you plan on providing snacks, water, or any meals (e.g.
lunch) for the volunteers. You can offset this cost by asking people to pay for the cost of
meals/snacks for each day they work.
 Include money for any community outreach events (children’s program, neighborhood
cook-outs).
 Another way to raise funds and offset costs is to ask volunteers to “raise support” or
make contributions –much like they would need to do for an out-of-area missions trip.
 Plan fund-raising events. These can be great opportunities to build commitment and
excitement for the event within the congregation. Recommend planning combined
fellowship and fund-raising events among churches partnering together for the event.
5. Prepare a neighborhood survey and sign-up form to distribute in the neighborhood. See
sample forms at www.heartofcompassionpartnerships.com, click Partners, slick Serve the City. It
should reflect the type of work you are willing to consider and most likely able to accomplish
(based on a rough budget and your expected team size and skills).

6. Plan several visits by teams of people who can explain Serve the City as they walk
through the neighborhood, knock on doors, and drop off flyers and survey/sign-up forms.
Doing this at times when people are home (Saturdays, Sunday afternoons, etc.….) is helpful. Be
sensitive to solicitation restrictions. Recommend starting this in March. The form should have an
advertised sign-up “deadline” (e.g. mid-April, approximately 2 months before the event) to
encourage them to sign up early. It should also have clear instructions for how to turn it in.
Going back a couple of weeks after the initial distribution allows you to follow up and encourage
people to sign up.

7. As the survey/sign-up forms are turned in, if there is “repair” work requested,
communicate that a project planner will be contacting them.
NOTE: Be careful about what you communicate to homeowners as you visit and talk about what
you will be doing during Serve the City. Don’t promise or agree to do work at this point. The
survey is used ONLY to determine what work is needed and eventually which jobs can be done.
Promised work –actual or perceived –that doesn’t get done will erode trust and hurt your
reputation/relationship in the neighborhood. If repair work is being requested, let the person
know when the survey/sign-up form is turned in that a project “planner” will be contacting them
to visit and more thoroughly “assess” the jobs to be done.

8. Review the volunteer application forms turned in so far to determine the types of
experience and skills you have. Compare this information to the initial assessment of potential
projects, based on the neighborhood surveys you have received. Adjust teams as necessary and
begin to organize volunteers into teams (projects, yard, admin, etc.…). Recommend starting this
process in April. Look for “specialty” skills that may provide opportunities to meet unique needs
(e.g. a volunteer who could do in-home haircuts or manicures.)

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9. Other options for your event include:
 A community celebration in a nearby park or common area is a great way to get to know
the neighborhood better and a positive way to end the week.
 If you have a children’s program (e.g. VBS), carefully plan the location and time of day
so that it will be visible and accommodating to family schedules.
EVENT PLANNING AND PREPARATION

1. Contact those homes that have signed up for work to arrange for a project planner to
visit and evaluate the work request. The project planner should be experienced enough to
evaluate the nature and feasibility of the work, including the time required, volunteers needed,
materials needed, and skills needed. Remember the caution about “promised work” on page 10.
Recommend starting this 2 months prior to the event (e.g. mid-April).
NOTE: Additional sign-up’s and work requests will come in all the way up to the event itself.
Promoting a sign-up deadline is important for early planning, but you should expect and try to
accommodate late sign-up’s as long as you can “deliver” whatever you “promise.”

2. Identify a central staging area and information center. This is where the team will
assemble at the start and end of each day. It is also where people from the neighborhood will
come if they have questions and where last minute volunteers will go to “join” the event.
Locations that are centrally located and highly visible like parks, schools, etc.…work well. It
should be a place with adequate parking and a good spot for volunteers to rest if needed. It
should also have access to water and restrooms (public, an accessible church, etc…). DO NOT
plan on using the bathrooms in the homes in which you will be working. If necessary, make
provisions for porta-potties.
NOTE: The use of certain places as your staging/information area may require special
permission or a permit. Therefore, contact the responsible party early to make arrangements.

3. Establish a way to prioritize the jobs requested. The Second Precinct project uses the
phrase, “Safe, Warm, Dry.” The projects accepted must be covered by this definition. The phrase
also serves to prioritize the projects. Recommend using something similar to this.

4. Prepare the final project plans. This usually involves using the assessment of time,
volunteers, and skills needed to complete each of the jobs and then assigning them to various
teams. Be careful to allow enough time for job completion so that you don’t “overbook” your
teams. It’s better to promise less and do more than the other way around. Keep the project/team
leaders involved. They are your best source of identifying what “can” and what “cannot” be done
with the time and people available.

5. Contact homes owners and notify them what projects you will be doing 2 weeks prior.
Ideally, the project/team leader should do this. It’s a good opportunity to introduce him/herself,
in case he/she wasn’t the person who visited and assessed the job initially. Use this opportunity
to confirm they are still interested in having the work done, and WILL BE THERE.
NOTE: DO NOT work on any home if the owner/resident is not there.

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6. Create a materials list based on the project assessments. Ensure specifications are known
for major items (e.g. door replacement). Identify and consolidate general or common supplies
lists to be shared across jobs (e.g. paint, cleaning supplies, caulk, etc.…). Recommend doing this
one month prior (e.g. mid May).

7. Obtain the materials approximately 1~2 weeks prior to the event. Do it early enough to
allow project team leaders to check the supplies list against their planned project. Identify a place
to store and inventory the supplies before the event.
NOTE: Extra “runs” for materials and supplies will be inevitable due to unplanned jobs or job
growth. However, make it your goal to avoid material runs for planned jobs. Excessive errands to
get supplies will waste a lot of time for the teams.

8. Identify the tools that will be needed. Most volunteers can and will bring small tools. Have
the project and yard team leaders identify the types and quantities of the “larger” tools that will
be needed. Recommend starting this process 1 month before the event.
 Consider assigning a “tools czar” to take the lead in identifying what is needed, who can
bring them, and how to track them.
 Plan for the “security” of the tools at the end of each day.
 Yard tools (lawn mowers, weed-eaters, rakes, shovels, hand-tools, pressure washer,
wheel barrows, etc.…) are usually in short supply and can easily hold up the yard teams.
 Plan on having plenty of the following: gas/gas cans, goggles, weed-eater string, gloves,
paint brushes, paint trays, and tarps.
9. Have a plan for organizing and storing the materials and supplies at the central staging
area. Access to a nearby building that can be locked works great. An alternative is to use trailers
that can be loaded at the end of each day and taken to a secure place.

10. Have a truck or trailer available to haul yard clippings/debris, mulch, and trash if your
city is not providing this service.

11. Finalize the volunteer team assignments (about 2 weeks prior). No two Serve the City
events look the same when it comes to these special kinds of ministry opportunities.
Recommendations for some of the more common support teams are as follows:
 The central staging/information center should be manned by one or two people who
know the overall project plan and schedule and can handle questions, new job requests,
and changes in the plan.
 Keep at least 2 “runners” on your support team who can run errands, get supplies, etc.….
They should have vehicles that can be used for transporting tools and supplies.
 Keep at least one driver on your support team who can transport people, water and other
items (e.g. first aid) around the neighborhood.
 Taking care of your volunteers means having a plan that works and will keep them fed
and hydrated.

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12. Create a visitation team among your volunteers to visit homes during the week. The
visitation teams are great for follow-up, after the work has been done or when special concerns or
needs are identified during the week (e.g. a shut-in who would benefit from a visit). The visitation
should be comprised of people with appropriate gifts for personal ministry. They should focus on
building relationships with the potential of leading into conversations about spiritual things. These
teams should be carefully chosen and possibly go through some separate preparation or training prior
to the week.

13. Create a photography and video team to document the week.
NOTE: Use must use caution and sensitivity. You must have the individual’s permission whether
homeowner or volunteer. It is easy to exploit people even if you have good motives.

14. If you have a children’s program, plan and prepare it similar to a VBS program. Regardless
of what kind of activities or content you plan, you’ll need to consider the following:
 Early communication and promotion –at least 1 month prior to the event. Include dates,
times, and location. This should be a free event.
 Prepare a way for registering children that absolutely makes it known that you will be
teaching Christian material. You’ll want estimates of how many children and what ages.
 Consider door-to-door invitations and let them know it is part of Serve the City.
 Recruit lead “teachers” and assistants based on the interests and experience provided on the
volunteer forms.
 Once registration is done, assign groups and teachers based on the numbers and ages of the
children signed up.
 Conduct curriculum training and room set up the week before the program.
NOTE: 1) Pictures where the faces of the children can be identified requires a signed permission slip
by the parent or guardian and is not encouraged. 2) Curriculum should absolute avoid doctrinal issues
like Baptism and the Lord’s Supper that tend to separate people of faith.

Team Support and Preparation
1. Prayer is the foundation for all that is done in Serve the City. In all of the planning, don’t
neglect to incorporate prayer. Additionally, dedicated prayer meetings and prayer teams are highly
encouraged. Include prayer needs for all those involved in the neighborhood, the churches, the police
department, the schools, etc.….

2. Recommend planning some joint worship services and/or fellowship events with the
partnering churches. This will help develop relationships and cohesion among the team members
from the different churches, while also building unity within the community.

3. Serve the City Chesapeake will make t-shirts available. The t-shirts are a very unifying and
visible symbol for Serve the City. They build camaraderie within the team and communicate who we
are in neighborhoods all across Chesapeake. Plan on starting signups for your team 4~6 weeks prior
to the event. Orders and money will be collected from each church group approximately 4 weeks
prior so that the shirts can be received and distributed in time for the event. The cost varies from year
to year. Volunteers are permitted/encouraged to use their shirts form year to year.

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4. Make provisions for the following at your support/staging area:
 Tables and chairs for the staging area and information center
 Dumpster/trash cans
 First aid kit
 Shade (small tent if tress unavailable)
 Water, cups, paper towels, etc.…
 Petty cash for errands requiring cash purchases
 A big SIGN to let everyone know who you are!
5. Prepare an information sheet 2 weeks prior to the event. It should contain at least the
following: daily schedule (start time, stop time), where to meet, food/meal plan (if any), things to
bring (water bottle, sun screen, gloves, etc.…).

6. Each team member should fill out a medical release form.

7. Have the project and yard team leaders meet with their assigned volunteers, if possible,
the week before the event. They can show them the projects they will be likely working on and
answer questions.

8. Other team considerations and options include:
 Final meeting for last minute administrative items, questions and prayer the night before
starting.
 Daily devotions with the team each morning to start the day.
 An evening or end of the day “debrief” time each day. Some churches have served an
optional dinner after the work day for any interested volunteers and used this as a time for
“debriefing” the day. It allowed an efficient way to eat dinner after a long day, and it
provided a great time to share testimonies within the team.
 Teen “missions week” to include staying at host homes for the duration of the week.
Executing the Plan
1. Have the owner/resident fill out a “permission” form before starting work at their home.

2. Volunteers who finish a job or are not needed at their job or project site should return to
the staging/information area. Having a “pool” of available volunteers will be invaluable in
meeting unplanned needs or when a team needs additional workers.

3. Project and yard team leaders should update the person with the “master plan” at the
end of each day. This will help keep track of which jobs are done and in progress and where the
teams will start the following day.

4. Keep track of the volunteer hours worked, funds spent, work & ministry completed. This
will help in future planning and with future grants and donations.

5. Have lots of water available.

6. Have fun serving together. Remember…. “We know their needs. Do we know their
names?”

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APPENDIX 1: Serve the City Points of Contact
SERVE THE CITY CHESAPEAKE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Dr. John E. Dooley, Heart of Compassion Partnerships
Phone: 757.647.7712 John.dooley@heartofcompassionpartnerships.com
Pastor Jon Hildebrand, Community Church of Chesapeake
Phone: 757.630.3890 Email: pastorjon@ccconfire.org
Pastor Durant Kreider, Coastlands Community Church
Phone: 757.761.2932 durant.kreider@gmail.com
Captain Greg Staylor, Chesapeake City Police
Phone: 757.382.6556 gstaylor@cityofchesapeake.net
Mel Howell, Heart of Compassion Partnerships
Phone: 757.647.6249 mel.howell@heartofcompassionpartnerships.com
Serve the City website: www.servethecitychesapeake.org
Serve the City Chesapeake’s Umbrella Group:
Heart of Compassion Partnerships website: www.heartofcompassionpartnerships.com
CITY OF CHESAPEAKE
Alan Krasnoff, Mayor
Phone: 757.382.6153
James Baker, City Manager
Phone: 757.382.6602
Colonel Kelvin Wright, Chief of Police
Phone: 757.382.6161

Mary Riley, Neighborhood Services Coordinator
Phone: 757.382.8184 mriley@cityofchesapeake.net

mailto:John.dooley@heartofcompassionpartnerships.com

mailto:pastorjon@ccconfire.org

mailto:durant.kreider@gmail.com

mailto:gstaylor@cityofchesapeake.net

mailto:mel.howell@heartofcompassionpartnerships.com

http://www.servethecitychesapeake.org/

http://www.heartofcompassionpartnerships.com/

mailto:mriley@cityofchesapeake.net

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APPENDIX 2: Cross the Line
(A Communication Piece used by Serve the City to share who we are.)
There’s a line in every city that separates the rich from the poor, the strong from the
weak, the have’s from the have-not’s. It’s a street, the train tracks, the river, a
sidewalk.

On one side there is safety, on the other there is danger. On one side there is security,
on the other, fear. On one side kids go to college, work pays well, needs are hidden
behind drawn curtains and consumable goods. On the other life is pretty raw.
It’s time to cross the line.
Serve the City mobilizes volunteers to show kindness in practical ways to people in
need. We partner with homeless shelters, refugee centers, orphanages, and other
associations invite volunteers to show kindness through practical help and support.
Serve the City projects are often simple: yard work, painting, games with children,
sports, basic home repairs, music, serving food, tutoring, visiting the elderly, and
cutting hair. We are the connection between the good intentions of people who could
serve and a meaningful opportunity to do so.
And that’s where it starts. We cross the line from where we are. But that’s not where it
stops. The dream of Serve the City is everyone serving. As quickly as possible we
invite those who have been served to join us in serving others.
Serve the City is for everyone. Start from where you are. Cross the line and serv e, but
do so armed with an invitation for those you meet on the other side to join you. It’s
a revolution, a serving revolution. And it’s going to change the world.
We know them by their needs. What if we knew them by name?
Cross the line. Serve the City.

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APPENDIX 3: Broken Window Theory
(A Criminological Theory developed by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling that
measures the effect of vandalism on the social order of urban society.)
At the community level, disorder and crime are usually inextricably linked, in a kind of
developmental sequence. Social psychologists and police officers tend to agree that if a window in a
building is broken and is left unrepaired, all the rest of the windows will soon be broken. This is as
true in nice neighborhoods as in rundown ones. Window breaking does not necessarily occur on a large
scale because some areas are inhabited by determined window breakers whereas others are populated
by window lovers; rather, one unrepaired broken window is a signal that no one cares, and so breaking
more windows costs nothing. (It has always been fun.)
We suggest that “untended” behavior also leads to the breakdown of community
controls. A stable neighborhood of families who care for their homes, mind each other’s children,
and confidently frown on unwanted intruders can change, in a few years or even a few months, to
an inhospitable and frightening jungle. A piece of property is abandoned, weeds grow up, a
window is smashed. Adults stop scolding rowdy children; the children, emboldened, become more
rowdy. Families move out, unattached adults move in. Teenagers gather in front of the corner
store. The merchant asks them to move; they refuse. Fights occur. Litter accumulates. People start
drinking in front of the grocery store; in time, an inebriate slumps to the sidewalk and is allowed to
sleep it off. Pedestrians are approached by panhandlers.
At this point it is not inevitable that serious crime will flourish or violent attacks on strangers
will occur. But many residents will think that crime, especially violent crime, is on the rise, and they will
modify their behavior accordingly. They will use the streets less often, and when on the streets they will
stay apart from their fellow neighbors, moving with averted eyes, silent lips, and hurried steps. “Don’t
get involved.” For some residents, this growing atomization will matter little, because the neighborhood
is not their “home” but “the place where they live.” Their interests are elsewhere; they are
cosmopolitans. But it will matter greatly to other people, whose lives derive meaning and satisfaction
from local attachments rather than worldly involvement. For them, the neighborhood will cease to
exist except for a few reliable friends whom they arrange to meet.
Such an area is vulnerable to criminal invasion. Though it is not inevitable, it is more likely
that here, rather than in places where people are confident they can regulate public behavior by
informal controls, drugs will change hands, prostitutes will solicit, and cars will be stripped. The
drunks will be robbed by boys who do it as a lark, and the prostitutes’ customers will be robbed by
men who do it purposefully and perhaps violently.

In summary, a neighborhood begins to improve when the neighborhood is cleaned up and
repairs are made to windows, fences, playgrounds, & houses etc.…People begin to care for their
properties and the quality of life and safety improve as the care and concern for the neighborhood
improve. If the people believe that the police, the city and the churches care, then the partnership
between the citizens of a community and the police, the city and the church can accomplish much to
improve the quality of life. In the end it is all about building relationships and trust. The churches
“earn the right to be heard” by “how well they care.” We all know that the message of Christ can bring
reconciliation. Often, the church is waiting for people to come to the church to receive reconciliation
rather than going and caring the way Christ has called us to go and care.
17

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Q._Wilson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_L._Kelling

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APPENDIX 4: Team Preparation
Neighborhood Interaction: Things to remember when interacting with
homeowners and members of the neighborhood:
1. Be prepared to explain (even if it’s been done before) who you are and
why you’re there.
a. Explain what Serve the City is and who is involved
(churches, Civic Leagues, Police Dept., City of Chesapeake)
b. Ask if they have questions
2. Respect them at all times. It’s their home and we’re here to serve them.
3. Respect their Privacy and Property
a. Make sure you have permission to enter their home or yard and to
start any work you have planned.
b. Don’t use anything or any part of their house, unless they offer it.
c. If you’re not sure, don’t assume…Ask permission.
4. Earn their trust. Don’t assume it.
a. Be humble and understanding if they are cautious towards you.
b. Don’t force yourself or your recommendations/ideas on them.
c. Communicate with them about what you’ll be doing, progress made,
when you’ll finish, etc….
5. Remember…we’re here to help, not hinder
a. Don’t start a job you can’t finish
b. Leave the job site cleaner than you found it.
6. Be flexible and patient
a. They may change their mind about what they want you to do
b. The scope of the job may change after you get started.
They may have things going on or changes in their schedule that affect your work
plans.

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APPENDIX Fa
SERMON OUTLINE
LIVING LIKE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST

INTRODUCTION: The question for today: What does it mean to live like a follower of Christ?
KEY UNDERSTANDING: To be like Jesus, we must be like the Father.
LIVING THE RIGHTEOUS LIFE—EZEKIEL 18:5-9
1. VV 5-6: Father God calls us to live in ____________________
 The mountain shrines and “the high places in Israel”, were the places of ill-repute that so
many of the kings refused to illuminate from the life of Israel.

2. V 7a-b: Father God calls us to live ______________________
 When I say charity, I’m talking about a big basket that holds a lot of other concepts like
forgiveness, mercy, kindness, compassion and grace. All these involve
________________________________.
 “For God so loved the world.” Father God says, “I want you to love the world the
way___________________________.
 The Scriptural basis of this portion of our text from Ezekiel
Exodus 22:26-27 (ESV) If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to
him before the sun goes down, for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in
what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

3. V 8a: Father God Calls us to live ____________________.
 Why does God want us to learn generosity? Answer: So we can______________
 Every time I give:
-_______________________________________
-_______________________________________
-_______________________________________
-_______________________________________
 Money is to be used as a _____________
-Money is to be used, people are _______________
4. V8b: Father God Calls us to live with ___________________.
 Integrity means _____________. It comes from the word “integral.”
 Integrity is the opposite of ___________________________
 Integrity is not ______________. It just means to be _____________ in applying your
___________.
5. V8c: Father Calls us to Live with ________________
“Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” Matt 5:9 (ESV)
“In everything you do, do to others what you’d have them do to you.” Matt 7:12 (NIV)

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6. V9a: Father God Call us to __________________________
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking.
Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Romans 12:2 (The
Message)
“Thy Word is a lamb unto my feet, and a light to my path.” Psalm 119:105 (NIV)
7. V9b: Father God Calls us to Live _______________
The righteous shall live by his faith. Habakkuk 2:4 (ESV) Without faith it is impossible to
please God. Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) According to your faith it will be done unto you. Matthew
9:29 (ESV) With God everything is possible. Matthew 19:26 (NLT)
8. V7c: Father God Calls us to ___________________________
“Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and
unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.” Ezekiel 16:49
“He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has
done.” Proverbs 19:17
WHO ARE THE POOR IN VIRGINIA?
 The Virginia poverty rate has not declined in 30 years.
 More Virginians in poverty are ____________________ and more are
_______________________ contradicting a common image of poverty.
THE POOR AND THE TEXT FROM EZEKIEL
 Right before we are told to take care of the poor, we are told not to steal. Paul tells us why:
Ephesians 4:28 “He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work…that he may
have something to share with those in need.”
 Ezekiel calls us to Sexual purity: Virginia families headed by women have a ____ chance of
being in poverty, compared to 4% of married families with children. If all Americans finished
high school, worked full time at whatever job they then qualified for, AND married at the same
rate Americans married in 1970, the poverty rate would be cut by _______.
 Ezekiel calls us not to charge interest: (These statistics come from aboutpayday.com)
_____ of borrowers are high school educated or less: _____ of the borrowers are hourly workers.
Of those who borrow $300-$400, it is necessary for ______ to refinance because they can’t pay it
back on time. Regarding the $401-$500 borrower, _______ have to refinance. And here’s why, if
you borrow $500 and pay it back in a month, the finance charge will be ________ and the interest
rate will be _______, totaling a _________ payback.
Summary
Ron Sider states, “God demands that God’s people share God’s special concern for the
poor…the Bible however, goes one shocking step further. God insist that if we do not imitate
God’s concern for the poor, we are not really God’s people—no matter how frequently our
worship or how orthodox our creeds: (Is 1:10-17; & 5:3-7; Jere 22:13-19; Amos 5:21-24; Matt
25:31-46; 1Jn 3:17)”
Serving the poor is not a path of “good works” that gets us into Heaven. Serving the poor rather,
is a path of obedience to God’s directive that leads us in the way of God’s favor. (John Dooley’s
dissertation.)

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APPENDIX Fb
SERMON
LIVING LIKE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST
Good Morning! The question I want to try to unpack today is this: What does it mean to live like
a follower of Christ? Now, to think that I can unpack that in one message strains the
reasonableness test. Why-because here, I’m not talking about the fleeting thought that comes
when our conscious causes us to ask, “I wonder if I should have done that? I hope I didn’t hurt
my witness.” What I’m talking here is a full blown analysis of what our everyday life should look
like. I mean, this is the stuff of focused, dedicated prayer over a period of time or on a spiritual
retreat.

So today, what I hope to accomplish is to provide you with are Cliff Notes, so YOU can delve
into what it takes to live a life that says, “I am a follower of Christ.” For each of the points, I
will just be touching on the point to introduce it and then move on to the next. Each of these
points in fact, is worthy of a sermon.

First, To be like Jesus, we must be like the Father. Why? Because Jesus said so. “I and the Father
are one.” Like Father—like Son. “I do nothing except what the Father tells me to do,” Jesus said.
So let’s see what the Father had to say about righteous living. For that, I would like to invite you
to look at a passage of Scripture in a surprising place. Join me please in EZEKIEL 18:5-9. (Ps 15)

1. VV5-6: Father God…1. CALLS US TO LIVE IN SEXUAL PURITY.
The mountain shrines and “the high places in Israel”, that are referred to so often in the Books of
1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles, and the prophets were the places of ill-repute that so
many of the kings refused to illuminate from the life of Israel—they were literally the XXX adult
pornography spots where one could watch…and or… take place in the activities that unfolded
there. And because of Israel’s refusal to shut them down, Israel saw its depravity take them
down. I have to believe Ezk had this in mind given his diatribe on the high places in 6:3-6. This
is why to our generation, that is so out of control as we heard this week in the news with stories
about Subway’s—Jared Fogel; AND family values spokesman—Josh Duggard, AND the
Ashley Madison website that promotes adultery—to this generation, I plead from my heart hear
me! God calls us to sexual purity.

2. V7a-b: Father God…2. CALLS US TO LIVE CHARITABLY.
If we want to live like a follower of Christ, we have to be willing to live a counter cultural
lifestyle, or the upside down-right side up life Pastor Marty spoke of last week. Now, when I say
Charity, I’m talking about a big basket that includes, forgiveness, mercy, kindness, compassion
and grace. All these things you see, are wrapped around the idea of showing love to people.
Is this counter culture? We live in a culture that says fight your enemies and love your friends.
Yet Jesus says in Matthew 5 “I’m telling you to love your enemies.” Now, I don’t know about
you, but I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to love my enemies. I’m just being honest. I don’t
want to love my enemies. And if I’ve loaned you something, I sure as God made little green

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apples, want to get it back, or at least seize your collateral, and by the way, I want your collateral
to be worth more than what you want to borrow. But Jesus says if you’re going to call yourself a
follower, you’ve got to do things the way I do them, and act with compassion.

Do you operate with an attitude of charity? When somebody irritates you at work or at school or
in your neighborhood…OR when somebody ticks you off…OR… when you’re out shopping and
you get a clerk who’s a jerk… do they bring out the best in you or the worst in you? Have you
ever been in line and helped the person in front of you checking out because they were short?
Have you have ever been in line and paid for the person behind you? God says show charity.
Give people a little forgiveness. Show them a little grace.

We’re not here to judge the world, Jesus said. It’s time for Christians to stop judging the world
and start loving it. “For God so loved the world.” Father God says I want you to love the world
the way I love you. Yes, we are in a battle of ideas, yes, there is a cultural battle going on over
the values that we believe in. But even the people who disagree with you… they aren’t the
enemy. They’re the mission field. They are people who Jesus died for. He wants them to know
His love as much as He wanted you to know His love.

Now, Ezekiel didn’t pull this godly standard out of the air, there is a very clear basis for it. Father
God is very clear about what He expects regarding our interactions with people. Look at w/ me:
Exodus 22:26-27 (ESV) If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to
him before the sun goes down, for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in
what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.

3. V8a: Father God…3. CALLS US TO LIVE GENEROUSLY
Why does God want us to learn generosity? Answer: So that we can be like Him. You see, God
is generous. In fact, 4 things: every time I give, it makes me more like Jesus. 2. Every time I
give, my heart grows bigger. 3. Every time I give, I break the grip of materialism in my life.
Why—because materialism is all about getting, getting, getting. So, 4. Every time I give I win a
spiritual victory. See, money is one of the strongest demonic gods we battle. That’s why it’s a
spiritual victory in my life when I give.

So is money the problem? After all, people say “The Bible says money is the root of all evil?” Is
that true? NO. It says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” That’s why money is to be
used as a tool. In fact, money is to be used, people are to be loved. That’s right—use money,
love people. When you get that reversed you’re in trouble because money becomes an idol in
your life. And when money becomes an idol…you start stepping over people…taking advantage
of them…and ripping them off to get more money. Money is to be used, people are to be loved.
Don’t ever reverse that. God says I want you to learn to be generous.

4. V8b: Father God…4. CALLS US TO LIVE WITH INTEGRITY.
What is integrity? Most people when asked will say integrity means being honest. Jesus blew
that idea out of the water with the Sermon on the Mount when He said, you say, do not commit
murder, but I say, get angry with your brother and call him a fool and you have committed
murder. You say, don’t commit adultery, but I say, look at someone lustfully and you’ve

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committed adultery. So, integrity means a whole lot more than being honest. Integrity means
wholeness. In fact, it comes from the word “integral.” Integrated – integer – one unit in
mathematics. IOWs, integrity is the opposite of compartmentalization.

Therefore, in our daily lives, integrity means you don’t act one way with one group of people
and another way with someone else. For example, if it’s…this is how I act at church, but this is
how I act with my golfing buddies, OR this is how I act at work and this is how I act at home,
then you’re playing the role of a hypocrite. So it’s possible to be honest and still lack integrity. I
might not steal, might even preach about it at work, but still have an affair going on, on the side.
In other words, I’ve compartmentalized my life.

Now, let me be clear. Integrity is not perfection. If you have to be perfect to have integrity
who’s going to have it? Nobody! So to have integrity, you just have to be consistent in applying
your values. In other words, my entire life must flow out of my relationship with Jesus. My
daughter Erin’s Christian friends…did you hear me…her Christian friends, do not understand
her. When they go to see a movie, if the filth starts flying, she gets up and leaves and they don’t
get it. What’s the big deal? You’re an adult. So she tells them, she will just meet them after the
movie for coffee or dinner or whatever the rest of the evening has in store. She doesn’t judge
them, she doesn’t make a scene. They are her friends, so she continues to love them and you
know what? There are some movies they will not go to now if Erin is along. Live with integrity.

5. V8c: Father Calls us…5. TO LIVE WITH CIVILITY
Father God wants us to be fair, and just, and civil with people who disagree with us. Sadly,
civility has become a counter culture value in our society. I don’t know if you’ve noticed it or
not, but people are just flat out rude today. Have you noticed that? At the heart of it is our
email/texting culture. People sit in front of their screens and vent in ways they would never
express themselves face to face…emails are really the coward’s way out.

And politics, oh my! I thought the last election cycle was bad. This one actually frightens me.
What’s happening? The greater our diversity becomes…the more divisive people are becoming,
and the media loves this. Talk shows live for people yelling at each other. In fact, I heard
recently a person say, “The quickest way to raise money is get an enemy. You can raise 10x the
money against something as you can for something.” That’s pathetic. Jesus said, I don’t want
you to be a legalistic crank who runs around talking about how everything is awful in the world.
I don’t want you to be criticizing everything.

Matthew 7:12 “In everything you do, do to others what you’d have them do to you.” This is
one of the most famous quotes of Jesus, what is it called? (The Golden Rule.) Do unto others as
you would have them do unto you. A word for that is civility. Civility is just treating other
people the way you’d like to be treated, even if you disagree with them. Even if they’re flat-out,
dead wrong. Even if they’re fighting against you. You treat them the way you would like to be
treated. That’s civility.

6. V9a: Father God…6) CALLS US TO LIVE BY HIS WORD

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What that means is, you don’t automatically accept the world’s values. You’re not sucked in by
popular culture. Just because it’s mentioned on some talk show or people think it’s hip or cool
does not mean it’s ok. No. You check it out in God’s Word. Paul said through the Holy Spirit
in the book of Romans Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it
without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside
out.
The problem is we are bombarded by media, and after a while you kind of let your guard down
and you start letting stuff into your mind that you wouldn’t agree with if you took the time to
filter it through the Scriptures. For instance, have you ever found yourself singing a song with
words that are the exact opposite of your values because it’s got catchy tune: “I wanna get drunk
and sleep around tonight.” I’m a believer, I probably shouldn’t be singing that you know what I
mean. And by the way, what’s so entertaining about watching people sleep around with
somebody else’s spouse. Jesus says you just need to be discerning and filter things through My
Word.

Let’s take a little survey here of intelligence. How many of you believe everything you read in
the newspaper OR hear on the radio or watch on the TV? Then here’s my question, Why do we
spend more time with something we don’t believe than we do believe? Psalm 119:105 says,
“Thy Word is a lamb unto my feet, and a light to my path.” Be discerning…live by God’s
Word.

7. V9b: Father God…7) Calls Us to Live Faithfully
This is the faith factor. Read these verses w/ me pls: Habakkuk 2:4 “The just shall live by
faith.” Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Matthew 9:29
“According to your faith it will be done unto you.” So God says when you come to Me and
you believe in Me the possibilities expand in enormous ways! In Matthew 19:26 Jesus says,
“With God everything is possible.” Do you believe what Scripture is saying here? If so, let me
challenge you to ponder in prayer, what this means for your life because our culture is starved for
witnesses of faith.
Mark shields on Friday’s PBS Newshour (Aug 21, 2015) shared the following stunning
statement, “In this age increasing secularism and decreasing church attendance, we received two
stunning statements of faith in the past several weeks. First was the families of the Charleston
shooting who immediately spoke of faith, and the second was President Jimmy Carter at his
extraordinary press conference today where he declared he was a man of faith and how ever
things went he was fine with it. [Jimmy Carter was found to have both brain and liver cancer
today.]
Okay, Father God is calling us to live in sexual purity, to live charitably, to live generously, to
live with integrity, to live with civility, to live according to His Word, to live faithfully,
and…finally, let’s go back to the verse I skipped that drove you beavers wild: V7c.

8. Father God CALLS US TO CARE FOR THE POOR
I find it very interesting that the Holy Spirit put this godly standard, right in the middle of the
bunch. It’s like He intentionally did it so that it could point both ways. And in fact, I believe
there is a Hebrew argumentation technique, where the most important point is found in the
middle…so that both ends of the argument move toward the peak. If that is in fact the case, or

224

even if it’s not, I say this verse is the most important point. Why would I say that—answer: the
fact that God loves the poor.

The poor and it’s derivation like widow, occurs more often in the Bible than salvation. And when
it does occur, it usually comes as a warning to either take care of the poor and the widows, or a
warning not to abuse or take advantage of the poor. There are a number of verses in this regard,
but the one that always causes me to catch my breath is this one: Ezekiel 16:49 “Now this was
the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned;
they did not help the poor and needy.” If that’s not enough, Proverbs says serving the poor and
the Lord are one in the same: Proverbs 19:17 “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD,
and he will reward him for what he has done.”

Who are the poor in Virginia? First, the Virginia poverty rate has not declined in 30 years. In
fact, the Brookings institute in 2009, reflecting on the economic collapse of 2008, said, “The
poverty rate will increase rapidly through 2011 and 2012 and will not return to its 2007 level for
more than 10 years.” They hit the bullseye in the center. Again, who are the poor? More
Virginians in poverty are white than non-white and more are working than not working
contradicting a common image of poverty.

Now, let’s turn to our text in Ezekiel again, and let me show you how that Hebrew
argumentation works. In our text for today, right before we are told to take care of the poor, we
are told not to steal. What does that have to do with the poor? Paul would not only say don’t
steal, but would go on to give a reason not to steal: Ephesians 4:28 “He who has been stealing
must steal no longer, but must work…that he may have something to share with those in
need.”

But it’s not just that portion of our text that relates to the poor, it is literally every phrase of our
Ezekiel text. For example, who is most effected by cultural value that says sexual purity is not
that important and that it is not necessary to have the father in the home? As you might have
guessed, it is the poor.

Besides venereal disease, which is now prolific among those in their 20’s, the most prolific
outcome of free sex—or carless sex—(because sometimes sex outside of marriage does not
happen because of misplaced values), is abortion and single parenthood. Now, while I have
statistics coming out my ears, I don’t have time coming out my ears, so let me give you just one
stunning statistic. (By the way, these come from the Poverty in Virginia Report from Virginia’s
2009 Poverty Task Force—a report Mel and I received while serving on the Governor’s Faith
Based Advisory Board.) Virginia families headed by women have a 60% chance of being in
poverty, compared to 4% of married families with children. One more, hang on, if all Americans
finished high school, worked full time at whatever job they then qualified for, AND married at
the same rate Americans married in 1970, the poverty rate would be cut by 70%. Ron Sider, one
of the foremost spokesman on the topic of poverty in the Evangelical world said this, “So many
studies have confirmed the correlation between single parenthood and poverty that scholars now
view as one of the best established findings in all of social scientific research. God calls us to

225

sexual purity—not to our detriment, but to our fullness of life. And that is why efforts such as
Pastor Marty’s Guard Your Heart training are so important.

Now what about the middle of V 7 before we are told to care for the poor where it says restore a
debtor’s pledge, and V 8 right after we’re told to care for the poor, where it says don’t lend your
money at interest. Again, what group is most affected by the violation of the godly standard
involving money lending? Answer: Of course, the poor.

Here I’ll point to just one area of abuse: Payday Loan statistics. These statistics come from
aboutpayday.com, a non-profit trying to get the word out about these predatory loans. 84% of
borrowers are high school educated or less. Therefore, this shouldn’t surprise you: 50% of the
borrowers are hourly workers. (This would be higher except for the fact that Active duty military
are 3x’s more likely to get a loan than civilians.) Of those who borrow $300-$400, it is necessary
for 65% to refinance because they can’t pay it back on time. Regarding the $401-$500 borrower,
70% have to refinance. And here’s why, if you borrow $500 and pay it back in a month
(remember it’s payday), the finance charge will be $700 and the interest rate will be 426%,
totaling a $1,200 payback.

Finally this morning, I’ve asked, “Who are the poor?” Now let me ask, “Why serve the spoor?”
Verse 8 of Ezekiel text calls us to live with integrity and V 9 calls us to live according to God’s
Word. As a result, if every aspect of our lives is to be guided and informed by the Scriptures, we
have to serve the poor. We cannot compartmentalize the poor in our lives, we cannot explain
them away as lazy or undeserving, there is no room in the Scriptures for that attitude. Whether it
is a call to serve, or making a decision on how to vote, it is all one life under God.

Ron Sider gives one more stunning observation, “God demands that God’s people share God’s
special concern for the poor…the Bible however, goes one shocking step further. God insist that
if we do not imitate God’s concern for the poor, we are not really God’s people—no matter how
frequently our worship or how orthodox our creeds: (Is 1:10-17; & 5:3-7; Jere 22:13-19; Amos
5:21-24; Matt 25:31-46; 1Jn 3:17)” So in closing, let me make one thing clear and ask you to
pray about it.

Loved ones, serving the poor is not a path of “good works” that gets us into Heaven. Serving the
poor rather, is a path of obedience to God’s directive that leads us in the way of God’s favor.
May you know the blessing and favor of living your life like a follower of Christ.

226

APPENDIX G
SAMPLE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
CAREER ACCESS NETWORK Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
Opportunity Inc. of Hampton Roads
And
Heart of Compassion Partnerships, Inc.

INTRODUCTION: The Hampton Roads Career Access Network (CAN) locations connect individuals to career related
information and services within their communities. Services are provided through a partnership with Opportunity Inc.
of Hampton Roads and local community organizations, agencies, public school systems, post secondary educational
institutions and municipalities. CANs offer essential career exploration, job search assistance, labor market
information, financial literacy education and employer recruitment activities. They enhance the ability of individuals to
have access to specialized training in adult and youth workforce development subject matters delivered through a
virtual on-demand career portal, scheduled individual assistance, a calendar of available workshops and a robust
series of career related events.
This MOU describes the mutual partnership between Opportunity Inc. of Hampton Roads, 500 East Plume Street,
Suite 700, Norfolk, VA 23510, on behalf of The Hampton Roads Workforce Development Board, hereinafter referred
to as “OppInc.” and Heart of Compassion Partnerships, 816 Kempsville Road, Chesapeake, VA 23320 – 5002.
Hereinafter referred to as “Career Access Network” for the purpose of assisting individuals ages 14 and up to receive
career related services described above.

PARTNERSHIP DESCRIPTION:
OppInc. agrees to provide The Career Access Network with the following under this MOU:
1. Assigned OppInc. staff support for coordination and to facilitate access to additional community resources.
2. Regular opportunities for training for Career Access Network volunteers.
3. Continuous up to date resources and information, as available and as appropriate.
4. Technical assistance with OppInc. online career resources.
5. Facilitation and assistance with career related workshops and events.

The Career Access Network agrees to provide the following under this MOU:
1. Host a publicly accessible Career Access Network physical site, consisting of a computer with internet
access and a trained operator.
2. Public access to the physical site at least four (4) hours each week at the Career Access Network.
3. Publicity for the Career Access Network’s career related services to the local community.
4. An operator to attend at least one (1) required orientation training.
5. A periodic report documenting activities and information related to the Career Access Network.

227

RELATIONSHIP: The Career Access Network understands that its’ relationship to OppInc., and The Hampton Roads
Workforce Development Board, is that of an independent entity and agrees to abide by all applicable federal, State
and local laws and rules, to include but not be limited to, those ensuring non-religious use of the Career Access
Network during operating hours, religious liberty, equal opportunity protection and non-discrimination.

DURATION OF AGREEMENT AND MODIFICATION AND TERMINATION PROCESS: This MOU shall become
effective upon the date signed and shall remain in force until either modified or terminated by either party in writing.

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURES:

Signature for OppInc.

Authorized Signature for The CAREER ACCESS
NETWORK
Heart of Compassion Partnerships, Inc.

Shawn Avery
President & CEO

Dr. John Dooley
Founder and President

DATE: DATE:

228

APPENDIX H
BUILDING NETWORKS OF HOPE: A PLANNING GUIDE

Introduction
 In preparing for a ministry outreach to the poor, like any venture you would endeavor to
undertake, it is important to know exactly what you are up against. Therefore, it is
strategically essential to understand that Satan owns our urban areas.
 What is the basis for such a statement?
 First is the fact that until Jesus returns, Satan owns the whole earthly realm. In
other words, this is his playground of destruction: 1 John 5:19.
 There are few Christians who understand this fact. They are under the
delusion that because of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the defeated
enemy has no sway. The enemy may be defeated, but until Jesus returns,
the Apostle John does not want us to be deceived. This remains his realm
until the final trumpet sounds. (Meditate on the implications of this.)
 The second piece of evidence lies in the condition of our urban areas. Few places
are as wrought with human devastation as the urban areas of the world. This
condition is emblematic of the enemy: John 10:10.
 Sadly, few places offer this picture like our urban areas. They are indeed
place where the enemy actively steals dreams, kills vision, and destroys
hope. (Here: Offer examples from your urban area that fit this
description.)
 You must therefore, lay a foundation of prayer.

I. Prayer
 Do not attempt this ministry outreach, without first establishing a prayer team dedicated
to covering you and all involved with prayer.
 Seek Father God for vision: What area of the city am I being asked to reach? What is it
that Father God wants done? (home repair, park clean-up, lawn care, painting, etc.)
 Begin interceding for the city on a daily basis. Ask Father God to break your heart for the
city. (Remember Jesus wept over the city: Luke 19:41)

229

II. Commitment
 Commit in your heart to the area: This is the place by the will of God that I will live out
my days.
 Fall in love with the area: Are you willing to be buried in this land?
 Commit to know the city – the entire city, every part of the city. When someone talks
about an area of the city, be able to picture it in your mind.

III. Relationship Building
 Why is networking so important? Is it biblical? Study the following passages:
Isaiah 41:6-7 and Matthew 11:29-30 (Principle of yoking)
 Do a personal study on the principle of unity: begin with John 17, 1 Corinthians 12:12-
20 & 2 Corinthian 8:1-15
 Which areas of the city are in greatest need? Identify the churches and civic leagues in
these areas. Begin to visit the pastors of these churches. Attend civic league meetings to
get a feel for the issues certain neighborhoods are facing.
 Visit area churches in the suburbs and identify those who are willing to work together in
unity with the Body of Christ to reach beyond their immediate neighborhood.
 Propose the idea of working together to serve the city at area pastors meetings.
 Begin to compile a list those who might be willing to come together to serve the city.
1) Who is already doing the work that needs to be done? (non-profits, churches, etc.)
2) Should I partner with the government? Is it biblical? (Genesis 41:33-40 & 45:4-11.)
3) What governmental agencies might be willing to work with me? (Neighborhood
Services, Police, Sheriff, the Courts.)
4) Are there business people in any of the congregations who might be willing to help?
5) Will the schools be willing to work with me? How can the churches serve the
schools?

230

APPENDIX I
FURTHER READING FOR GROWTH AND UNDERSTANDING
Faith-Based Sources on Compassion Ministry
Bakke, Ray and Sam Roberts. The Expanded Mission of City Center Churches. Chicago, IL:
International Urban Associates, 1998.
———. The Urban Christian: Effective Ministry in Today’s Urban World. Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1997.
Bernard, Daniel. City Impact: How to Unify, Empower, and Mobilize God’s people to Transform
their Communities. Grand Rapids, MI: Chosen Books, 2004.
Campolo, Anthony. Revolution and Renewal: How Churches are Savings Our Cities. Louisville,
KY: Westminster John Know Press, 2000.
Carle, Robert D. and Samuel Roberts, eds. Signs of Hope in the City. Valley Forge, PA: Judson
Press, 1997.
Christensen, Michael J. City Streets, City People: A Call for Compassion. Nashville, TN:
Abingdon Press, 1988.
Claerbaut, David. Urban Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1983.
Claman, Victor N., David E Bulter, and Jessica A Boyatt. Acting on Your Faith: Congregations
Making a Difference. Boston, MA: Insights Inc, 1994.
Conn, Harvie and Manuel Ortiz. Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City, and the People of God.
Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001.
Conn, Harvie M. A Clarified Vision for Urban Mission: Dispelling the Urban Stereotypes. Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing, 1987.
Franklin, Robert M. Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in African American Communities.
Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2007.
Fuder, John. A Heart for the City: Effective Ministries to the Urban Community. Chicago, IL:
Moody Press, 1999.
Gordon, Wayne L. Real Hope in Chicago. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995.
Gornik, Mark R. To Live in Peace: Biblical Faith and the Changing Inner City. Grand Rapids,
MI: Williams B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1999.
Green, Clifford, ed. Churches, Cities, and Human Community: Urban Ministry in the Unites
States 1945-1985. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1996.
Greenway, Roger S., ed. Discipling the City: A Comprehensive Approach to Urban Mission.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1992.

231

———. Discipling the City: Theological Reflections on Urban Mission. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Book House, 1979.
Harper, Nile. Urban Churches Vital Signs: Beyond Charity Toward Justice. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Books, 2003.
Harris, James H. The Courage to Lead: Leadership in the African American Urban Church.
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002.
Hull, John Royce, Jr. “The spiritual Disciplines as Empowerment for Compassion.” D.Min. diss.,
School of Theology Fuller Theological Seminary, 2000.
Jacobsen, Eric O. Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith. Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker, 2003.
———. Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and the Christian Faith. Grand Rapids, MI:
Brazos Press, 2003.
Jones, Joseph Edward Sr. “A Collaborative Model for the Church Leading a Faith-Based Public-
Private Partnership to Reduce Health Disparities in Underserved Communities.” D.Min.
diss., United Theological Seminary, 2008.
Keller, Timothy J. Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road. Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan, 1989.
Kjeseth, Peter L. “Leveling With His Disciples: ‘Blest are you poor,’ says Jesus-then and now.”
The Lutheran, February 2001, 2001, 12-16.
Kloetzli, Walter. The City Church – Death or Renewal; A Study of Eight Urban Lutheran
Churches. Philadelphia, PA: Muhlenberg Press, 1961.

Neder, N Charles. “Project Partnership: A Strategy for the Church Partnering with Parents.”
D.Min. diss., Fuller Theological Seminary, 2002.
Perkins, John M., ed. Restoring At-Risk Communities: Doing it Together and Doing it Right.
Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995.
———. and Jo Kadlecek. Resurrecting Hope. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 1995.
Rickenbacker, Patricia Jean Marshall. “Church, School, Parents, in Collaboration to Improve
Academic Performance in ‘At Risk’ Populations.” D.Min. diss., United Theological
Seminary, 2001.
Sanford, Agnes. The Healing Gifts of The Spirit. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers,
1966.
Schaller, Lyle E. Center City Churches: The New Urban Frontier. Nashville, TN: Abingdon
Press, 1993.

232

Sherman, Amy L. Restorers of Hope: Reaching the Poor in Your Community with Church-based
Ministries That Work. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1997.
Sider, Ronald J., Living Like Jesus: Eleven Essentials for Growing a Genuine Faith, Grand
Rapids, Baker Books, 1996.
Stafford, Tim. “How Tim Keller Found Manhattan: The pastor of Redeemer Church is becoming
an international figure because he’s a local one.” Christianity Today, June 2009, 20-26.
Winter, Bruce W. Seek the Welfare of the City: Christians as Benefactors and Citizens. Grand
Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, 1994.
Winter, Gibson. The Suburban Captivity of the Churches: An Analysis of Protestant
Responsibility in the Expanding Metropolitan Area. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1961.
Younger, George D. The Church and Urban Power Structures. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster
Press, 1963.
———. The Church and Urban Power Structures. Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1963.
———. The Church and Urban Renewal. Philadelphia, PA: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1965.

Secular Sources on Community Organizing and the History of Service Delivery
Bellah, Robert et al. Habits of the Heart. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985.
Boyte, H. C. and N. N. Kari. Building America: The Democratic Promise of Public Work.
Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 1996.
———.C. Everyday Politics: Reconnecting Citizens and Public life. Philadelphia, PA:
University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004.
———.C. “What is Public Work?.” 2002. Monograph available from the Center for Democracy
and Citizenship. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN.
www.publicwork.org.
Connell, J.P., A.. Kubish, L. Schorr, and C. Weiss, eds. New Approaches to Evaluating
Community Initiatives: Concepts, Methods, and Contexts. Washington D.C.: Aspen
Institute, 1995.

Obama, Barack. Dreams From My Father. New York, NY: Three Rivers Press, 1995.

Wandersman, A. and P. Florin. Citizen Participation and Community Organization. Handbook
of Community Psychology (pp. 247-272), ed. J. Rappaport and E. Seidman. New York,
NY: Kluwer/Plenum, 2003.

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PURDUE UNIVERSITY
GRADUATE SCHOOL
Thesis/Dissertation Acceptance
Department
Julia Thompson
Engineering Community Engagement Partnerships: Investigating Motivation, Nature and Structure
Doctor of Philosophy
Brent Jesiek
Alice Pawley
William Oakes
Dwight Giles
Brent Jesiek
Ruth Streveler 12/11/2014
To the best of my knowledge and as understood by the student in the Thesis/Dissertation Agreement,
Publication Delay, and Certification/Disclaimer (Graduate School Form 32), this thesis/dissertation
adheres to the provisions of Purdue University’s “Policy on Integrity in Research” and the use of
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ENGINEERING COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PARTNERSHIPS:
INVESTIGATING MOTIVATION, NATURE, AND STRUCTURE
A Dissertation
Submitted to the Faculty
of
Purdue University
by
Julia D. Thompson
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
of
Doctor of Philosophy
May 2015
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana

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This dissertation is dedicated to all those who are studying engineering.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Although it is my name on the front of this document, this journey was not taken
alone. Amazing individuals accompanying me walked along side, pushed, pulled and
held me up at various points. I want to take this time to thank these people, because
without them, I could not do it.
First, I want to give my gratitude to the department as a whole, which is set up to
be an incubator for exploration in the engineering education domain. I was surrounded by
individuals who encouraged me to thrive and shared my passion. The rich conversations
in the hallways and the thought provoking courses allowed me to deconstruct my notion
of engineering education, so I can rebuild it – and then deconstruct it again. The
professors of my classes, including Alice Pawley, Robin Adams, Monica Cox, Ruth
Streveler, Demetra Evangelu, Nadine Dolby, Riall Nolan and David Radcliff encouraged
and supported me. For each of these individuals, I can point to times when they touched
me, and let me know that I could do it. That I was capable of becoming a doctor.
My colleagues in the department provided me with a space to investigate research
ideas, as well as deep friendships. I want to acknowledge the support I received from
Mel Chua, Cole Joslyn, Andrea Mazzurco, Kavitha Ramane, Mariana Tufur, James Huff,
Deepika Sangam, Qin Zhu, and Kelsey Rogers to name a few. I am extremely grateful to
have been able to have this time of my life and my research adventures with these
incredibly brilliant and loving individuals. These friendships will last a lifetime, and I
look forward to see their own progress in the coming years.
The single most influential person of my journey has been my advisor, Brent
Jesiek. He has pushed me when I needed to be pushed, and many times told me to take a
deep breath and examine the situation when I needed that. His open door policy allowed
me to come in and talk through ideas in research, and lean on him during periods of high

stress. He was an excellent advocate for me, as I knew that he would support me if any
challenges would come. I could not have gotten through this journey without his
guidance, support and belief in me.
The other committee members on my dissertation, Alice Pawley, William Oakes,
and Dwight Giles, Jr., where amazing researchers who went above and beyond their duty
to insure that I had the needed research support, and my methodology and findings were
grounded. I am completely blessed that I had a committee that believed in me, and
wanted me to succeed.
Outside of the campus environment, I had my family, and the community in
Lafayette. My Father came every summer to visit me during my time here, and he helped
me move multiple times. He and my Brother were regularly an ear to my troubles. My
Nom traveled to Lafayette three times in the months leading up to my defense, cooking,
cleaning and packing. Doing the needed housework that I did not have the time or
energy for. Both my parents were a source of continuous love and support, and I am
grateful.
From one of my first weeks at Purdue, I started going to a group in Lafayette,
Drinking Liberally. This is a group of liberally minded individuals who meet every
Thursday night at the Lafayette Brewing Company. Over the years, these people became
like a local family for me. Checking in on my progress, encouraging me, and being a
source of joy. I want to give special thanks to Meredith Richmond, Cecilia and Nick
Lebonte, Whitney Williams, Matt Woenker, Ben Alkire, Leslie Alvin, Stewart, Warren
Ekels, and Walt and Emma Dalsimer. Without your company, support and friendship my
time would have been much different. In addition, I also want to give a special
acknowledgment to Yixi Yang, a roommate of mine who took salsa dancing with me, and
Gipsy Durzo, who provided me with a creative outlet and regular home cooked meals.
Last, but not least, I want to give appreciation to my partner Elizabeth Trybula,
who supported me in many ways during the dissertation phase. She was a source of joy
and adventure. She knew what I needed when I had reached my tipping point. Even
though she was on the other side of the world during the actual defense, she hired movers

and cleaners for the house, and made sure there was a pitcher of margaritas waiting
during the celebratory dinner. With her support, I was able to do it.
Again, thanks everyone for helping me. We did it ☺.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. x
LIST OF FIGURES ……………………………………………………………………………………………… xi
ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. xii
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………………………………………. 1
1.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
1.2 Defining Key Concepts ………………………………………………………………………………. 4
1.3 Outline of the Chapters ………………………………………………………………………………. 6
CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ………………………………………………………………….. 9
2.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 9
2.2 Historical Perspectives on Engineering Community Engagement ………………….. 10
2.3 Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Problem Based Service Learning (PBSL) in
Engineering …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17
2.4 Service Learning Research Overview …………………………………………………………. 20
2.4.1 Partnerships in Service Learning Research …………………………………………….. 24
2.4.2 Review for Research Question 1: Motivations and Challenges of Community
Partners ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 25
2.4.3 Review for Research Question 2: Theoretical Models of the Nature and
Structure of Partnerships ……………………………………………………………………… 28
2.4.3.1 Structure of Partnerships ………………………………………………………………… 29
2.4.3.2 Nature of Partnerships ……………………………………………………………………. 31
2.4.3.3 Relating Structure and Nature …………………………………………………………. 36
2.4.4 Review for Research Question 3: Where is the Project in Project-Based
Service Learning?……………………………………………………………………………….. 37

vii

Page
2.5 Summary of the Literature Review …………………………………………………………….. 38
CHAPTER 3. METHODS …………………………………………………………………………………… 40
3.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 40
3.2 Case Study Research Strategy ……………………………………………………………………. 42
3.3 Methodology …………………………………………………………………………………………… 43
3.4 Site Selection …………………………………………………………………………………………… 44
3.4.1 EPICS at Purdue University …………………………………………………………………. 45
3.4.2 GPP at Worcester Polytechnic Institute …………………………………………………. 47
3.4.3 Community Playground Project at LSU …………………………………………………. 48
3.4.4 Summary Overview of the Programs …………………………………………………….. 50
3.5 Data Collection ………………………………………………………………………………………… 55
3.6 Data Analysis ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 59
3.6.1 Data analysis for Research Question 1 …………………………………………………… 59
3.6.2 Data analysis for Research Question 2 and 3 ………………………………………….. 61
3.6.2.1 Phase 1: The Phillips-Ward Framework …………………………………………… 61
3.6.2.2 Phase 2a: The TCC Framework for GPP-US …………………………………….. 65
3.6.2.3 Phase 2b: The TCC Framework for the CPP and EPICS Cases …………… 74
3.6.2.4 Research Question 2 and 3 Phase 3: Comparison of the Three Sites ……. 75
3.6.2.5 Reporting the Frequency of Findings ……………………………………………….. 75
3.7 Trustworthiness ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 76
3.8 Conclusion of the Methods ……………………………………………………………………….. 79
CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS FROM RESEARCH QUESTION 1 ………………………………… 80
4.1 Introduction for Research Question 1 Findings ……………………………………………. 80
4.2 Theme 1: Motivations Connected with the University Students ……………………… 83
4.2.1 Students: Learning Objectives ……………………………………………………………… 85
4.2.2 Student: Community Engagement ………………………………………………………… 88
4.2.3 Student: Professional Development ………………………………………………………. 91
4.2.4 Student: Personal Growth …………………………………………………………………….. 94
4.2.5 Student: Combining Social Responsibility and Professionalism ……………….. 97

viii

Page
4.3 Theme 2: Motivations Connected with Personal Benefits ……………………………… 99
4.3.1 Personal: Educating …………………………………………………………………………… 100
4.3.2 Personal: Community Engagement ……………………………………………………… 101
4.3.3 Personal: Connections ……………………………………………………………………….. 103
4.3.4 Personal: Learning and Professional development ………………………………… 107
4.4 Theme 3: Organizational Motivations ……………………………………………………….. 110
4.4.1 Organizational: Products/Process ………………………………………………………… 111
4.4.2 Organizational: Expertise …………………………………………………………………… 116
4.4.3 Organizational: Partnerships ………………………………………………………………. 118
4.4.4 Organizational: Broader Impacts ………………………………………………………… 120
4.5 Discussion for Research Question 1 ………………………………………………………….. 123
4.6 Implications and Recommendations …………………………………………………………. 125
4.7 Conclusion for Research Question 1 …………………………………………………………. 127
CHAPTER 5. FINDINGS FROM RESEARCH QUESTION 2 & 3………………………… 128
5.1 Introduction for Research Question 1 ……………………………………………………….. 128
5.2 Theme 1: Purpose …………………………………………………………………………………… 131
5.3 Theme 2: Overall Structure ……………………………………………………………………… 140
5.3.1 Overall Structural Influence of EPICS …………………………………………………. 142
5.3.2 Overall Structural Influence of GPP-US ………………………………………………. 149
5.3.3 Overall Structural Influence of CPP …………………………………………………….. 152
5.3.4 Evaluation of the Overall Structure’s Influence of the Programs …………….. 158
5.4 Theme 3: Partnering Agency ……………………………………………………………………. 159
5.5 Theme 4: Individuals ………………………………………………………………………………. 170
5.5.1 Individuals in EPICS and GPP ……………………………………………………………. 170
5.5.2 Individuals in CPP …………………………………………………………………………….. 173
5.5.3 Evaluation of Individual’s Influence in the Nature of the Partnerships …… 176
5.6 Theme 5: Projects …………………………………………………………………………………… 177
5.6.1.1 Transactional Projects ………………………………………………………………….. 179
5.6.1.2 Cooperative Projects ……………………………………………………………………. 186

Page
5.6.1.3 Communal Projects ……………………………………………………………………… 191
5.6.1.4 Conclusion of Project Theme ………………………………………………………… 194
5.7 Theme 6: The role of Students …………………………………………………………………. 195
5.8 Overview of the Research Question 2 and 3 ………………………………………………. 197
CHAPTER 6. DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, & CONCLUSION ……………. 201
6.1 Introduction for the Discussion, Recommendations, and Conclusion ……………. 201
6.2 Discussion …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 201
6.2.1 Technocratic Culture Influence on each of the Programs ……………………….. 202
6.2.2 Review of the TCC framework …………………………………………………………… 204
6.2.3 Contributions to the Literature ……………………………………………………………. 211
6.2.3.1 Contributions to the Service Learning Literature ……………………………… 211
6.2.3.2 Contribution to the Learning Through Service (LTS) Community …….. 214
6.2.3.3 Contribution to Engineering Education Community ………………………… 216
6.3 Recommendations for Programs ………………………………………………………………. 218
6.3.1 Purpose ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 218
6.3.2 Overall Structure ………………………………………………………………………………. 221
6.3.3 Type of Agency ………………………………………………………………………………… 222
6.3.4 Individuals ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 223
6.3.5 Projects ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 223
6.3.6 The Intersection of Students and the Curriculum …………………………………… 224
6.4 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 225
6.4.1 Limitations and Future Research …………………………………………………………. 225
6.4.2 Personal Desires and Next Steps …………………………………………………………. 228
REFERENCES …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 229
APPENDICES
Appendix A Interview Questions …………………………………………………………………. 240
Appendix B Participation Email ………………………………………………………………….. 243
Appendix C Participation Consent Form ………………………………………………………. 244
VITA ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 246

LIST OF TABLES
Table ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Page
Table 2-1: Synthesis of Motivations from the Literature Review ………………………………. 28
Table 3-1: Overview of Methods ………………………………………………………………………….. 41
Table 3-2: Program Characteristics Comparison of EPICS, GPP-US and CPP
Community Engagement Programs based on the Twelve Categories
identified by McCahan et. al (2012) …………………………………………………….. 51
Table 4-1: Motivation based on Participant ……………………………………………………………. 82
Table 4-2: Motivations Connected to Students’ Learning based on Role ……………………. 83
Table 4-3: Motivation Connected to Personal based on Role ……………………………………. 99
Table 4-4: Motivations Connected to Organizational Benefits based on Role …………… 111
Table 4-5: Synthesis of Motivations from the Literature Review and Findings …………. 123
Table 5-1: Overview of the Codes for each Interviewee ……………………………………….. 130
Table 5-2: Characteristics of Projects ………………………………………………………………….. 179

LIST OF FIGURES
Figure ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. Page
Figure 2-1: Bringle et al. (2009) SOFAR model ……………………………………………………… 30
Figure 3-1: Center A – An image of MS Excel worksheet highlighting the Phillips-
Ward framework dimension for extent dimension. ………………………………… 63

xii

ABSTRACT
Thompson, Julia D., Ph.D., Purdue University, May 2015. Engineering Community
Engagement Partnerships: Investigating Motivation, Nature, and Structure. Major
Professor: Brent K. Jesiek.

Engineering community engagement programs have increased in popularity over
the last decade or so, with related research and scholarship in this area focused primarily
on student motivation and learning outcomes. Since 2000, however, the wider service-
learning field has started investigating partnerships and community voice. Building from
the existing service-learning literature, this study aims to better understand community-
university partnerships in engineering community engagement programs from the
perspectives of both the academic program and the served community. This study
addresses three research questions: (1) Why are individuals and local community
organizations involved in engineering service-learning partnerships?, (2) How does
engineering community engagement program structure relate to the nature of the
partnerships?, and (3) What is the role of the project in community engagement
partnerships?
A multi-site case study approach was used to address these questions, which
included interviews with community partners, faculty, and program administrators at
three engineering community engagement programs at three different U.S. universities
each of which maintains long-term domestic partnerships. These cases include:
Engineering Projects In Community Service (EPICS) at Purdue University, select U.S.
project centers for Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Global Projects Program (GPP-US),
and the Community Playground Project (CPP) at Louisiana State University (LSU).
Primary study participants were advisors, community partners, administrators and
students (n=30) who are familiar with the partnerships and programs. From Spring 2011

xiii

to Spring 2014, I conducted semi-formal interviews with them about their experiences.
Informal conversation and observations, as well as literature and program policy
materials, were also used to triangulate findings. Data analysis and reporting were carried
out as separate procedures for the first research question and then the second and third
questions together.
Data analysis for the first question, on motivation, involved use of deductive
codes, based on previous research examining service learning partnerships not specific to
engineering, along with inductive analysis using a combination of thematic analysis and
typological analysis. The motivations of the programs and partners/sponsors were
organized in three categories: motivations connected to students, personal motivation,
and organizational motivations. Most of the motivations found within this study are
similar to motivations found in other service learning literature. However, there were
some differences between the stakeholders, with the community partners more likely to
focus on having the students learn about the specific organizations, while the advisors
were more likely to focus on the learning objectives of the course.
The second and third research questions involved two phases of analysis. The first
involved application of the Phillips-Ward framework in an attempt to find the stage of
development of each partnership under investigation, and the second phase involving
development and use of the Transactional, Cooperative, and Communal (TCC)
framework for coding the data. The TCC framework categorizes interactions and
activities as: transactional, which increases the boundaries between stakeholders;
cooperative, which attempts to blur the boundaries; and communal, which transcends the
boundaries for a higher purpose. Additionally, six structural themes were found to
influence the nature of the partnerships: program purpose and objectives, overall program
structure, type of partnering agencies, characteristics of participating individuals, types of
projects, and the role of students.
The findings from this study contribute to the existing literature in at least three
major ways. First, they provide additional insights about how engineering community
engagement partnerships can be examined as a series of relationships among individuals
and/or as organizations. Second, the research findings, and specifically the TCC

xiv

framework, can help support programs within the engineering community engagement
programs reflect on and improve their relationships with their partner organizations and
wider communities. And third, findings suggest how a project-based approach, coupled
with the TCC framework, can further expand the ontology of engineering. That is, by
having engineers work with community, the students’ mindsets can be challenged, and
their way of doing engineering and being engineers could essentially transform. I
conclude the study with an overview of the limitations and future research, as well as my
desired outcomes and next steps. It is my hope that community engagement programs
will reflect on the desired nature of their own partnerships and make intentional decisions
to align the purpose of the program with the structure of the program (including policies
and procedures), the type of agencies they work with, the individuals involved, and the
projects they do. This way, the programs will more likely reflect the nature of the
partnerships they wish to cultivate.

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
During my time as an undergraduate chemical engineering student, I had an
epiphany that the current engineering educational system was disconnected from social
context, and this educational system resulted in engineers who had high levels of
technical training yet did not have the social skills and awareness needed in our current
society. At that time I discovered my passion: to bridge the gap between engineering and
social implication. From when I graduated in 2006 until 2008, I worked as an energy
consultant, analyzing energy efficacy programs for industrial and commercial
organizations. Then in 2009, I decided to enter graduate school in engineering education
to expand and build upon my personal passion.
In Fall 2010, I was supported by a Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) grant to
research university-community partnerships in the context of engineering Project-Based
Service Learning (PBSL) programs. During this period, I had discussions with
administrators of the two interdisciplinary engineering PBSL programs at Purdue: Global
Design Teams (GDTs) and Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS). I
decided to focus on EPICS since the administrators displayed an interest in the topic and
saw value in better understanding the motivations of their partner organizations.
Additionally, EPICS had been established for fifteen years, which meant the partners
knew the students and the program well, and I could conduct a larger number of
interviews with the local EPICS partners.
This study expanded the project to include engineering community engagement
programs at three universities: Purdue University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and
Louisiana State University. The difference between service learning and community
engagement is discussed in the definition section. Focusing on partnerships in the United

States (US) allowed me to talk with more organizations, get a richer sense of what
engineering partnerships are like within the US, and understand how these partnerships
impact their local communities.
Engineering community engagement can be seen as part of a wider movement
across academia to create both curricular and extracurricular experiences where students
have opportunities to serve local and/or global stakeholders. Such programs allow
students to practice engineering in context while being a part of a larger community and
providing service to others, thereby helping to bridge the gap between technical
knowledge and its application.
There are many types of community engagement programs within engineering,
such as students who work as tutors to teach science and engineering topics at local
schools (Berkeley Engineers And Mentors [BEAM], 2013), build a kiosk for a local
children’s museum (Engineering Projects In Community Service [EPICS], 2012), or
design appropriate technologies for remote villages (Duffy, 2008). Much of the prior
research on engineering community engagement has focused primarily on students.
Bielefeldt, Paterson, and Swan (2009) outline four areas of research that have focused on
students. The first is knowledge and skills, specifically knowledge and skills associated
with ABET criteria and other knowledge outlined by professional associations. The
second area is attitude and identity, which is seen as a long-term transformation in
students, and has been a focus of research on Purdue’s EPICS program and the Service
Learning Integrated throughout the College of Engineering (SLICE) program at UMass
Lowell, both of which have long-term histories. The third area focuses on recruitment
and retention, highlighting that engineering service learning is more likely to attract
women and racially/ethnically underrepresented groups into engineering. The final area is
professional performance. Research on this area focuses on the professional trajectory of
students and the involvement of companies sponsoring community engagement
experiences.
However, little research to date has focused on the experiences of the community
partners, which is somewhat surprising given that their participation makes such
programs possible. This study aims to fill this gap by developing a richer understanding

of community-university partnerships in engineering community engagement from the
perspectives of academic programs and served communities. The specific research
questions I ask are:

1. Why are individuals and local community organizations involved in
engineering community engagement partnerships? Relevant sub-questions
include: How do community members describe the motivations of their
involvement in engineering community engagement? Does this differ from
community members in other kinds of community engagement experiences?
And what do the program and faculty perceive to be the motivations and
challenges of community partners?
2. How does engineering community engagement program structure relate to the
nature of the partnerships? The relevant sub-question is: How does the
program structure support and/or hinder the partnerships between the
engineering community engagement program and the community with which
they work?
3. What is the role of the project in community engagement partnerships?

Now is a pivotal time to systematically include the community partner’s voice in
the research on engineering community engagement partnerships, especially to better
understand the dynamics of partnerships from the perspective of organizations and
communities. Engineering community engagement has increased in the last two decades
and communities’ voice has had limited inclusion in research (Bielefeldt et al., 2009).
However, community perspectives have been a focus of research in the general service
learning literature for more than a decade (Bringle & Clayton, 2012). This research will
address this gap in the extant literature by exploring partnerships at three sites:
Engineering Programs In Community Service (EPICS) at Purdue University (West
Lafayette, Indiana), Global Project Program United States project centers (GPP-US) at
Worcester Polytechnic Institution (WPI) (Worcester, Massachusetts), and Community
Playground Project (CPP) at Louisiana State University (LSU) (Baton Rouge, Louisiana).

This study will examine the research and frameworks developed in the general service
learning literature and build from them to understand the community engagement
partnerships in engineering.
This study makes a number of contributions to both the engineering education and
wider service learning fields. The first question will help clarify any misunderstandings
that the engineering programs and community have relative to partner motivations and
challenges. These findings can be presented to community partners to help them make
more informed decisions, especially as these findings explain appropriate expectations
when working with engineering service learning programs and students. The results can
also help programs run better. If the university intends to serve the community,
understanding the challenges and benefits of the community and its organizations will
allow community engagement programs to improve their processes accordingly. The
second question will link the nature of the partnership to the structure of community
engagement programs, which will help clarify how program elements may benefit – or
detract from – partnerships. These findings can provide insight for improving program
structures and may also inform further investigations of international partnerships by
providing a baseline of US partnerships. The third question potentially offers original
insights by showing how projects function within the partnerships. Project-based learning
is common within engineering engagement programs, and all the sites in this study
focused on a project-based learning model. This is different than service learning
programs outside of engineering, as explained in the definition of key concepts.

1.2 Defining Key Concepts
To help frame the questions posed, I discuss a number of key concepts: service
learning, community engagement, partnership, structure, nature, and project. The first
two concepts, service learning and community engagement, go hand in hand. I often refer
to service learning outside of engineering, specifically looking at the literature and
history of the community and scholarship. There are certain characteristics of service
learning that are also common, such as it being curricular (taken for course credit and

receiving a grade), and involving structured student reflection. For this study, I am
grounding much of my literature in the service learning literature, though one of my
programs does not define itself as service learning. Instead, the program leadership points
to the fact that they do not require student reflection, and their purpose is not to have an
equal portion service and learning – although they are clear that part of their intention is
related to student learning. In this way, they do not fit within a common definition of
service learning; however, the program does represent one comparable type of
community engagement that is used in the engineering education community. I therefore
use community engagement programs as a broader concept that generally refers to a
program where students have interactions with and provide a type of service for not for
profit or governmental organizations.
The act of service learning is often presented with a hyphen, to highlight the
reciprocity of the relationship of the service offered and the learning present (Sigmon,
1994). The hyphen is not included in this research, and this is connected to the definition
of partnership used in this study. I denote “partnerships” as individuals or organizations
that work together for an intended mutual benefit. It is commonly recognized in the
service learning literature that partnerships must strive for reciprocity (Jacoby, 1996,
2003), which implies an effort to move beyond charity and into the elimination of need
within a community and where all participants are both the learners and the teachers.
Additionally, it is often recognized that partnerships should be rooted in deeper values
such as closeness, equity, and integrity (Clayton, Bringle, Senor, Huq, & Morrison, 2010).
However, I chose to broaden this definition to include any organizations that have
decided to work together for a perceived benefit. This broadening of the definitions is due
to the lack of discourse on reciprocity in the engineering education community compared
to the service learning community. I wanted to include interactions and relationships that
may not strive for reciprocity or grounded in closeness, equity, or integrity.
The last three concepts are connected to the last research questions. I define the
“structure” of a program to refer to as formal or informal processes, logistics, and
program policies. The literature review examines previous research focusing on structure
within the service learning and the engineering education communities. For example,

there is discussion on the structure taking on the form of a series of personal relationships
(Clayton & Bringle, 2012) or an organizational structure (Janke, 2012) with set roles and
responsibilities within the program. I define the “nature” of a program as the quality of
interactions or interpersonal dynamics within a partnership. In this study, I developed the
Transactional, Cooperative and Communal (TCC) framework to code for the nature of
interactions, activities and language within partnerships. Lastly, a “project” within this
study is an assignment by the student that has a final outcome of their work. This can be a
physical object, such as a kiosk or a playground, or it can be a written report, such as a
needs assessment. This definition of project varies from the service learning literature,
where projects “focus on defining problems and their solutions and implementing well-
conceived plans for achieving those solutions” (Morton, 1995, p.21). The difference in
definition is that the project in the context of this study is at the center of the student’s
educational experience. They have worked on a project and will provide a deliverable to the
partnering organization. In Morton’s definition of project, the project is centered on the
community, and thus it can be something like as an afterschool program where university
students could work as tutors for the program to meet a specific community need. This
example would be considered project as defined by Morton, but not in the context of this
study.

1.3 Outline of the Chapters
This dissertation is organized into six chapters. This introductory chapter provides
a brief description of the gap in the research that this study is attempting to fill, some key
terms and definitions for the study, and an overview of the chapters.
The second chapter is the literature review, which is split into four sections that
provide: a historical perspective of engineering service learning, an understanding of
problem- and project-based learning (PBL) in engineering, an overview of relevant
research in the wider service learning literature, and research specifically concerned with
partnerships in both service learning and engineering education fields. The last section of
the literature review is focused on the literature most relevant to each of the research
questions.

The third chapter focuses on the methods used in this study, including the case
study method, methodology, site selection, data collection, data analysis and
trustworthiness. The case study method is based on Yin (2002) and is appropriate for the
research design given the specific research questions. The methodology is based on a
constructivist paradigm, which is rooted in the notion that individuals construct reality.
There can be similar constructs across groups and cultures. The site selection focuses on
three engineering community programs, and this section describes how these programs
were chosen and the unique history of these programs. The data collection section
describes the data gathered in this study, and the analysis describes how the data
collected was analyzed and presented as findings. The final section in the third chapter is
that of trustworthiness, which overviews how the study methods improve the validity of
the findings.
The fourth chapter presents the findings for the first research question, which is
organized by motivations related to: students, individual inclinations, and organization.
These motivations were found in all three-project sites, and are similar to previous
research that did not focus exclusively on engineering. The chapter also provides an
examination of some similarities and differences across all three programs studied.
The fifth chapter addresses the second and third research questions by exploring
six structural themes that were found to influence the nature of partnerships: purpose,
overall structure, partnering agency, individuals, projects, and the role of students. This
chapter provides in-depth examples of how each of the structural elements of the
programs influenced the nature of the partner interactions. For example, the partnering
agency structural theme focuses on how the nature of the partner organizations will
influence the nature of the partnerships. If the partner organization tends to be more
transactional in nature, they will more likely approach the engineering community
engagement program in a transactional way, focusing on an exchange of education for the
university students for a valuable product for the organization. Additionally, the third
research question is explored in the project structural theme and in the discussion of the
final chapter.

The final chapter includes the discussion, recommendations, and conclusion. The
discussion has two parts: the TCC framework and the contributions to the literature. The
TCC framework gives an overview of the framework developed and compares it to other
similar frameworks. In the contributions to literature subsection I discuss how the
research provides insights regarding the influences of organizational structure and the
individual relationships in service-learning partnerships. These insights can provide a
common framework to examine partnerships in engineering community engagement
programs while also providing a new lens for thinking about the ontology of engineering.
Actively involving engineers with communities can challenge dominant images of both
who engineers are and what they do. This challenge is especially enhanced by project-
based pedagogy, since it involves teaching new kinds of engineering practice in context.
The recommendations for existing or new engineering community engagements
programs are organized around the six structural themes outlined in Chapter 5. This
chapter intertwines the discussion of motivation and projects, relating to the first and
third research questions. I conclude with some additional comments on limitations,
directions for future research, as well as my desired outcomes and next steps. Based on
the limitation of site selection, observations and interviews as data sources, and my own
personal capabilities, I suggest that further research is needed to examine partnerships,
including more intensive observations. Additionally, the study of global partnerships is
discussed as another opportunity, as these types of relationships will likely have
additional complexities involving cultural and geographical limitations that were not
large issues within this study.
I hope that this study furthers ongoing discourses around the role of community in
engineering education, and helps redefine current and future engineers to be more
community driven. I plan on expanding this work by offering workshops to individuals
interested in starting engineering community engagement programs, and am looking into
avenues to be more of a community-driven engineer myself.

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This literature review is split into four sections. The first provides a historical
overview of service learning, highlighting significant factors that have shaped community
engagement in engineering from the Morrill Act to the formation of the programs
examined in this study. The second section gives an overview of the Project-Based
Learning (PBL) pedagogical method, which is the most common method used by
engineering community engagement programs. The third section provides an overview of
existing research within the service learning literature. This research emphasizes student-
learning outcomes, but also with increasing emphasis on institutions, faculty, and
community after 2000. Embedded in this literature are debates on education, democracy,
and society, informed by critical theory that raises issues of power and privilege when
highly-regarded educational institutions “serve” under-resourced communities.
The fourth section reviews the literature most relevant to the study. I have
organized the fourth section by research question to highlight gaps in the literature
addressed by the proposed study. In particular, I have synthesized three large-scale
studies in order to understand the motivations and challenges commonly faced by service
learning community partners. This synthesis informed the deductive approach to the first
research question. I explored existing theoretical frameworks that model the structure and
nature of community engagement partnerships for the second and third research question.

2.2 Historical Perspectives on Engineering Community Engagement
The history of service learning and community engagement outside of
engineering is different than its history within engineering. In order to establish an
understanding of engineering community engagement programs, it is imperative to be
grounded in both these histories. In general, community engagement has spread widely in
the last three decades to many American colleges and universities. Yet the rise and
current standing of community engagement in America is also more deeply connected to
historical social transformations. Two pivotal transformations that have influenced
service learning are the Morrill Act of 1862, which linked the state’s needs to the mission
of many public universities, and cultural turmoil in the 1890s that questioned the
relationship between capitalism and democratic society, which is referred to by Morton &
Saltmarsh as the “Crisis of Community” (May, 1959; Morton & Saltmarsh, 1997).
The Morrill Act, passed during the Civil War, gave each state land to establish
universities with the following purpose:

Without excluding other scientific and classical studies and including
military tactic, to teach such branches of learning as are related to
agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the
States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and
practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and
professions in life. (Congress, 1862)

This piece of legislation called for improved access to higher education for the industrial
classes in order to address the state’s needs in the agricultural and mechanical arts,
including engineering. After the Civil War, the second Morrill Act of 1890 required
states with segregated universities to fund at least one Black Land-Grant Universities in
order to receive funding for the white Land-Grant Universities (Redd, 1998). These acts
altered the role of higher education that had previously focused on education of the elite,

namely by improving accessibility of the lower and middle classes and minority
populations to more practical forms of education (McDowell, 2003).
Although the universities increased access to education within the states, many
needs of the state were not addressed adequately. The Hatch Act of 1887 responded by
establishing agricultural experimental stations to allow the universities to conduct
necessary and useful research for the states. Yet information still failed to reach many
communities in the state because most knowledge remained at the universities. The
Smith-Lever Act of 1914 addressed this issue by creating a Cooperative Extension
System that aimed to better educate the citizens and communities within the states about
the knowledge produced by universities (McDowell, 2003). These two pieces of
legislation strengthened the community’s relationship with the university and made them
more legally dependent on each other. However since the passing of the Morrill Act in
1862, the demographic of the country has shifted from sixty percent in agriculture to two
percent. This shift in demographics has not replicated in the services of the cooperative
extension system, and attempts to change the extension services by leadership often
failed. McDowell states that the farmers are wanting the continuation of services focusing
on farm practices, and has fought to keep these services in place even though other skills
such as business would be more beneficial for the farmers and the state at large, “farmers
are used to getting what they want and in many cases are not getting what they need”
(McDowell, 2003, p.13). Overall, these acts have established an interdependence of the
universities and the states.
The other historical influence on service learning is connected to what Morton
and Saltmarsh (1997) refer to as The Crisis of Community, expanded from Historian
Henry May’s (1959) writing on the “problem of community.” This is a period during the
1890s where there was cultural turmoil regarding the relationship between capitalism and
a democratic society, where people were being seen as consumers rather than citizens.
Jane Addams and John Dewey wrote about and took direct actions to develop a sense of
community in the culture and saw this restoration necessary for a well-functioning
society. For instance, Jane Addams started Hull House in Chicago, a housing project to
“humanize and moderate the more destructive aspects of capitalism” (Morton &

Saltmarsh, 1997, p. 137). John Dewey, who was a friend of Jane Addams, approached the
“crisis of community” through philosophical concerns of education and referred to this
change as a loss of community. Dewey took issue with the deterioration of local
communal living destroyed by the industrialization of “The Great Society” (Giles &
Eyler, 1994). Dewey’s ideological method to build “The Great Community” centered
upon education. His work as a philosopher examined the connection of education and
democracy, and he argued for “a society in which every person shall be occupied in
something that makes the lives of others better worth living, and which accordingly
makes the ties which bind persons together more perceptible – which breaks down the
barriers of distance between them” (Dewey, 1916).
Although these two individuals took differing approaches, Dewey and Addams
both sought to incorporate social justice in their life work. Today this ethos is still
embedded in parts of the academy, and especially so in the area of service learning.
Morton and Saltmarsh (1997) credit Addams’ work at Hull House for helping define
sociology as a discipline and for redefining the power dynamics of service, where service
involved meeting community-defined needs. Prior to this time, there was a charity model
that focused more on the individuals with resources going to a community and addressing
the projected or imagined needs of the privileged. Deweyian philosophy points to the
importance of incorporating democratic values into the classroom, and is used by many
service learning scholars to ground their work (e.g., Deans, 1999; Giles & Eyler, 1994;
Hatcher, 1997; Saltmarsh, 1996, 2007).
Throughout the 20th century there have been many efforts to integrate community
service and education (National Service Learning Clearing House, 2012). A number of
researchers have investigated the history and journey of the current pathway of service
learning (e.g. Kenny & Gallagher, 2002; Sigmon, 1996; Stanton, Giles Jr, & Cruz, 1999).
The term, “service learning,” was first used in 1967 in reference to an internship program
where students participated in community service and received academic credit for their
work. Service learning gained considerable popularity in mid-1980s, in part due to the
establishment of Campus Compact in 1985 (Kenny & Gallagher, 2002). Campus
Compact was started by a group of university and college presidents who “believed that

college students would willingly serve their communities if they were given the
opportunity,” (Morton & Troppe, 1996, p. 24) and who wanted to counter the notion of
the “me-generation,” or the perceived moral decline of college students. The Campus
Compact office was created and staffed at Brown University to offer support and
mentoring to campuses. The initial focus was to promote volunteerism on campus while
also working with legislators. Campus Compact later supported legislation that became
the AmeriCorps program. AmeriCorps was founded in 1993, and gave volunteers
educational stipends that could be used to pay off educational debt or pay for future
education. Through the various revisions of Compact, the organization has made huge
steps toward making service a core mission of many institutions. In fact, Campus
Compact now includes 1,200 schools and continues to offer support and grants that aid in
the research and development of service learning (Morton & Troppe, 1996).
While service learning is well established at many academic institutions, not all
academic institutions do service learning for the same purpose. Kenny and Gallagher
(2002) state that the intent of service learning can vary by institution and program.
Common purposes include “development of citizenship… the moral and religious
development… the preparation of students for careers… and the partnering of the
university and the community in ways that enhance both the learning of university
students and the intellectual, economic, and social resources of the community” (Kenny
& Gallagher, 2002, p.17). Pollack (1999) makes a similar argument, highlighting
different purposes based on institution type. For example, professional schools, such as
engineering, often emphasize career training, while liberal arts colleges more often have
personal development motives.
Engineering community engagement has had particularly strong connections to
professional development throughout its history. For example, Worcester Polytechnic
Institute (WPI) has the oldest engineering program that integrates interacting with a
community as a degree requirement. However, it has never been referred to as “service
learning,” and the primary intention has been the development of professional skills. In
the 1960s faculty members wanted to provide a unique learning experience for
engineering students through a program called the Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP)

during their junior year (Vaz, 2011). Students in this program have the opportunity to
work on interdisciplinary teams and with diverse government, business, and charitable
organizations. The school gets money for some of the projects the students complete
based on each organization’s ability to pay (H. Ault, personal communication, September
26, 2012). IQP has students work with organizations for credit, while developing needed
skills for requirement. The level of engagement and the type of organizations that the
students work on will vary.
Another one of the first engineering community engagement programs,
Engineering Projects In Community Service (EPICS) at Purdue University, had the
motivation to introduce service learning into engineering when it was started in 1995.
According to Jamieson (2012), the initial purpose of EPICS was to train engineering
students for professional skills, and it was only when industry did not exhibit interest in
partnering with Purdue that local non-government and government organizations were
contacted. Additionally, Coyle, Jamieson and Oakes, (2005) have grounded their
rationale for engineering community engagement in development of professional skills,
where “[professional engineers] will be expected to interact effectively with people of
widely varying social and educational backgrounds. They will then be expected to work
with people from many different disciplines to achieve these goals. They thus need
educational experiences that help them develop these skills” (p.1).
Accreditation mandates, and especially Engineering Criteria 2000 (Lattuca,
Terenzini, Volkwein, & Peterson, 2006) have also often been mentioned as a rationale to
introduce service learning in engineering ( e.g. Barrington & Duffy, 2010). This
reasoning relates to professional skills training, since EC2000 was in part established as
an outcomes-based framework to ensure programs were preparing students to be
proficient engineers with both technical and professional capabilities (Lattuca, et al.,
2006). These requirements emerged from discussions among industrial leaders,
engineering deans, technical society liaisons, and others in order to address the lack of
essential non-technical skills of recent engineering graduate students, such as related to
teamwork and communication. The accreditation progress changed from an inputs-based
approach, focused on a fixed set of courses mapped to specific bodies of knowledge, to

an outcomes-based approach, focused on specific learning outcomes for graduates.
Examples of the ABET criteria that are often linked to service learning include “an ability
to function on multidisciplinary teams,” “an ability to communicate effectively,” and “the
broad education necessary to understand the impact of engineering solutions in a global,
economic, environmental, and societal context” (ABET, 2012).
Driven by changes in the accreditation processes and other trends, there has been
a notable growth of service learning and related programs in engineering, both
domestically and internationally. Additional examples of the expansion of service
learning in U.S. engineering schools since the early 2000s are the SLICE at UMass
Lowell and the expansion of EPICS. Launched in 2004, SLICE has students work on
service learning throughout the engineering curriculum. This program is mandatory, as it
is integrated into the engineering courses, and aligned with accreditation requirements.
The SLICE program requires service learning in the classroom and has the aim of having
each student be involved with a service learning experience each semester (Duffy,
Barrington, West, Heredia, & Barry, 2011). Additionally, SLICE recognizes the many
benefits of service learning in addition to professional skills, including increasing student
motivation, preparing engaged citizens, etc. EPICS has also developed a model to be
replicated and has been integrated at universities, colleges, high schools and even some
elementary schools (EPICS, 2012). As of 2014, there are EPICS programs with active
sites at 20 universities within the US (EPICS, 2014). In addition, IEEE is working with
EPICS to expand the program globally, so the EPICS model is being used in countries
throughout the world (IEEE, 2014).
Two large-scale international engineering community engagement programs,
Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW),
highlight increased student and faculty interest in supporting international project work,
often in developing countries and communities. Since these organizations are often
extracurricular, they are typically not formally linked to degree requirements or
accreditation. It is worth re-iterating that because this is not for credit, it is not considered
service learning, but it is engineering community engagement. Lucena, Schneider, and
Leydens (2010) labels this trend of engineering working with international communities

as “engineering to help.” They critique the process of emphasizing economic
competiveness while frequently neglecting community needs. While not all programs
make these errors, from my own experience I am concerned about the quality of many of
these international partnerships and the lack of discussion of reciprocity. It seems that the
mindset is that of ‘charity’ rather than ‘service.’ Though my study will not include
international programs, this study may provide an improved foundation for understanding
international partnerships.
The field of engineering service learning has also continued to expand through
scholarship. The International Journal of Service Learning in Engineering (IJSLE) was
founded in 2006, serving as a publication outlet for research on service learning in
engineering. A new American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) division
dedicated to Community Engagement was also formed in 2013 and serves as a home for
community engagement scholarship in engineering at the ASEE conference (Community
Engagement Division, 2014). Also, NSF has funded the Engineering Faculty Engagement
in Learning Through Service (EFELTS) project that focuses on providing professional
development among engineering faculty who are interested in conducting service
learning. The grant started in September 2010 and finished in August 2014 (Kazmer,
Duffy, West, & Lee, 2010).
Overall, community engagement in engineering is growing rapidly and may
benefit from research done in general service learning, especially given the rapid growth
in service learning research following the creation of Campus Compact in 1985. A great
deal of service learning research is being conducted, and new avenues of dissemination
are being established. At the same time, the driving purpose of service learning in
engineering has been largely focused on students, especially professional skill
development, but the motives are expanding to recognize such things as responsible
citizenship.
In engineering community engagement, there has been a large emphasis on
project-based learning, so the students are providing some type of deliverable to their
partnering community. The next section will explore project-based learning and its
relationship to problem-based learning and project activities in engineering. This section

will provide a foundation for the types of pedagogies used for service learning and
community engagement in engineering.

2.3 Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Problem Based Service Learning (PBSL) in
Engineering
In the1960s and 1970s, problem-based learning emerged in the medical fields the
United States and project pedagogies became more common in Denmark (de Graff &
Kolmos, 2007). Problem-based learning was first established in the late 1960s at
McMaster Medical School in Canada. The notion of the problem-based learning was that
students learned the material in the same context in which it would be used (Donner &
Bickley 1993). At McMaster University, the science is not learned through a discipline-
oriented class, nor tested through examinations. The lecture sessions are replaced by
tutorial sessions to review cases given to students that simulate real problems. The
students go through practice sessions through simulated patients and work at local clinics
while learning basic science. Donner and Bickley state that the goals of the problem-based
pedagogy was for the students to learn the subject matter, learn how to use that knowledge
to solve problems, and to develop the skill sets needed to be life-long learners.
While problem-based learning was being established and implemented at
McMaster, two universities in Denmark, Roskilde in 1972 and Aalborg in 1974, were
founded on a project-based pedagogy approach. This pedagogy had students work in
partnership with teachers. Berthelsen Illeris, and Poulsen (1977), state that “the role of
the teacher is not only to communicate knowledge, but in particular to act as initiator,
inspiration, frame-builder, and consultant. The works is to result in a concrete project, be
it an oral presentation, a written report or expressed in other media or actions” (cited in
de Graff & Kolmos, 2007, p.4) The main learning principals of both problem-based and
project-based pedagogies are outlined by de Graff and Kolmos (2007) in three parts: (1)
learning is organized around a problem/project, in context that increases motivation, (2)
the content is interdisciplinary, breaking traditional subject boundaries, and (3) process is

social in nature due to team work where students learn from each other and learn team
working skills.
As mentioned in the historical perspectives section above, engineering service
learning is most commonly based on a project-based approach, leading us to the acronym
Project-Based Service Learning (PBSL). Consistent with other professional disciplines,
the most cited rationale of service learning in engineering is professional training as
opposed other intentions (e.g. character development), (Barrington & Duffy, 2010;
Pollack, 1999). Shuman, Besterfield-Sacre, and McGourty (2005) review the professional
skills that are outlined by ABET and highlight how programs are using service learning
and global service as a way for students to learn these outcomes. The professional skills
that are addressed include: communication, teamwork, understanding ethics and
professionalism, engineering within a social context, lifelong learning, and contemporary
skills. Shuman et al. describe many programs, which are able to focus the education on
professional development while student teams did project-based work with local and/or
global communities. A movement within engineering education has worked to broaden
the definition of service learning to encompass more than work for academic credit,
including extracurricular activities such as those undertaken by EWB student chapters.
This has led to adaption of a new term, Learning Through Service (LTS), to capture this
wider umbrella of approaches (McCahan, et al., 2012). This term was not used within this
paper, and the community engagement term was used instead since the WPI program did
not identify as service. This is clarified in the Defining Key Concepts sub-section in the
introduction.
Some of the research in engineering community engagement has focused on the
description of programs in the context of student learning (e.g. Coyle, et al., 2005; Duffy,
2008). In addition, research has focused on assessment of knowledge and skills. Until
recently, most of the assessment has focused on self-assessment, (Schuman et al., 2005)
with more recent trends towards developing assessment instruments (e.g. Bielefeldt,
Paterson, & Swan, 2010; Mazzurco, Huff, & Jesiek; McCormick, et al., 2014). In
addition to professional skills, research has shown to increase students’ motivation,

especially with of underrepresented groups (Barrington & Duffy, 2007; Matusovich,
Oakes, & Zoltowski, 2013; Ropers-Huilman, et al., 2007).
There has been limited research published other stakeholders and partnerships in
engineering service learning or community engagement. As mentioned in the history
section, the EFELTS groups focused their efforts on learning about faculty and advisors
experience in LTS (Kazmer, Duffy, West, & Lee, 2010). Research has examined the
motivation, strategies and barriers faced by faculty (Pierrakos et al., 2012), and principles
of maintaining sustainable partnerships with the community (Tucker et al., 2013).
Findings have included challenges with faculty workload, partnership coordination, and
lack of recognition in tenure and promotion. Benefits have focused on students’
educational experience, both through learning about the content and increased the
motivation.
There is some research headed by Vanasupa at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo that has
recently started to examine partnerships in community engagement context. This work
includes looking at engagement in a transformative learning context and reflecting on
conflict, existential crisis, transformation, and renewed vitality that emerged through an
action research experience that involved a safe and caring community (Vanasupa et al.,
2014). There was additional work categorizing the partnerships that are formed within
engineering community engagement programs (Vanasupa & Schlemer, 2014). This work
is reviewed in more detail in the review of partnerships in the following section.
Overall, project-based learning is the most common pedagogy used in engineering
community engagement. Research on community engagement has primarily focused on
students, specifically looking at professional skill development, and a recent trend
focusing on student assessment. There has been one group of researchers who examined
the benefits and challenges faculty see in service learning, and one researcher examining
partnerships in community partnerships. The examination of other stakeholders is more
common within the wider service learning (outside of engineering). The following
section will give a macro overview of the research conducted in service learning,
including by presenting some common debates in the literature.

2.4 Service Learning Research Overview
In 1991, Giles, Honnet and Migliore published a research agenda that described
the top research questions in service learning. This agenda was a result of the Wingspread
Conference organized by The National Society for Internships and Experiential
Education (NSIEE). All participants saw a need for more research, believing a common
set of questions should guide future investigations. Giles and Eyler (1998) later revisited
these questions, developed a “top ten” list, and investigated related publications and
developments since the first call. The questions were grouped around the different
stakeholders connected to service learning

Students
1. How can service learning enhance subject matter learning?
2. How can we define the learning and skill outcomes that are
expected in service learning?
3. What are the processes of effective service learning and how do
they relate to learning in general?
Faculty
4. What factors explain faculty involvement in service learning and
how are they affected by participation?
Institutions
5. How does service learning affect educational institutions,
especially in regard to higher education reform?
6. What institutional policies and practices support and enhance
effective service learning?
Community
7. What elements and types of community partnerships are important
for effective service learning?
8. What value does service learning bring to the communities in
which service takes place?

Society
9. What impact does service learning have on students’ citizenship
roles, community service, and other forms of social participation in
later life?
10. How does service learning contribute to the development of social
capital and a social ethic of caring and commitment? (Giles &
Eyler, 1998, p. 65):

Giles and Eyler (1998) found the research primarily focused on the effects on
students, or questions one through three. Students’ personal development, enhanced
learning, and increased commitment to social responsibility were some of the main
research topics investigated. For question four, few studies had focused on faculty.
However, these studies found that faculty involvement was motivated by their desire to
promote student learning, and the faculty often faced practical barriers in implementation
of service learning experiences. The authors called for more investigation of these
barriers. The field’s prior discussions on institutions (questions five and six) focused on
the role of service learning in academic institutions, with the main question focusing on if
service learning should be marginal or mainstream. Giles and Eyler called for more
research on whether and how service learning pedagogy was transforming the culture on
university campuses. The authors found that research on partner communities and
organizations (questions seven and eight) had also been very limited. There had been
discussion identifying the need to know the outcomes of the community and to have
community involvement in the research process, yet there was little empirical evidence
showing that these actions were taking place. Finally, in the area of service learning and
society (questions nine and ten) the authors reported that the participating students
showed an increase of moral development, but there was a need for more longitudinal
studies to see if service learning was affecting citizenship in the longer term.
Following this review, the Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning
(MJCSL) put out a special issue titled Strategic Directions for Service-Learning
Research in 2000. This special issue outlined the main areas of research in service

learning and the topics that needed to be addressed. One of the articles in this piece was
Cruz and Giles (2000) paper titled Where’s the community in service-learning research?
This paper highlighted the lack of community voice within the research and that there
was a need to have university-community partnerships as a focal point of research. Since
2000, the literature has expanded to encompass research focusing on the multiple
stakeholders, such as the faculty and the community. The methodological approaches
also expanded to encompass different types of quantitative, qualitative, and action
research. Examples that exemplify this trend are provided below in the section for the
second research question associated with the proposed study.
Questions about the inclusion of the community voice is situated within key
debates that are commonplace in the broader service learning literature, especially as
related to issues such as education, service, and democracy (Pollack 1999). In a study on
the pioneers in service learning, for instance, Stanton, Giles and Cruz (1999) found that
each pioneer entered the field through one of these three main issues. The first issue
Pollack (1999) discusses is the role of service learning within education. As mentioned in
the introduction, the role can vary by institution. Pollack suggests that Liberal Arts
colleges often cite moral reasons related to student character formation for service, while
the Professional Schools, including engineering, place greater emphasis on service
learning for professional training. Pollack describe this disagreement using the political
theorist William Connolly’s (1983) notion of “contested terms,” where definitions are
“entangled in competing moral and political commitments” (Pollack, 1999, p. 17). This
theme also connects to the second area of debate, the role of education in a democracy.
The core of this debate centers on the question: “should education provide students with
the skills and knowledge base necessary to fit into the existing social structure or prepare
them to engage in social transformation?” (p. 18). The third debate is that of the
relationship of service to societal change. More specifically, this is the conflict between
charity and addressing social injustices. Pollack states that charity addresses immediate
needs while the latter focuses on lasting changes in social structure.
Intertwined with these debates in the literature is a discussion of the power
dynamics within university-community relationships and how best to achieve equality.

“Reciprocity” is standard rhetoric in describing the ideals of community partnerships.
Jacoby describes reciprocity as each group in the partnership having agency in
determining the partnership outcomes, and each should learn from the partnership
(Jacoby, 1996). However, how to achieve reciprocity in the context of various types of
service learning experiences has been debated. Morton (1995) highlights that the
continuum is typically described for the differing approaches to service learning, where a
program progresses from charity to project to social change, with charity having the
lowest amount of reciprocity and social change involving the highest amount of
reciprocity. According to Morton, charity is a direct action for a community by providing
resources or service; a project is done to “make something happen” (p. 22), and social
change focuses on addressing root causes of inequality. The notion of charity, as
mentioned in the introduction, is frequently looked upon as creating a superior-inferior
relational dynamic. In this view, the “privileged” give to the “needy” – thus potentially
creating a dependent relationship. As mentioned in the definitions in the introduction, a
project-oriented approach in service learning is different than the project-based learning
pedagogy in engineering. A project-oriented approach refers to a program that finds a
need within a community, and establishes a program to meet that need, such as offering
services to the community. Project-oriented service learning can also be linked to
unintended consequences, including inequalities amongst community organizations and
members. Morton gives an example of a service learning mentorship program that would
create inequalities within a family, where one child gets the services but the other siblings
do not. In contrast, social change is thought to be the highest form of relationship because
it is aimed to change root causes through process; this can be directly empowering the
powerless. This can be done through community building or advocacy.
Morton suggests that there is not a hierarchy of the three approaches, but that each
one represents differing paradigms of service and each has the potential of being done
poorly or well. He uses the metaphor as “thin” and “thick” versions, concepts taken from
the anthropologist Clifford Geertz (1973). For example, charity’s thin version is “self-
serving charity that imposes services on unreceptive ‘others;’ projects that magnify or
institutionalize inequalities of power, produce outcomes that are worse than the original

problem, or lead to unrealistic and unsustainable dependencies” (p. 28). By contrast, the
thick versions are “grounded in deeply held, internally coherent values … Insisting on the
humanity of another person in the face of sometimes overwhelming pressure to deny that
humanity can be a motive for charity, for project and for social change” (Morton 1995 p.
28). Morton argues that each of the three service learning methods can be done either
“thin” or “thick,” and each one of them constitutes its own paradigm. The thick versions
of each of the paradigms each support social justice within communities while the thin
versions will magnify injustices.
Morton’s framework provides a useful view of how program types potentially
affect communities. I also agree that service learning experiences can each be done well
or poorly. However, I have not seen studies linking the program type to the experience of
the community that can confirm this framework. Although I will not directly attempt to
use this framework because my study will only focus on project-based community
engagement, I will examine how the program structure is connected to the nature of the
partnership through the second research question of the proposed study. This framework
also gives a good overview to the nature of partnerships that are included in the second
research question. The next section will go into more detail on research that has focused
on partnerships and the inclusion of community voice. This research is focused
specifically on the three questions of this dissertation. I will draw on the research and
highlight some key literature gaps that this study will attempt to fill.

2.4.1 Partnerships in Service Learning Research
This section of the literature review is broken into three subsections that parallel
the research questions. The first goes over common motivations and challenges of
community partners. There is a gap in this area regarding the motivations and challenges
of partners explicitly working with engineering community engagement. The second
subsection describes the models of program structures in the service learning literature
and in engineering education literature. The second subsection also discusses a
framework of looking at the nature of the partnerships. My research project will involve
connecting these two areas in the context of engineering. The final subsection is linked to

the third research question, the role of projects in project-based service, and builds on the
model presented for the second question. There has been no research looking at how the
project influences the community-university relationship. In the analysis, I included this
question as part of my second research question.

2.4.2 Review for Research Question 1: Motivations and Challenges of Community
Partners
For more than a decade, the service learning field has increasingly recognized a
need to focus more research on community partnerships (Bringle & Clayton, 2012).
Since then, a handful of studies have looked at what motivations drive community
partners to get involved with service learning programs. This section reviews and
synthesizes studies by Sandy and Holland (2006), Worrall (2007), and Stoecker and
Tryon (2009). These studies were chosen for the literature review because each of them
examined a large number of community partners and classified their motivations for
participating in partnerships, while also highlighting challenges faced. While this review
is not inclusive of all studies of service learning partnerships, the three together provide a
good overview of the reasons community members engage in service learning
partnerships. The methods of the studies are briefly reviewed, and a summary synthesis
of their findings focuses on the motivations described by community partners, which in
turn inform the deductive data analysis method employed in this study.
Sandy and Holland’s study addressed “community perspectives on effective
partnership characteristics as well as their own voices regarding the benefit, challenges,
and motivations they have regarding partnership with an academic institution” (Sandy &
Holland, 2006, p. 32). Their research involved focus groups with 99 community partners
in California, including academic institutions located throughout the state that spanned
urban and rural settings, research-oriented and liberal arts schools, etc. The data was
collected by: summarizing participant responses on poster paper, taking notes, and
recording the focus group sessions. The audio recordings were then transcribed. To
improve integration of the partners into the study, “participants were involved with
approving the thematic interpretations, finalizing the reports designed to inform and

improve their particular partnership, and the ‘meta-analysis’ that includes a cross-analysis
of all the data generated from all of the focus groups” (p. 33).
Worrall focused on community partners involved with service learning initiatives
at DePaul University. The primary research questions were: “What are the factors that
motivate community organizations to work with DePaul’s service-learning program?” (p.
8) The first round of data collection included surveys to the service learning center
collected by the partnering organizations from 2000 to 2004. The author then used the
surveys to inspire questions about the partnerships, specifically: “What effect do [the
students] really have on the they serve? How do [Community Based Organizations]
CBOs perceive their roles in the service-learning partnership? Why do CBOs initially
become involved with the Steans Center? Why do they stay involved?” (p. 7) The second
round of data collected included 40 one-on-one one interviews conducted across 12
organizations, at least two from each site. The author was also the director of the service
learning center. Recognizing that the directorship was likely to influence the responses,
the author ensured anonymity. For most of the interviewees, the author was not the main
point person. Interviews were transcribed and coded for emerging patterns and themes if
two or more individuals mentioned the same perception from the same organization.
Finally, Stoecker and Tryon’s (2009) study was motivated by the larger question,
“Who is served by service learning” (p.1). It was conducted as an action research project
within a course at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, headed by the authors and
performed in conjunction with participating students and NGOs. They conducted 67
interviews, and participating students identified themes based on the research questions.
The results were reported in a book, titled Unheard Voices, where each chapter was
tailored to a research question and had distinct sets of authors who were students within
the course.
The three studies highlight a wide range of perceived motivations, benefits, and
challenges among community partners in service learning programs. Across all three
studies, common reasons for community partners to participate in service learning
included: promoting student learning, realizing personal and/or organizational benefits,
and building relationships. These themes are listed in Table 2-1. Sandy and Holland also

mentioned social justice as a reason for engagement among some partners. This section
will review these findings in more depth.
All three studies placed primary emphasis on community members’ dedication to
students’ learning. Many community organizations see themselves as having education
and outreach roles, and their interactions with students helps fulfill their organizational
missions. Many partners even see this as the primary reason for the service learning
partnership. Partners also want to prepare students for their future careers. More
specifically, Worrall emphasized the desire for the community to teach students about
and expose them to diversity while addressing their misconceptions about the
communities of interest, while Bell and Carlson (Chapter 2 of Stoecker and Tryon’s book)
highlighted how some community partners expressed a desire to train students to get
involved with the non-profit world. For example, some partners got interested in working
for NGOs after doing service learning in college.
All three studies also found that both the community partners and their
organizations benefited directly from student work. For instance, Worrall discussed
partners’ appreciation of the ten-week commitment students gave. Since many
organizations were largely run by volunteers, the organizations appreciated having
students committed during that term. Studies by Worrall and Sandy and Holland also
mentioned the positive impact of the students’ presence in the community, such as having
college students mentor younger community members, thereby providing community
members with positive role models and revealing college as a more tangible option. Bell
and Carlson also discussed increasing organizational capacity by leveraging student
capabilities not otherwise available in the organization, such as web design skills.
Additionally, all of the studies mentioned that students brought new ways of
looking at situations that were beneficial to the organization. For example, Sandy and
Holland coded students’ different views under “organizational and personal development,”
since their views brought a sense of self-reflection to the partners, allowing them to learn
from their mistakes and grow as an organization. Bell and Carlson made a similar
observation and coded it under “capacity enhancement.” Worrall did not elaborate on this
finding, but did indicate that interviewees commonly mentioned similar themes.

Each study also discussed the relationship of the campus to the community as
being a motivation for many partnerships. Bell and Carlson discussed how organizations
used it as a way to get their name out and get access to other resources. Yet many
partners said they often felt pressure to join a partnership because of such resources, since
access to professors and research in the organization’s field might not be available if they
did not commit to service learning. Yet Worrall added that the community’s perceived
image of the university became more positive with service learning, and Sandy and
Holland mentioned that there were potential resources for communities within the
relationships.
Some partners also saw the students and or university participation in partnerships
as a sense of responsibility to the community. For instance, Sandy and Holland included
social justice as a motivation for some community partners. While this particular
motivation was not a common topic in the study, Sandy and Holland included it because
it was discussed at length in a few focus groups.
Table 2-1 presents a summary of the findings from all three studies, which were
used to inform deductive coding of the data collected for this study.

Table 2-1: Synthesis of Motivations from the Literature Review
Code Motivation relating to:
Student learning students’ learning.
Organizational benefit supporting organizational mission.
Personal benefits professional development within the organization.
Relationship building the benefits community gains within the partnership.
Social justice the responsibility of community as a whole.

2.4.3 Review for Research Question 2: Theoretical Models of the Nature and Structure
of Partnerships
The literature in this subsection synthesizes the research on partnerships in service
learning and engineering education literature by reviewing frameworks and examining

studies that have incorporated these frameworks. I start with structure of partnerships,
examining Bringle, Clayton and Price’s (2009) SOFAR model, Janke’s (2013) paper on
organizational partnerships and McCahan et al.’s (2012) characteristics of engineering
Learning Through Service (LTS) programs. I follow this with a review of the nature of
partnerships, including an overview of levels of partnerships (Sockett, 1998), Enos and
Morton’s (2003) development of a framework on transactional and transformative
partnerships, paths of engagement defined and developed by Dorado and Giles (2004),
the two-dimensional approach to assessing transformative campus/community service
learning partnerships advanced by Phillips and Ward (2009), relational and transactional
relationships in engineering community engagement (Vanasupa & Schlemer, 2014), and
client and cooperative logic in informal science education (Feinstein & Meshoulam,
2014).
As described in more detail below, the first phase of analysis for this study was
based on the Phillips-Ward framework, and the second phase of analysis involved
development of a new coding structure, the Transactional, Cooperative, Communal (TCC)
framework. The TCC framework was grounded in the reviewed literature (Dorado &
Giles, 2004; Enos & Morton, 2003; Feinstein & Meshoulam, 2014; Sockett, 1998;
Vanasupa & Schlemer, 2014). I conclude the literature review with studies that have
examined how the connection between structural characteristic(s) and nature of the
partnerships in the service learning literature.

2.4.3.1 Structure of Partnerships
There are three different approaches to framing the structure of community
engagement partnerships. The first explores partnerships as a set of individual
relationships, the second suggests grounding partnership research in organizational theory,
and the third proposes a set of distinctive characteristics of engineering Learning Through
Service (LTS) programs.
Bringle and Hatcher (2002) focused on individual relationships in service learning
and argued that examining relationships through this lens can allow individuals and

institutions “to initiate, develop, maintain, and nurture a healthy partnership with the
community” (p. 505). Additionally, Bringle et al. (2009) developed the SOFAR structural
model, as presented in Figure 2-1, as a way to describe and analyze these partnerships,
namely as a network of individual relationships between Students, Organizations, Faculty,
Administrators and Community Residents. Each of these roles consists of individuals in
relationships with one another. Bringle et al. (2009) argue that there are ten key
relationships in this structure. The term “relationships” is a broad definition that refers to
any interaction and that each of these relationships can develop into a partnership when
the interactions have closeness, equity and integrity.

Figure 2-1: Bringle et al. (2009) SOFAR model

However, Janke (2012) and Giles and Eyler (2013) suggest that focusing solely
on individuals overlooks another level of complexity, namely that of organizational
relationships. Janke (2012) says that service learning can incorporate organizational
theory from business management literature to better understand the phenomena that is
taking place within service learning partnerships, and more specifically suggests two
conceptual frameworks that could be used to analyze partnerships: “interorganizational

relationships (i.e. relationships between organizations)” and “partnership entities (i.e.
distinct organizational entities that are, to an extent, separate from the parent
organizations from which they originated)” (p. 388).
The difference of the examining partnerships by individual relationships and
organizational relationships came up within the findings of my second research question.
The organizational qualities of the GPP-US and EPICS programs influenced the nature of
the partnership, and the individual relationships were seen as a larger influence in the
CPP partnership. This is discussed in more detail in the findings of the second research
question, theme 2, overall structure.
Within the engineering education literature there has not been much research that
models or categorizes the structure of engineering Learning Through Service (LTS)
programs. As noted earlier, LTS is an umbrella term that is used in the engineering
education domain to include a wider variety of service-related programs, including for-
credit and extracurricular. One paper that categorized LTS programs is the work of
McCahan et al. (2012). The model highlighted twelve defining characteristics of
engineering service learning programs in four categories. The first category is academic,
including learning outcomes, deliverables, assessment, and civic outcomes. The second
category includes program design characteristics, such as program positioning and
student group size and disciplines. The third category is management/ administration,
which includes size of program, geographical context, duration, and interaction. The final
category includes technical content and social/cultural content. McCahan et al. suggest
that these characteristics be used for comparison, development, and assessment of LTS in
engineering. The twelve dimensions were chosen to encompass the breadth of LTS. In
the methods section, I use these dimensions to highlight the differences and similarities
across the three programs.

2.4.3.2 Nature of Partnerships
Prior to Cruz and Giles’ call in 2000 to examine university-community partnerships,
there were limited discussions and research regarding service learning partnerships. One

notable exception is a study by Sockett (1998), which categorized partnerships into four
types:

• Service relationships, where an individual or unit volunteers/sells support
for an institution-related function,
• Exchange relationships, where the parties exchange resources for their
mutual benefit,
• Cooperative relationships, where the parties plan together and share
responsibilities, and
• Systematic transformative relationships, where the parties share
responsibility for planning, decision making, funding, operations and
evaluation of activities, and in which each institution is transformed
through the relationship (p. 76).

Further, Sockett saw these as not hierarchical, but rather a categorization of different
types of partnerships.
Following the call in 2000, researchers’ efforts to examine the concept of
partnerships also involved developing new theoretical and conceptual lenses. For instance,
Enos and Morton (2003) offered a theoretical framework examining the nature of
partnerships by proposing two fundamental types of partnerships: transactional and
transformative. Enos and Morton describe “transactional relationships [as] those that are
instrumental, designed to complete a task with no greater plan or promise. The parties
engage together because each has something the other finds useful” (p. 24). In contrast,
they define transformative relationships as: “proceed[ing] with less definition, with an
openness to unanticipated developments… here, there is an expectation that things may
change, that the order may be disturbed, and that new relationships, identities, and values
may emerge” (p. 24). Enos and Morton suggest that most partnerships are transactional,
and for a partnership to be transformative it must go through a development process over
time. Clayton et al. (2010) added another category to this framework which they called
“exploitative.” This category was added after the authors discussed the framework with

faculty involved with service learning who said that in some cases transactional was not
an accurate representation, and that some relationships were instead “so unilateral that,
intentionally or unintentionally, they take advantage of or harm one or both parties” (p. 8).
Dorado and Giles’s (2004) research on partnerships in service learning provided
an alternative way of understanding the nature of partnerships. The authors built on the
notion of service learning partnership from the organizational studies literature and used a
grounded theory method (Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Strauss & Corbin, 1998) to understand
the pathways for partnership. In a study including twenty-seven interviews in thirteen
partnerships, the authors establish three codes for partnership behaviors: learning,
aligning and nurturing. These codes were then used to determine the engagement path of
each partnership. The developmental process with three paths of engagement included:
tentative, aligned and committed. As they explained:

Partnerships in a tentative engagement are likely to be brand new and
involve instructors and/or community agencies inexperienced with service
learning. Partnerships in an aligned engagement are those that have
successfully traveled the tentative path and whose members are actively
engaged in improving to better fit the needs of students and communities.
Partnerships in a committed engagement are characterized by their parties’
commitment to the partnership beyond a particular project. (Doraldo &
Giles, 2004, p. 26)

In the tentative path, the learning behaviors are dominant. In the aligned path, the
aligning behaviors are dominant. In the committed path, the nurturing behaviors are
dominant. One of the key findings was “that service learning partnerships are likely to
either stagnate at the tentative path or advance rather quickly into a committed one; time
spent in the aligning path is likely to be rather limited” (Doraldo & Giles, 2004, p.31).
The one partnership that did maintain aligning behaviors had a “bad start.” In the method
section, I draw on this study based on the importance of organizational theory in the
service learning research, the method of coding specific interactions or behaviors and the

notion that a partnership can vary in the path of engagement over time. The authors
highlight that there is not one stage or level partnership is on, but rather it is more
complex and can change with the age of the partnership.
Another study that worked to establish a development framework was Phillips
and Ward’s (2009). Phillips established a 2-dimensional matrix on the type and extent of
partnerships, each having four stages describing the development of partnerships that I
refer to as the Phillips-Ward framework. The framework was built on an array of
publications to categorize partnerships (Bringle, Games, & Malloy, 1999; Dorado &
Giles, 2004; Enos & Morton, 2003; Percy, Zimpher, & Brukardt, 2006; Torres, 2002;
Zimpher, Percy, & Brukardt, 2002). Phillips and Ward used this framework to create a
tool for assessing partnerships. I used the Phillips-Ward framework for the first phase of
my data analysis, since I am interested in understanding the contextual nature of the
partnerships and this framework clearly categorizes different stages. My analysis
attempts to categorize the partnerships into stages using the type and extent dimensions.
The first dimension, type, is primarily based on Enos and Morton’s (2003) paper,
and is defined as “the degree to which practices and services engage in by the community
partnership embrace and utilize the skills of both partners, so that each has a stake in the
outcomes,” (Phillips &Ward, 2009, p. 106). According to this typology, partnerships are
on a continuum of four stages. The beginning phase, static, describes partnerships where
the university or course does not have any stake in a particular organization, and the
organization does not distinguish between the service learning students and other
volunteers. Communication is kept strictly logistical, and service learning is seen as
useful and may support related coursework (Phillips & Ward, 2009). As the partnership
develops through the alters and expands stages, the way of teaching and the way the
organization does business starts to break away from traditional methods. The notion of
“expert” and “knowledge” begin to be questioned. Assets are brought together to address
the community’s needs, as deeper synergies are recognized. Interdisciplinary approaches
to education emerge, and new academic programs are started. Students’ goals are shared
with the community partner, the partner influences the teaching, and the community
contributes to the educational outcomes.

In the transforms stage, “there is no distinction between where the boundaries of
education end and service to the community begins. No distinction exists between
traditional educational experiences and service learning experiences. The tripartite focus
of learning, research, and service of the academy are seen as fulfilled through the practice
of service learning as embodied in the partnership” (Phillips, 2007, p. 120). In this stage,
knowledge is also created for and shared within the partnership. The community is seen
as a learning space, and resources are amassed to expand the scope of education and
service to the community.
The second dimension, extent, refers to “the degree to which the
campus/community partnerships move towards a joint communal identity” (Phillips &
Ward, 2009, p. 106-7). This dimension is based on the work of Furco and Holland (2004),
Dorado and Giles (2004), and Torres (2000). In this categorization, there are four stages
starting from individual relationship to communal identity. In the individual relationship
stage, the partnership is limited to one or two faculty and one or two members of the
community. The depth of the relationship can be deep, but this would be considered an
anomaly. In the institution/organization support stage, there is institutional support from
the university and the agency. There is often a center to support the partnership, and the
missions of the institution and the agency support the partnership. In the community
mobilization stage, the actions of the partnerships are visible across the campus and the
community. In this stage, steps are taken to bring together community leaders, everyone
in the partnership is invested in promoting civic engagement, and resources are shared to
reach common goals. In the highest stage, communal partner identity, the partnership has
been transformed as “the partners work to deepen and expand the partnership through
long-range plans to improve the quality of life for the shared community.” (Phillips, 2007,
p. 114) There is also recognition the university and the organization being equal partners,
and the resources are determined by the partnership as a whole.
Despite this growing body of research in the broader service learning literature, I
was only able to identify one paper in the engineering education literature that examines
the nature of partnerships, namely Vanasupa and Schlemer’s (2014) work on
transactional and relational community engagement. The authors created a conceptual

model based on an action research project where they categorize community engagement
into four groups depending on the learning outcomes and relationships with the
community, these include: volunteerism, development, service learning, and collaborative
co-creating. Each of these categories has a unique relationship with the program and the
community, ranging in closeness and overlapping desired outcomes.
Since there was limited research done on the nature of relationships within
engineering, I broadened the scope of my literature review by including studies of
partnerships with community in Informal Science Education (ISE) organizations.
Feinstein and Meshoulam (2014) examine different institutional logics in regard to equity
in ISE organizations. Institutional logics are frameworks that tend to guide how
organizations act, and competing logics can result in different actions, even if the goals
are similar (Thornton, Ocasio, & Lounsbury, 2012). Feinstein & Meshoulam identified
two institutional logics in ISE approach to equity, one that is based on client logic, where
the interactions and activities enhance boundaries between the community, and
cooperative logic, where the interactions and activities blur the boundaries. Feinstein and
Meshoulam argue that one of the logics is not seen as superior, yet each one has its own
benefits on how an institution can approach the community. This study was a pivotal
piece in the second phase of my analysis, the development of the TCC framework.

2.4.3.3 Relating Structure and Nature
Additionally, few studies have examined the effect of the structure of the service
learning or community engagement program on the nature of partnerships. One exception
is Dorado, Giles and Welch’s (2009) study. The authors examine specific structural
elements, how out comes are determined, either by pre-defined and co-defined, and the
connection of these outcomes to how the partnerships are delegated, either by a
coordinator on campus or directly with the faculty member. For pre-defined outcomes,
the purpose of the experience was defined prior to the partnership. For co-defined
partnerships, the outcomes are co-created with community and university. The delegation
is a structural element of the program, and occurs when the coordination is done

separately, so there is a person that arranges the service learning experience, but is not
engaged in the partnership. According to the authors,

[The study] highlights that the same structural factor—delegation—can
simultaneously have two, opposite effects. It can facilitate the formation of
a partnership by creating a more efficient path to identifying partners, and
it can discourage the staff involved from identifying outcomes other than
those predefined before the engagement. (p. 18)

As this quote indicates, the authors found that the structural element, delegation, can
influence the nature of the partnership.
Another relevant study by Clayton et al. (2010) combined the Bringle et al. (2009)
SOFAR structural model and layered it with Enos and Morton’s (2003) conceptual
framework for partnerships and Mashek, Cannaday, and Tangney’s (2007) work on
community collectedness to design an assessment tool to study partnerships. They then
implemented it with faculty involved in service learning. They found that “closeness”
was predictive of transformative relationships, i.e. the relationships that were most likely
to be transformative were personal in nature.
In summary, there has been limited work exploring how the structure of programs
influences partnerships, and I was unable to find any studies specifically within
engineering community engagement programs. My study adds to this work by examining
general themes of structure in relation to the nature, and clarifying different typologies of
nature in engineering community engagement partnerships.

2.4.4 Review for Research Question 3: Where is the Project in Project-Based Service
Learning?
Project-based service learning (PBSL) is one paradigm of service learning where
students work on a project with a community. Discussion of PBSL partnerships in the
larger service learning literature has been limited. Notable exceptions include Enos and
Morton (2003), who use project-based learning as a generic example of a transactional

partnership, and Stoecker’s (2010) description of an approach to PBSL with the intention
of creating community change, one that is deeply transformative. By engaging with
community through participatory action research, Stoecker argues that projects identified
by a community to meet a fundamental need can create deep-rooted change. Yet this
raises the question: what role does the project play within the partnership?
This research seeks to better understand how projects fit within the relationship of
a service learning project. Answering this question will provide a deeper understanding
how community and faculty view the purpose of the project within the relationship. If the
project is pivotal to the community, the program should alter their program accordingly.
If it is a side project, that would be useful information as well. Also, this could add depth
to the current program structures, since they do not depict the types of service being
offered. There might need to be different frameworks for different paradigms of service.

2.5 Summary of the Literature Review
This chapter provides a review of foundational literature related to engineering
community engagement programs and partnerships. The chapter starts with a discussion
of the historical trajectory of community engagement within engineering education, and
that of the wider service learning field. Orienting engineering programs to serve local
communities originated with the Morrill Act of 1862, which provided the funding to
develop universities in order to address the mechanical and agricultural needs of the
states. The deeper historical foundations of service learning can in part be traced back to
the Crisis of Community experienced at the beginning of the twentieth century, while
using service learning as a pedagogy became more popular in the mid-1980s with the
establishment of Campus Compact. Having engineering faculty and students work with
local non-profit and governmental organizations can be traced back to at least the 1960’s,
yet it is only in the last few decades that engineering community engagement have
increased in popularity, with recent journals and conference divisions focusing on
research and scholarship on engineering community engagement. In engineering

community engagement, most of the current research has focused on the students, with
minimal research focusing on faculty and partner experiences.
This study is attempting to fill gaps in the extant literature by investigating the
motivations, nature, and structure of partnerships in community engagement programs
from the point of view of administrators, advisors, community partners and students with
extensive understanding of the partnerships. The final section of this chapter reviewed
the literature that is most directly connected to each of the research questions, and
specifically previous studies that examined the motivations of community partners or
looked at the structure and nature of partnerships. The methods chapter that follows
provides an outline of the steps taken to undertake this research including the
methodology, site selection, data collection and data analysis within this study.

CHAPTER 3. METHODS
3.1 Introduction
This study is based on a descriptive and exploratory qualitative research design
that follows a multiple case study approach (Yin, 2002). The case study approach allows
the context of the data to be included, and integrated as an important part within the study
findings. The unit of analysis is the engineering community engagement programs, and
three are included in this study: Engineering Programs In Community Service (EPICS) at
Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana), Global Project Program United States
project centers (GPP-US) at Worcester Polytechnic Institution (WPI) (Worcester,
Massachusetts), and Community Playground Project (CPP) at Louisiana State University
(LSU) (Baton Rouge, Louisiana).
This chapter is organized around six sections: case study method, methodology,
site section, data collection, analysis, and trustworthiness. The first subsection, the case
study research strategy, highlights how the research method design is influenced by the
research questions, the lack of control the researcher had in the research context, and the
focus on contemporary issues. The methodology of this study is based on a reality-
oriented approach, where there is the assumption that a reality exists, and a truth is worth
striving for. The study sites were chosen from among those that maintain long-term
partnerships and provide course credit to formally recognize the educational experience
for participating students. Data collection included interviews with community partners,
faculty, staff, administrators, and students with extensive experience in community
engagement and/or significant motivation. As described in the data analysis section, the
first research question was addressed separately from the second and third questions.
Particular attention is paid to the data analysis process for the second and third

questions, namely to describe development and use of the Transactional, Cooperative,
and Communal (TCC) framework. Table 3-1 gives a summary overview of the
methods for this study, which are discussed more extensively in the remaining
sections of this chapter. The final section of this chapter describes how the methods
used in this study are related to the rigor of qualitative research.

Table 3-1: Overview of Methods
Section Explanation
Case Study
Research
Strategy
Case study method is appropriate because:
The research questions are explanatory and exploratory
The researcher does not have control over the situation
The research focuses on contemporary issues (Yin 2002)

Methodology Constructivist Paradigm (Guba & Lincoln, 1994) – reality
is created by individuals.

Site selection

Long-term partnerships.
Participating students receive course credit

Data collection

Semi-formal interviews (protocol in Appendix A) with
partners, advisors, administrators and students who knew
the partnerships well
Literature and policy documents when appropriate.

Data Analysis RQ1:
A combination of typological (Hatch, 2002) and thematic
analysis (Braun, 2006) to understand trends related to the
motivations of the affiliates and the partners of the
engineering community engagement programs
RQ2&3:
Phase 1 – Typological analysis grounded in the Phillips-
Ward framework (Phillips& Ward, 2009)
Phase 2 – Typological and interpretive analysis using the
TCC framework (Hatch, 2002)
Phase 3 – Comparative analysis across the case sites
(Patton, 2002)

3.2 Case Study Research Strategy
This study utilized a case study research design and method based on Yin
(2002). According to Yin, there are three primary conditions that need to be
considered when determining an appropriate research strategy: (1) the research
question(s), (2) the control the researcher has over the environment, and (3) the focus
on historical or contemporary issues. My first two research questions in this study are
explanatory, as I want to understand why individuals are involved in community
engagement projects and how the structure of the program influences the nature of the
relationship. The third question is exploratory, as I wanted deeper insights regarding
the role of projects within the context of the partnerships. Explanatory questions are
ideal for a case study approach, while exploratory can be done through a variety of
methods, including case study. The second condition is the control the researcher has
over the context. For this study, I do not have control over the phenomena. That is, I
do not have the ability to manipulate the context in order to create an experiment.
Not having control is appropriate for a case study, as I need to examine the context of
the phenomena. The third condition is the historical or contemporary issue. This
study focuses on contemporary issues, as I am interested in current partnerships.
Contemporary issues are appropriate for a case study research method.
The case study approach guides the research design, which links the initial
research question to the data collection and analysis. The case study method focuses
on distinct entities for the unit of analysis (Yin, 2002). For this study, the units of
analysis are the engineering community engagement programs, and the sub-units are
the individuals within the programs. The selection of the units is described in the site
selection section of this chapter. For each program, there were eight to eleven
participants within each unit. The analysis process analyzes each unit distinctively, so
that the context of the specific program could be captured. The context was then
included and discussed within the reporting of the results.

3.3 Methodology
The guiding methodology of the present research is based on a constructivist
paradigm. This paradigm impacts the research questions, design, and analysis by
providing a way of viewing the world. The constructivist ontology is based on the
notion that:

Realities are apprehendable in the form of multiple, intangible mental
constructs, socially and experimentally based, local and specific in
nature (although elements are often shared among many individuals
and even across cultures), and dependent for their form and content on
the individual persons or groups holding the constructions (Guba &
Lincoln, 1994, p.110).

This implies that the realities of an experience are subjective, and constructed by the
individual participants. Knowledge within this paradigm is a consensus by a group of
individuals who hold the same mental construct, but there can be different
constructions across different groups of individuals (i.e. gender, race, history, location,
etc.). The goal of constructivism is to understand, as opposed to a positivist or post-
positivist approach that aims to explain with the intent of predicting phenomena
(Guba & Lincoln, 1994).
The constructivist paradigm is appropriate for this study’s research questions
because they seek out to understand the motivations, structure, and nature of
partnerships while recognizing that the context associated with each partnership has a
high degree of influence on the partner experiences and relationships. There is
recognition that each participant will have a different notion and experience of the
partnership, and there for the partnerships will vary based on the individuals and
context and will not be consistent within or across programs.
However, there are certain techniques and assumptions I made that were more
aligned with a post-positivist paradigm, as it provided a greater degree of clarity as I
worked toward answering the research questions. This included the assumption that

by asking the participants questions about their experiences, the researcher can
discover their true motivations, interests, the structure of the program, and the nature
of the partnerships. What the research subjects say is taken explicitly. For the first
research question, there is little interpretation beyond what is said, and patterns were
counted numerically and color-coded to highlight their prevalence in the data. For the
analysis of the second and third research questions, an interpretive analysis was used,
which recognizes more of my own subjectivity in the findings. These findings,
however, were still explained and contextualized through a constructivist paradigm,
recognizing and articulating the unique situations of the cases. The second question
utilized an interpretive approach, as the process inserted my own voice and
subjectivity within the data. However, I also went through a series of checks to
insure that the data was in the voice of the participant. The steps I took are outlined
in the analysis subsection.
Within this paradigm, the validity of results is often evaluated based on the
notion of the “trustworthiness” of the findings. Triangulation of data sources can
increase accuracy and improve the credibility of the findings. For instance, talking to
multiple stakeholders and reviewing program policy documents allowed me to
triangulate the findings presented below. Establishing rapport with the participants
also improved trustworthiness. Further explanation regarding the validation of the
study findings is presented in a subsequent section of this chapter.

3.4 Site Selection
The main units of analysis for this study are the engineering community
engagement programs. The sub-units are individual partnerships. I chose engineering
engagement programs based on two conditions: that the program had long-standing
community partnerships, and offered credit for the students’ experience. The fact that
the programs had long-term partnerships insured that the participants could speak in-
depth about the partnership. The criteria of offering students credit highlights that
there is a degree of recognition within the programs regarding the educational value
of the engagement process. The study initially began focusing on partnerships in the

EPICS program as part of a Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) grant. Then as the
study evolved into a larger dissertation research project, my committee helped me
think through and contact other programs that were project-based, worked with
predominantly engineers or other STEM students, and had longstanding relationships
in the community. Through these networks and personal connections, I was able to
identify the three appropriate programs: Engineering Programs In Community
Service (EPICS) at Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana), Global Project
Program United States project centers (GPP-US) at Worcester Polytechnic Institution
(WPI) (Worcester, Massachusetts), and Community Playground Project (CPP) at
Louisiana State University (LSU) (Baton Rouge, Louisiana). The following
subsections will provide an over for of each program.

3.4.1 EPICS at Purdue University
Purdue is a land-grant university located in West Lafayette, Indiana. More
with more than half students are studying STEM fields, and Purdue is has a reputation
of excelling at engineering. In the 1990s there were discussions on the need to
increase professional skills within engineering graduates. As a result, Engineering
Projects In Community Service (EPICS) was started in 1995 to provide an avenue for
the engineering students to learn these important professional skills (Coyle, Jamieson,
& Oakes, 2005). The program initially attempted to have students work on projects
for industry, yet decided to work with community organization when industry was not
interested and there was a recognized need among local organization (Jamieson,
2012).
EPICS is an is an interdisciplinary service learning program at Purdue
University where engineering students are teamed with students from across campus
to work on projects, primarily for local community non-profit and government
organizations. Working with these partner organizations, students might develop an
exhibit for a local science museum, perform energy audits of office buildings, create a
bike share strategy for a local municipality, or develop software solutions for local
government agencies.
In Fall 2011 there were 388 students enrolled in EPICS, and 315 of these (or

81%) were enrolled in engineering. Many engineering students are able to count
EPICS as a technical elective. In certain departments, such as the School of Electrical
and Computer Engineering, students can also elect to take EPICS for capstone design
credit if they are working on a project related to that discipline (e.g., electrical
engineering students designing a robotic arm).
Currently, there are around 30 teams in EPICS, each having a different theme.
Within each team there might also be multiple projects. Sometimes a single
individual from the partner organization is the primary point of contact for all projects,
while in other instances there are multiple contacts. Students work on the projects for
one or more semesters and are assessed through “documented individual
accomplishments and learning and skill development per the course learning
objectives as well as the team’s accomplishments” (EPICS 2013).
Well-qualified staff, including faculty members or practicing professionals,
serve in the roles of advisors. Senior Ph.D. students can be mentored as co-advisors,
yet graduate students do not act solely as advisors. There are some instances when a
project partner acts as an advisor, but this is not typical within EPICS. The human-
centered design approach used by EPICS requires that the partners sign off at varying
stages of the design process, so they are integrated into the design (Zoltowski et al,
2010). On the EPICS website, there are a list of expectations of project partners;
these include:

• Meeting with the students three times each semester
• Responding via email or phone every one or two weeks
• Agreement to assume the majority of liability for projects after
completed and delivered
• Agreement to participate in the maintenance and service of
delivered project
• Willingness to work with the student teams to identify projects,
specify requirements, and provide ongoing critical feedback
(EPICS, 2014)

That above list outlines the partner’s commitments to the program. In addition, the
EPICS website provides a description of the context in which EPICS works best, and
other contexts in which EPICS does not work well. EPICS works best when the
partners are to be engaged in the project definition, to be able to identify both long
term and short-term projects, and can support the student’s educational experience.
EPICS does not work well if there is an expectation for a quick completion times, or
if projects do not have engineering or computing design components. The website It
also specifies that EPICS students are only taking the course for one to two credits a
semester, and so expectations of the students dedication should be recognized as
limited.

3.4.2 GPP at Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Worcester, Massachusetts, is a
technical university. Since the founding of the university in 1865, WPI was grounded
in the values of applying theory and practice (Dorsey, 1999). During the 1960s, there
was recognition that the baccalaureate education offered by the school was no
different than other public universities, and if they were going to compete, WPI
needed to transform the degree requirements. This insight instigated a reorganization
of the degree requirements in what was called the “WPI Plan.” Some of the key
considerations of the re-organization were: 1. students needed to learn how to be
lifetime learners, 2. students need to understand social issues well enough to critically
engage in discussions about what problems should be pursued and why certain
technologies should be developed, 3. students needed to harness their own personal
motivation, and 4. the university needed to create a sense of community for the
students (Alstyne et al., 1969).
The “WPI Plan” involved major curricular changes. More specifically, the
semester system was discarded, and WPI started to instead have seven-week terms.
Also, the Interactive Qualifying Project (IQP) was established as a graduation
requirement. The IQP requirement took up nine credit-hours, originally taking three
terms to complete in the junior year, where students had to work on a project at the
intersection of science, technology and society. In the 1970s, there was a realization

that this project could be done in one term for some federal agencies, state agencies,
NGOs, etc., and the students could work on a project while addressing the needs of
the partnering agencies. The first site became the Washington, DC project center.
This became a large success, and there were faculty regularly taking students down to
Washington, DC for a term, working with partnering agencies to complete the
students’ IQP requirements. Over time, there was also the development of additional
project sites throughout the US and around the world. In addition, a course was
created to help prepare students for these projects. In 2013 there were 3,893
undergraduate students at WPI, and WPI had admitted a first-year class of 1,103
students. About half of the students were majoring in an engineering discipline (WPI,
2013).
There is also a program that organizes the IQP off-campus experiences, the
Global Project Program (GPP). In the GPP, students in teams of three to four work
for two terms on a socio-technical project for an agency referred to as a “sponsor”.
This project is done outside of the student’s discipline, and is seen as detached from
disciplinary work. In the first term, students research the project and the organization,
and learn research techniques from social scientists. In the second term, the students
work on-site at a sponsoring agency. There are over thirty project centers throughout
the world, and each center sends students to four to six sponsoring agencies.
Occasionally a sponsor works with two teams at the same time. About half of the
students at WPI participate in GPP during their junior year.
This study specifically focused on US-based partnerships linked to centers in
the Eastern United States. I refer to these centers as GPP-US. Each center included in
this study has one or two center directors who are responsible for finding appropriate
projects for the students and maintaining the partnerships.

3.4.3 Community Playground Project at LSU
Louisiana State University (LSU) is a U.S. public Land-Grant university. In
1997, a faculty member started the Community Playground Project (CPP) to provide
students design experiences they could relate to. The program is instigated by a
single faculty member, yet LSU also has a Center for Community Engagement,

Learning, and Leadership to help coordinate service learning and other forms of
community engagement. Most of the university’s service learning classes use a model
where a whole class partners with a single agency or a small number of agencies for
the service learning experience.
The CPP assists in the design and building of playgrounds for public schools
within the East Baton Rouge school district. The CPP consists of two groups of LSU
students and numerous partnerships with schools, school districts and other
organizations within the community. One of LSU student groups is a first-year
biological engineering course, and the second is a design group consisting of
undergraduate and graduate students who have taken the first year course and
volunteer or are paid to work for the CPP. In the first-year course, teams of 3 or 4
students work together to design a playground for the partnering school. The LSU
first-year students are also required to go into the schools as reading or math buddies
for the elementary students to better understand the schools at a more personal level.
The elementary students and other stakeholders at the elementary schools provide
insight on what is appropriate for their school during the design process. Each first-
year class has around 30 students, and there are often two sections every spring
semester. If a student shows an interest in design and a capacity to engage with the
community, the student might be asked to work on the design team by the faculty
member. This group of design students will search for funding for the playgrounds
and see the projects to completion. They combine the first-year students’ reports to
finalize a design for a school and write up grant proposals as needed.
In addition to students, community partners are a part of the CPP. A critical
partner in the CPP is the Food & Grounds Inc. (F&G; pseudonymized). This
company provides the list of schools in need of a playground and offers manpower
and equipment for the builds based on the state of disrepair and safety violations of
existing structures. Also, there is a list of over 500 volunteers who have come out and
support the playground builds in various ways, from hauling surfacing to providing
meals. This group will also be asked to donate funds if a project is close to meeting
its funding goals.

3.4.4 Summary Overview of the Programs
This study examined partnerships at three engineering community
engagement programs: Engineering Programs In Community Service (EPICS) at
Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana), Global Project Program United States
project centers (GPP-US) at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) (Worcester,
Massachusetts), and Community Playground Project (CPP) at Louisiana State
University (LSU) (Baton Rouge, Louisiana). All three of the programs met the
requirements of having long-term partnerships within the United States, but yet have
differing program structures.
To get a better sense for the similarities and differences among the programs, I
outlined the twelve distinct program characteristics highlighted by McCahan, et al.
(2012). As presented in Table 3-2, this information helps highlight similarities and
differences across the three programs that are represented in my dissertation. These
differences and similarities were taken into account while identifying the themes in
the data analysis. The main similarities between the organizations are the rigor and
alignment of learning outcomes and assessment, and that they all support long-term
partnerships. The main differences include the size, curricular position, deliverables,
and ways they interact with partner organizations and communities. The EPICS and
GPP-US are both large programs that serve the institution, with over 500 students a
year. The CPP is limited to first-year Biological Engineering students and works with
around 60 students every spring semester. The deliverables also vary considerably.
For EPICS, students work on engineering-centered projects that are technical in
nature; for the GPP-US, there are more social science types of projects that focus on
integrating technology and society; and the CPP focuses on designing and building
playgrounds for local public schools.

51
Table 3-2: Program Characteristics Comparison of EPICS, GPP-US and CPP Community Engagement Programs based on the
Twelve Categories identified by McCahan et. al (2012)
Theme Description EPICS GPP CPP
Learning
outcomes
Rigor and clarity of
the outcomes

Rigorous and well defined
(EPICS, 2013)
1. Discipline Knowledge: ability
to apply material from their
discipline to the design of
community-based projects.
2. Design Process: an
understanding of design as a
start-to-finish process.
3. Lifelong Learning: an ability
to identify and acquire new
knowledge as a part of the
problem-solving/design
process.
4. Customer Awareness: an
awareness of the customer.
5. Teamwork: ability to function
on multidisciplinary teams
and an appreciation for the
contributions from
individuals from multiple
disciplines.
6. Communication: an ability to
communicate effectively both
orally and written with
widely-varying backgrounds.
7. Ethics: an awareness of
professional ethics and
responsibility.
8. Social Context: an
Rigorous and well defined
(WPI, 2004)
1. Demonstrate an understanding of
the project’s technical, social and
humanistic context.
2. Define clear, achievable goals and
objectives for the project.
3. Critically identify, utilize, and
properly cite information sources,
and integrate information from
multiple sources to identify
appropriate approaches to
addressing the project goals.
4. Select and implement a sound
approach to solving an
interdisciplinary problem.
5. Analyze and synthesize results
from social, ethical, humanistic,
technical or other perspectives, as
appropriate.
6. Maintain effective working
relationships within the project
team and with the project
advisor(s), recognizing and
resolving problems that may arise.
7. Demonstrate the ability to write
clearly, critically and
persuasively.
8. Demonstrate strong oral
communication skills, using
Rigorous and well defined
(Lima, 2013)
1. Define and discuss engineering and
biological engineering.
2. Be more confident in yourself and
your learning process, including why
you picked this (or another) major.
3. Understand in some depth the area of
biological engineering (or a different
discipline) in which you want to study.
4. Communicate with your community
partner(s) and your peers, and apply
rudimentary techniques for effectively
working together and resolving
conflicts.
5. Understand the process of engineering
design, including the following: what
is engineering design, how does one
approach a problem using the
engineering method, impact of social
and technical factors on design,
evaluation methods in design, and
effective communication of a design.
6. Be proficient with federal playground
safety and design standards (well
enough to pass the national exam for
Certified Playground Safety
Inspectors).
7. Create a playground design that
captures “the soul of the community.”

52
Theme Description EPICS GPP CPP
appreciation of the role that
their discipline can play in
social contexts. (p. 2)

appropriate, effective visual aids.
9. Demonstrate an awareness of the
ethical dimensions of their project
work. (p. 1)

8. Explain the connection between what
you learned through service outside
the classroom and instruction inside
the classroom.
9. Understand the significance of
communicating, and how it affects
your strength as an engineering
student. (p. 1-2)
Deliverables Are deliverables
required, and what
is the quantity and
quality expected?
Deliverables required.
Assignments and reflections
throughout the semester. Products
are delivered to the client when
they are completed. Project can
roll over each term.

Deliverables required. There is a set of
assignments and discussions with
advisors throughout the semester. A
final report with an oral presentation
to the sponsor is due at the end of the
term.
Deliverables required. Assignments and
reflections throughout the semester. After
the student teams create their final reports,
all the reports are reviewed by the
playground team during the final design
stage, once the funding has been allocated.
Assessment Is the assessment
rigorous and
aligned with the
outcomes and
deliverables?

Rigorous and aligned: Well
defined learning outcomes and
assessment rubrics to determine if
learning objectives were met.
Rigorous and aligned: Well defined
learning outcomes and assessment
rubrics to determine if learning
objectives were met.
Rigorous and aligned: Well defined
learning outcomes and assessment rubrics
to determine if learning objectives were
met.
Civic
outcomes
Are students
expected to engage
in self-reflection on
the civic element,
and is this included
in assessment?

There is self-reflective element in
the journal, where the students are
required to reflect on the needs of
the project partner.
This is not currently required, but
there is discussion about including a
required reflection component.
There is a self-reflective element required
where the students are reflecting on how
they designed for the soul of the
community.

53
Theme Description EPICS GPP CPP
Curricular
position
Is the LTS
experience extra
curricular, elective,
or required?
It is an elective course, and can
also be used for capstone design
in some programs/disciplines.
An IQP is required junior year; about
half of the students fulfill through the
GPP-US.
It is a required course for all first-year
Biological Engineering (BE) students.
There are two sections that both are
dedicated to CPP. Other students can take
the course, but it is neither required nor
systematically encouraged.
Group
characteristics
Are the teams
interdisciplinary?
How large are the
teams?
A team can be 8-24 students, but
they are broken down into project
teams that are smaller (typically
3-5 students). The teams are
interdisciplinary (across campus)
and vertically integrated (across
academic levels).

A team is 3-4 students. They are
interdisciplinary, yet these projects are
seen to be outside the scope of the
student’s discipline. All students have
junior standing. There will be 4-6
teams assigned to a given site.
There are teams with 3-4 students, all who
are BE students.
Size of the
program
Are there many
students, needing
administrative
support or small
enough for a single
faculty member to
handle?
In Fall 2011, the program served
388 students from across campus
(I collected data in Spring 2011).
Administrative support is needed.
They also are the center for the
EPICS programs at other
universities, both US and
international. There is a
coordinator who checks in on all
the partnerships.

The program supports about 500
students in a given year.
Administrative support is needed. The
center directors and advisors oversee
the partnerships.
There are two sections of the course with
around 30 students in each section. There
are some advanced students, some paid,
who provide some coordination for this
specific project. There is a service learning
center on campus, but no administration
delegated to the CPP.
Geographical
context
Is the service local
or global?
Focuses primarily on local, but
has global dimension as well
through activities of select teams.
I focus on local partnerships in
this study.

Focuses on global, but has local
partners as well. This study focuses
on partnerships in the Eastern United
States.
All the partnerships are local and within
the East Baton Rouge Parish (school
district).

54
Theme Description EPICS GPP CPP
Duration Is the partnership
for a short amount
of time or over the
length of years?
Partnerships are long-term, as the
commitment to EPICS is
expected to last multiple
semesters.
Partnerships are confined to a single
term, but can be recurring. There is a
deliverable to the client at the end of
the 14-week time frame.
Some partnerships, such as with F&G and
the school system has lasted for years.
Partnership length with specific schools
depends on funding. Students work on the
initial designs for a playground, and then
another team will work to get funding and
synthesize designs.
Interaction Is there little
engagement with
the partner or a full
immersive
experience?
Engagement varies based on the
partnership. Some partners will be
in regular communication, while
others will meet with the partner a
few times a semester and have
regular email exchange. The
partners are also invited to
technical review sessions

The students are at the partner
organization’s site for seven weeks
while completing the project, and also
have limited interactions with the
partners in the preceding preparation
term.
College students meet with the elementary
school to understand the playground needs.
The college students also read with the
elementary students and involve the
elementary students throughout the design
process. The faculty member works
closely with school administrators and
community members throughout the
design process.
Technical
content
Is there technical
content within the
project, and if so,
how complex?

The students design a product for
the partnering organization.
Technical content is present;
complexity varies based on
product.
The project is a socio-technical
project. It can vary in technical
content based on the project.
The students are required to understand a
variety of structural components, safety
issues, and access considerations related to
playground design.

Social content Is there a social
element within the
project, and if so,
how complex?

The emphasis on the social
dimension varies based on the
project.
The social content is complex and is
the main purpose of the experience.
The students are required to build
relationships with the community through
the reading program, and work along side
of children, teachers and community
members during the builds.

55
3.5 Data Collection
As mentioned in the beginning of this chapter, my research questions target
experiences, structure and nature within engineering community engagement partnerships.
I assumed that there would be similar structure within various partnerships in engineering
community engagement programs, so I made the programs the main unit of analysis with
the sub-unit being individuals in partnerships. The main source of data was semi-formal
interviews. In congruence with the interviews, I also familiarized myself with each site,
and collected publications and documents related to the programs. I had discussions with
administrators, and participated in various events, including sitting in on meetings and
accompanying a classes of students to project sites. This helped familiarize me with the
programs.
For each of the three program sites I conducted semi-formal interviews with key
constituents of the long-term partnerships (n=32). Of the participants interviewed thirty
interviews were analyzed: seven advisors, eighteen partners, two partner-advisors, two
students and three administrators. One partner interview was not included in the analysis
since the time lapse in participation was over five years, and many of the individual’s
answers did not provide enough detail to contribute to this study. Two of the partners
from the same organization asked to be interviewed together, and so the answers from
both the participants were analyzed together as a single interview.
There was no administrator interviewed in EPICS. However one of the advisors
had some administration responsibilities, such as curriculum development and was a part
of the EPICS research team. The lack of administration interviewed was due to a change
in research methods once the interviews begun, and the inclusion of the EPICS director
on my dissertation committee. During initial study designed, the partner-advisors were
thought to be more in a partner role, and the administrator was going to be conducted
after the main themes were analyzed. However, after the interviews were conducted, it
was clear that the Partner-Advisors were closer to affiliates of EPICS, and did not have
the same responses as other partners, so they were re-categorized. In order to keep an
even weight of affiliates and partners, and to have all the interviews for an each program

56
done together, the administration for EPICS was not included in the study. I brought in
the administration view in the study through the advisor who had a limited administration
role, the committee member, publication, policy documents, and workshops I attended by
the EPICS administrators.
Table 3-3 gives an overview of the interviews analyzed for the study. The
interviews were targeted for 45 to 90 minutes, with one lasting only 15 minutes because
of time constraints and the shortness of answers provided by the interviewee. For EPICS,
I transcribed all the interviews, and for GPP-US and CPP the interviews were transcribed
by a transcription agency.
Table 3-3: The Number and Role of Interviewees Analyzed in this Study
Partners Affiliates

Partner-
Advisors Advisors Administrators Students
EPICS (n=11) 5 2 3 1
GPP-US (n=11) 6 3 2
CPP (n=8) 5 1 1 1
Total (n=30) 16 2 7 3 2

I also had formal and informal discussions with program administrators to review
my research questions, collected program material relating to the partnerships, and
collected published work about each program. The participants for this study were
recruited based on a variety of factors, including their commitment to the program, their
role in the partnership, and the type of organizations they worked with. I also limited the
study partners under investigation to non-profit and governmental organizations.
The interview protocol was set up to answer the three research questions. The
interview questions are in part based on findings from other research done on
community-university relationships (Sandy & Holland, 2006; Stoecker & Tryon, 2009; L.
Worrall, 2007). The interview protocol can be found in Appendix A. Before conducting
the interviews I sat down with the program administrators to identify the appropriate
participants, and review the protocol to confirm that the questions were appropriate for

57
the site.
For EPICS, 12 interviews were conducted and 11 analyzed and reported in the
findings. One interview was not used because the partner had not been involved for over
five years and most of their responses were generic, or they had difficulty remembering
details. Among these, there were five individuals who acted solely as project partners,
three that were solely in advisor roles, and two who served dual roles as both project
partners and advisors. The dual roles are not common within EPICS, yet this role
provided a unique perspective of both the roles of the advisor and the project partner.
Additionally, one interviewee was both a project design reviewer and former student.
This individual was included because s/he had a depth of knowledge on the partnership
since they had spent three-and-a-half years as a student in EPICS and had continued to be
involved in reviewing the work of EPICS teams, and were able to provide insight on the
partnership itself. While the participants had diverse disciplinary expertise, five had
backgrounds in engineering.
For GPP-US, I focused on three project centers located in the Eastern United
States, where I interviewed partners (the partners are referred to as sponsors in the GPP),
center directors, and administrators (n=11). During data collection, all of the center
directors interviewed had taken on their role within the last couple of years. For one of
the project centers, I interviewed two directors, one former director (who left the role a
year prior to the interview), and the current director. For another project center, I
interviewed the former director (he had been director for 10 years). For the third center I
did not interview a director because there had been recent changes and the new director
had not worked at the site yet. I also interviewed two administrators of the program. One
of the administrators had directed a project center that was included in this study;
however, the administrator also had many other experiences at international sites. In the
interview the experiences as the project director intertwined with experiences with the
international sites, so this participant was looked solely as an administrator and not for
their role as a center director. The interview provided information of the preparation
course, and the dynamic and overall goals of the GPP.

58
Each center director forwarded my recruitment email to partners with long-term
standing. I followed up with sponsors who contacted me from the initial recruitment
emails. I interviewed six sponsors total, two from each site. There were two individuals
included at one of the sponsor agencies. The length of the partnerships varied from 3
terms to over 20 years. I was unable to get information on the exact length of the longer
partnerships.
At the LSU site, I interviewed eight individuals: one faculty member, one former
administrator, one student, two F&G employees, and three partners from local elementary
schools. The faculty member, administrator, student, and F&G employees have been
involved with numerous builds, while the partners at the elementary schools were
familiar with their own builds.
The faculty member sent me a list of email addressed and I forwarded my
recruitment email to partners. I followed up with partners who contacted me from the
initial recruitment email. The length of the partnerships varied from one to 17 years. The
partnerships at the schools were shorter in length, and the partnerships with the F&G
lasted much longer.
My main data source is interviews. However, I ground the interviews in and
triangulated them with other sources, such as program documentations and publications.
Program policies, publications, flyers, etc. were collected, and brought into the analysis
to confirm policies and procedures of the programs. Program forms that were related to
partnerships such as partner agreement forms and course syllabi were collected to help
understand the partnership and the program structure. Since these programs are
longstanding, there are also relevant publications and research describing the programs
(i.e., Coyle, et al., 2005; Vaz, 2011). Such documentation was used as to confirm and
enrich the findings.
For each site, I spent time familiarizing myself with the programs in activities
outside of the interviews. This helped me get a sense of the organization and provided me
with more context of the programs. For example, at Purdue I attended numerous EPICS
design reviews and a workshop introducing the program to interested faculty. For WPI, I
went to a poster session where some students presented their findings from the GPP-US

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projects they completed, and for LSU I attended working meetings where students were
designing playgrounds for local schools. Attending these activities added to my
knowledge of the site and increased my trustworthiness and rapport with individuals
within the program.
Through all of these actions, interviews, documentation gathering and
familiarizing myself with the program, I was able to gather the needed information to
address the research questions. The process of analyzing of this information is described
below. Human subjects IRB approval was obtained to insure ethical standards for this
study. The confidentiality agreement stated that there was a chance of the program staff
and administers being able to identify the participants. The participants were provided all
the excerpts used from their interviews, as well as the interpretation of the excerpts, to
insure both member checking and confidentiality. Additionally, Marybeth Lima, the
professor who started and oversaw the Community Playground Project, gave permission
to de-pseudonymize herself in this study, since the her work in the field is well known
and many researchers would be able to identify her based on the excerpts.

3.6 Data Analysis
The data analysis was done independently for research question one, and the
analysis for research question two and three was combined. For research question one,
the analysis of EPICS case provided an initial set of codes, expanded from previous
research that was then used for the GPP-US and CPP cases. For research question two
and three, the analysis was broken into two phases. The cases were each analyzed
individually, with an initial analysis of the GPP-US to provide the initial coding
framework that is then used to analyze the other cases.

3.6.1 Data analysis for Research Question 1
The analysis for the first research question consisted of two parts. The first part
focused on the analysis of the motivations for the EPICS site (Thompson & Jesiek, 2014)
and the second expanded the initial themes developed to encompass all three sites. The

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analysis utilized a combination of approaches described by Hatch (2002) and Braun and
Clark (2006). Hatch outlines a method for conducting a typological systematic analysis,
while Braun and Clarke offer a process for thematic analysis. Hatch’s typological
approach is intended to divide the data into pre-determined groups in order to provide
more understanding of a phenomenon. The thematic analysis identifies patterns or themes
within the data, both from pre-determined partners and ones that emerge from the data.
The typological approach draws heavily pre-existing categories to analyze and group
results, while the thematic analysis approach allows new patterns to emerge. Using these
two approaches provided a systematic approach to categorize and identify the themes of
motivations among the participants of the study.
The first phase, according to Hatch, involves identifying the initial typologies for
the analysis. In the coding phase of the analysis, each of the EPICS excerpts was
summarized for main ideas in a summary sheet. I categorized the motivations according
to the typologies and started to make notes of various patterns, relationships, and themes I
saw across interview excerpts. I developed a coding framework based on a combination
of the emergent themes and the previous research. I reviewed these codes with my
advisors. I used Dedoose qualitative data analysis application software to code the
transcripts based on the new set of codes. These codes categorized the motivation of the
participants for being involved in the programs. I exported excerpts and sorted the codes
based on potential themes and sub-themes to determine what patterns were supported by
the data. I then reviewed previous literature and policy documentations for evidence
regarding the wider prevalence of these themes.
My advisor reviewed the themes and we refined the codes insuring that the
excerpts fit well within each theme. At this point, some of the codes were combined.
Once my advisor and I determined the themes, I recoded the EPICS data set to insure that
the themes adequately represented the data and referred back to policy documents and
research on the EPICS program to provide an additional validation check on the themes.
Special attention was paid to looking for data that potentially disproved or refuted the
themes. I then used these codes to analyze the interviews associated with the GPP-US
and CPP sites. In the analysis for CPP and GPP, a few new codes were added to highlight

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variations found among the programs. The codes were clustered around three themes. All
the motivation themes were then read together, and each excerpt was summarized and
clustered together around the identified themes. In the findings for question one, I give
specific attention to incidences of both variation and similarity across sites and
stakeholders. The themes were then written up, and reviewed by my advisor.

3.6.2 Data analysis for Research Question 2 and 3
The analysis process for question 2 and 3 consisted of three phases. The first
phase uses the Phillips-Ward framework for data analysis of the GPP-US. From this
phase, there was the initial coding framework using the Phillips-Ward framework,
however, due to the unique context of the GPP-US, being an organizational structure as
described in the findings (Theme 2), a second phase was used which included the
development of the TCC framework to examine the interactions and activities within the
partnerships. The second phase is broken into two steps, the first step discusses the
analysis of the GPP-US and the second examines the CPP and the EPICS cases. The third
phase is a comparison analysis of all the three cases.
The analysis initially focused solely on question 2; however, in the course of
analysis one of the main structural themes that emerged was how the project influenced
the partnership, and thus question 3 emerged within this analysis.
3.6.2.1 Phase 1: The Phillips-Ward Framework
The first phase of analysis of question two examined the GPP-US transcripts and
linked them to the 2-dimensional framework defined by Phillips and Ward (2009). This
was done through a typological approach where the initial typological codes were
designated to be broad and focused on instances where the interviewee discussed
interactions and/or views of the partnerships. As mentioned in the literature review, there
are two dimensions of partnerships. The first, labeled type, is based on Enos and
Morton’s (2003) framework of partnerships moving on a continuum from transactional to
transformative. The second dimension, extent, categorizes transformation due to the

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partnership, and is grounded in the works of Furco and Holland (2004), Dorado and Giles
(2004), and Torres & Schaffer (2000).
Each excerpt was documented in a summary sheet in Microsoft Excel in
accordance with the interpretive approach (Hatch 2002), with a note created for each
excerpt describing how the excerpt portrayed the nature of the partnership. I identified
themes by asking the question: What structural elements are related to the nature of the
partnership? I wrote up the key themes and my interpretation of the phenomena for each
center in the GPP-US and reviewed it with my advisor. Based on these conversations, I
updated the themes. In order to categorize each partnership into specific stages according
to the framework, I created two tables within Excel: one with the transformative
dimension and the other with the extent dimension (Phillips & Ward, 2009). I separated
each of the four stages of the two dimensions and classified each stage into a set of
characteristics and key identifiers in accordance with the framework. Figure 3-1-1 gives
an example of one section of the table.
For each characteristic and key identifier, I created a column in the sheet, and
each row was connected to how each participant described the partnership(s) with which
they associated. In Figure 2-1, the D1 and D2 refer to the directors associated with the
center interviewed, and P1 and P2 are the partners who I interviewed. In each cell
indicating the intersection of a given participant with a given characteristic/identifier, I
connected it to the structural element (S) in the program, and/or evidence within the
interviews (X). The policy documents and previous research on the program was used as
evidence for the structural elements when appropriate. I left the cell blank when no
evidence for a given criterion could be found in a certain interview or partnership. Also,
for each of the characteristics/key identifiers I wrote a memo on how each
characteristic/identifier potentially relates to the structure of the overall program. I paid
specific attention to the structural elements, which had both similarities and differences
across the three sites described in Table 3-2. The notes for each of the characteristics
were written in complete sentences in accordance with Hatch (2002).

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Figure 3-1: Center A – An image of MS Excel Worksheet Highlighting the Phillips-Ward
Framework Dimension for Extent Dimension.

The first phase of analysis resulted in an understanding of how key characteristics
and identifiers are related to the nature of the partnership. This included how the
organizational structure of the GPP-US includes policies and procedures that in turn
influenced the nature of the partnership (Theme 2). In the course of this analysis, I
recognized that the Phillips-Ward framework did not adequately take into account the
organizational influence. The Phillips-Ward framework was developed based on an
extensive literature review of service-learning partnerships, which is grounded in
theoretical and empirical data. However, the partnerships in the GPP-US developed
differently, and thus this framework may not be appropriate.

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Recognizing that the Phillips-Ward Framework fit for the agencies in several
aspects, it is worth further discussion of traditional service learning partnerships as
compared to the specific history and purpose of engineering community engagement
programs. All partnerships have their unique histories, and the purpose for involvement
can vary greatly. However, traditional service learning partnerships may have different
trajectories than engineering educational community programs, and these differences
could potentially alter the type and extent of the partnerships that develop. For example,
a hypothetical service learning partnerships trajectory could include a model where an
instructor worked with a local non-profit to provide the students with supplemental
experience for their course work, i.e. sociology faculty teaching about poverty by having
students work in a food bank. In this example, it is clear to see how this relationship can
go through the stages identified by Phillips and Ward (2009), where at first students come
in and do a service, and the agency does not care if students or other volunteers do the
work, and the instructor does not care which agency the students are serving. Yet through
time, the instructor could work with the agency and the community members to figure
out the best way to address poverty in the community. There could also be a break from
traditional disciplinary roles to address key needs, such as providing childcare or
lobbying a local congressional representative. The relationship can then grow, bringing
in a wider range of students, and radically changing the face of poverty in a community,
as well as changing the community-university relationship.
Yet my analysis of the GPP-US program suggested a different kind of evolution.
From the beginning, the students are often working on a unique project that is often
connected to their technical knowledge. This is most often outside the expertise of other
volunteers that regularly work with the programs. In addition, there is often a distinct
structure that allows a large number of students and high levels of consistency in program
experiences. The associated partner relationships therefore did not evolve holistically, but
were instead inflected by many structural elements that where intentionally chosen by the
program throughout time to meet the specific needs of the program.
As a result, initial analysis of the GPP-US case resulted in a bifurcation of data in
the type dimension, as many of the partnerships had characteristics in both the static and

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transformative stage, which are opposites sides of a progressive dimension. In the static
stage, the GPP-US program met three criteria: “the institution has no stake in any
particular community agency;” “the partner does not have a say in the learning outcomes
of the students;” and “the research goals of the university are not being met within the
program” (Phillips, 2007, p. 111). Yet the GPP-US program also met the following
characteristics for the transformative dimension: “there are no distinction between where
the boundaries of education end and service to the community begins,” “no distinction
exists between traditional educational experiences and community engagement
experiences,” “the community is as viable a learning environment as the campus,”
“knowledge created is shared among all members of the partnership,” “knowledge
created directly benefits community partners,” and “service experiences of the
partnership inform and transform learning” (Phillips, 2007, p. 112).
Since the Phillips-Ward framework did not adequately describe the partnerships
within the GPP-US case, I decided to reconsider the data analysis approach. This led to
the second phase of analysis, including the development of the TCC framework and
recoding of the data, as described below.
3.6.2.2 Phase 2a: The TCC Framework for GPP-US
Through the process of analyzing the partnerships according to the Phillips-Ward
framework, it became clear to me that the boundary between the program and the
community was an essential aspect of the nature of the partnerships. There were some
partnerships where there were personal connections made and the participants were
working as a single team, and there were others that saw the program as a distinct entity
from the community they were serving. I started to draw out diagrams, mapping the
partnerships to understand the boundaries between the different constituents. The
SOFAR model, as presented in the literature review, became a useful template as I
created dotted lines around the different constituents to determine which were part of the
“program” and which were part of the community.
In May 2014, the framework started to come together in tandem with my
participation in a seminar by Dr. Svarovsky titled “Exploring the Role of Science

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Museums in Broadening Participation in Engineering.” In the talk, she mentioned that
the Science Museum of Minnesota was having a cooperative relationship with the
community. After the seminar, I discussed my research with her, and she pointed me to
Feinstein and Meshoulam’s (2014) paper examining equity in science museums. One of
their key findings was to understand the institutional logics of science museums’
approach to equity. In their study, they identified two logics, “client” logic and
“cooperative” logic:

When an organization was using client logic, staff tended to see
themselves and their colleagues as a coherent “us,” separated by
institutional barriers from the less distinct “them” of the surrounding
community. The challenge of equity was framed in terms of serving an
external clientele. In the words of one administrative leader “how do we
raise the awareness of the community at large that, you know, we are here
to serve you?” On the other hand, when an organization was using
cooperative logic, its language and activities emphasized shared
ownership of programs, and staff found many ways to blur the lines
between the institutional “us” and community “them.” (Feinstein &
Meshoulam, 2014, p. 386)

As this excerpt states, organizations with client-based logic focused activities and
language on communities as separate from the organization, while the cooperative logic
focused on a joint ownership of the program and process.
There are three examples in the Feinstein and Meshoulam paper that readily map
onto the engineering engagement partnerships. The first is the approach that science
museums had for adapting exhibits and programs for certain communities. In a client–
oriented approach, the museum programs would create a model of exhibits or programs,
and then contact a community members to give feedback and thoughts on how the
program would best meet the needs of the community. By contrast, a cooperative
approach was centered on having community co-authors of the programming, often with

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advisory boards that had regular communication with the designers, and relationship
managers to make sure the voice of the community was included in the programming.
Even programs that did not focus on a specific community still sought out feedback from
various communities within the cooperative approach.
The second example is that of a museum internship program run by many of the
museums studied. The internship programs were designed to have a diverse group of
young people work in the museums. The client-oriented model had “prescribed roles,
conducting and participating in educational programs designed by permanent staff.
Although these youth interns presumably knew a great deal about their diverse
communities, they were not invited to contribute new programming, and there was no
obvious path for them to move up within the organization” (Feinstein & Meshoulam,
2014, p. 386). The cooperative approach would instead recognize the interns as a source
of knowledge and creativity, harnessed this knowledge in creating programming, and
provided them with pathways to become permanent staff members.
The third example presented by Feinstein and Meshoulam is “taking the science
to the people” (2014, p. 81). These are programs that went outside of the museums into
the local communities. In the client-logic model, the museum floor was replicated in
other venues such as schools or libraries, and the staff members were the facilitators of
the science knowledge. In the cooperative-logic, capacity building was a key attribute of
the program within the community. This was done through training and empowering
community members to run their own workshops, so community members could become
the local science experts. Another cooperative approach includes working with other
organizations that have science goals, so the museums offer support for the local
organizations own programs.
These examples are similar to trends in my data on engineering community
engagement partnerships, where there were specific incidences when the community was
recognized as a clientele the program was serving, and others when they were working as
a single unit. In subsequent months I met and discussed the notion of partnerships with
more researchers, including Dr. Linda Vanasupa, who pushed on the notion and
suggested that there was a third and more integrated kind of approach, and suggested that

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I read one of her recent publications (Vanasupa et. al, 2014). After the discussion with
Dr. Vanasupa, I called the third nature of partnership collaborative. Yet in further
reflections and discussions with my advisor, I decided that the term communal was more
appropriate in implying deeper connections that can form in partnerships.
From this point I had a basic outline for the TCC framework. I then reviewed
literature and examined other research that had categorized service-learning partnerships.
This allowed me to validate the use of such a framework, and more clearly understand the
nature of different types of partnerships. I focused on using this emerging framework to
look at specific actions, behaviors, and language used by the participants. This approach
is similar to Doraldo and Giles’ (2004) work on partnerships, as they coded for behaviors
to determine the path of engagement, and Feinstein and Meshoulam’s (2014) study that
analyzed the interviews to examine institutional logics that Informal Science Education
(ISE) centers had with the public.
The GPP-US data was then recoded using the TCC framework, as described in the
following subsections. This framework supported my primary intention to understand the
nature of specific partnerships, rather than the whole organization. These interactions are
influenced by a combination of both organizational logic and categorizations of
partnership types. The codes are similar to the paths of engagement (Dorado & Giles,
2004) as they are dependent on structural elements of the program and can vary over time.
It is worth noting the language of the framework. I intentionally did not use the
word “transformative” in the coding framework, although it is often used to describe
service-learning partnerships. I found that some individuals and programs did not
experience transformation because acting as a cohesive community and challenging the
societal norms was an ordinary occurrence within the partnerships or for the individual.
For example, while I was analyzing the GPP-US in accordance to the Phillips-Ward
framework, one of the characteristics under the type dimension, in the alters stage, is the
following characteristic: “Claims of academic expertise as well as academic neutrality
become problematic.” Regarding academic expertise, I connected this characteristic to
the structure of the program, since the GPP-US was designed with the idea that the
affiliates of the sponsor agency are the expert within their domain. There were many

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structural elements that reinforced the notion of the partner’s expertise. The wording of
the Phillips-Ward framework implies that there was a change of mindset within the
community, and many partnerships might have to go through a transformation to get to
that point. However, GPP-US did not, since the notion that academic expertise is
problematic seemed to be a core principle of the program and was there since the initial
development. For this reason, I did not use the word “transformational,” but I did make
notes when individuals identified transformation within themselves and others.
The following sections will a description of the Transaction, Cooperative, and
Communal partnerships, and provide the previous literature that describes each of the
partnerships.

3.6.2.2.1 Transactional Partnerships
The transactional category preserves or enhances a boundary between the
stakeholder, increasing a sense of “us” and “them”. This creates a sense of separation
between stakeholders. The primary basis for the code transactional was Feinstein and
Meshoulam’s (2014) notion of client logic. As mentioned above, Feinstein and
Meshoulam recognized that some organizations’ “staff tended to see themselves and their
colleagues as a coherent ‘us,’ separated by institutional barriers from the less distinct
‘them’ of the surrounding community,” (p. 386) and identified this behavior as client
logic. I expanded this to include interactions where stakeholders (i.e. community partners,
students, community members, faculty, administrators, etc.) are bounded within their
unique group having their own identities, norms and expectations. Transactional
interactions would be when the ‘students’ have distinct roles and responsibilities
compared to other stakeholders.
The interactions that have and enhance a notion of “us” and “them” can be linked
to service or exchange-related activities (Sockett 1998). Sockett categorizes relationships
according to trust and complexity, describing service relationships as offering support for
an institution-related function, while exchange relationships occur when there is a give-
take of resources for mutual benefit. This corresponds to Enos and Morton’s (2003)

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notion of a transactional partnership where relationships “are instrumental, designed to
complete a task with no greater plan or promise. The parties engage together because
each has something the other finds useful” (p.24).
A subcategory of transactional is “unidirectional.” These are transactional
interactions and activities that are one sided, so that only one stakeholder benefits from
the interaction or activity. When the majority of the interactions and activities are done
unilaterally, the partnership can be described using Clayton et al.’s (2010) notion of
exploitative relationships, where the relationship is “so unilateral that, intentionally or
unintentionally, they take advantage of or harm one or both parties” (p.8). The degree of
unilateral-transactional activities can vary considerably in extent, including as little as
one instance of miscommunication that is easily corrected by the students, to something
as severe as an intentional exploitation of the students by a project partner.
In summary, the following is a list of characteristics that are common among
transactional interactions and activities:

• Service done to, or for, the differing stakeholders (Sockett 1998).
• An exchange relationship, where the community is interested in getting a need
met, and the program is interested in providing participating students with an
educational experience (Socket 1998, Enos & Morton 2002).
• Community members viewed as “sources of important feedback” on designs
established by the program (Feinstein & Meshoulam 2014).
• Program members are the “experts” (Feinstein & Meshoulam 2014).

The following example is from GPP-US and highlights a community sponsor
guiding the student through a project. In this case, the sponsor has some information that
could help the student, yet the sponsor has decided not to give it to the student, as the
sponsor sees himself or herself as an educator or expert. The sponsor believes that the
student can learn from the experience by going through the process of working on the
project:

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I like to not give them too much help … and see the way that they work,
and how they sort of attack it. I like to give them some constructive
criticism and make them think about it. I don’t want to hand them the
answers. (GPP-US Sponsor)

This interaction heightens the boundary between the stakeholders, since there is
one party (the sponsor) who holds knowledge that another party (the student)
lacks.

3.6.2.2.2 Cooperative Partnerships
In cooperative interactions and activities, there is a shared ownership and
development of programs and an intentionality to blur the lines between the “us” and
“them.” This category is grounded in Feinstein and Meshoulam’s (2014) notion of
cooperative logic, and is connected to Sockett’s definition of cooperative relationships,
where there is recognition that each party has unique knowledge, and where parties “plan
together and share responsibilities” (Sockett 1998, p.77). Characteristics of cooperative
interactions and activities include:
• The community members are co-authors in the design process (Feinstein &
Meshoulam 2014).
• The knowledge, skills and abilities of all the stakeholders are recognized and
utilized in the process (Feinstein & Meshoulam 2014; Sockett 1998).
• The projects aim to train and make local experts, handing off knowledge to
the community (Feinstein & Meshoulam 2014).
• Organizations are supported to develop and reach their own sets of goals
(Feinstein & Meshoulam 2014).
An example of a cooperative interaction includes a GPP-US community sponsor
who describes learning as a process done with the students:

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It seems almost an experiential process, as you’re learning this stuff
together … I never had a project where I already knew the answer. I’ll have
a project where I think I know the answer, and I need them to sort of
buttress it, and give me some leverage, so I can kinda make the case, but
most of the time, we’re learning the stuff together. (GPP-US Sponsor)

This interaction is cooperative because the sponsor intends to invite the students into
activities and mutual learning, with the expressed purpose of having them become a part
of the agency.

3.6.2.2.3 Communal Partnerships
In the communal category, interactions, activities, and the roles tend to transcend
the identities of the groups. The communal category is grounded in Vanasupa and
Schlemer’s (2014) collaborative co-creating partnerships where “participants [are]
committed to a larger set of shared commitments, such as the long-term well-being of a
community. The tasks that are completed are done so with a priority placed on the social
value” (p. 6). This category is also connected to Enos and Morton’s (2003) notion of
transformational relationships, where partnerships “proceed with less definition, with an
openness to unanticipated developments… here, there is an expectation that things may
change, that the order may be disturbed, and that new relationships, identities, and values
may emerge” (p. 24). It is also connected to Sockett’s (1998) notion of systematic and
transformational relationships, where “parties share responsibilities for planning, decision
making, funding, operations, and evaluation of activities and which each institution is
transformed through the relationship” (p. 76). Characteristics of communal interactions
and activities include:
• Individuals are committed to higher intended purposes, such as creating a
sense of community (Vanasupa & Schlemer 2014).
• There is often long-term planning for the partnership (Enos & Morton
2003).

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• There is recognition of and value placed on the relationship that is formed
(Enos & Morton 2003).
• The partnership structure has an openness to allow for new possibilities
that may emerge (Enos & Morton 2003).
An example of the communal nature is when one partner describes how a CEO of
a major company volunteers his time at the playground builds:

We’ve got a CEO of a major company that shows up on just about every
playground build, and you’d never who he was, and he won’t let you tell
anybody who he is. … You would never know who he was out there in a
pair of grungy shorts and dirty t-shirt out there moving mulch all day, or
whatever anybody asks him to do. And [the playground project] just draws
everybody from that to the parent whose kid goes to the school who is out
cutting grass at a company opposite of mine everyday coming over and
lending the same hand, working side-by-side. (CPP Partner)

This example highlights a communal activity, since there are individuals from
different classes who are working together to build a playground. The activity
itself allows the individuals to work together and heightens the sense of equality.

3.6.2.2.4 TCC framework for the GPP-US
After establishing these new categories to describe the nature of interactions and
activities, I went back through the data again and coded with the new framework using
the Dedoose software. I updated the memos and wrote a note on the rationale for each
excerpt, specifically discussing the structural elements that influenced the nature of the
interaction or activity coded. I created a list of structural themes, and reviewed this
information with my advisor.
Next, I searched on salient interpretations in accordance with the interpretive
approach (Hatch, 2002). In this step, I reviewed memos and notes from each of the

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excerpts, within the table, and reviewed the documents I had been sending my advisor,
asking the question: how does the structure of the program relate to the nature of this
interaction? I updated the themes associated with the structural elements based on
conversations and a review of the notes, focusing on structural elements that relate to the
nature of the partnership. At this point, I reread the interviews that had been coded for
partnerships, searching for supporting evidence as well as challenges to the themes. Next,
I wrote a draft summary of findings, which was then reviewed by my advisor and one of
the participants from GPP-US who was familiar with the program, for verification
purposes as outlined by Hatch (2002). I revised the findings based on their feedback.
From phases 1 and 2a, I found five structural themes that influenced the nature of
the partnerships: purpose, context and history; overall structure; type of partnering
agency; individual delegation; and project. The next subsection will review how I coded
for these five themes in the CPP and EPICS cases.

3.6.2.3 Phase 2b: The TCC Framework for the CPP and EPICS Cases
I next analyzed the CPP and then the EPICS cases, coding interactions and
activities for the nature of the interaction in accordance with the TCC framework. I did
the coding in Dedoose, and for each of the interviews I created a memo sheet and
summarized each excerpt in Excel. For each one coded with a specific nature, I asked
myself: how does the structure of the program relate to the nature of this interaction? I
used a deductive and inductive approach, as I used the initial themes developed in the
GPP-US case as a starting point, and allowed new themes to arise as needed. I created a
note describing the rationale for each excerpt’s coding. There were a few new codes
added, and they eventually merged into pre-existing codes as I became more familiar
with the data. For example, I first created a new code named “network of support” within
the CPP case, but through reflection and discussions with my advisor I came to realize
that this was a central characteristic to the overall structure of the program, and then
merged the codes. Also, I updated one of the themes, as the “purpose, context and
history” simply became “purpose” because that was structural element that influenced the

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partnership while the context and history provided a deeper understanding into the
purpose.
Once all the data was coded, I exported the excerpts coded for the differing
natures (transactional, cooperative and communal) into an Excel spreadsheet. I re-read
all the excerpts and created a list of themes of the differing natures in each of the
structural elements. These themes provided an overview of each structural element. In
accordance with Hatch’s (2002) guidelines for interpretive analysis, I wrote a draft
summary of each of the structural element in connection with the nature of the
interactions and sent it to individuals highly familiar with the CPP and EPICS programs.
This was intended to give an overview of how the specific structural elements impact the
nature of the partnership. Based on the feedback, the themes were again revised. At this
point, there were five structural themes, a sixth one was include in the third phase of
analysis described next.

3.6.2.4 Research Question 2 and 3 Phase 3: Comparison of the Three Sites
I created a summary of the findings for each of the sites to highlight how the five
structural elements relate to the nature of the partnerships. I then performed a
comparative analysis across the three cases. For each of the five structural elements, I
reread the three summary reports, keeping the question in mind: how does the structure
of the program relate to the nature of the partnership? I made an intentional effort to
search for commonalities and differences among the three programs (Patton, 2002).
Many of the findings overlapped well, and offered more depth to the context of the
structural theme. I then revised the themes to encompass all of the three programmatic
outcomes, highlighting the differences and communalities among the programs.
3.6.2.5 Reporting the Frequency of Findings
In the process of analysis, I read and coded each interview for the motivations
(RQ1), the nature with corresponding structures (RQ2), and the project (RQ3). Through

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this data analysis process, I was able to determine the main themes for each of the
questions, as well as the number of times each participant discussed each theme.
Below I present the themes as well as the frequencies within the various findings.
I believe the frequency that themes occur in the interviews can, at times, provide a way to
weight the prevalence and importance of the partner motivations. The benefit of this
approach is that it validates and contextualizes a theme, especially in the motivations
section. Having a theme mentioned multiple times by multiple participants is more likely
to be an important motivation among the interviewees. However, the limitation of
presenting this information in this way is that it can potentially validate my own biases. I
was the one who conducted the interviews and coded the data. In this process, I did not
check for inter-rater reliability. However, I did check the findings with my advisor and
provided the quotes and interpretations to be checked by the participants. It is therefore
important to recognize that the exact frequency counts are not the key meaning, but rather
represent the larger trends in the data set. For example, if a participant mentioned
personal enjoyment from teaching three times during an interview, I present this
information not to highlight that the participant brought it up three times, but rather that
the participant saw this as an important enough motivation and I coded it at three separate
times throughout the interview.
In order to demonstrate this importance in frequency and not specific number, I
also added color to these tables. This color creates a visualization of the frequency of the
themes, emphasizing how there certain themes were more common among the
interviewees.

3.7 Trustworthiness
All respectable research needs to adhere to a level of rigor that highlights
trustworthiness of the findings. Guba (1981) describe four criteria for rigorous
qualitative research: credibility, transferability, dependability and confirmability.
Shenton (2004) offers research methods that researchers include in their research design
to insure trustworthiness of the data based on Guba’s four criteria. This section will go

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through the four criteria, highlighting the various approaches that I did within study that
is important to rigorous qualitative research.
The first criterion is that of credibility. This is connected to how well the findings
align with the reality of the situation. For example in this study, the credibility of the
findings for research question one center on the extent to which the motivations I identify
and report are true to the actual motivations of the participants. From the point of my first
introduction to the participants, I was focusing on the credibility. I was introduced to the
participants through trusted individual within the program. All the participants very
much liked and appreciated the programs, which helped establish the trust during the
interviews. A deeper relationship with the participants could have provided more insight
into the partnerships, and this limitation is discussed in the final chapter of this
dissertation. Triangulation was also a central part of the research design. In the data
collection and analysis process, I triangulated my sources by talking to many participants
across three programs, and gathering documents when appropriate. The iterative
questioning in the interviews also offered a point of triangulation, as I often asked the
same questions in multiple ways in order to insure that the answer of the participants
remained the same or became more nuanced through multiple rounds. Through data
analysis and in data collection, I searched for examples that contradicted the main themes.
I had regular meetings to discuss the research design with my advisor and often had
meetings with other research colleagues. After the interviews, the participants provided
the transcripts, and were also given the quotations and interpretations for the excerpts
used in the study for review. Additionally, the findings were written in the context of
each program, and links to other research was described as appropriate.
The second criterion of rigor within qualitative research is that of transferability.
Transferability refers to the “extent to which the findings of one study can be applied to
other situations” (Merriam, 1998). Although qualitative research that is grounded in a
constructivist paradigm recognizes that the research results are limited to the participants
involved, there are research design elements that increase the transferability of a study.
Shenton (2004) outlines specific factors that influence transferability, including: the
number of organizations involved and where they are based, the number and

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characteristics of the participants, data collection methods, the number and length of data
collection sessions, and the time period of the data collection. The exact data collection
methods are presented in the previous subsection. Yet to further highlight, there were 32
total participants with 30 interviews analyzed. The site locations were geographically
diverse within the United States, with one program located in the Midwest, one in the
Northeast, and one in the South. The participants were from a total of twenty different
organizations, including non-profits, governmental agencies, and the universities. This
kind of diversity is common in partnerships maintained by engineering community
engagement programs. The results presented below investigate and highlight many
results that are unique to specific programs, as well as results that were common across
all three programs. This study aimed to be transferable to other engineering community
engagement programs. However, there are limitations to transferability, such as in the
case of international partnerships. This limitation is discussed further in Chapter 7.
The third criterion for rigorous qualitative research is that of dependability.
Dependability is comparable to the quantitative notion of reliability, or the repeatability
of the study. Since qualitative research is based on many factors that cannot easily be
replicated – such as the person who is doing the research or the context of the interviews
– dependability need not to be grounded in the repeatability, but rather the rationale and
consistency of the research approaches. In this chapter, I clearly articulate the research
approaches and the rationale for using these approaches. This includes basing the
research design in the established case study approach established by Yin, and using
well-established and clear analysis methods, such as the typological and the interpretive
analysis of Hatch (2002) and the thematic analysis described by Braun and Clark (2006).
By clearly identifying the steps I conducted in the research, and grounding those steps in
previous studies, I strived to create a sense of dependability within this study.
The forth and final criteria is that of confirmability. The positivist equivalent of
confirmability is objectivity. However, in qualitative research, the subjectivity of the
researcher is inevitable, since the researcher will be deeply involved in the process
throughout the research process, from data collection to analysis and reporting. It is
therefore critical that steps be taken to insure that the findings reflect the experiences and

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ideas of the participants and not the preferences of the researcher. To do this, Shenton
provides suggestions including: triangulation, critically reflecting on the beliefs and
assumptions of the researcher, recognizing the possible shortcomings of the study
methods, reporting in-depth on the research methods so they may be scrutinized, and
keeping a research “audit trail.” In this study I have performed triangulation, as
discussed in the credibility criteria. The process of reflecting on my personal beliefs and
assumptions was a regular discussion topic with my advisor, and the description of the
process is included in the limitation section in the last chapter. Lastly, the methods
section provides a detailed description of my methods and their possible limitations.
This section described the various steps that I took to ensure rigor and
systematically in this qualitative research project. These steps ensure a level of
trustworthiness of the research, which are credible, transferable, dependable and
confirmable.

3.8 Conclusion of the Methods
This chapter provided an overview of the methods used in this study, organized
around six main sections: case study research approach, methodology, site section, data
collection, data analysis, and trustworthiness. The next two chapters present the major
findings from the study. Chapter 4 includes findings for RQ1 related to the motivations of
affiliates and the partners of the engineering community engagement programs, split into
three main themes: motivations related to students, personal motivations, and
organizational motivations. Chapter 5 presents the findings for RQ2 and RQ3, with an
emphasis on highlighting how the structure of the programs influences the nature of the
partnerships. Chapter 5 more specifically discusses six structural themes: purpose,
overall structure, partnering agency, individuals, project, and students in the curricula.
Implications for new and established engineering community engagement programs are
mentioned in each of the findings chapters, and then revisited in the final Chapter 6. The
last chapter also includes further discussion about the methodological and other
limitations of this study, as well as some future possible research directions.

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CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS FROM RESEARCH QUESTION 1
4.1 Introduction for Research Question 1 Findings
This chapter reviews the findings of why participants are involved in the
community engagement program. The motivation for involvement of all the
participants can be placed in three main themes: students, personal reasons, and
organizational benefits. Each of the three themes has four to five subthemes. The
themes were separated based on occurrences and notable variation of responses
according to participant groups. That is, there is some notable variation in responses
based on both the roles of the individuals and the sites; this is described within each
of the themes. The roles of the participants are also broken into two types to highlight
patterns within the data. The first includes the individuals affiliated directly with the
community engagement programs, such as advisors, students, partner-advisors, and
administrators. The second role includes community partners not affiliated with the
program. As discussed in the EPICS program description given above, there is a
unique situation in EPICS where some of the community partners were also in the
advisor role; in instances, this role is referred to as the “partner-advisor” role and also
labeled as affiliates. A complete break down of the motivations by participant is
available in Table 4-1. This table provides the number of excerpts I coded for each
theme per participant. As mentioned in the preceding discussion of methods, that the
exact do not provide meaning to the data, rather the number of excerpts highlight
trends that are presented in the data. Additionally, in the themes discussed below I do
not refer to the partners by their specific research subject number in an attempt to
maintain anonymity and confidentiality among the partners and affiliates of the
programs with whom I spoke. The following section gives an overview and
discussion of the various themes and how they differ between the sites and roles,

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beginning with motivations related to participating university students. I conclude this
chapter with recommendations for how programs can incorporate more reciprocity in
their partner interactions.

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Table 4-1: Motivation based on Participant

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4.2 Theme 1: Motivations Connected with the University Students
Most of the participants identified the university students’ learning as a
motivation for being a part of the community engagement program. I coded motivations
more specifically connected with the university students using five subthemes: learning
objectives; community engagement; personal growth; professional skills; and combining
social responsibility with professional practice. Table 4-2 gives an average of all coded
data for the subtheme of students, organized by participant roles. The averages are color
coded to highlight noteworthy differences and similarities across participant groups.

Table 4-2: Motivations Connected to Students’ Learning based on Role

The first subtheme, “learning objectives,” refers to learning for the purpose of
expanding a student’s education. This does not need to be consistent with the objectives
defined by the program, but rather student learning in a broader educational sense. If the
learning was centered on the partnering agency or connected with professional
development, it was not coded as “learning objectives,” but as “community engagement”
or “professional development.” The separation of themes by role points to notable

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differences between the affiliates of the program and the partners. In general, affiliates
were more likely to mention “student learning” in broader educational terms, the first
subtheme, while for EPICS and GPP, the partners were more likely to mention
engagement and professional growth. Most of the partners wanted the students to learn
about their agency function and mission and saw their main educational duty to prepare
the student for the professional environment. In the CPP program, the partners spoke less
often about the participating university students’ education as compared to the affiliates
in all subthemes.
These trends can be linked to the program structure. For all the programs, the
affiliates saw their responsibility to educate the students in general skills. In EPICS and
GPP, the partners had a role in educating the students, and for the most part they saw it
their responsibility to educate the student about the organization and prepare them for
professional life. For the CPP, the partners I interviewed did not have too much
interaction with the university students. However, I did not include another key
constituent in this program, namely the elementary school students. The elementary
children spent extensive time with the university students, and there was discussion by
affiliates on the role of these children to teach the university students about play in their
community. Not including the elementary school children as interview subjects is a
limitation of my study. There was some discussion of the professional skills gained by
the university students. The affiliate who talked most extensively on the students’
professional development gained from the CPP was the design student interviewed.
However, comments about professional development were mostly centered on the
students in the design team rather than the first-year community engagement course.
The personal growth subtheme was included because all the GPP-US affiliates
discussed the students’ personal growth as a rationale for the program. This can be
linked to the history and structure of the program. As described in the case description,
GPP-US originated to provide the students with a rich educational experience, and the
seven-week intensive program intends to foster a transformative experience for the
students. The affiliates identified the students’ personal growth as a significant
motivation of the program.

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The combination of social responsibility and professionalism was a less common
topic, yet the participants who identified it stressed the importance of this subtheme. It
was mentioned by a few affiliates in the EPICS and GPP, and all the affiliates in the CPP.
The subsections that follow discuss the five subthemes and propose explanations for the
results.

4.2.1 Students: Learning Objectives
This subtheme includes discussions of students learning engineering skills,
presentation skills, communication, team building, time management, problem solving,
etc., and specifically for the purpose of expanding the student’s education. It did not
include learning about the partnering agency, nor when there was explicit mention of
learning for the purpose of professional development. For all three programs, this theme
was most common among the program affiliates, such as the advisors that oversaw the
students.
For EPICS, this theme was mentioned by two partners and four affiliates, and for
the GPP-US this theme was mentioned by three partners and all affiliates. For EPICS and
the GPP-US, there tended to be explicit focus on the education for the student as the main
motivation for the program. For example, one EPICS advisor-partner discussed
motivations in the advisor role as being centered on the students’ education:
To put the advisor hat on, you really want that to be a learning experience
for the students. You need to have them understand not to take short cuts,
let’s do the entire design process, let’s not go directly from identification
to here is my design let’s build it. To understand that they are part of a
team, so that team building is really an important part of the process as
well. So [from the perspective of the advisor] I was actually in more for an
education, not necessarily a project being completed. If we got a project
completed along the way, that was great, but really the learning outcomes
became more important. (EPICS Partner-Advisor)

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This EPICS partner-advisor saw their main role as advisor to educate the students. This
was also common with the advisors in the GPP-US program. As one stated, “a successful
project is, from my perspective, which I’m honest with my sponsors about, is a high
quality academic experience for the students” (GPP-US Center Director).
The partners discussed learning objectives less often. In the cases when the
partners did discuss learning objectives, the partners often also mentioned other types of
desired learning, such as the importance of community engagement. For instance, one of
the EPICS partners explained that they wanted the students to learn about communication,
as well as the mission of their organization:

I hope that [the students] are able to hone their communication skills. I
hope that they have an appreciation of the world of wildlife, because this
is a pretty interesting project to be affiliated with. I hope that they get
satisfaction from their engagement with us. (EPICS Project Partner)

In this example, the description of the communication skills was coded in the learning
objectives, while “appreciation of the world of wildlife” was coded as community
engagement, the next subtheme. This excerpt included both codes, since the learning
objective was separate objective from the community engagement.
There were also a few partners in GPP-US that mentioned skills in a broader
context. When asked what they hoped the students learn, one GPP-US Sponsor focused
on both learning about the organization and about other skills, such as negotiation.
Specifically, this respondent indicated that s/he wanted students to develop an:

Appreciation for the role of government, appreciation for the subject
matter, whether it’s environmental or whatever, better interpersonal skills,
how to work with people, how to get what you want from people. Every
interaction you have in government, or anywhere that matters, is a
transaction. You’re exchanging information, or ideas, or assistance with
one thing or another. … If they go to the people in [a] department, and

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say, “Gee, can you help us print out these maps?” they need to offer
something in return. What are you going to do, how are you going to help
our mission? “Oh, we’re gathering some information that will help add
another layer to the GIS maps.” And so they work through that kind of
negotiation, that quid pro quo of, “I need your help with this, in order to
provide you with that.” And that’s the… Learning that stuff is pretty key.
(GPP-US Sponsor)

This sponsor discussed the importance of negotiation in the context of a professional
experience, but because s/he does not explicitly relate this to the students’ professional
development, it is categorized as learning skills in general. This example also mentions
the importance of learning about government and the environment, and that was coded as
community engagement, the next subtheme.
One explanation for the emphasis on motivations related to student learning in the
GPP-US and EPICS programs is that educational outcomes are seen as a primary purpose
for these program, and education of the students is a key responsibility to both the
programs. Also, the EPICS and GPP-US programs are both large, serving hundreds of
students each year from across campus, and also have many advisors and wide variation
in types of partners/sponsors. A faculty member from across campus is able to go through
training, and be a part of the program, since there are certain responsibilities that each
advisor must take on. Most of the advisors are in an academic culture, as reflected in the
language they use to describe student learning in the programs, and the language focus of
the partners/sponsors reflects the professional culture that many of the partners are
embedded with.
For the CPP, all the affiliates mentioned the learning objectives, however, it was
with less frequency and less emphasis. The program was much more heavily concerned
with the engagement aspect for the students. For instance, when one partner was asked
what she hoped the LSU students gained from the experience, the partner suggested that I
ask the advisor, since it was the advisor’s role to focus on the LSU students. All the three
CPP affiliates discussed learning objectives that mentioned the importance of engineering,

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design, and team building skills in the interviews. Yet overall, there was more discussion
among these interviewees around engagement and incorporating social responsibility in
the profession. The CPP is less like an organization, since there is only one person
overseeing the partnerships. Instead, the program is built on personal relationships rather
than set roles and responsibilities. The fundamental differences in the organizational
structures are presented in Chapter 5, theme 2, and further highlighted in the discussion.
The next subtheme will offer further insights regarding motivations connected to
students’ engagement with the community.

4.2.2 Student: Community Engagement
As alluded to in the previous theme, this subtheme focuses on learning about,
serving, and/or being an active participant in the organization, community, and/or larger
society. This can include the importance of learning about the “wider world,” to
potentially “donate back” to the organization when the students become successful,
and/or learning what it means to be a good citizen. This subtheme was mentioned by all
but three of the partners, and specifically all but one partner in each program.
To begin, many of the partners identified the importance of students learning
about or experiencing the organization as a motivation for the community engagement
program. The participants in local and federal government often stated that they wanted
students to learn about government. For example, one EPICS partner explained that their
organization often works with local colleges and introduces them to their government
department:

We always take interns from Purdue, and [local colleges], and surrounding
colleges, people that want to come and learn and we give them a
community education. [We teach them] what goes on in the county
government, and how [our department] works. And this was kind of our
way of following up with that at Purdue, in a different way. (EPICS
Project Partner)

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This excerpt highlights how the partner sees EPICS as a way to teach students about the
workings of their organization and sector. Similarly, in GPP-US there were some partners
who saw working with the GPP-US students as a way to inspire and prepare students for
environmental jobs:

And I like the idea that we are helping young people be better prepared to
work in a professional environment. And if we can, while we’re at it, build
not only some excitement about the environmental field, but some
capacity for the future players in the environmental field. I feel good about
that. (GPP-US Sponsor)
This was coded for both community engagement and professional development, since the
sponsor hopes that the students would learn about the environmental sector, and also
allow that to potentially influence the students’ career paths. Another partner
organization, a clinic, wanted the students to learn about and reduce the stigma associated
with the chronic illness that they treated.
Even more generally, partners of the CPP wanted the university students to learn
and be exposed to both different kinds of communities and new situations:

They get exposed to a lot when they come out. They get exposed to
everything from inner city schools to some of the more affluent regions of
the parish… And a lot of them had never picked up a shovel before, and
they get to get out there and start digging holes and pounding spikes.
(CPP Partner)

This partner was motivated to expose the students to potentially new kinds of situations,
from experiencing inner city schools to manual labor. Many of the university students
had gone to private schools, and they had stereotypes of public schools where the
education was poor and there was a lack of dedication from the parents, teachers and
administrators. Being a part of the CPP challenged those stereotypes, as the students had

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opportunities to observe and interact with very dedicated members of those communities.
One partner described various activities that they did for fundraisers and building the
playgrounds, and mentioned that the students got to experience the community through
the eyes of these schools, “So I think the LSU students saw all of this first hand. Of what
parents will do when it’s their children” (CPP Partner). As this partner emphasized, the
LSU students got to experience the sense of care and devotion that the parents in these
communities have for their children.
Some partners also focused on having the participants continue working with the
organization either as donors or volunteers after their engagement in the program. As one
EPICS partner put it simply, “I hope they get excited about our mission, and go do it
when they get a real job.” They saw the experience as an entry point for the students to be
volunteers for their organization in the future.
For EPICS and GPP-US, there was more discussion of community engagement
among partners as compared to the affiliates. However, the affiliates that did mention it
expressed their passion for promoting community engagement among the students. For
instance, one EPICS advisor wanted the students to gain a wider view of the world,
stating: “on a personal level I hope they gain a wider vision of the community, like in the
world, as far as the diversity of the individuals” (EPICS Advisor). And a GPP-US center
director saw civic responsibility as a main responsibility to impress upon the students,
and wanted the educational system to better address this issue:

I left the legal profession because I don’t believe in facilitating change
through forcing people to do the right thing. I think we’re facing a
dilemma of ethics in this country. One of my goals, in addition to
maintaining intellectual rigor of the IQP, is to increase students’
awareness of the realities that exist in their backyards. To infuse a sense of
responsibility to respond and collaborate with communities to address
challenging realities. (GPP-US Center Director)

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This advisor saw it as important to focus on developing a sense of social responsibility
among students toward their communities. Overall, the affiliates that mentioned their
motivation for supporting students in community engagement expressed their passion in
doing so and connected this to supporting community and society more generally.
The CPP affiliates, as well as the partners, saw community engagement as the
main motivation for their involvement. For example, the advisor spoke of encouraging
the students to be good citizens: “thinking about how you can positively impact your
world as a citizen, whether it’s a local community or a global community. That’s another
thing I wanted [the student] to get from it” (CPP advisor). Also, the former administrator
spoke about the students benefitting from “developing a likelihood of lifetime
engagement with their communities,” “feeling that they can make a difference,” “a
greater understanding of the complexities of the society that they live in,” and “an
appreciation for the rich diversity and variety among their classmates and among their
community.” This highlights that the CPP affiliates and the partners both focus on
importance of community engagement.
Overall, the community engagement outcomes were more prevalent among the
partners than the advisors at EPICS and GPP-US, but there were nonetheless some
advisors that were highly motivated to teach students about community engagement. In
this sense, the community partners saw their role to educate the university students about
their organization and the broader community. At the CPP, community engagement was
mentioned as a motivation by all but one of the participants and thus community
engagement was identified as a main motivation for the whole program.

4.2.3 Student: Professional Development
This code is specifically used when the participants discuss how experiences in
one of the target programs more broadly influence the students’ professional life. This
includes making the right career choice, learning skills that would be beneficial when
they are professionals, and learning what the professional world is like. This theme was
most common among the partners. Two of the EPICS partners mentioned professional
development, and one of them mentioned it four times while the other mentioned it once.

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It was also common in the GPP-US sponsors, where all but one sponsor mentioned it, and
most of them mentioned it two to four times. For the CPP, no partners mentioned it and
two affiliates mentioned it, specifically the advisor once and the student three times. For
the student, I only counted when the student talked about other students. When the
student mentioned his/her own professional development, this was coded under personal
motivations.
To begin, one of the EPICS partners described his motivation for promoting
educational outcomes as a way to learn about the real world:

I almost feel like I’m helping with their education because they are
students. They are not engineers yet, they’re learning. And I try to [let the
EPICS students know that] the academic world is a lot different than the
outside world. … When you go out into the outside world, your boss is
going to tell you that the bottom line is the dollar. You don’t have the
freedom to spend as much time as you want on doing something or you
don’t have the freedom of developing some really complicated job where
you are going to have all these engineering skills involved and buy all
these expensive parts because you got to do what they are telling you to
do. (EPICS Partner)

And as another participant stated, “I want [the students] to, at the end of the semester, say
to themselves or to anyone that listens ‘I learned from EPICS and I think I can be a better
applicant to somebody because of this real world experience’” (EPICS Project Partner).
These partners saw themselves as adding value to the students experience through the
impact that this partnership will have on their professional development. This seemed to
be linked to individual preferences of the participant rather than the role of the partner,
since it was only two of the partners. This is likely because the individuals see the world
through a professional rather than academic lens. Such differences in individual
perspectives are further expanded on in the personal growth subtheme below.

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In the GPP-US, this theme was more common, and can be connected to the role
and responsibility of the sponsor. This theme can also be linked to the structure of the
program, where the students spent seven weeks off-campus at the site of the partner
organization, working full-time on their project. One sponsor stated that students would
gain from the experience:

[A] sense of what it’s like to work in an office, to work in government, to
work in municipal government in particular, something for their resumes,
how to work. If they’re going into engineering where they’re going to be
assigned projects that have a beginning, middle, and an end, and a
deadline to get, to produce work product, this is a sense of what that life is
like. (GPP-US Sponsor)

This sponsor emphasized the professional development as a main take-away for the
students. By providing a physical location, a project and a timetable, the sponsor is able
to simulate a professional experience, and thus the students are able to learn professional
skills. Also, the mindset of the partners, being in a professional environment themselves,
is likely to contribute to the prevalence of this subtheme among individuals in this role. A
few of the affiliates also mentioned professional development, but the importance was
not emphasized the same way as it was for the sponsors.
There were no partners that mentioned professional development in CPP. The
faculty member in CPP mention that she wanted the first-year students to reflect on
career choices, and that was stated in the syllabus. The students who worked on the CPP
design team also highlighted many skills that students take away from working with the
CPP design, including how another student was able to use the experience to help get a
job:

I think somebody asked him, “Oh, what were you doing with this
playground stuff?” he summarized, “I did projects from start to finish.”
The chemical engineering company was very impressed. He marketed

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himself on having seen projects through and that was incredibly valuable
to him in a job. (CPP student)

As this example indicates, the CPP design students were able to market themselves based
on their experience gained in the program. The role of the design team is to follow
through of the projects, as mentioned in the case description, and these students are often
paid workers or volunteers who have gone through the first-year course. For the CPP, the
professional development of the design student seems more of a positive unintended
consequence, since it was not mentioned by the other affiliates or the partners.
Overall, the EPICS and GPP-US Sponsors mentioned the community engagement
experience adding to the students’ professional development. Two EPICS partners
emphasized this, and it seemed connected to personal views rather than the partner role.
In the GPP-US, all but one of the partners mentioned professional development, and it
was closely linked to the role of the partner. This is highlighted in the structure of GPP-
US, as the partnering agency provides a professional environment for the students.
Additionally, since the partners are also in a professional rather than academic
environment, the professional role further influences their motivation to provide the
students with a professional experience. In the CPP case, the two individuals who
mentioned professional development were the program affiliates, and the design student
went into the most detail. This is linked to the student’s own experience and seeing other
students’ experience with the CPP as assisting them in their professional development.

4.2.4 Student: Personal Growth
Students’ personal growth was a subtheme that was discussed mostly by GPP-US
affiliates, the center advisors and administrators. This subtheme highlights a difference
across cases, as it was common within the GPP-US, but was rarely mentioned in the other
programs. This subtheme includes discussion of personal empowerment, recognition of
students’ own abilities, cultivating a joy of learning, and personal transformation.
In the GPP-US, there was clear intention and appreciation related to the
transformative qualities of the experience. One administrator mentioned that faculty

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across campus notice changes in the students: “I think a lot of it is that they see their
students go away and then come back two months later and sometimes with a visible
transformation, more self-confidence, pride in their work, that type of thing” (GPP-US
Administrator). Another advisor discussed the specific types of growth in the students,
and about how students, who might not have a strong academic record, are able to gain
confidence through the GPP-US experience:

Some students who may not have the best academic record, they realize
that they actually are extremely capable and can do really, really good
work. It can be a confidence booster. It can help them when they go out
looking for work. It can help their presentation and public speaking skills.
It can help their ability to work in a team, a team that could be very
different in terms of both personality and approach, because we’ll have an
environmental study student working with a mechanical engineer working
with a Robotics major, all in one team, looking to facilitate passage of the
Zoning Reform. So, it really has to toss out your preconceived notions and
just be willing to throw it all out on the table. (GPP-US Center Director)

In the above excerpt, the advisor talked about how the experience pushes the student, and
ultimately creates a personal change within the individual. Hence, this excerpt was coded
as professional development, learning objectives, and community engagement, as well as
personal growth, as it touched on all of them. Nonetheless, it is important to note that the
growth of the student is not only about specific learning outcomes, but also about more
broadly changing the perception the students have about themselves.
Another notable difference in roles and perceptions in the GPP-US program is
evident when comparing perspectives on personal growth among the affiliates as
compared to the perceived importance of professional development among the partners.
Many of the skills developed by the students are viewed as personal growth from the
perspective of the affiliates, and professional development through the lens of the
partners. This corresponds to the structure of the program and the lens in which the

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participants of the study view the world. The GPP-US involves an intense, seven-week
project that is done away from the site of the campus and provides an incubator for a
personal transformation. The IQP was put into place in the 1970s as part of the WPI plan
to cultivate life-long learning, develop human understanding, harness personal motivation,
and to create a sense of community (this is further described in the case description).
Through time, the GPP-US has established an experience that is outside the student norm
and stretches their capacities, and GPP-US affiliates see this and recognize the program
can provide students with personally impactful experiences. The advisors and affiliates
are responsible for insuring that the students meet the objectives of the programs, the
students are on task, and provide guidance if the students need support. Often the
advisors or affiliates will even stay in the same hotel as the students, so they get to know
the students well. The partners oversee the project, and have a more professional
experience with the students.
Only a few participants in other programs mentioned motivations related to
students’ personal growth. I connect this with the intensive seven-week experience in
GPP-US. This experience makes the changes in the students more visible, and more
likely to be noticed and discussed. Nonetheless, a few affiliates and partners of EPICS
mentioned changes in students who had been in the program multiple semesters and who
had assumed leadership roles. These students were more likely to listen to the partners,
have more confidence, and understand what could be completed within a course of the
semester. Yet I believe this was not mentioned as much because the change is more
gradual in EPICS, and more difficult to recognize. Further, in GPP-US, the experience is
shorter and more intense, and so the change is more apparent to the affiliates.
Overall, all the GPP-US affiliates and only a few others, namely one partner-
advisor in EPICS and the former administrator in CPP, mentioned students’ personal
growth as a motivation for the programs. Further, the GPP-US affiliates seem to have a
responsibility in creating an atmosphere that results in personal growth for the students,
while the partners have a responsibility to focus on professional development.

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4.2.5 Student: Combining Social Responsibility and Professionalism
Another subtheme in the student category is connected to developing a sense of
social responsibility within the students’ future professional roles. Some participants
connected strongly with this subtheme. For example, one EPICS partner-advisor
perceived the experience as morally or ethically impacting the students in their roles as
engineers. Specifically, this partner-advisor hoped students gained “[an] appreciation for
the fact that they are becoming a contributing member of a community, either locally or
even better globally, … especially, in the roles of engineers… and the decisions they
make” (EPICS Partner-Advisor). The EPICS participants connected the moral and/or
ethical dimensions of engineering to design decisions. As another advisor explained,
students who were making design decisions involving a choice between speed and
accessibility might help them be more considerate of the users while making design
decisions: “so it can open it up to more people, even if it is slower, maybe [speed] is not
what your criteria should be. It should be, how many people at the facilities can do that
task, whereas before they couldn’t do it at all” (EPICS Advisor)
One GPP-US center director saw the combination of social responsibility and
professionalism, as the most important lesson for the students: “This is one of the things
that’s most important to me, that not only do they have the capability, but the
responsibility to use their engineering degree for the social good.”
The social responsibility subtheme was the most common among the CPP
affiliates, and all CPP affiliates mentioned it. The student mentioned it five times, and
the advisor and the former administrator each mentioned it twice. The design student
talked at length about the importance of incorporating social responsibility and gave
many examples on how this manifests in the profession realm. To illustrate this point,
the student explained:

Why are the students doing engineering, are they just there to make
money? Or is it for the clients’ interest and the stakeholder’s interest. When
you’re looking out for their interests, you provide a better product. For
example, many of my classmates go into sales after graduation. [Mary]

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sold microscopes and some of her clients were schools. From the
playground project she might have learned, don’t just sell them the nicest
microscope, sell them ten of these more basic models so

This student discussed that through the playground project, the students learn that they
need to take the stakeholders into consideration when they are working. In the example,
there was recognition that students need access to resources, and so by selling 10 basic
models, rather than one high-end model of microscope, more students will have access to
learning with the microscopes. Learning to think about and consider the end user was
something she associated with her involvement with the playground project.
Another component of social responsibility as it relates to professionalism is
evident in one of the main objectives of the course, which is to design for the “soul of the
community”:

If we’ve got two sections of class, and we’re working with two different
playgrounds, and if you design this properly, you should not be able to
pick up one design from School A and plunk it down in School B and
expect it to work because the communities are unique and special and you
need to find what it is that is unique and special about that community. …
We’re all learning and teaching together. And we’re all working together
and we really have to listen very carefully. You know that whole listen
with your heart and your ears. (CPP Advisor)

The characteristic of “designing for the soul of the community” emphasizes that each
community will have unique needs, and that it is the responsibility of the engineer to
listen to all the stakeholders, and learn from them so that they will be able to create an
appropriate design. Designing for the soul of the community was an important topic in
the CPP program. The CPP even started to have the LSU students volunteer as reading
or math buddies with students at the partner schools as a way to build personal
relationships with the school.

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Overall, combining social responsibility with professionalism was not commonly
discussed in EPICS or GPP-US, yet there were some affiliates who were highly
passionate about the subject. All the CPP affiliates mentioned the social responsibility
and professionalism.

4.3 Theme 2: Motivations Connected with Personal Benefits
Many of the interviewees discussed personal benefits that they gained from being a
part of the community engagement programs. These were coded into four subthemes:
educating, community engagement, personal connections, and professional enhancement.
The average number of excerpts based on role and affiliation can be found in Table 4-3,
with frequencies indicated by color-coded cells.

Table 4-3: Motivation Connected to Personal based on Role

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4.3.1 Personal: Educating
Nearly all the participants associated with EPICS and GPP-US described a sense
of joy from being around the university students, contributing to their education, being a
mentor, and/or gaining a deep sense of appreciation for the dedication and intellect of the
students. As one project partner clearly stated, “I like the fresh ideas. I like the potential
that we have in influencing [the students] to think about something outside of their career
and making money and I guess – it’s just good to be around youth” (EPICS Project
Partner). A few relevant excerpts from GPP-US Sponsors included: “it’s very enjoyable
to see them working on things,” “I love to teach and help them think about careers in the
environment,” and “I really like engaging with younger people because I kind of like the
mentor role.”
For the partners in these two programs, this subtheme highlights that being an
educator is seen as part of the responsibility of the partner, and the partners enjoy this
component of the program. One advisor each in the EPICS and GPP-US programs
reported considerable interest in and passion for the non-traditional context of the
education process. For instance, one of the GPP-US center directors became associated
with the program after s/he received tenure. Described the initial motivation for being a
part of the program, s/he stated:

The first half of my career was pretty traditional, doing bio-engineering
stuff, fermentation research, doing the usual things that one needs to do to
get tenure and promoted and all of that. And one of the reasons I came to
WPI was, I somehow was attracted to this program and I didn’t really quite
understand it, but to me, it sounded like something that would be
interesting to teach in and certainly different than the traditional 100
people or 500 people in a lecture that I had at [a large research university].
(GPP-US Center Director)

This center director was drawn to the program because of the non-traditional teaching
that was different than his/her own experience as an engineering student. This points to

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the structure of the program as offering an avenue for the faculty to explore pedagogical
interests.
Having a personal motivation to educate the university students was only
mentioned once within the CPP program. This highlights the point that the focus of the
program was much less on the university students, but focused more on the playgrounds,
the community, and personal relationships that were built.

4.3.2 Personal: Community Engagement
Another subtheme that was mentioned as a personal motivation was to be engaged
with and support their community. When the partners were associated with the
organization directly, this was considered an organizational benefit, the third theme,
except when they explicitly stated that their involvement was personal in nature. This was
common among the EPICS and GPP affiliates, and common among the CPP partners.
All but one of the affiliates of EPICS mentioned the engagement part of the
program as a personal motivation. For instance, one EPICS advisor was involved in the
program because he wanted to “give back to the community,” and this advisor saw this
motivation being fulfilled because the program had “developed projects that help people”
(EPICS Advisor). Another advisor pointed out that EPICS allowed him/her to follow a
passion “to take learning and use that learning to make a difference not only in the lives
of the students but also in the lives of people in the community.”
One of the partners of EPICS also mentioned engagement, this partner saw EPICS
as a way to give back to the students: “I am a Purdue Alum, so I feel some responsibility
to students who are coming out.” This partner saw their engagement as a way to give
back to the university students. This was not common among the partners, yet highlights
a form of engagement by this one. The engagement element was common by all but one
of the affiliates of EPICS.
For the GPP, two of the affiliates mentioned community engagement as a
motivation, each of them mentioning it three or four times. An advisor at GPP-US, when
asked what s/he was expecting to accomplish as an advisor, s/he said:

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It was to change [the City]…. And I don’t know if I ever did any of that,
but this was a personal thing for me…And giving back to the community,
teaching students about giving back to the community, but also changing
things in the community and making the community a better place for
people who don’t have the access. That’s what we… I mean, I’ve worked
with, I think, two for-profit organizations. One, I had my arm-twisted. The
other one, I did because it served a broader social benefit. But everything
we do is working, like I said, with social justice organizations,
environmental justice organizations, organizations that serve communities
that don’t necessarily have a well-represented voice to give them
knowledge and information in a way that decision-makers can understand
it. And so, I hoped that by doing that, we could empower people who,
otherwise, wouldn’t be or be less empowered, and sometimes it works and
sometimes it doesn’t. (GPP-US Center Director)

This advisor clearly stated that the reason for being a part of the program was related to a
personal motivation to give back to the community, so that the community could be
empowered. This subtheme was specific to the project center that two advisors were
affiliated with. In this center, more of the partners were serving the community directly
as compared to the larger agencies affiliated with the other centers. Thus individuals who
were more passionate about working with local community were drawn to this center,
and it then became a part of the center director’s role and the culture of the specific center
to have a high level of intention for engagement.
In the CPP, there was more discussion of engagement by the partners than by the
affiliates. This is due to the nature of the partnerships in the CPP. One of the partner
organizations is not the beneficiary of the project, but was involved because the
organization and the individuals in it believed in the mission of the CPP. This is the Food
& Grounds Inc. (pseudonym) that donates labor and equipment for the builds. The two
individuals interviewed from this partnership were highly motivated by the engagement
component; one got great pleasure in the act of building the playground:

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Being able to be out there and help … I can go home as sore as could be,
but I’m going home with a smile on my face. So, it’s worth it everyday if
anything. [chuckle] So I get more back from being involved in it and I do
by giving to, the energy I put in the building it. (CPP Partner)

This partner gained energy through the experience of building the playground, and in this
sense the act of engagement was the motivation for their involvement in the partnership.
Overall, engaging and giving back to the community was a personal motivation
for five of the advisors in EPICS, highly important for two advisors in GPP-US and
highly important for two of the partners in the CPP. It seems that the culture of
engagement is part of the role in the EPICS program as a whole, yet it is more individual
or associated with specific partnerships for the GPP-US and the CPP.

4.3.3 Personal: Connections
Some of the participants identified personal relationships as a motivation for
being a part of the program. This subtheme includes being around the people that were
associated with the program, friendships formed, and the experience of interacting with
others. For EPICS and GPP-US, only a few participants mentioned the importance of
personal relationships. However, through the informal observations and knowing that the
structure depended on providing mentorship to new advisors and center directors, I think
that this might be a more important motivation for individuals in the EPICS and GPP-US.
On the other hand, personal connections were identified as a central motivation for
participants in the CPP, as all but two of participants mentioned personal connections as a
motivation for being a part of the program.
In EPICS, three participants mentioned personal connections. For example, an
EPICS advisor pointed to personal connections as the most engaging part of the program:

I would say the ‘people’ is the big component. The people, working with
the students. The EPICS staff in general is amazing, the co-advisors are

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great, I really enjoyed working with the partners, so I would say that the
people part of it is what I find most engaging, or most rewarding, and
then, you know, when a product turns out the way everybody had hoped it
would turn out, and the process turns out, that is just an ah-ha moment.
(EPICS Advisor)

This advisor pointed to the personal relationships, the enjoyment of being around the staff,
co-advisors and students were a motivation for being a part of EPICS. The relationships
were important to them, and the project added another layer of enjoyment. An
administrator of the GPP-US also mentioned personal relationships as a motivation for
being a part of the program, and as a way for the program to function well:

So, we have three or four areas that we really focus on, and then each of us
has our own particular ways of addressing it, and I think the [GPP] has
gotten really, really strong because of the diversity in it. And we share
information; we have a common place where we could pool our teaching
methods, we talk to each other, “How do you handle X?” So we feed off
each other. It’s really nice, and it’s a really compatible group of people….
There are no jerks in our department, [chuckle] and everybody likes
everybody else and really works well together… Ideal thing. I’ve been
there for so long, but it’s been a wonderful, wonderful association. (GPP-
US Administrator)

This participant is motivated and enjoys being around the other advisors in the GPP.
These connections have been highly important in the structure of the program, yet two
affiliates only mentioned the personal connections once each.
Based on my experience on both the EPICS and GPP-US sites, I would assume
that personal relationships are actually a more central piece of the programs, as it seemed
that many of the advisors knew each other on a personal level, and the way faculty learn
how to become advisors or center directors were through a mentorship role. In GPP-US,

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a center director mentioned that s/he was a good friend with the colleagues, and one of
the partners stated that their partnerships started through friendships. I think this was not
mentioned as much explicitly as a motivation because of my role as an outsider
interviewer, and because the questions did not probe these relationships. Additionally, the
relationships might not have been seen within the role of advisor within their program
and so the participants did not share about these relationships. Rather, the role of the
center director or the advisor was seen to focus on the interactions with the student and
the projects.
On the other hand, the participants of the CPP explicitly focused their motivations
on personal relationships and experiencing joy with the community. This came up even
though the interview questions did not ask about these relationships. One partner stated
this bluntly, as they said, “I’ve built some good friendships with the folks at LSU.”
Another partner highlighted the joy of building the playground:

What I got out of doing this, was just the pure joy of everybody. It was
just the joy of the children, the joy of the grandparents, the joy of the
teachers. Everybody felt good. It was a feel good moment. And it just kept
on, the feel good just kept going. (CPP Partner)

The CPP advisor says that the interactions with the community and the staff were her
main motivation for being involved in the program, “I think we do a lot of really good,
really good work, but for me, at the end of the day, what makes my heart strings sing, is
working with my students, is working in the community.” This provides a general
glimpse of the ways the participants discussed the personal connections made within the
program.
A more in depth example is a situation I encountered during my research at the
CPP site. When I arrived, a former student on the design team had recently died in a fatal
car accident. The CPP were in the process of raising funds for a playground that the
student was working on. A partner at the Foods & Grounds pointed to the personal

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relationship with the advisor and a former colleague while describing the build coming
up:

It’s special to [the advisor], and [the advisor] is special to me ever since
we’ve been involved in this. But it’s special to her because of her student,
but it’s also going to be the first build, there’s a gentleman that we lost just
recently. He worked for me eight years. He was walking into work and
dropped dead of a heart attack. And he and I had the best times together
working on playgrounds. [The advisor] actually walked up behind us and
he and I were bickering back and forth like we always did, and it’s how we
passed time. … this is the first build she’s ever had me or him on, and we
were there the day after all the volunteers were gone… She walked out
with one of her students to take pictures of it, we didn’t see her come up,
and she walked up behind us, and said, “Y’all sound like an old married
couple.” I was like, “Oh.” [chuckle]… But this will be the first playground
since he passed. So, it means… It’s taken on a little bit more of a meaning
to me ’cause I know he was… We knew about this one before he passed,
and he was interested in doing it, and she infected him, too… He worked
hard everyday, but you could tell when we got out there for a playground,
he just started having fun with it. And so it’s taken on more of a life with
this one. So, tribute to two different people. Although one won’t get
mentioned on it. He’d kill me if I did that. (CPP Partner)

This partner had developed deep friendships, both with the advisor and with a former
colleague through the CPP build. These relationships are central for the CPP experience,
where the interactions across the stakeholders provide joy and friendships, and this
motivates the participants to be involved and work together.
Overall, participants in all three of the programs mentioned the personal
connections that were made through the program as being a motivation. This was only
mentioned by a few participants in EPICS and GPP-US, yet I believe that this might have

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been more central to the functioning for EPICS and GPP-US than it was discussed,
because the participants might not have felt comfortable opening up to me and the
advisors saw their role as advisors to focus more on the student experience. The personal
connections were more explicitly mentioned as a subtheme in the CPP program, with all
but two of the participants mentioning this a motivation for their involvement.

4.3.4 Personal: Learning and Professional development
Some of the participants mentioned that the motivation of being a part of the
program was connected to their own learning and to enhancing their own professional
development. This subtheme was common among the affiliates of all three programs, and
some of the GPP-US Sponsors. The CPP student also spoke at length about his/her own
professional development. I did not interview students from all the programs, only one
each from EPICS and CPP. These students were highly involved in the partnerships
themselves, so they could speak in more depth about the partnerships. Students in the
GPP-US are limited to seven weeks, and thus are not integrated into the partnerships at
the same level as the other programs. Both students interviewed from the other programs
were involved over three years. This study was not intended to represent student
educational outcomes. However, since I did include students in the interviews, I coded
for these students’ learning and professional development outcomes.
In EPICS, three of the affiliates mentioned that their experience in EPICS added
to their professional development, especially by helping them build skill sets and by
giving them richer experiences. For example, one advisor credits EPICS with “help[ing]
[her/him] develop leadership skills, organizational skills, [and] interpersonal relationship
[skills].” EPICS also offered a space for participants to engage with their personal
interests. One of the participants, who was both an advisor and a project partner, had a
great deal of appreciation for the “intellectual stimulation” and the “think-tank”
atmosphere of EPICS. The advisor-partner found that brainstorming and “bringing those
thoughts to a reality” made the experience incredibly enjoyable. Overall, the partner-
advisor described the experience as “one of the most rewarding experiences of my time at
Purdue.” However, one affiliate identified a challenge regarding professional

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development was a perception among faculty that the university did not adequately
recognize the importance of the program in tenure and promotion, which meant many
faculty members were reluctant to get involved.
In the GPP-US, three of the partners and four of affiliates discussed learning or
professional development. One of the partners learned more about technology through
the program, specifically not to be afraid of it:

As a person, I have learned that I need to stay current and get away from
my notepad and learn… Yeah, that a lot of things going forward are gonna
be accessible through computers and that’s really the way I want to go
anyway, but I am learning now to not be so afraid. (GPP-US Sponsor)

The sponsor saw the program as an avenue for learning. Although many of the partners
are exposed to new projects each time they take on students, most did not mention it as a
reason for involvement. On the other had, most of the affiliates mentioned personal
learning or professional development. One administrator said the experience with
students resulted in knowing that teaching was the right profession for them, and also
enhanced many of their professional skills:

Every time I advise an IQP I’m learning something new, and I really enjoy
that, it’s very interesting. You get to know students really well. It’s a good
test if you’re in the right business. If you don’t like getting to know
students well, then maybe teaching isn’t what you should be doing. I think
that the emphasis on how to do research and how to write clearly and
present clearly has definitely made me a better researcher, writer, thinker,
and presenter. (GPP-US Administrator)

This element of learning and growing was highly prevalent among the GPP-US affiliates,
and thus was an integral part of the program.

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In the CPP, only one affiliate mentioned professional development. This was the
student who mentioned learning from the program ten times, specifically about how the
program resulted in learning and enhanced her/his own professional development. The
student identified “learning so much from everybody you work with” as the largest
benefit of the program. For example, the student also learned what to wear based on the
advisor’s actions:

[The advisor] does not wear suits when she goes and meets stakeholders.
Whenever I see her in a suit, I’m like, “Oh, what type of meeting do you
have today?” She’s like, ‘Somebody at LSU did da, da, da, da,’ so you
understand how to dress for different things. (LSU Student)

The student learned not to wear nice clothes while going to see the stakeholders at the
schools, but to wear suits at professional meetings. The student also learned that children
know about play: “Never heard of slipping on leaves. Kindergartener knows, because he
slips on the leaves every day… When I run around I usually have soccer cleats on. So, I
didn’t put it together.” The construction worker also taught the student what is was like
to actually implement a design:

I also got to talk to the installers and they talked about, “Oh, the engineers
messed up with this.” and “Oh, sometimes you just have to force it.” This
was cool to see with the engineering design process in mind. When we say
there’s gonna be a hole here, we expect the bolt to fit perfectly in the hole.
And that’s just a minor thing we had to think about, but when you’re on the
site, you actually see that nope, you’re pulling the drill out again and re-
drilling holes because things don’t quite fit even when they’re made swell.
(LSU Student)

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This student was able to learn that the application of an engineering design might not turn
out as planned, and that every stakeholder had his or her own knowledge that you can
learn from.
This student was highly motivated, and personally invested in the program
success. As noted, the student mentioned personal learning and development ten times in
the interview, making it a main motivation for her. However, it is worth noting that
providing professional experience for the university students was not a central theme for
the affiliates within the CPP, as there were more emphasis on the community. This
highlights that professional skills for the students does not need to be intentional, or even
the focus, of an engagement program for students to have an impactful educational
experience.
Overall, the learning and professional development aspects are notable
motivations for many partners and affiliates. In EPICS, the three affiliates discussed how
the program added to their professional development, and offered a rich space to pursue
their intellectual passions. In the GPP-US all but one of the affiliates mentioned learning
or professional development, so there is an expectation that this is part of the culture
within the program, contently learning. In the CPP, the student was the only participant to
mention learning or professional development, however, they mentioned it ten times.
This suggests that even though the program centers more on relations and the community
outcomes rather than the educational comes, the students still can have a rich educational
experience.

4.4 Theme 3: Organizational Motivations
An organization benefits from a partnership when the community engagement
program helps them fulfill their mission. The interviews revealed four related subthemes:
support from students, and especially through products/solutions; the students’ expertise;
the broader impacts of the projects; and the partnership more generally. The subtheme
for the project was the most recognized motivation, but many of the participants also
discussed the broader impacts that the projects had on the community or the society at

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large. Table 4-4 presents the average excerpts coded under organizational subthemes
based on the role of the participants.

Table 4-4: Motivations Connected to Organizational Benefits based on Role

4.4.1 Organizational: Products/Process
The projects the students completed, or the process in which they took to
complete the project, were the most mentioned motivation by the participants. All but
two participants mentioned the projects (one each in EPICS and one in GPP). There were
four participants that mentioned projects over seven times. This subtheme included
discussions of the benefits of the product or process for the partner organization.
Discussion of the how the projects impact communities is not included in this subtheme,
as this is covered by the “broader impacts” subtheme. The products or process, for the
most part, were identified as useful. Yet for the GPP-US and EPICS cases there were
some projects that were seen as less useful.
For EPICS, the students go through a full design process and work on a project to
meet the need of a partner organization. There is a wide variety of projects, such as
creating a data network, building an information kiosk for a zoo, or coming up with a
way to make a task more accessible for an individual with disabilities. The students take

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the EPICS course for one or two credit hours and work on the projects throughout the
semester, and a specific project can roll over from one semester to another. These
projects are often useful for the organization, and most of the partners identified the
desire for a project as a reason for becoming involved in the EPICS program. The
projects have been identified to save money, meet the needs of the organization, and meet
their environmental goals. For example, one partner said the students did an energy audit,
and helped them with energy efficiency. Another partner was able to make a task
accessible by more individuals with disabilities. And another partner described a project
where they had seen similar organizations use a specific technology, and with EPICS’
help they are able to create it. Most of the partners described how projects or the process
itself supported the organization.
There were also some challenges identified. One partner said that by the time
products are completed, the manufacturer may have left town:

I would say, about 75% of the [projects are] successful, but its not all their
fault when they are not successful. A lot of times they will be developing a
project, and by the time it is finished we may not be doing that job any
more due to the fact that manufacture had just of moved out of town…we
have seen a lot of jobs leaving town, or leave the country. (EPICS Partner)

Other projects are done with too much focus on technical issues, and without students
knowing their own limits. One respondent noted that, “I have to get them off the track
that the more engineered, or the harder, the more complicated, the device is the
better“ (EPICS Project Partner). Yet even though challenges sometimes surface in the
project development process, most partners stay involved, as they see the benefits of the
projects outweighing the challenges and they know that the projects can be adjusted as
needed, “It’s always in an agreement where, if the final product isn’t what we want, they
can adjust it” (EPICS Project Partner).
For the GPP-US, the projects are often a “wish list” item or a topic from the “back
burner” that the organization wants to focus on. The students research the project in

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advance in a seven-week preparation course, and then work full time on the project
during a seven-week on-site period. However, all the projects have the students research
a topic that is situated at the intersection of technology and society. Sample projects
include performing an IT assessment of a local clinic, developing a website documenting
the history of a large federal institution, or doing a needs assessment of a new technology
in a large metropolitan area. The experience allows the organizations to focus their efforts
on a specific project, and the students gain the educational experience of working on a
real-world project. There is a view that the students are a type of free or inexpensive
consultant. The additional benefit, specifically for the federal agencies, is that there are
faculty members available to support the work and there is flexibility to the project
process. As one sponsor from a federal agency stated:

For us, it is that it’s a lot more controllable. Usually with contracts and so
forth, and consultants, in government you have to put up procurement, you
have to go through this selection. And then if you want to make a change
midway, that becomes real difficult because a contract specifies, “We will
do X Y and Z.” And if we have to take a mid-course correction here with a
WPI student, it’s easy. (GPP-US Sponsor)

The sponsor finds the process of being able to change direction during the process to be
highly beneficial. An administrator confirmed this flexibility in the process:

Sometimes a sponsor has an idea and says, “I want X.” And then when the
students try to do X for them, we find that X is absolutely the wrong thing.
That the sponsor hadn’t done enough homework; didn’t really know their
own situation well enough to formulate the project and Y is really the
nugget. And very often the sponsor will say, “You’re right. Okay, let’s do
Y.” And so, either Y gets done because there is enough time, or Y is done
the next year. (GPP-US administrator)

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The project process examines the rationale for the project, to insure that the most
appropriate project is being done for the partnering organization. And in those incidences
when the original problem stated was not the most appropriate, the process allows the
students to change directions.
In the GPP-US, there was also some discussion of project or experiences that
were not successful. This veers from the topic of motivation, but provides context for the
projects. A few of the affiliates of the program mentioned times when the organizations
were interested in the students collecting data, but wanted to pull out once the students
collected the data even though the students still needed to finish their reports. Also, an
administrator mentioned a project that was highly unethical, and the advisors had to step
in and to stop the project. One GPP-US sponsor stated that the experience was not as
successful as he had hoped, and during the course of the interview, the sponsor reflected
on his own disengagement of the program, and mentioned that the gains from the
organization’s involvement were less than the costs. When I asked what could improve
the process, the sponsor said that s/he would have liked more guidance from the program
on how to “make an engagement successful for the [the organization] and for the
students,” and “examples to start from, from similar kinds of organizations.” The
students were often sifting through data in isolation, and there was recognition that going
out and collecting data would be more appropriate for the students. This sponsor thought
that more guidance on project creation would resulted in a better project.
For the CPP, the projects are all specifically centered on playgrounds. The public
school systems do not provide funding for playgrounds, and many of the schools do not
have the resources to fix or build playgrounds. This results in many schools having little
or no play equipment, and a great need for playgrounds in the East Baton Rouge Parish.
All the partners wanted a playground. Two of the school partners said they were
determined to get a playground, and the CPP provided a means to that end. When asked
about the motivations for the playground, one partner stated:

I had been trying to get the playground built, and I knew that it wasn’t
gonna be easy. So, yes, the primary goal was to just get with her, because I

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knew that she was able to write grants or worked with people to write
grants. So I thought, you know, I had been getting a few little grants, but I
thought maybe she has some information for me. So, yes, it was to get the
playground built. (CPP Partner)

The main motivation was to get a playground. The partner did not necessarily know
about the students designing the playground, but rather the expertise on writing and
getting grants that could benefit schools in the parish. The act of building the playground,
however, was identified as a deeply moving experience. One partner compared it to her
wedding day, and started to cry when thinking about everyone coming to support the
school. The main challenge for the CPP is getting money for the playgrounds. This is not
included under motivation, but provides a full picture of the limitations that are present in
the project process.
Overall, the specific projects, or process, is the most mentioned motivation and is
a focal point of the programs. The types and lengths of projects are different for each
program. The structure of EPICS focuses on developing specific product, and the design
process can roll over from one semester to another. This length of time can be a
frustration for the partners. In GPP-USA, the programs are situated at the intersection of
society and technology, and are bounded by a fourteen-week timeframe, the first seven
focused on preparation, and the second seven spent on site. The CPP focuses on
designing playgrounds for schools and communities that are in urgent need of play
equipment. The first-year design students work on the playground design for a semester,
and their solutions are then compiled and used by the design team to create a final design.
One limiting factor for CPP is access to funding for the projects. The building process,
where everyone comes together and assembles the playground, is seen as a deeply
fulfilling by most of the participants.

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4.4.2 Organizational: Expertise
Some of the partners and affiliates saw the program as a way to get access to
expertise. This subtheme includes the technical skills of students and/or faculty,
knowledge of a specific topical area, or knowledge from a certain age group.
To begin, four of the EPICS participants, one partner and three affiliates,
mentioned the value of gaining expertise through working with EPICS. One partner
mentioned the students’ technical skills and intelligence three times throughout the
interviews, and pointed to the students’ technical abilities as the reason for a successful
project: “that was all the expertise of the EPICS students and their ability to understand
the mumbo jumbo and the math, and all the stuff that I really had no clue on” (EPICS
Project Partner). Another participant, an EPICS affiliate, also mentioned the students’
expertise when asked why they see the partner being involved in EPICS, “they want to
collect engineering expertise, engineering assistance, as far as being able to have like a
dedicated team working on a project for them” (EPICS Advisor). The student’s technical
expertise is recognized as a motivation for being a part of the EPICS partnerships.
For GPP-US, four partners and one affiliate mentioned the expertise of the
students. The students’ technical knowledge and their knowledge connected to their age
demographic were the two most common, specific kinds of student expertise mentioned
in relation to the GPP-US program. One partner gave the example of students assisting
them with their college recruitment website, since they were the demographic the website
was targeting. There was also the notion that younger students may be more familiar with
working remotely and having online courses, since it is more common in the current
education system:

We had an engagement issue in working remote, which is more common
today in students taking classes, internet classes, working more remote is a
more common thing from a younger individuals, so we had them come in
and do a [a project on] engagement. (GPP-US Sponsor)

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This sponsor was focused on the knowledge associated with the students’ generation as a
skill set or resource that the students were able to bring to the project. The partners were
more likely to point to this expertise, but it was not recognized as a main motivation since
the value of the expertise was not central for the partners.
In CPP the expertise was recognized as a highly important factor by three of the
partners, but was not recognized by any of the affiliates. Many of the school partners
stressed the importance of the expertise of the program on the knowledge of playgrounds
and guidance on how to get the elementary students involved in the playground designs.
As one partner stated,

All of [the advisor]’s crew, they came out… she said, “You wanna get
everyone on campus involved. The children, especially.” So we did
surveys with all of the [elementary] kids. … [The elementary students]
voted on the colors, they voted on [the equipment]. Like the speaking
horns, speaking tubes, and the spiral things, the stepping stones. They
voted… This was all [the Advisor’s] lead. That’s why I had contacted her,
because I wanted to know how to do this and to be successful, and have it
what [the elementary students] wanted. So the colors were what the kids
wanted. The items were what the kids wanted. Then once we started with
all of this, after I got all the surveys back in, all the colors and everything,
then I sent it to [the Advisor] and she had two or three, maybe four
different designs that [LSU design] students put together. (CPP Partner)

This partner emphasized that the program offered knowledge on how to get the whole
community involved in the playground design and build process, and saw this as a highly
important contribution of the program. Another part of the expertise was the Food &
Grounds organization, which was able to provide expertise in maintenance for the project.
They were able to say what schools were in most urgent need of a playground, and what
equipment was the easiest to maintain. They would also come on site during the builds
and provide assistance.

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This value of the expertise is not as recognized in these programs compared to the
value of the project themselves, yet the element of expertise is present within these
programs to varying degrees. In EPICS, it is recognized by a few participants and is
largely focused on the technical knowledge the students are able to bring to the program.
For the GPP, the technical knowledge, and the knowledge associated with the age of the
students, were both mentioned. For the CPP, the expertise of the program was an
important motivation within the program, specifically of the advisor’s knowledge of
playgrounds. Also noted was the value of involving the whole community in design
process, as well as the Food and Ground’s expertise on construction and playground
maintenance.

4.4.3 Organizational: Partnerships
For some participants, the benefits for the organization came from the
partnerships themselves. This included creating a sense of community; fulfilling the
organizational mission of educating the university students; providing networking
opportunities; and gaining access to resources that the program had access to, but the
organizations did not.
In EPICS, three of the partners and five of the affiliates mentioned partnerships as
a motivation. Many small non-profits count on partnerships to get resources and get their
name out. A few partners recognized Purdue as a cornerstone in the community, so saw a
partnership with the university as a way to increase their own credibility. More
specifically, one partnering agency saw the education of students, including the EPICS
students, on their organizational mission as a primary task for their organization. Another
organization regularly worked with students from Purdue and local colleges, and saw this
as a way to build rapport with the university. Still another EPICS affiliate, represented by
a partner-advisor that works with an agency that provides children with educational
science materials, saw the partnership as a way to build bridges and possibly limit
competition. That is, the participant articulated that Purdue University might start doing
things similar to what the organization is doing, and the partnership with EPICS provides
a way to assist the university rather than be in competition with it.

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In the GPP-US case, all but two affiliates mentioned the partnership as a
motivation for involvement with the program. One sponsor said that the initial reason for
joining the partnership was to get access to software that the university had. Another
agency said that the agency regularly partnered with organizations within the community:

Because we’re non-profit, we rely on community relationships, and the
community relies on the relationship with us. So, we partner with a variety
of different agencies, organizations, hospitals, schools, ‘cause we each
have something to offer the other. (GPP-US Sponsor)

For this organization, partnerships were a key way that they could get services for their
clientele, and so the partnership with GPP-US is part of their regular business practice.
The partnership with WPI was one of many, as they recognized that by partnering
with the university, they would have access to services and resources, and can rely on
them to do projects if and when they needed them. This sponsor mentioned the
importance of partnerships eight times throughout the interview.
For the CPP, two partners and one affiliate mentioned the partnerships as
motivation for the program. As one of the partners explained, the projects create an
avenue for community members to be more involved in the functioning of the schools:

When you get people to take pride in school they’d become more involved
in other projects besides that. They are more willing to volunteer for other
activities or things of that nature too, ‘cause once you can get them
involved in volunteering then people tend to continue that process. (CPP
Partner)

This partner goes on to point to both families and retirees that get involved initially for
the benefit of the playgrounds, and then volunteer for the schools in other ways. The
relationships built through the CPP are then able to meet other needs of the schools, such
as supporting teachers by offering reading programs and donating money for expansion

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of playgrounds. LSU also offered a sense of credibility to the people that got involved.
Since CPP was part of the flagship institution, individuals tended to trust the CPP, local
businesses were more likely to donate money and services.
In the CPP there is also a new partnerships forming, as leaders in the CPP and in
the community are working together to create a timeline for completing all the
playgrounds in the East Baton Rouge Parish:

Over the summer and in the fall, we’re gonna try to put together a
committee of community powerhouses and that I’ve been working on the
same the same projects. It’s like I know who the players are. Trying to get
them together and say “Okay, here’s where we are. Here’s where we’ve
been. Here’s where we’re going. Help us get here in five years, five to 10.”
And just see if we can knock out every single playground. (CPP Advisor)

The relationships of the leadership in the community can be harnessed to move the
project forward. Through building the partnerships in the CPP, the CPP is better able to
complete the mission to offer playgrounds for their community. This element is core in
making the program run.
Overall, partnerships are recognized as an important motivation for being a part of
the programs in all three of the cases, and among both the affiliates and partner roles. For
EPICS and CPP, being a part of a large institution was recognized as an important
element of the projects as they offered credibility to the program. There is increased
access to resources that the agencies might not have access to otherwise. For some
partnering agencies, partnerships are core to their business function, and so working with
the partnership is also part of their normal organizational function.

4.4.4 Organizational: Broader Impacts
Many of the participants also discussed the impacts of the projects on the
agency/organization, community, and/or wider society. Representative examples include
providing extra income to the organizations, developing safer communities, and

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educating staff. Extra income streams have been created through saving energy, opening
up access to grants, providing a service that would otherwise cost money, creating a
product that generates money, or simplifying a task to increase efficiency.
In EPICS, two partners and one affiliate mentioned broader impacts within their
interviews. One of the partners discussed this at length, as I had coded the broader
impacts within five excerpts. An example of an increase of income in EPICS is that a
partnering organization was able to get a large grant, over one hundred thousand dollars,
to construct an energy efficient building. This same EPICS team was then able to directly
benefit the organization by offering a workshop to volunteers throughout the state.
Another partner stated that they were able to increase revenue for their organization:

Believe me, there are big benefits. We become more productive, and if we
are more productive we can make more money. Say I quoted a job for 10
cents each, and my labor cost is five cents for this job, which is usually
kind of a balance we’re looking for when we quote, and [EPICS] come in
and they develop a way we can do the job for one cent, that is a huge
increase in my revenue. (EPICS Project Partner)

If an EPICS team is able to provide additional income, this money can in turn support
other programs within the organizations that were underfunded.
In the GPP-US, five partners and two affiliates mentioned broader impacts.
Broader impacts of the projects included: data for grants, building connections among
organizations, training staff members on computers, providing publicity for the
organization, and providing data for the general public. Many of the partners are
governmental agencies, and these partners see the students helping the wider society
through their projects, such as researching climate change issues. The partners are more
likely to identify and see the broader impacts of the GPP-US projects compared to the
affiliates.
In the CPP, all but one partner mentioned the broader impacts of the playgrounds,
such as: allowing the neighborhood children and families who do not attend the school a

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place to play, and a way for children to get their energy out, so they are not getting in as
much trouble in the classrooms. There was also recognition of the lower socio-economic
status of the recipients of the play equipment:

Our population, we’re probably 95% free lunch, so our students here don’t
always get the best of everything. So, this is good for them, plus to have a
good role model come in and work with them, so that’s a very positive
thing and then, of course, getting the playground and that too gives the
kids self-worth because they think. Not they think, but they know that
somebody cared enough to get out there and to do this for them. (CPP
partner)

The CPP is seen to provide mentorship through the reading program, and a sense of
worth to know that someone cares about them to go out of their way to insure that they
have a playground.
In general, the projects and the partnerships are perceived to provide broader impacts
for the organizations, communities, and societies. For the EPICS and GPP-US program,
this larger impact is recognized and identified more often as a motivation by the partners
as compared to the affiliates. There were two affiliates in the GPP that did focus on
broader impacts of the projects, but the other three did not mention this subtheme. This
may be because the affiliates are not as embedded in the communities as the partners, but
rather their role as center director is more focused on educating the students and making
sure the projects are completed, with less focus on the impacts of the projects on the
communities. For the CPP, all but one partner discussed the broader impacts of the
playgrounds. This highlights how the project purpose is centered on the community and
is recognized as meeting the community’s needs by all the stakeholders. In the CPP, it is
part of the program’s responsibility to think of the larger community’s impacts of the
project.

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4.5 Discussion for Research Question 1
The findings from this study were found to be largely consistent with motivations
for partnerships as reported in the wider service-learning literature. In fact, all of the
themes identified through the literature review were also evident in this study. However,
the motivation of “relationship building” was moved under “organizational benefits” and
put under “partnerships,” since the partnership allowed the organization to better meet
their mission. Table 4-5 below compares the categories and subthemes from the
literature review and research findings. There was evidence of social justice issues as a
motivation; however, it was not as explicit or highlighted at the same level as articulated
in the Sandy and Holland study. Thus, it did not warrant its own theme, and was always
coupled with another motivation, such as student engagement. Social justice was also not
mentioned in the Worrall and Tryon and Bell studies.

Table 4-5: Synthesis of Motivations from the Literature Review and Findings

Motivations from Literature Review Motivations from this Study
• Student learning
• Personal benefits
• Organizational benefits
• Relationship building
• Social justice
• Students
o Learning, skills, & work ethic
o Community engagement
o Personal Growth
o Professional Development
o Social Responsibility in the
Profession
• Personal benefits
o Education
o Community Engagement
o Connections
o Learning & Professional
development
• Organizational benefits
o Projects
o Broader Impacts
o Expertise
o Partnerships

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Many of the trends are similar within the EPICS and GPP-US program, but with
some differences as compared to the CPP program. This can be connected to the size and
structure of the programs. Although there are a lot of differences across EPICS and GPP-
US, they are both rather large in scale, serving over 500 students per year. The
organizational structure has more rigid responsibilities and role expectations for the
different stakeholders, and each of the agencies are working interdependent. From the
motivation data, we are able to understand what is expected in the roles of the
stakeholders. In the CPP, there are only around sixty students each semester, or two
sections having thirty students each. There is one faculty member that oversees the
partnerships, and the partnerships are highly dependent on the specific individuals or
organizations.
There were some overall trends that were common among the roles in EPICS and
GPP. For the EPICS and the GPP, the affiliates’ roles and responsibilities tend to focus
on the students’ educational outcomes. For GPP, there was also an emphasis on the
students going through a process of personal growth. The affiliates in EPICS and GPP-
US recognized themselves as educators, and many enjoyed the non-traditional teaching
style of the programs. Many of them also saw the programs as a way for them to give
back to their communities and gain professional skills, and a few highlighted the personal
connections that they made through involvement of the programs. All but one mentioned
the motivation of the organizations gaining from the project or process. A few discussed
how the associated projects impacted the larger community, and how the program offered
the organization access to expertise. Partnerships were seen as important by these
programs.
For the EPICS and GPP-US Sponsors, there was less discussion on learning
objectives, but more on the importance of students’ community engagement and
professional development. The partners saw themselves as educators, and the GPP-US
Sponsors mostly saw the experience adding to learning or their own professional
development. The partners also recognized the value of the projects. Most of the GPP-
US Sponsors and some of the EPICS partners mentioned the wider impacts that the
projects have on their communities. GPP-US Sponsors discussed the expertise of the

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students. And both EPICS and GPP-US Sponsors saw the partnership as a key
motivation.
In the CPP, the affiliate discussed learning objectives, engagement, professional
development and the importance of combining social responsibility and professionalism.
There was less emphasis on education as a whole compared to the other two programs, as
the partners did not see themselves as educators of the students and the faculty member
did not emphasis her role as an educator. However, the design student interviewed
discussed at length her own professional development from being involved in the
program, which suggests that a lack of explicit emphasis on education does not mean that
learning is not present. As a whole, there was more emphasis in the whole program on
personal connections, and a recognition by both affiliates and partners on the broader
impacts on the projects. Like EPICS and GPP-US the project and partnership was
important. However, in the CPP, a unique situation was taking place as partnerships
present was being used to push the program forward.

4.6 Implications and Recommendations
Based on the results presented above and previously published work (Thompson
& Jesiek, 2014), it is worth concluding with a discussion of how the findings relate to the
concept of reciprocity and suggest best practices for new and existing programs. As
Jacoby (1996) argues, service-learning is more than a pedagogy, and should also be
viewed as a philosophy that values reciprocity and “implies a concerted effort to move
charity to justice” (p. 5). To evaluate and potentially enhance reciprocity, it is important
to investigate different motivations of the project partners and advisors, including in
relation to the program’s larger goals and objectives. One difference highlighted in this
study centers on student learning, where many of the project partners tended to
emphasize the importance of learning about the partnered organization, while this was
not as often mentioned explicitly by affiliates of the programs. Being more explicit about
the importance of students learning about partner organization would be one way for

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engineering community engagement programs to improve their alignment with the
motivations of the partners.
Sandy and Holland also used their findings to develop a list of recommendations
for service learning programs based on common challenges found across service-learning
programs. However, the present study suggests that such best practices might require
adjustment, or even be considered irrelevant, in an engineering community engagement
program. For example, the recommendation to “Involve faculty more directly” and
“Address the hours divide” are inappropriate for such programs. That is, Sandy and
Holland recommend that faculty provide additional information to the community
partners, since the community partners were often ill-informed about the service-learning
course expectations. This was not a challenge within the present study, since the
community partners often had a clear expectation within the partnership, and the program
coordinators contacted the partners regularly. Also, there was no tracking of volunteer
hours, which is a common practice outside of engineering but is often seen as an
impediment for community partners. Although one participant said that they did count
hours for other service-learning students, s/he saw the nature of program to be
fundamentally different enough not track the hours of the students. These highlight
important differences across community engagement in engineering, and the project-
based learning approach compared to the engagement in the wider service learning field.
This study also presents a framework and themes for investigating the
perspectives and experiences of community partners in a well-established engineering
service-learning program. By bringing out the community’s voice in the understanding
and outcomes of the program, we are able to include more of the people who are directly
impacted by engineering community engagement programs. The framework can be used
in future studies to determine the extent to which the community outcomes are
transferable, and also possibly turned into a survey questionnaire so programs can have
regular feedback on how programs are impacting and aligned with community partners
and organizations.

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4.7 Conclusion for Research Question 1
This chapter outlined the motivations that the participants identified for being a part of
the engineering community engagement programs. These fit into three themes: students,
personal reasons, and organizational benefits. Each of the three themes had four to five
subthemes. Each section above included a discussion of the overall response trends and
larger patterns based on the roles and programs of the participants. The findings from this
study were largely consistent with motivations for partnerships as reported in other
service-learning literature. The chapter also provides a discussion of a comparison across
the three sites, focusing on the similarities across the EPICS and GPP-US programs as
compared to the CPP program, and how this may be linked to the size and structure of
these two programs. Recommendations are also given based on the role and importance
of reciprocity in relation to individual motivations. The next chapter provides a more in-
depth look into how the program structure influences the nature of the partnerships. Six
structural themes are reviewed in detail, including a section on individual roles and
characteristics that again touches on motivation themes.

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CHAPTER 5. FINDINGS FROM RESEARCH QUESTION 2 & 3
5.1 Introduction for Research Question 1
As mentioned previously, the second research question is focused on examining
how program structure impacts the nature of partnerships, while the third research
question more specifically looks at the role of the projects within the programs and
partnerships. To address these questions, the nature of interactions, activities and
language were coded based on the Transactional, Cooperative, and Communal (TCC)
framework as described in the method section. An overview of the codes and the
dominant code for each of the interviewees is presented in Table 5-1. The unilateral and
non-unilateral transactional were combined together as transactional. Focusing on the
dominant code was based on Giles & Doraldo’s (2004) research examining paths of
engagement. To acknowledge the complex, multi-faceted nature of the partnerships and
provide a more holistic sense of the data, I expanded the dominant codes to include two
dominant codes, if the most frequent was less than 60% of the nature codes. For example
the first EPICS partner in Table 5-1 was coded for fifteen transactional excerpts and six
cooperative excerpts. The transactional excerpts were 71%; so one dominant code was
issued, transactional. Partner 3 had nine excerpts coded cooperative, six transactional
and one communal, which resulted in cooperative having 56% of the total codes.
Therefore, both cooperative and transactional were labeled as dominant codes for Partner
3. The 60% was chosen as a threshold value since a lower value like 50% would not
provide enough detail on the multifaceted nature in many of the partnerships. Yet the
60% level does not overly restrict the dominant codes present, since a higher percentage
may require that all codes be labeled as dominant. The interpretations for these trends are
described in the following themes. Additionally, in the themes discussed below I do not

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refer to the partners by their specific research subject number in an attempt to maintain
anonymity and confidentiality among the partners and affiliates of the programs with
whom I spoke.
In the process of analyzing the partnerships individually, I identified six structural
themes as impacting the nature of the partnerships, namely: purpose, overall structure,
type of agency, individuals involved, the project, and the students in the curricula. The
themes are to some extent intertwined, as the purpose of the programs directly impacts
the overall structure, the types of partnering agencies, the individuals involved, and the
projects completed. So while the themes are described individually within this chapter,
the analysis should also be interpreted as an intertwining of themes, rather than distinct,
isolated structural elements. It is additionally worth noting that the fifth structural theme,
the project, addresses the third research question.
During the comparative analysis of the three programs, a main difference in the
role of the students in the curriculum came up as an important factor impacting the nature
of relationships with community partners. As a result, this was added as a sixth theme,
which highlights how the role of the students within the programs influences the nature of
the partnerships.

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Table 5-1: Overview of the Codes for each Interviewee

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5.2 Theme 1: Purpose
The intended purpose or goals stated in the program literature and expressed by the
participants were categorized in two main groups, transactional and cooperative. The
transactional purpose focused on the fact that there was an exchange dynamic where the
students were receiving an educational experience, and the partners were getting a useful
deliverable. The cooperative purpose focused on the act of working collaboratively
among the program participants as the goal for the partnership. This does not imply that
when the purpose were identified as transactional the collaborations was not valued, or
that there was no education for the student or lack of service to the partnering
organization when the purpose focused on the collaborative experience. Rather, there
tended to be two lenses the programs and participants could focus on as the purpose, and
this influenced the nature of the partnership. Programs with the transactional purpose
tended to include more transactional and cooperative interactions, and the cooperative
purpose tended to have more cooperative and communal interactions.
I found the central purpose for EPICS to have both transactional and cooperative
qualities. This purpose was identified within the published literature, embedded in the
Human Centered Design approach, and within the interviews. In the course of the overall
process (Theme 2), there are many interactions, such as checking a prototype or the
design reviews, where the students are working directly with individuals from the
partnering agencies. These interactions are highly valued by the programs as pivotal steps
in the design process. Some partnerships within the program focus on these interactions
as the main goal of the partnerships. In fact, a main goal in EPICS is centered on
providing a rich educational experience for the students: one that is hands-on, allows
students to take leadership positions, is interdisciplinary, and is attractive for women and
underrepresented minorities in the program. At the same time, they are providing not-for
profit organizations useful tools, expertise, and/or solutions so these partner organizations
can better meet their own goals and missions. These objectives are articulated in some of
the literature produced by EPICS research team (e.g., Zoltowski, et al., 2010) and are
further highlighted on the EPICS website, where the overview statement explains that

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EPICS serves to provide community agencies access to technical expertise while
providing the students an educational experience: “Community service agencies … need
the help of people with strong technical backgrounds. Undergraduate students … need
educational experiences that can help them broaden their skills” (EPICS, 2014,
emphasis in the original). There is a service or a project being provided for the partner, in
exchange for an educational experience for students.
In order to achieve this goal, the EPICS program utilizes a Human Centered
Design (HCD) approach, where the user is at the center of the design process and there
are regular interactions with the user and other relevant stakeholders to determine issues,
gather feedback and figure out possible solutions (Zoltowski et al., 2010). This is a
critical step to incorporate the user in the process, and it teaches the students to design for
a user or customer, rather than a more technology-centered design approach where there
is a lack of understanding of the user experience.
This approach highlights how the EPICS program is aligned with transactional
and cooperative purposes. As explained in the methods section, Feinstein and
Meshoulam (2014) describe how the feedback approach, where a project is brought to a
community to get feedback and then the updates are done separately, is a client-oriented
approach. By contrast, the co-authorship approach, where the community is seen as co-
designers of programs and projects through mechanisms such as advisory committees and
being involved even when the project is not designed for them, is more cooperative. The
integration of the partner in this process can result in feedback, where the students
interpret the feedback and update the design separate from the community. This would
be transactional. The process could turn into a co-design situation where the partners are
integrated into the design process and oversee the team’s design work on a more regular
basis, which would be cooperative.
Both of these approaches were present in evidence collected from partners in
EPICS. Some of the time, the partners only had interactions with the students a few times
a semester, and the students worked on the projects separately and only sought feedback
at key points, while other partners described weekly meetings where the partners were
actively designing with the students. One project partner highlighted that this approach

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varied based on the student group: “I have met weekly with some of these groups, not
recently, but those that are a little bit more labor intensive and the students are really
gung ho about getting [the project] done” (EPICS Project Partner). This partner
highlights that the approach can vary with the student group and depends on where the
students are at in the project cycle.
In the EPICS literature, a variety of language has been used to examine the
community; these include: ‘partner,’ ‘stakeholder,’ ‘community,’ ‘client,’ ‘customer,’ or
‘user’ (Coyle et. al, 2005; EPICS, 2014b; Zoltowski et al., 2010). Some of these
terminologies, such as ‘customer’ and ‘client,’ highlights the client-oriented approach of
the program, as there is a separation of identity present between the community/partner
and the students/advisors/staff of EPICS. Yet, there has also been a conscious effort,
especially in recent publications, to use the term ‘partner’ when referring to the
community, to highlight a more cooperative approach. The EPICS also frames itself as
“reciprocal in nature, valuing the partnership and recognizing the expertise brought by
the community partner.” (Zoltowski et al., 2010, p. 2).
In EPICS, some partners do describe the purpose of the partnerships as
transactional, focusing on the benefits for each group involved in the partnership. That is,
they realized that the program provides them with a useful product in exchange for a
valuable educational experience for the students. For example, one partner stated:
It’s a give and take thing. We provide [the students] with a real worldview
of what can be done and what can’t be done. I know years we shocked a
few people by explaining to them how things work in government and
how things work in the public sector. And they’ve given us a quality
product that we are still using today, 10 years, 11 years later. (EPICS
Project Partner)

This partner saw them giving the students an educational experience, in exchange for a
quality project that was highly beneficial for their organization. This purpose highlights
an exchange component of the program. It worked well for the partner, as both the

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parties, the organization and the university, were able to get benefit from the exchange.
Three participants (one partner, one partner-advisor, and one advisor) explicitly
focused on the cooperative interactions as being a main purpose of the experience. One
participant, a project partner, stated that the main reason for involvement was the
partnerships, as it gave credibility to the organization:

My expectation [for being involved with EPICS] was that we would build
a successful partnership, and engage with the university, and hopefully, a
product would be developed as a result … Because as an [organization],
with a conservation education message and mission, it’s very important to
engage with the institutions of higher learning, [which provides the
organization with] credibility. (EPICS Project Partner)

This highlights that the purpose was cooperative, since the act of being a partner was the
purpose for being involved in EPICS. Another participant, a partner-advisor, was able to
integrate the design process of EPICS into a new program within their agency:

It started with a project to some extent in terms of when I came to Purdue,
learning about EPICS through [a project partner] who was at that point
involved in a project, and then meeting with [EPICS administrators] and
just talking about ultimately my desire to, incorporate EPICS into a new
program. (Partner-Advisor)

Through this integration, students associated with the partnering agency started
collaborating with the EPICS teams, and the learning that the students did became an
important characteristic of their organization. This partner-advisor said that this was an
out-of-the-box approach, and was very beneficial to the students involved:

Incorporating EPICS as part of [the new program], it was very much an
out-of-the-box sort of piece for a program like ours, ’cause it’s not any

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official requirement, except to the extent of communicating what you are
doing to other professionals. And what developed in the EPICS rotation,
in terms of what do you do as a [professional] and working with engineers
and a partner who is in need of support, it very much stretches [the
students associated with the organization] in terms of communication, and
learning the design process. (EPICS Partner-Advisor)

In this example, the boundary between the community/partner and the EPICS students
had been blurred, since the students, who are a part of the community, were integrated
into the EPICS program. This integration resulted in new type of collaboration, and this
collaboration had become the purpose of the partnership. These purposes are more
cooperative in nature, since they rely more on relationships, with an intent to decrease an
“us” and “them” boundary between the partnering agency and the program.
In the GPP-US the purpose focused on the students’ education, and the service to
the community was a secondary benefit. The focus is rooted in the history of the
Interactive Qualifying Projects (IQP), and confirmed by the interviews. This is
connected to the history of the program. A large step in the development of the
partnerships was the “WPI Plan” conceived of in the late 1960s (Dorsey, 1999). One of
the graduation requirements that came out of the “WPI plan” was the Interactive
Qualifying Project (IQP). The purpose of the IQP is to provide students with a learning
experience at the intersection of science, technology and society. The IQPs are the
projects the students are working on in the GPP-US experience. Through the interviews,
it was clear that the main purpose of the program was to provide an educational
experience for the students. This is further confirmed when looking back at the history of
the “WPI Plan,” which focused on the skills students needed to develop rather than
services provided to partner organizations or communities (Alstyne et al., 1969). Some
of the faculty and administration had explicitly stated personal motivations in providing
service for the community (see Chapter 4); however, this was not a stated goal of the
program. This was confirmed by one of the directors, one who stated:

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A successful project is, from my perspective, which I’m honest with my
sponsors about, is a high quality academic experience for the students, and
then, secondary, that [the partners] find useful either in terms of an output,
but not necessarily an output, but the process by which they went to create
whatever output they did. (GPP-US Center Director).

Further, while I was interviewing one of the administrators about the IQP, I brought up
the notion of service learning, and the administrator made it clear to me that the IQP was
not service learning:

The IQP was never intended to be service learning. It’s just that a lot of
them have elements where we’re working with communities who can
benefit from the projects. So we don’t have service, we don’t set it up to be
service learning, we don’t claim that it’s service learning. And so, we don’t
really think of it as service learning. (GPP-US Administrator)

In the GPP-US, there is a main purpose to provide the students with an educational
experience. They work with partnering organization, because they found that there is a
mutual benefit. There is a view of exchange in this way. A partner, while explaining
how s/he rationalizes the partnership in the budget line each year, further highlights this
exchange purpose of the partnership:

Some of the projects that we really, truly needed to do, and to get a vendor
in here to do the same level of quality, it’s a great deal. So it’s a good deal
for WPI, it’s a great deal for the students to actually have something that
has meaning to it. (GPP-US Sponsor)

This partner organization sees that the projects completed by students are of high quality.
There is recognition that they will get a valuable product, and the students will get a
meaningful project. Even though the purpose is exchange oriented, the structure of the

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program – which has the students spend seven-weeks at the site of the partnering
organization, as detailed in theme 2 – allows for a variation in transactional and
cooperative interactions.
In 1998, the faculty member stated that the original reason the Community
Playground Project (CPP) came into existence was to provide a design experience that
resonated with LSU students, as most LSU students had experience with playgrounds,
and to meet the need of an elementary school by providing them with a new playground.
This purpose was originally transactional. However, since the origin of the program, the
purpose expanded to focus more on cooperative qualities, specifically community
building. The critical incident that confirmed this transformation to the faculty member
that oversees the program was Hurricane Katrina. During this event, the faculty
member’s place in and responsibility to the community solidified:

There’s a trench where people are down in it and they are working hard to
effect positive change. And I don’t think I even realized I was part of a
trench, of a community tribe, if you will, until [Hurricane Katrina]. And
how important it was, how important [the trench] was for people impacted
and for people [in Baton Rouge]. (CPP Advisor)

During the relief effort, the faculty member volunteered and was deeply changed in this
process, as she witnessed the turmoil and kindness of a community in need. After the
experience with Hurricane Katrina, the purpose of the CPP was no longer primarily about
providing a design experience for the students, but rather equally community building.
The purpose moved the activities towards a cooperative and communal nature. This is
further highlighted on the CPP website which articulates that the program sees the
community as co-designers, and clearly identifies their role as working with the
community: “LSU faculty, staff, and students have worked alongside their community
partners to address the community needs, demonstrating a commitment to work with the
community, rather than simply providing a product for the community” (CPP, 2014).
Similar points were also emphasized in the interviews with the faculty, students

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associated with the program, and the former administrator. Working with the community,
and seeing them as a part of the program, is a central purpose of the program, one that
permeated the structure and the nature of the partnerships.
One specific example of how the CPP integrates the purpose of working with the
community into the structure of the program can be found in the notion of designing for
the “soul of the community” that is underlined by the faculty member, and listed in the
syllabus (Lima, 2013). The LSU students need to design for the “soul of the community,”
since each elementary school has their own unique character, and their playground needs
to reflect that. When the playground project was first established, LSU students only had
short interactions with the elementary students, and the faculty member realized that the
LSU students could not know the elementary schools in deeper ways through these brief
interactions. The design process during this phase was more transactional, since the
interactions tended to be logistical. The faculty member then revised the structure, and
started partnering with another non-profit that sends reading and math buddies to public
elementary schools. The LSU students are now required to meet at least eight times with
an elementary student at the school they are designing with, reading with them, learning
about play through them, and getting to know them on a more personal level. This
activity shifts the purpose of the LSU design experience to focus on the interactions
between the community and the students since they found ways to get the elementary
students inputs, so their voice could be heard in the process and a personal relationship
can evolve.
The notion of community ownership is another characteristic that embeds the
program structure, influences the nature of the partnership, and highlights the purpose of
building community. The elementary students and the larger community are a part of the
design and process of getting the playgrounds built. Some ways this is done is through
having the elementary student vote to pick the colors and types of play equipment, having
local businesses support fundraising efforts, inviting the larger community to help build
the playground, and even in the language of how the playground is presented to the
community. One project partner I interviewed seemed to have a personal gift in bringing
community together, and had raised over seventy thousand dollars for the playground at

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her school. When I asked about what elements created a transformational partnership,
she pointed to the importance of including everyone in the language that is used to talk
about such projects:

‘My’ is a word you don’t really wanna use too much. It’s ‘our’. So I think
that’s really, really important. I would really focus on our playground,
because people will say my playground, you mean our playground? So
when you’re doing communication, the verbiage is really important in how
you write things and how you present things and making people thank you
for helping us educate… To let everybody in the community feel their
responsibility. We are all responsible for the needs of our children. So
even the teachers, I would just correct their verbiage. If they would say
‘my’, I would just say, did you mean our playground? What are we gonna
do with our playground? What are we gonna do with this money? This is
our money, how should we use it? ‘We’, forget ‘me’, and ‘I’, and ‘my’.
That doesn’t make for success. It doesn’t. (CPP Partner, their emphasis)

The language that acknowledges the shared ownership highlights how the playground
project is communal in nature, since there is less emphasis on the individuals. The
identities transcend to a larger “we”.
However, not all the CPP participants focused on a cooperative purpose. One CPP
partner recognized the main purpose to get a playground for the elementary school. When
I asked a school principal about what they got out of the experience, and the principal
answered:

It’s just something for the kids. They need something to play on during
recess. And the more you talk about the health issues and things that go
on, the schools don’t have that much for the kids to play on during recess.
(CPP Partner)

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This principal saw the CPP as providing a playground to support the children, in
exchange for an educational experience for the LSU students. This partner described the
relationship as an exchange.
To summarize this theme, EPICS had both qualities of transactional and
cooperative purpose. The discussion of exchanging benefiting the community with a
project for an educational experience of the students is present in the literature, and
vocalized by many of the partners. There is also cooperative, as the human-centered
design approach integrates the end user throughout the project, and some of the
participants stated that the act of working together and/or the partnership itself was the
purpose of being involved in the program. The GPP-US stated an exchange purpose, as
the education of the students were central, and there was a mutual benefit for the partner
organization. In the CPP, building community through playgrounds was a main purpose
identified by most of the participants, yet there were some partnerships that focused on a
more transactional purpose.
In each case, there are specific interactions and activities where the interviewee
describes the counter to the overall purpose of the program. The reason for this can be
linked to the other themes, such as the overall program structure, the type of agency,
individuals involved, or the projects. These themes are discussed in more detail in the
sections that follow.
5.3 Theme 2: Overall Structure
A prevalent discussion in the extant literature centers on the difference between
analyzing service learning partnerships using a theoretical framework that is grounded in
interpersonal relationships (Bringle & Clayton, 2012), and one that is grounded in
organizational theory (Janke, 2012). As mentioned in the literature review a group of
researchers, including Bringle and Clayton, ground their research in the notion that
partnerships are a series of individual relationships, and that examining these
relationships should be used to ground research on partnerships. But as Janke argued,

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and Giles and Eyler (2013) agreed, it is important to also recognize organizational
structures while examining partnerships.
Based on the qualities discussed by Janke (2013) it seems that the partnerships in
GPP-US and EPICS represent interorganizational relationships, since the programs and
the partnering agencies themselves have distinct roles. According to Simon (1991)
organizations have prescribed roles and responsibilities, and according to Scott (2003)
organizational relationships are more likely to be durable, reliable and accountable
compared to individual relationships. These roles and responsibilities within the program
greatly influence the nature of the partnerships. Individuals in organizations are also
replaceable because of these roles. Interorganizational relationships (IORs) refer to
partnerships where the organizations involved keep their individual identities. There is
either a common interest or a need being met by the partnership.
Looking at the EPICS and GPP-US programs, there is a clear organizational
structure present that influences the relationships within the partnerships. On the other
hand, the CPP is more grounded in individual relationships, and more of the participants
spoke in terms of personal relationships rather than roles. If the members of a key
partnering agency, such as Food & Grounds, Inc., decided to pull out of the partnership in
some way, the structure of the CPP would have to be completely rearranged. Yet if the
members of a partnership in EPICS or GPP-US pulled out, they would likely be able to
find another organization that could take their place, likely with relatively little issue or
difficulty.
The first phase of analysis attempted to use the Phillips-Ward framework that
categorized trends found in other service-learning partnerships. Due to the unique case
histories, context and organizational structure, the GPP-US Sponsorships did not fit the
framework. As noted earlier, the TCC coding framework was then developed based on
previous literature (see methods section) and used to code specific interactions, activities
and language in data. This section will go over the structures of all three programs, and
highlight specific aspects of each program that tend to be more transactional, cooperative
and/or communal.

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5.3.1 Overall Structural Influence of EPICS
In EPICS, there is a general framework for how partnerships operate, and how
projects come into being, specific design processes used by teams, and specific
deliverables that the students are expected to submit during the course of each semester.
The students work in interdisciplinary and vertically integrated teams, i.e., the teams
consist of students from across majors and levels of undergraduate education, from first-
year to senior. They focus primarily on undergraduate students, however, there are a few
graduate programs that EPICS has partnered with, and so in these incidences the graduate
students also take the EPICS course. Many of the participants described these teams as a
cooperative experience, and in one partnership, the students associated with the
partnering organization also take the EPICS course. For this team, students associated
with the partnering organization work alongside the other EPICS students in a
cooperative way, where the other EPICS teams consist of engineering and other students
from across campus that signed up for EPICS and were put on a team, but were not
otherwise associated with the partnering organization.
Some of the structural elements directly impacted the nature of the partnership.
However, some partnerships were also inflected by the personal autonomy of the
stakeholders within the general framework and this resulted in the natures of the
partnerships varying, such as depending on the personalities and skill levels of the
involved individuals (i.e. students, advisors and project partners). Also, there were times
when the teams deviated from the EPICS process, and this tended to result in more
unilateral kinds of transactional interactions. For EPICS, I found specific relevant factors
based on the interviews; specifically, how the students learn about the partnering agency,
the decision process to determine which projects will be worked on for a semester, the
feedback mechanisms on the projects, design reviews, and building long-term
relationships.
To begin, each semester the students are introduced to the partnering agency,
often by a tour of the facilities, personal research, and description by either students who
have been on the team for an extended period of time, the partner, and/or the advisor. For
example, one partner described the introduction as giving facts about the organizations:

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I cover the physical facilities, what we have available. I discuss, in
general, what is our mission, education, and conservation education. I tell
them facts about the organization so that they can have some ownership …
I give them organizational facts. How many staff we have, how many
hours we log on, annually, special events that we hold. (EPICS Project
Partner)

These interactions and activities were often described as logistical, and recognized the
boundary between the EPICS students and the partnering organization. The students are
given factual information that they would need in order to create a service or product.
Thus, these interactions and activities were found to be transactional in nature, as the
students are learning about the agency as outsiders. However, there were some examples
mentioned in the interviews were students where spending their weekends working
alongside volunteers affiliated with the organization. There is also a newer program, not
included in this study, where the EPICS students worked as camp counselors to get to
know the campers with disabilities on a personal level prior to designing for them
(Cummings, Zoltowski, Hsu, Cardella, & Oakes, 2014). These approaches are more
cooperative and communal in nature, since there are personal relationships being built
with the intention of blurring boundaries and building community among the EPICS
students and the campers.
The process to determine which projects the students should work on was often
described as a cooperative process involving the advisors, students in leadership positions,
project partners, and teaching assistants. The partners decided which projects were most
needed for the organization and worked with the advisors, students, and teaching
assistances to determine the how the projects could fit with the abilities of the students.
For instance, one project partner described how their local non-profit organization
selected projects and then discussed the projects with EPICS teams to match the skill sets
available:

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[The EPICS team] normally will say, we are going to deploy a project this
semester, and prior to that deployment they will say, can you come up
with X number of ideas, selecting two that are most important to you. So
then I brainstorm with my staff, and we determine what our needs are and
determine what our final two choices are. Then I will present to the EPICS
group and have them select, or work with them, to determine what skill
sets they possess on that current team. (Project Partner)

This interaction is cooperative in nature since they are working together to determine
which project would be most appropriate for the students to work on given both the needs
of the organization and the skill level of the students.
However, one participant stated that there were times when the project definition
is not established cooperatively. This participant spoke of how his/her experience veered
from the program’s policies. When asked what how project are chosen, this participant
stated:

[It’s a] somewhat convoluted process, at least it has been for me, the
[EPICS policy] is the students will meet with the project partner fairly
early on, and ask the project partner their needs, and then come up with
design that, or projects that meet those needs and they will go through the
design process, interact with the project partner to come up with the
design specifications that meet the project partners needs umm, and then
build up to that, that is suppose to work. (EPICS Partner-Advisor)
As this statement suggests, there was recognition that the process was intended to be
cooperative. Yet in this same partner-advisor’s experience, this did not correspond with
the actual process:

What often happens is the students come to the project partner and say that
we have this great idea with this, the project partner is kind of, well you

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know if they are doing it for me I will go along with that and then it
becomes such that over the course of the time it really doesn’t meet their
needs overall, but it’s kind of so large in scope that it becomes so complex
and they really can’t deal with it. (EPICS Partner-Advisor)

This partner-advisor followed this description with another example, where a partner
(from an organization that the partner-advisor was not affiliated with) approached
him/her and said that the project was not meeting the needs of their organization, and that
it was too large in scope and they wanted smaller projects. The advisor was then able to
refocus the group to better meet the needs of the organization. In this instance, the
original decision on what project the students should work on did not address the
organization’s needs, so the interaction was recognized as being of a unilateral-
transactional nature. However, once the partner-advisor was able to listen to the partner
and work out a way to meet the needs of the organization within the students’ capabilities,
the interaction became cooperative. This was the only participant in the interviews where
the partner’s voice was not included in project definition, but it seemed like this dynamic
stemmed from a miscommunication, where the project partner did not feel comfortable
stating their actual needs and the students were designing based on an incorrect
understanding of those needs. This example also diverged from official EPICS policies
that state that the projects are supposed to meet the needs of the organizations to begin
with, and that the project partner needs to be involved in project definition.
After the projects are identified, the students work on the projects throughout the
course of the semester, and the teams have varying degrees of contact with the project
partners. For example, some partners work as advisors for the EPICS teams, other
partners meet regularly with student teams at the organization site, some only meet a few
times a semester to give feedback on the projects, and others had limited availability to
meet with the teams and communicated primarily via e-mail and phone. Reflecting this
variation, the contact between the students and the project partners involved a range of
cooperative and transactional interactions. When there was a higher degree of
involvement in the context of such interactions, and the voice of the partner was an

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integral part of the design experience, it was coded as “cooperative.” When the EPICS
teams got information from the partner in a systematic way, seeking to understand
specific logistics about the project, the interactions and activities were considered
transactional-non-unilateral. When the students veered from the EPICS policies and did
not listen to the needs or priorities of the project partner, or the project partner was either
not available or showed a lack of awareness regarding the capabilities of the students, the
interactions and activities were considered transactional-unilateral. The specific
individuals’ approach, and the importance of students listening to stakeholders are
discussed further below in themes 5 and 6.
Another structural feature that checks on the work of the student teams is the
design review. The design review is an activity involving partners, alumni, and
professional engineers who view and evaluate the presentations from students reporting
on their project progress twice a semester. The activity itself harnesses and builds
relationships, and integrates these stakeholders into the EPICS program, and in this sense
it is cooperative in nature. Further, one former student described it as a communal
activity:

Why I come back to do EPICS, and why I think EPICS is important, is
because, I feel privileged to have an engineering education, and to have an
engineering background. If you look at the need for engineers, and how
many people actually are engineers, it’s a huge gap. And so, volunteering
my skills, seeing how I can use my skill set to help people is a really big
thing, but you have to see that need and kind of have the patience and
compassion to apply it. (EPICS Former student)

This excerpt was coded as communal, since this student’s comment indicates deeper
intent to use his/her engineering skills in order to help a broader community.
The final structural element that will be mentioned in this section is the long-term
partnership model. Each semester, the students are expected to create timelines, keep a
journal, and turn in specific deliverables for the course. Yet the projects are not strictly

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bound by a specific semester and can potentially go from one semester to the next. Most
of the partners saw this as a useful and a needed component of EPICS. One of the
benefits of the long-term model is that when a project partner knows there is an issue
with a project, the team can correct it and fix it, even after it has been deployed. EPICS
can also retrieve and store a project once it is not needed any more (such as an interactive
kiosk intended for use by visitors to a local organization that the organization no longer
wanted on site). Also, there is a degree of personal relationship that forms through long-
term partnerships. For example, one partner described some friendships that formed
among the EPICS staff:

I think I have a very good relationship with their whole staff. I really like
them, they are real supportive, and they donate to us. I’ve become really
good friends with [a staff member] … I can be honest with them, there is a
lot of transparency without hurt feelings. (EPICS Project Partner)

This interaction is coded as communal in nature, since this partner feels s/he can be open
with the EPICS staff about the program, and there is a personal relationship that is
forming that transcends the respective roles of the project partner and EPICS staff
members.
One challenge that arises from the long-term model is that some projects take
longer than expected to deliver. The majority of the participants were expecting faster
deployment times when they entered into the partnerships. Yet the participants also
understood that the projects were complex, it was a learning experience, and that students
had other responsibilities outside of EPICS. A few others that said that if there were a
faster turn-around time, there could be other opportunities in their organization to utilize
the EPICS students. When asked what they would like to change about EPICS, one
partner pointed to the length of response time:

The timeliness, getting responses quicker, and if they could respond
quicker to, you know, come up with solutions quicker, it would be more

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useful. A lot of the problems I give them, I need the answers fairly quick.
And to wait 3 months, 2 and half months for an answer, I usually have it
figured out by then. (EPICS Project Partner)

This interaction is coded as transactional-unilateral, since the length of time resulted in a
project that not was useful to the organization. In addition, some of the advisors also
anticipated shorter deployment times when starting with EPICS, but saw the educational
benefits associated with longer deployment processes. One advisor discussed the issues
s/he faced when starting with EPICS:

As engineers we like to see the product delivered, the manuals done, the
users using the manuals, and showing that everything is fine, and it was
very frustrating for me my very first semester in EPICS when that didn’t
happen. And it’s like, “what, weren’t we supposed to deliver this?” [An
EPICS staff member] called me aside and said, you know, we have been
working with [this organizations] for 12 years at that point in time, and
they know we are working with students of all different classes, as far as
the grade levels, all different disciplines and we are not a consulting
company that is going to be returning a solution for them at the end of the
semester so we asked for them to help us in the process of not just
delivering a product, but also through the process of helping students
learn. (EPICS Advisor)

This interaction is complex and is both transactional and cooperative, as it recognizes that
the emphasis is sometimes on the students, and that there will be times of unilateral
activities, where the students are learning and the partners are not receiving a direct
benefit. During such periods there may be a greater dependence on the long-term
relationships within the partnership, and in this way the dynamic is cooperative. It is the
job of EPICS staff to make sure that the project partners have realistic expectations. This

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is done through having the partners sign a memorandum of understanding that goes
through the expectations of the EPICS partners in the program.
Overall, within each of the five steps reviewed (how the students learn about the
partnering agency, the decision process to determine which projects will be worked on
for a semester, the feedback mechanisms on the projects, design reviews, and building of
long-term relationships), there were varying degrees of nature from transactional-
unilateral to cooperative and some times communal. The EPICS program structure
allows it to be scalable and keep a certain degree of consistency across partnerships, but
also allows the partnerships enough flexibility to have unique approaches and dynamics
across the differing sites.

5.3.2 Overall Structural Influence of GPP-US
Like EPICS, in the GPP-US, there are established routines and methods on how
projects and interactions unfold. From the data, it was found that the routines can be
discussed in terms of four more specific categories of interaction: identification of a
project, preparation course, on-site experience, and assessment. These procedures impact
the nature of the interactions between the stakeholders of the partnerships.
The first category is the identification of an appropriate project. The project is
identified through conversations between the center director and sponsor, and is done
months prior to the students working on-site. One sponsor described the process as a
fleshing out of ideas with the center director:

Usually what I’ll do is I’ll either call or email, at least at this point [the
Center Director], and say, “Here’s what I’ve got for some ideas.” And
[s/he’ll] say, “All right, this kinda makes sense”[or] “I don’t think this
works.” We went back and forth on [one project]. I think I maybe didn’t
express myself the way I wanted and so [s/he] didn’t think it was
something that [would work]…. So we ran into each other, we talked about
a little bit, once we sort of fleshed it out, [s/he] said, “Oh that’s great.” So I

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submit them to [them], and s/he kinda decides where they’re gonna fit into
the long-term plan for students. (GPP-US Sponsor)

These interactions are most often cooperative in nature, as they consist of two individuals
working together to figure out which projects most appropriately meet the needs of both
the students and the agency. Expertise in each domain is respectively recognized by the
project sponsor and the center director, as the sponsor knows the agency, and the center
director often knows what project would align with the desired learning outcomes, would
be of interest to the students, and is likely appropriate for the students’ ability and
timeframe.
The second category that emerged as significant within the data is the preparation
course. During the preparation course, the sponsor has limited communication with the
students and the advisors. Students are directly learning a variety of skills, techniques
and knowledge that are expected to be helpful during their experience on-site. The
interactions with the sponsors are logistical at this stage, as the students are gathering
information to complete their project proposals that are due at the end of the term. The
proposal is an outline of the intended steps to be completed throughout the seven weeks
onsite. During this phase, interactions are transactional in nature, as the boundaries
between the different partners are well established. In fact, when asked about the their
role within a projects generally, one sponsor highlighted how there was minimal
interaction within the preparation course: “I am generally not too involved in the first
seven weeks other than maybe an interview or two, maybe an email response here and
there” (GPP-US Sponsor).
The next category of interactions is the seven-week on-site portion of the project,
where students spend around forty hours a week working on the project. Many of the
interactions and activities on-site are outside the control of the GPP-US. The program is
therefore blurring geographical, organizational, and sectorial boundaries by having the
students on-site with the sponsoring agency, and in this way the activity is cooperative.
However, the interactions are largely in the hands of the sponsoring agency involved
during this stage. This period can be very intense, as the students are attempting to get

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the projects completed in time. As the same sponsor quotes in the previous paragraph
went on to explain:

Then the next seven weeks, it’s them coming and really that’s the
whirlwind of work… It’s a sort of welcome distraction because they show
up and it’s like, ‘All right, let’s get this project done.’ And it’s trying to
figure out how to finalize that work in those seven weeks. (GPP- US
Sponsor)

The advisors work with students and sponsors to ensure that the projects are ethically
appropriate and support students, yet the central interactions are between the students and
the agency. During this on-site portion, the types of agencies, the individuals guiding the
partnerships, and the project (themes three through five) have significant influence on the
nature of interactions.
The last category is evaluation and assessment. It is the role of the GPP-US and
the advisor to determine achievement of the program learning outcomes by assessing
each students’ accomplishments. Also, there is no input from the sponsors on the desired
learning outcomes of the experience, as these are consistent for all students per the IQP
requirements (WPI, 2004). However, some advisors will seek input from the sponsor or
students during the assessment process. Most sponsors also have anticipations for student
accomplishment that might align with the learning outcomes; however, they often focus
on the completion and usefulness of the project, while the program grades students on
writing ability, critical thinking, etc. (see Table 3-2). Many of the partners were
impressed with the students’ accomplishments, and that is why they continue the
partnerships. In all these ways, the determining of learning outcomes and assessment is
transactional in nature; there is a well-established boundary between GPP-US (i.e.,
advisors, students, administrators) and the sponsoring agency when it comes to learning
outcomes and assessment.
Overall, the GPP-US uses a variety of approaches that resulted in transactional
and cooperative interactions in the partnerships. The project definition was cooperative,

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the preparation course was transactional, the on-site portion was more cooperative but
more in the hands of the partnering agency, and the assessment was transactional. The
transactional approaches allow for greater consistency and scalability, which ultimately
has allowed the program to grow to serve over 500 students per year. The cooperative
dynamics have helped enable more unique experiences across sites, and allowed
community voice to exist within the partnerships. The sections below also discuss other
factors that contribute to variability across partnerships, including: the type of agency, the
partnership delegation, and the type of projects. But before addressing these themes, it is
necessary to discuss some of the key structural features of the third case.

5.3.3 Overall Structural Influence of CPP
The overarching structure for the CPP is centered on a flow of different stakeholders
that come together to create a playground. This is more variable depending on the
context and circumstances of a given project, such as support from the partner school and
availability of funding. I refer to this structure as a network of support. Nonetheless, there
are some common steps that the CPP often takes when designing the playground, since
most of the projects are done for elementary schools in the East Baton Rouge Parish, and
there are certain partners present in every playground project (Theme 3). However, the
specific playground creation process can often vary based on the unique needs of a
certain school (Theme 4). The faculty member describes the structure as following:

There’s a structure and there’s almost like a set of people associated with
each phase of the playground project. And a lot of the players are the
same, like me, like [Food & Grounds Inc.], like children is a cohort, like
volunteers. But a lot of the specifics are different and dictated by the
situation and it’s fun to watch the process unfold and then we just carry a
few people from each project to the next and it just builds… Has built
itself. (CPP Faculty member)

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The nature of this structure is frequently cooperative, since there are groups and
individuals coming together, as a team, to get the project completed; however, when a
group does a task independently, the activity was coded as transactional because the task
in question emphasizes roles and responsibilities among distinct groups of people. There
were also frequent co-occurrences of cooperative and communal natures when the overall
structure overlapped with the purpose of community (Theme 1), since there are different
groups working for a common goal (cooperative) with the intention of building
relationships and community (communal). Below is an excerpt of one of the employees
of F&G, who described their tasks in the design process, and linked it to the relationships
that have been formed and the purpose of benefiting the kids:

We were tasked to do a yearly inspection of their playgrounds. Assess the
condition, the age, the usability, and the life expectancy of each individual
unit. And then I would put together a ranking of those sites that had units
or did not have units. And each year I would forward that ranking to [the
faculty member]. And she would do some fundraising, when she was able,
and we were able to get funding. Then we would put our resources
together and our volunteers together to install playgrounds. And we have
been doing it every year, ever since. And it has been a great relationship
between LSU and [Food & Grounds Inc.] and [the school district]. And I
know kids that have definitely benefited from all the stuff that we’ve been
able to do, doing that. (CPP Partner)

This excerpt was coded for all three natures: transactional, cooperative, and communal.
The partner is looking at and ranking the schools independently and then providing a list
to the faculty member, so this step is independent and is considered transactional. They
then come together and mobilize resources, which is cooperative. Then finally the partner
mentions the relationships formed and the benefits to the kids, highlighting the third
nature, communal.

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The network of support more specifically provides three important characteristics:
the domain knowledge that each groups brings, the foundational trust of the long term
relationship while entering new partnerships, and the ability to rely on this network to
overcome obstacles. It is worth noting that the stakeholder domain knowledge and long-
term trust were also present in the other sites; yet these were not explicitly discussed nor
was the overall structure of the program centered on these characteristics. But in the case
of CPP, the evidence collected for this study indicates that these characteristics greatly
influenced the structure of the program.
One specific characteristic of the network of support is the domain knowledge
that each of the stakeholders bring. The LSU first-year course, LSU design team, F&G,
elementary students, teachers, principals, the school board, community volunteers, and
the faculty members are each an important part of the network and bring specific
knowledge to the CPP. The first-year biological engineering students contribute their
own life experiences, learn playground safety and building codes, and provide the initial
design for the project. The LSU design team takes the initial designs to make the final
project, creates the bid specifications, and assists with allocating and securing funding.
F&G provides the initial assessment by creating a list of schools who are the most in need,
does a lot of the build up and drainage for the playgrounds, and provides much needed
volunteer construction expertise for the actual build. The elementary students are experts
in play. The teachers and principals know the school structure and the community well,
and they can also be great supporters for getting the funding for the school. The
community volunteers provide funds and “sweat equity” on the day of the builds. The
faculty member coordinates the process, teaches the LSU students, and makes sure that
the funding is secure through the LSU side. Overall, each group has a specific domain
expertise, and individuals can have informal roles; this structure results in a combination
of transactional and cooperative interactions and activities.
When an activity is done in isolation, either by an individual or a group of
individuals within the same stakeholder group (e.g. students), the activity is transactional
because the interactions are limited and one stakeholder is essentially doing a task for the
other partners of the CPP. This allows for ease of operation and can often be highly

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appropriate for a specific task, especially those that require a large amount of expertise.
Yet there were often times when there was collaboration involving different domain
knowledge and informal educational activities were taken advantage of. One example is
from the LSU student who discussed that the most beneficial part of the CPP was
learning from different stakeholders. The student described the experience of learning
how to build playgrounds:

When we’re building the playground equipment, you don’t follow the
manual, but really you follow the guy who has done this a hundred times.
… I walked around with little flags and he tells me where to put the flag.
And I ask him, “Okay, why did you put the flag like that?” … He found
that I was interested in learning about it so he goes, “Okay now use a T
square here, now use a second T square here, and that’s where to put this
circle. The circle’s gonna be bigger than this circle, so we need to put two
flags here.” … When we were laying out holes for a slide I asked why he
put the ladder opposite from the direction the kids were approaching the
playgrounds. He replied, “, you always face a slide north.” The slides heat
up when you face them south. Turns out, [the faculty member] had no
idea about that either, though it completely makes sense… In my
curriculum I’m starting to learn how to design things that design energy
flows. This guy’s been doing it for a while. He just goes out there and
goes, “South, this way.” [chuckle]… You can learn so much from
everybody you work with…. That has been, I guess, the biggest thing that
I’ve benefited from working on the playground projects. (CPP Student)

This excerpt shows how the expert from the playground build was able to teach the
student who was interested in builds. The two individuals have clearly distinct roles, and
are working together. These roles have not been transcended, which would be communal,
yet there is a team-like relationship and each individual’s expertise is recognized and
utilized for the project. Thus this excerpt is marked as cooperative.

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The network of support can also be relied on to provide validity and trust to new
partnerships. This is most important at the beginning of each spring semester as the first-
year LSU course is partnered with one or two local elementary schools in need of a
playground. The schools at this time do not know the CPP, and might not initially trust
their ability to follow through with the playground. Yet if the school principals are
introduced to the CPP through members of the school board, and the LSU students are
reading and math buddies through another non-profit that has a long standing relationship
with the elementary school, the elementary schools can build trust faster as the
connections with the other organizations highlight the CPP’s credibility. A former
administrator at LSU described the different relationships present:

Some parts of [the faculty member’s] partnership she can keep from year
to year. Her partnership with the school system and the facilities services
group that she works with keep going from year to year. They are her on-
going partnership; she has been working with them for years, so that part
is probably easier because she doesn’t have to reestablish that for each
build. The school system as a whole knows her, trusts her, and the
administrators know her and they talk among each other. So she has that
advantage of a long-term project, but still she has to start over each time at
a new school. Each school has its own culture, just like each classroom
has its own culture. (CPP Former Administrator)

The faculty member is able to create a sense of trust with the schools, which provides
credibility for the program. This is valuable as the program is constantly creating new
partnerships each year while other kinds of partnerships continue. The act of relying on
the existing relationships highlighting trust and credibility is communal in nature, since it
relies on the value of the relationship and it is less structured.
The final characteristic of the network is the ability to rely on the network of
support in addressing obstacles. All interviewees recognized funding as the biggest
challenge, and the financial issue is latent with many political issues (discussed in Theme

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3). The funding source is highly unique to the specific school, as funding can come from
grants, local businesses, and/or fundraisers. One partner described that she received a
small grant for the playground, and the faculty member was able to assist by leveraging
her network and get surfacing so more money could be spent on equipment:

The money that we received for our playground, it wasn’t very much, so
we knew we were just gonna get the basics. But [the faculty member]
knows the people in the office that works with school systems so she was
able to say, “Look, I know that they set aside money for the mulch, call
this person. Well, better yet, let me talk to them.” So, she was able to get
the school system to put in and help us out with this playground, so that
we were able to spend more money on the actual structure. (CPP Partner)

The network of support is relied on to receive additional funding if needed. If
playgrounds are down a few thousand dollars, the listserv of volunteers will be asked to
donate and provide the additional funds. The F&G has also provided additional concrete
when needed.
The advisory committee highlights another example of the ability to rely on the
network of support. When I was there in February 2014, the faculty member was
establishing an advisory committee that would insure that all playgrounds in the school
system would be completed in the next five to ten years:
I’ve done enough work in my community with the playgrounds, that I’m
going to put together an advisory committee of community leaders, and
give them a presentation, “Here’s what we’ve done, here’s where we are
and here’s where we’re going.” I used to think it would take my whole
career to do every public school in the city, it will not. I think I can get it
done in five to 10 years. (CPP Advisor)

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Using this network to address challenges is cooperative and communal in nature, as
individuals are coming together and working to overcome a challenge (cooperative), and
they are relying on the relationships while building and transforming communities
(communal).

5.3.4 Evaluation of the Overall Structure’s Influence of the Programs
Overall, all three of the programs provide structural elements that are relatively
consistent across partnerships. For EPICS and GPP-US the process is more systematic,
and for the CPP it is more malleable depending on the specific individuals and
circumstances. In EPICS and GPP, there is a phase of project definition that is often
cooperative, while the process of working on the project can vary per site. In the CPP,
what a playground looks like and how it comes into being is different at each site, yet
there are some overall themes and constituents that are consistent across the projects.
There are always elementary students; there are always faculty, the F&G, teachers,
school principals, etc. All three of the programs also depend on a variation of
transactional and cooperative approaches. The transactional approaches are most often
used for appropriateness, ease or urgency. These approaches also allow the programs to
have consistency and scalability within the programs. Yet there were always times when
members from across stakeholder groups were working together, and these interactions
and activities tend to be cooperative in nature. The cooperative approaches have given
more unique experiences across sites, and allowed the partnering organization to
influence the partnerships to varying degrees. The variation of interactions is consistent
to Feinstein and Meshoulam’s (2014) findings with client and cooperative logic. The
client logic, similar to transactional interactions, allowed for the policies across
partnerships and gave a sense of uniqueness to the program, and cooperative logic allows
for more dynamic connections with communities.
The next theme will review how the nature of the partnering agency influences
the nature of the partnership.

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5.4 Theme 3: Partnering Agency
In all three of the programs, there were partners who described structures, natures,
missions, and/or philosophies of their organizations, and these characteristics often
influenced the nature of the interactions and activities within the partnerships. Some
partnering agencies were more transactional and others were more cooperative or
communal. In addition, there were some organizations that were more likely to create an
emotional connection among the varying stakeholders. This was especially the case
when the partnering agency represented marginalized or vulnerable communities, such as
children with low socio-economic status, individuals suffering from a chronic illness, or
individuals with disabilities.
In this theme, I discuss examples of partnerships from each of the three programs
that represented transactional, cooperative and communal relationships with
organizations and how these programs influenced the partnerships. Then I highlight some
emotional connections the stakeholders had with the partnering agency, and how these
connections pushed the interactions toward relationships with more cooperative and
communal natures. I conclude this theme in discussing the importance of aligning the
type of agencies with the type of nature and structure the program wants to have.
Some partnering organizations were more transactional in nature. In the EPICS
case two of the partners described their agency as client-oriented. One of the partners was
a governmental agency and served a particular clientele, while the other served a
disenfranchised community by employing them to produce products for local companies.
The latter described how saving time was a core principal of their organization, as well as
how the students need to understand this principal to produce appropriate products:

I tried to communicate with [the students] that the main thing we are
looking for is “time is money”, and the more time you spend on a job, the
more it’s going to cost you, because of labor cost. And sometimes the
students over-engineer things and make it complicated to the point where
it is not economically feasible to do it that way. (Project Partner)

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The mission of saving money is linked to positive outputs for the community, such as
increased standard of living and more programing the organization can provide. This
organization is trying to increase its economic efficiency, and the students are providing a
service to potentially achieve this goal. This outcome-oriented focus results in
transactional activities since projects have clear desired outcomes and potential benefits,
and then the relationship is recognized for the benefits the constituents mutually offer one
another.
In GPP-US, one of the partners is a large Federal Agency. This federal agency is
bureaucratic, and has a strong union. This agency has many transactional interactions,
where the boundaries between “us” and “them” were heightened. The sponsor working
with the student was a manager. Most of the employees are well educated, and the agency
is housed within many large buildings on the outskirts of the city. This agency takes in a
group of students each year to do a project. Many of these projects are needed within the
agency, are at the appropriate skill level for the students, and have lasting impacts. In
addition to the actual project, the sponsor recognizes that the students offer an additional
benefit by serving as outside evaluators:

So again, success on [that project] was that it validated [the data], because
we have a fairly strong union here. And having to get a third party
independent of management that came in and said, ‘Hey, this is what your
marketing unit members said during the surveys and so forth.’… It gives us
ability to move forward. (GPP-US Sponsor)

Having the students be a “third party” increases the boundary between the stakeholders
and further separates the students, the sponsor, the employees and the society they serve.
Nonetheless, this boundary provides validity to the project outcomes, and so in this case,
a more cooperative or communal partnership could actually be detrimental for the project.
If the students were identifying as a part of management or the employees in the union,
there is a risk that the other party would not trust the results.

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One of the key partners in the CPP is LSU. LSU is a research-intensive, land
grant university with a bureaucratic structure and culture that houses the CPP. LSU has
strict policies for how contractors bid for playgrounds and how to purchase equipment
from grants. These policies at LSU are transactional in nature, since there are systematic
structures that create clear boundaries within the partnership. It can result in a lot of
obstacles in the creation of the playground, as the system is not designed to finance
projects with many funding sources. Yet one benefit of this process is that it ensures a
fair treatment for contractors. The faculty member stated that one contractor threatened a
lawsuit after they did not receive the bid, but because of the LSU procedure the company
did not have a claim.
Another critical partner for the CPP is the school system. The school system has
both transactional and cooperative interactions due to its unique context. The school
system is underfunded and has a history of race and class tensions. Choosing to work
with this school system is a clear choice from a needs perspective. The East Baton Rouge
Parish busses students throughout the city due to a 1994 desegregation lawsuit that found
that elementary schools were still divided by race lines, since the schools were divided by
neighborhood which were often segregated (Lima 2013). Once bussing students became
widespread, many wealthy white families took their children out of public schools, and
certain neighborhoods have broken away from the school district. The Baton Rouge
schools are now around seventy-nine percent black students (Baton Rouge Area Chamber,
2006) in a community that is about forty-six percent black (US Census Bureau, 2014).
From the interviews it was clear that the school board policies indicate that for each
elementary school built, there is a playground; however, funding for repair and new
equipment is the responsibility of the school. Since many of these schools have a high
percentage of students on free lunch programs and are often underfunded, there are little
opportunities to raise the money for the playgrounds through fundraisers. When the
equipment gets older and is deemed unsafe, the playgrounds are removed and the schools
are left with little or no play equipment. These factors result in a great need for
playgrounds in many of the Baton Rouge public schools.

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There are set policies and expectations that can result in transactional and
cooperative interactions and activities with the partner schools. This is notable in the
school hierarchy and the standardized testing. At the elementary schools, the principal
makes final decisions. Most principals have the well-being of the students in mind, and
they will sometime see that playgrounds, or certain pieces of equipment, are not
appropriate or safe for the students. Some may not approve of monkey bars, merry-go-
rounds, enclosed slides, or even having a playground at all. The design team will often
advocate for the elementary students on what they said they wanted, and explain how the
equipment can be used safely. However, the principal makes the final decision, and so the
CPP needs to respect this in order to be a good partner. This decision process can be
transactional in nature if the principal makes the decision without the input of the other
stakeholders.
Preparing elementary students for the standardized tests is a central responsibility
of the public schools. For this reason, it can be difficult to convince teachers to take time
away from this task to discuss playground design. In order to recognize and assist in the
elementary schools, the LSU students volunteer to tutor the elementary students in math
and reading to prepare the elementary students for the tests. This is a way to
accommodate the needs of the schools and is both transactional and cooperative. There is
one stakeholder, the LSU students, providing a service for another, namely the
elementary students. This interaction of the reading or math buddy allows the CPP to fill
a need of the school district, and thus is transactional since the roles and responsibilities
in the reading portion are well defined. The reading and math buddy program also allows
the elementary students and LSU students a chance to discuss play and know each other
more personally; this allows the interaction to be more cooperative. The CPP is able to
draw on the elementary students’ expertise of play while respecting the priorities of the
school to focus on standardized tests.
Each of the programs also had partners that had more cooperative natures. For
instance, EPICS Partners 4 and 5 described partnerships as a core component of their
organization. One of these participants was part of a large non-profit that had a local
chapter that partnered with EPICS. This partner described how the organization gets

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their needs met by working with a variety of partners, and if they had not been involved
with EPICS, their needs would eventually be met by some other means:

[The organization] is kind of like hitch-hiking: you have a need and you
put your thumb out, – whoever picks you up so to speak, you ride with
them as long as you can. So it’s no different than any problem that we
have. Whether it’s receiving help for designing a [project], whoever can
help us, we find them. I guess what I am saying is that EPICS is not
indispensible; we, we would find help some way. (EPICS Project Partner)

The approach of this organization is more cooperative in nature, since there is a clear
openness in structure, and there are not set expectations for the partner organization. This
openness resulted in projects that were more malleable and so the students were required
to put more energy into understanding the complex circumstances of the project, and this
resulted in more cooperative interactions. As a result, some students would spend
weekends volunteering and becoming more involved with the organization.
In GPP, the partnering organization with the most cooperative interactions and
activities relied on partnerships with local hospitals, as well as other non-profits such as
food banks, to improve the lives of the community they were serving. The sponsors
described these partnerships as cooperative in nature, and they recognized themselves as
being a part of the community rather than being separate from it. One way they created
this integration was to hire the staff from the community they were serving. The staff
often had little formal educational experience. In fact, many did not have their GEDs, and
were often intimidated by the computers. The partners brought the students into the staff
meetings and included them in their work functions. In the interview, the partners
stressed the importance of including the students in the organization: “we have our
program services meeting with all the staff on Wednesdays, and we invited them right
into those meetings, so they became part of the staff essentially.”
During the course of the experience, the students bonded with the community
partners, provided computer education for the staff, and were described by the staff as

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patient and kind. The partners also said that since the GPP-US students were there, the
staff have given PowerPoint presentations in meetings, a task that the staff were unable to
complete prior to the GPP-US students teaching them, and was very useful for the
organization. This activity points to the action of fostering capacity within a community
organization, which is cooperative in nature since it allows the community to take
ownership of the knowledge rather than having the GPP-US be the exclusive holders of
the relevant expertise.
In the CPP, a critical partner is F&G, the private company that maintains the
grounds of the public elementary schools. As noted above, one F&G employee is a state
playground inspector, and each year he goes through the playgrounds at the school
district and makes a list of the top ten schools that are in most in need of new
playgrounds. The list is then used to determine which elementary school the LSU
students will work with each year. This employee is a primary partner with the faculty
member and is core to the CPP. F&G also determines where the playground will be
placed based on drainage, will do any needed build up for the site, and will provide
equipment and labor. Since F&G are experts in maintenance, playground designs are
often checked with F&G to make sure that the design choices would not require a higher
degree of maintenance, like ropes that could easily fray.
Yet the partnership of F&G with the CPP is not part of the contract F&G has with
the school district. The interviewees say that the motivation for F&G’s involvement with
the CPP is connected to the company’s mission to give back to their community and
individuals within F&G who are personally dedicated to the partnership (Theme 4). The
interactions of F&G are often cooperative, as they are working with the other parties
directly to determine the project. One employee from F&G described an interaction with
all the key stakeholders in a step to get the project completed:

It would be myself and [the faculty member], and whoever else she has
involved from the LSU side. And the principal, and if there’s a [Parent,
Teacher Organization] PTO at the school, the head of the PTO of the
school. And in some cases, there may also be other companies that wanna

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also contribute some money to the process. But then we would all meet
together and say, “Okay, this is what we have. Okay, let’s look at what’s at
the school.” So we would go to the school as a group. We would look at
what they have and say, “Okay.” Then we would look at the location
where we wanted to put the new playground to make sure that we have it
sited right. (CPP Partner)

This interaction is cooperative, since all the stakeholders are working together, as a team,
for a similar goals and objectives. They are meeting together, each one holding their
unique knowledge, and are figuring out the current site and layout of the playground.
Overall, in these examples the nature of the partnership in part reflected the nature
of each partner organization and also allowed for the partnerships to serve unique needs.
There are partners that are more transactional in nature. For example, the EPICS partner
who wants the students to design projects to increase efficiency, which financially
benefits the organization; the large federal agency working with GPP-US values the
“third” party nature that the students bring to provide validity to the project; and for the
CPP, LSU provides policy structures that can result in obstacles to allocate funds, yet this
also provides a bureaucratic safety net to prevent lawsuits from contractors.
On the other hand, each of the three programs also worked with organizations
whose primary business model relies on partnerships to meet the mission of their agency,
which tended to result in more cooperative interactions. There is evidence that these
organizations see the larger community as co-owners of the programs and actively break
down the boundary between the organizations and the communities they serve. In these
organizations, the interactions and activities tend to be more cooperative and communal
in nature.
This theme is also evident, yet not as pronounced, within other partnering
agencies. For example, a GPP-US Center Director discussed many of the partnerships he
had been involved with over the years, and the different approaches the sponsors had
based on the type of agencies:

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Those agencies that have had students for a long time, will tend to set
them free a little bit earlier in the term, in the on-site term, and let them
struggle a bit and, when they could make it easy by saying, ‘All right, I’ll
call Mr. So-and-So and set up a meeting.’ They’ll say, ‘you should set up a
meeting with Mr. So-and-So. Let me know what happens after you do
that.’ And that’s because these people are better at advising within their
agency than we are. (GPP-US Center Director)

The GPP-US center director recognizes that the sponsors know the culture of the agency,
and can guide the students to act appropriately. In the above example, this behavior is
transactional, since having the students take on the task of going out to contact a person
independently heightens the notion that there is one individual that knows the culture
within the agency and another party that lacks this information and needs to learn it. This
interaction encourages a certain degree of independence from the students, which can
enhance self-motivation. This is a benefit of transactional interactions. The Center
Director also reflected on the approach of Federal Agency 2, as its culture required a
more cooperative approach for the students to be successful:

The [Federal Agency 2], even though they’ve had students for many, many
years, they’re very hands-on… And maybe the reason is, this just hit me,
the hierarchy in [Federal Agency 2], is going to be much more strict than
it is in a bureaucracy… And so, they see that the students are just gonna
be, they’re gonna have a hard time moving through that maze, if you let
’em do it on their own. But if a [superior] takes them to somebody and
says, “We need to get some data here.” That’ll happen much more quickly.
So, I think that’s probably culturally appropriate for the [Federal Agency
2]. (GPP-US Center Director)

In this example, there is still one party that knows the culture, and another one that does
not. The interactions within Federal Agency 2 do not heighten this barrier but

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intentionally blur these lines by having the superior give his/her own credibility to the
students to assist in the data gathering process, making this interaction cooperative. I
should note that my interview data for Federal Agency 2 has evidence of transactional
interactions connected to the hierarchy of the agency, yet this is one example of a
cooperative interaction.
In addition to the nature of the organization influencing the nature of the
partnerships, the partnering agencies can also influence the nature of the partnerships
through the emotional connections the individuals have with the partnering agencies. In
EPICS, many individuals (i.e. students, advisors, partners, etc.) have emotional or
personal connections with the partnering agencies or the topic that the students work on.
For example, one advisor had a brother that was served by the agency that the EPICS
team worked on, and s/he pointed to helping this organization and the community they
serve as the main reason for being a part of EPICS. Also the former student viewed the
topic of the EPICS team as a personal passion since childhood.
In the GPP, there were some center directors that had personal motivations to
support the organizations. One of the partners said that the center director had a personal
connection with the former director of the organization when the partnership begun:

The [former director] wanted to do a [project]. So we reached out… I
reached out to a professor I knew and said, “Can you come over?” So s/he
came over, and s/he and [the former director] were like old souls who have
known each other for a long time, and they just hit it off. And so, we
started with the [project]. (GPP-US Sponsor)

The partners said that the former director and the professor were able to bond at the
beginning of the project. When I interviewed the center director, they spoke very highly
of the project:

The projects that I’m most proud of was the project we did [for the
organization]… It brought together all my interests, actually, social and

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environmental justice, and [providing a service to the community the
organization served]. (GPP-US Center Director)

The center director was personally and emotionally connected to this organization and the
project that the students undertook. It was connected to their own motivation of social
justice and helping the community. This was a communal interaction, since the project
was grounded in social justice and was meeting the long-term needs of the community.
Within this same organization, but a different project, the partner stated that the students
were supporting the emotional wellbeing of the staff. Many of the staff members were in
mourning, as there had been twelve deaths within their community within the last two
years, so the project that the students worked on made their life a little easier. This
specific organization, due to its mission and the type of work they do in the community,
was able to personally touch the center director and the students working with them.
These personal connections resulted in more cooperative or communal interactions.
For the CPP, a critical partner is the school system. Many of the participants
identified a desire to support the children and the schools as a reason for being involved
in the CPP. This came in forms such as giving the students quality play equipment
because they deserved it, the joy on the children’s faces, the appreciation of the principals
and staff, and just letting the children know that people cared about them. One partner at
a school described how the elementary students got exposed to role models, as well as
awareness that someone cares for them, through the CPP experience:

Our population, we’re probably 95% free lunch, so our clients here don’t
always get the best of everything. So, this is good for them, plus to have a
good role model come in and work with them, so that’s a very positive
thing and then, of course, getting the playground and that too gives the
kids self-worth because they think… Not they think, but they know that
somebody cared enough to get out there and to do this for them. (CPP
Partner)

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The partner was also personally moved that the CPP was highly dedicated to providing
playground equipment, even though the CPP was not connected to the school directly:

They don’t even have a connection to the school, like “This is my job,
these are my kids.” I’m here everyday, but the people that come in to work
and to help out, especially [the CPP], … I get to witness this, and so
personally, I’ve witnessed this huge miracle here. I get to see my dreams
coming true because of the LSU project, Playground Project. And, you
know, who can say that? It’s really amazing. (CPP Partner)

This type of connection lays the groundwork for more communal interactions.
Individuals connect the building of a playground to meeting larger community needs,
improving safety, and increasing the self-worth of the elementary students, and in the
process there is transformation in both the community and within the individuals
involved. All of these things help connect the participants to the larger community needs
rather than solely just the physical playground.
The three programs had varying types of agencies they partnered with. The
nature of these specific partnerships can be dependent of the nature of the partnering
agency, especially if the programs have well established cultures. In any program,
deciding which agencies to partner with is important, especially when considering the
alignment of the program with the types of relationships they are seeking to foster, since
the types and missions of the partner organization will influence the nature of interactions
and activities. Hence, organizations that have a more transactional mission will tend to
behave in a more transactional manner in the partnerships, while those with more
cooperative missions will behave in a more cooperative way.
The personal and emotional connections are an additional factor related to how
the partnering agency influences the partnerships. When the individuals are more
personally connected there is a higher desire to have the students be a part of the agency,
so the activities will be more cooperative as the boundaries between the parties would
blur. Also, the connection to how the projects impact social justice and the desire to

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make a long-term impact to the community are heightened, so the projects are more
likely to be communal in nature. Yet, the personal connections will also have impacts on
a more individual level. The next theme more deeply explores how individuals have
influenced the nature of the partnerships.

5.5 Theme 4: Individuals
Individual stakeholders also influence the partnerships. There was a notable
difference across the programs; however, those involved with EPICS and GPP-US
influenced the partnerships as compared to the CPP. In EPICS and GPP, partners and
advisors see their role as educators for the university students, and based on their
personalities and experiences will approach this role in either cooperative or transactional
ways. In the CPP, the theme was more centered on the importance of passionate
individuals to allow the partnership to thrive. This is connected to the purpose and the
overall structure of the program (Themes 1 and 2), since the participants of EPICS and
GPP-US focus more on education of the students as a central responsibility, and the CPP
focuses more on the relationships. This theme will highlight how individuals influenced
interactions and activities within all three of the programs by looking at EPICS and GPP-
US together, and then at the CPP.

5.5.1 Individuals in EPICS and GPP
In all the programs, the partners talk regularly with the advisor to make sure that
the students are on task and are working appropriately. The advisor will often smooth
over any issues that might occur. For the GPP-US and EPICS, the partners learn their
programs well, and know what is expected of the site and the types of projects to
recommend. The partners can step up and give more guidance to the teams and might not
need as much involvement of the advisor.
Some partners and advisors took an approach to education that was able to blur
the boundary of the different stakeholders. These individuals saw the learning experience

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to be more of a team process, where everyone is learning together. One partner-advisor
described the experience of working with EPICS as a think-tank atmosphere:

The advisors [are benefiting from EPICS] because it is a stimulating
environment for them to be in. It takes them out of their routine, and it
puts them into a think tank, anything is possible, lets take a look at all the
options, situation. So I think they’re as much benefiting from EPICS as
the students and the project partners. (EPICS Partner-Advisor)

This partner-advisor saw EPICS as an intellectually stimulating learning community
where the learning is done together as a cooperative activity. This partner-advisor also
recognized that if they were not involved with EPICS, they would likely be involved in
another collaborative experience that provided a similar atmosphere, since that was part
of his/her personality.
Another example of a partner creating cooperative interactions is in the GPP-US’s
partnership with a large Federal Agency. The type of agency tended to be more
transactional in nature and the projects were often well defined (see Theme 5). However,
the sponsor intentionally worked to make the students be more a part of the agency and
put them at ease, creating a partnership with a more cooperative nature. The sponsor had
a background in education, highly enjoyed the interactions with the students, and was
impressed with the students’ abilities:

It’s very enjoyable to see them working on things and some of the students
get more, are more outgoing than others and be part of our little luncheons
we do, or our morale parties or whatever. But they all participate in
everything and it’s that every group has their own personality and every
student has their own personality. But I’ve just been impressed with every
group that’s come here. What they can do based on being put into a new
situation to them. (GPP-US Sponsor)

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Having personal interest, investment, and passion for the students working with the
agency are common attributes in sponsors and critical for successful partnerships. This
person was able to intentionally blur the lines between the agency and the students,
actively pushing them to be a part of the agency by continuously referring to the students
as part of the “team.” This helped push the partnership toward a more cooperative space,
even though the type of agency was inclined to be more transactional in nature.
There were also partners and advisors that viewed the education process through a
transactional lens. For instance, one partner-advisor in EPICS saw an internal tension
within the advisor role, one where the boundary shifted over time:

My first semester I said I am not going to intercede in your decisions
unless you are going to hurt somebody or yourself, or it looks like you are
going to make a really horrific design decision. I kind of couched that
since, you know, I will advise along the way, but I reserve the right to
overrule you if it looks like it is going to be the wrong decision … I really
want to stay in that advisor role and not become the design leader, because
that really oversteps the boundaries. Then they start becoming less reliant
on their own skill sets and decision-making and more on, “we will let the
advisor make all the decisions for us.” (EPICS Partner-Advisor)

This partner-advisor was concerned that s/he needed to stay within the role of the advisor,
or else the students would become too reliant on him/her. This was considered a
transactional interaction, since there was a defined boundary of the roles. However, there
was also deep reflection and intention with the action. S/he saw this as the most
appropriate way to educate the students, so they could still develop their own skill sets,
such as leadership, and decision-making. Thus, this transactional approach was
appropriate for this advisor.
However, one GPP-US Sponsor described a situation that resulted in more
unilateral-transactional activities, as an advisor took a more hands-off approach within
the partnership when the students needed guidance:

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I would say over our three years, our middle year – the team probably
needed the most guidance and support. And that, combined with project
center leaders who were… not particularly directed and hands-on. So, as a
result, I think we had a team that was a little bit lost and waffled in that
year. (GPP-US Sponsor)

This sponsor lacked thorough support throughout the project cycle in the advising of the
students and in determining an appropriate project, which ultimately made this sponsor
leave the partnership: “You’ve heard the phrase, ‘You vote with your feet.’ So as a
practical matter, I pulled back over the course of three years.” This was the only case in
the GPP-US interviews where a sponsor had pulled back from the partnership. This
sponsor had passion for supporting the students, yet did not find the partnership
beneficial. This example highlights how a specific advisor may influence the partnership,
as their limited role meant less guidance for the students, and, at least for this case, a
weaker partnership where the sponsor ultimately decided not continue in the program.

5.5.2 Individuals in CPP
In the CPP, the faculty member sees the dedication and passion of key individuals
as critically impacting the partnership’s ability to work in a cooperative or communal
way:

Having a few people who are just utterly committed is really important. I
am, my student team is, and for the schools, if there’s at least one
champion… to really push things through. … You just build a critical
mass of people who are committed and bought in. (CPP Advisor)

This theme highlights these individuals, describes how these individuals influence the
cooperative and communal interactions and activities, and discusses an example with a

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partner who appreciated the playground but did not seem to have the same level of
dedication and passion as the other participants in the study.
At the center of the core group of individuals who make the CPP thrive is the
faculty member. Each person I spoke to referred highly of her. She is passionate and
dedicated, a compassionate listener, knowledgeable, humble, and someone you just want
to be around. Her dedication to safe play is clear, as is her care and concern about her
community. Many of the participants often talked about her as a mentor and sought out
opportunities to be in her presence.
Most the partners I interviewed were just as dedicated to providing play
equipment to the elementary students as the faculty member. These individuals take the
project and move it from a project-based-learning experience to a project-based and
community-based learning experience. For instance, one of the partners used her
entrepreneurial skills to organize fundraisers, leading to collection of 350% of the money
initially desired. Another had recently left town for a weekend to assist in a playground
build outside Baton Rouge. Additionally a partner had regularly gone to parks to look at
playgrounds before even engaging in the CPP:

I [went] to playgrounds just to look at them and compare them… to see
what’s fun, and I was always dreaming of a little playground and what it
would be. … If I showed you a picture, there was nothing. It was just a big
yard, and we had some dump trucks and some balls and it would be just
like a cloud of dust. … I had always envisioned that somehow we would
get something, and … I was able to get some [other groups] to do [some]
projects and they bought into it big time. We have this master design. The
climbing structure is actually part of it, but it’s not all of it. We have the
playhouse and we have the outdoor classroom … the bike track is coming
… I had a little dream, but with the community’s help, it became a big
dream. And so, it’s like a dream come true because it’s happening. (CPP
Partner)

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The partner was able to harness the CPP, their expertise, and the CPP network to fulfill a
dream that had been planted. By getting all these groups together, the individual is able to
make the activities communal in nature.
The dedicated individuals in the CPP harness their own skill sets and often go out
of their comfort zone to assist in the projects. Three individuals spoke of relying on their
own skills that they developed through growing up while working with the CPP. Two of
these focused on their relationship to their childhood church, and another focused on the
lessons that they learned from their parents. Two other partners said that the CPP was a
new experience for them, and that they were stretching their personal comfort zones by
asking for grants for playgrounds. One had gotten told no repeatedly, but continued
moving forward until the partner finally received a grant. The other was in the process of
applying for funding for the first time; something the partner was not comfortable with.
The partner connected going outside their comfort zone and asking for funds to support
the personal relationship that developed through the CPP. All the dedicated individuals
mentioned that the friendships developed through the CPP assisted them in their own
work with the CPP.
Noticing the high dedication of the individuals I interviewed, I requested an
interview with another partner. I was given a list of names, then chose one person from
that list and met with her. She was knowledgeable, very appreciative of the playground,
and cared about her students. However, she described a much more hands-off approach
to the playground build than the other participants. The conversation only lasted around
15 minutes, and the answers provided were short and precise. There was additional
tension during the interview itself, since it was during the morning of a school day and
the participant had tasks that needed to be done. The elementary students had contributed
to decisions about the colors and types of equipment. The principal focused on the
physical playground being the main motivation of the partnership. During the
playground builds, the principal provided the volunteer crew some food and refreshments,
and the installation of the playground was done by the CPP. When I asked if the project
was more transactional or transformative, she responded:

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[The faculty member] does most of the work and she gets her students to
do a lot of it, … it’s good for our children and our kids need that… And
she teaches the [LSU students] how to write the grants and how to go
solicit to get the money and all that kind of stuff. (CPP Partner)

The elementary students were able to be involved in the process, and got a playground;
however, the interactions were more transactional rather than cooperative or communal.
This counter example highlights that there might not be individuals at a school that are as
invested, but there is a communal quality that is present when there is a high level of
commitment from the school. The other partnerships that are longer-lasting and more
cooperative and communal can then be leaned on when a partner at a specific school has
a more transactional approach, since the other partners are still able to assist in the project
build.

5.5.3 Evaluation of Individual’s Influence in the Nature of the Partnerships
Overall, the individual’s approach, experience, dedication and unique
personalities influence the nature of the partnerships. Some might enjoy and create
cooperative educational experiences; others will promote relationships with a more
transactional nature. There are also likely to be some individuals who are not as invested
in the programs.
When programs have a well developed organizational structures, having clear
roles and responsibilities for the various individuals is important, as is providing training
for those roles. When a person comes into the role of the advisor, partner, administrator,
or student, the individual should know what is expected of them, so they can know if they
are interested and willing to participate in the process. In fact, EPICS has a Memorandum
Of Understanding (MOU) for the partners (EPICS, 2014), and has new advisors partner
and work with more experienced advisors who are familiar with the EPICS process. WPI
has retreats every year for faculty and mentors to guide them through the new process
(Mello, 2005). For the WPI partnerships, it is up to the center directors to find sponsors
for the projects and inform them as to what is expected. This depends on the specific

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center director; some offer a document stating what is expected as a sponsor while others
talk through expectations with potential sponsors.
For the CPP, there was less emphasis on having people know their roles and
expectations, but rather leveraging the skill sets and personal passions to achieve the
program’s goals. This included utilizing their gifts of fundraising and creating a cohesive
community, as well as having individuals step out side of their comfort zone, such as
through applying to grants.
In all cases, there were varying degrees of focus on roles and relationships, yet
there was a trend in EPICS and GPP-US focusing on the roles, where the CPP
participants focused on the relationships. The next theme will investigate the role of the
project in the program.
5.6 Theme 5: Projects
The theme of projects is related to the second research question, because it is a
structural element that influences the nature of the partnership, but it is also related to the
third research question: what is the role of the project in community engagement
partnerships?
The EPICS and GPP-US programs focus on a variety of organizations and many
different kinds of projects. EPICS is a service-learning program, and only works with
not-for-profit organizations and government agencies, while the GPP-US saw their
program as providing a way to educate students at the intersection of science, technology
and society, and worked for a variety of sponsors, including for-profit organizations. This
study only included GPP-US Sponsors that were either non-profit or governmental
organizations all located on the East Coast, yet the center directors and administrators had
also worked with for-profit organizations. Additionally, the CPP is only involved with
designing and building playgrounds for public elementary schools in the Baton Rouge
area.
It is typical for all projects to have transactional and cooperative interactions and
activities throughout the project cycle. There were times when stakeholders worked
independently, either for ease or urgency, which made the interaction or activity

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transactional. All three of the programs also identified the community as experts in their
given domains and had times when the programs worked cooperatively together for the
completion of the project. In EPICS and GPP there were rare times when participants
highlighted a communal intention for the program, while in the CPP this was explicit and
central to the program’s purpose.
I also found that there were some specific characteristic of projects that tended to
result in transactional, cooperative and communal interactions and activities. Table 5-2
outlines the characteristics of these projects. The most relevant qualities of the projects
were the level of student integration, the project constraints, and the process that the
students used. Projects that tended to result in transactional activities, interactions and
language described by the participants identified the students as having minimal
interaction or integration with the partnering organization. When these projects were
successful, they were well defined and addressed a clear need of the community. Due to
their clearly-defined nature, the projects only needed input from the partners in the
project definition and other specific steps through out the design cycle. These projects
were deemed unsuccessful when they were not useful for the partnering organization, and
this was often due to the misunderstandings in the design constraints or the project was
outside the scope of the students’ abilities.
Projects that resulted in more cooperative interactions tended to integrate the
student into the organization, or recognize the students as part of a team. These projects
were either open-ended to begin with, or they were initially well defined, but through
critical analysis the definitions were challenged and became more open. The process the
students use during the project allows for or encourages blurring of geographic,
organization, and/or sectorial boundaries. For projects that result in communal activities,
all the constituents are seen as a part or connected to a community. The project allows all
the constituents to significantly contribute to the project, while addressing a socially just
cause. The process itself builds a sense of community, and meets deeper human needs of
the members.

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The sections that follow cover some examples of projects in each of the
subthemes, focusing on projects from EPICS and GPP-US in the transactional and
cooperative categories, and CPP building on the communal category.

Table 5-2: Characteristics of Projects
Student Integration
Initial
Constraints Process Unsuccessful
Transactional
Projects
Students are
seen as distinct
from the
partnering
organization
Constraints are
well-defined, and
the project meet
specific needs
Process requires
feedback or
input from the
partner.
The projects are not
useful because of
misunderstanding of
the definition/
constraints, or the
project was outside the
ability of the students
Cooperative
Projects
Integration
within the
organization, or
recognized as
part of a team
The constraints
are open ended
and require
investigation
throughout the
project cycle
Students can
question
constraints and
blur boundaries
between various
constituents.
The projects are
unable to be
completed as desired
because of ethical
issues
Communal
Projects
All constituents
a are seen as a
part of or
connected to the
community
Project seeks
inputs from all
constituents
while identifying
the constraints.
The process and
the end results
address deeper
personal needs
The process results in
the desired project,
yet the social roots
causes are not
addressed.

5.6.1.1 Transactional Projects
Projects that resulted in transactional interactions tended to have three
characteristics: they did not integrate the students into the partner organization, the
projects tended to be well defined, and the project process only had the partners giving
information at the beginning and distinct steps through a feedback approach. These
characteristics influenced the ability for these projects to be successful. This theme will
outline the three characteristics and also highlight some unsuccessful transactional
projects that were described by participants of this study.

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The integration of the students tended to have two main considerations, namely
the time the students spent with the organization, and the extent to which the organization
saw the students as a distinct unit. When the students spent little time embedded or
interacting with the partnering organization – either through limitations of the students,
the organization, or the community engagement program structure – the interactions
tended to be more transactional. One partner stated that their own limitation on staffing
availability impacted the project, making it more likely that students go down a wrong
path:

To maximize [the partnership] you really need staff that are committed to
it more than what we are. I always felt bad about that. That we can’t meet
with them more often but umm – so that is probably one of the weaknesses
that we have, is not enough staff time to meet with them. ‘Cause you
know, meeting with them 2 or 3 times a semester they can be going down
the wrong path and then they meet with me and I say “ah, you know, it’s
not – “, you know, so they put all this work in and they have to redo it.
(EPICS Project Partner)

This partner had limited time to commit to the partnership, and so the students sometimes
went down a path that did not meet the partner’s needs. Then when the students did meet
with the partner, there was feedback that pointed the students’ design in a more
appropriate direction. Often, the partner was able to make corrections through this
feedback process. The end results were often projects that meet the needs of the
organization. However, if the feedback was not given in a timely manner, it became more
difficult to meet the needs, especially when the partner had specific time constraints.
In the GPP-US program, the students spend seven weeks, full-time and on-site
with the sponsoring agency as part of the program structure. The sponsors tended to
either identify the students as part of the organization or see them as distinct agents. One
of the GPP-US sponsors saw students as distinct agents, and recognized the partnership

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as primarily transactional, as a give-and-take relationship. This sponsor describes this
relationship while he explains the rationalization of a budget line for the projects:

I basically have to put that budget line in there, and it’s a pretty easy sell
because of services provided in some of the projects. Not all, but some of
the projects that we really, truly needed to do, and to get a vendor in here
to do the same level of quality, it’s a great deal. So it’s a good deal for
WPI, it’s a great deal for the students to actually have something that has
meaning to it. And the data for us, in many cases, is having a third party
that’s looking at some of our data, gives a little validity to the data that we
have. (GPP-US Sponsor)

This sponsor sees the students as providing a service, and also views the students as a
“third” party, highlighting that there is a clear separation of identity between the sponsor
and the students. But this approach also adds credibility to the project, as also discussed
in the partnering agency theme.
The second common characteristic of transactional projects is that the problem is
well defined in both need and scope. When a project is well defined there does not need
to be as much integration with the partnering agency. When I asked one EPICS advisor
about successful projects, the advisor gave an example of a time when the students
identified the needed constraints and created a solution in the span of a single semester:

Here is an example of a good design. There was one project, … which is a
rectangular piece of wood with holes drilled in it, … and the task for the
workers was to staple labels on it. That was it. But it was tricky because
the labels are paper and they had to be wrapped around and stapled with a
staple gun, which requires working at odd angles, working with heavy
staple guns, with flimsy paper, [and] stapling it in heavy wood. It was a
tricky challenge for people who very likely had, different kinds of physical
strengths and disabilities. The project team sat down at the table with the

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workers, watched them, took video of it … and realized some of the
problems. They had a long list. Some of the problems included that it was
difficult to raise the elbow up to get the force for the stapler, that it was
difficult to hold the paper in place, it required 2 hands to stable, and it was
difficult to make the label uniform. They identified this long list of things,
taken directly from this detailed study of the actual user experience, they
came home, and they designed a project to address each and every one of
those concerns.

When they finished, somebody review it, looked at the requirements,
looked at the issues that they had found based on the actual user
experience, looked at how they addressed it, played with it, thought about
it, and said, and I quote, “I can not think of a way to build this better”
(EPICS advisor)

This advisor states that the students were able to clearly identify the needs through
watching and recording users doing a task. This is an example of a human-centered
design approach, as it involved systematically looking at and meeting the needs of the
end user and the organization. This approach was also transactional, since it had
separation of identity between the students and the organization. This approach worked
well because the constraints were correctly identified, the problem was of appropriate
scope, and the project was within the capacity of the students. The clear identification of
the issues by the students also allowed for the project to be completed in a timely manner.
An additional example of defining a problem in terms of need and scope is found
in the GPP-US projects definition. One center director identified that many of the projects
fit well with the desired outcomes of the IQP:

If a federal agency wants to understand, why so many [vehicles] are
experiencing overloading and deaths, due to that overloading or is it due to
the overloading or is it due to something else? I mean, there’s a time scale

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that they’re operating on that, they need to have that mission fulfilled and
it fortunately coincides frequently with our term. (GPP-US Center
Director)

This project had a clearly defined need that the students were able to work on in a set
amount of time that matched their on-site engagement with the partner. While the actual
project may have resulted in cooperative interactions, depending on the other factors
involved, a well-defined project and clear scope are needed for transactional interactions
to be successful.
The clarity in scope of the playground projects also provided transactional
components to the design process. Each semester, the engineering students designed a
playground, which had specific design constraints. These constraints were provided by
multiple constituents, including elementary school students, principals, people
maintaining the playgrounds, and the building codes that insure the playground safety.
These transactional elements allowed the playground project to fit within the introductory
design course for the first-year students, and allowed the first-year engineering students
to create a final report of recommendations that were sent to the design team. The
cooperative approach to the design came with the reading buddy system, and the
intention to build to the soul of the community, which is described in theme 2 above,
related to the overall structure.
The third characteristic of transactional projects is the process that the students
take while working on the project. This process is often independent or a “feed-back”
approach in transactional projects. The feedback approach has students work with a clear
problem definition and constraints, to some extent work independently of the partnering
organization, and then seek regular feedback to determine if they are designing
appropriately. The design can then be altered to better meet the needs of the partnering
agency. In this process, much of the design and testing is done independently from the
partnering organization.
Yet problems often arise when the project constraints and definitions are
misunderstood or if the scope of the project does not align with the students’ abilities or

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interests. There were also multiple definitions of “success” and “unsuccessful” among the
participants. Some participants defined success as meeting the design constraints, having
an educational experience for the students, or creating a project that was useful to the
partnering organization. I am using the concept of success as creating a project that is
useful to the partnering organization, and unsuccessful projects as those that are not
useful.
There were some projects that were seen as unsuccessful in the EPICS and GPP-
US programs, as the projects were not useful. More specifically, one EPICS partner and
one GPP-US partner ceased the partnership. In the case of EPICS, at the time of the
interview the projects were continuing. However, in a follow up e-mail I discovered the
partnership ended not by the will of the interviewee who was an employee of the
organization, but because the organization decided to hire a professional to take over the
project. The original projects completed by the students were within the students’
abilities and useful to the organization. But as the needs of the organization became more
complex, the projects moved out of scope of the students’ abilities, and the students were
having difficulty in completing the projects in the timeframe needed by the partner
organization.
In the GPP-US, I interviewed the sponsor at the time when the organization chose
not have students work on a project that year. The fundamental reason the partnership
identified for not continuing was that the time spent assisting the students was higher than
the value of the product received. More specifically, the partner spoke about a lack of
input on deciding an appropriate project:

We have questions about whether we really picked a project that fully
engaged and utilized the students to their fullest capacity or, you know, to
a greater degree than we were able to. So, did we really pick a project that
was really a good fit for this kind of team and for their ability to deliver a
product at the end that they felt really engaged in and had fun with and felt
good about, and that, we as a sponsor, felt good about? (GPP-US Sponsor)

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Ultimately, a project was chosen that had different characteristics than the more
successful projects. For the GPP-US program, successful projects often had a component
where the students actively engaged with the community, either by collecting surveys
from or conducting interviews with community members, and there was an emphasized
sense of direct usefulness for the partnering agency. Yet the project the students were
working on for the quoted sponsor had neither of these components. Instead, the project
was something that the sponsor had an interest in researching, but the implications or
benefits for the organization were not clear. In addition, this sponsor enjoyed having the
students around, and saw that it was important to have students involved in civic work;
however, he personally had stepped away from the sponsor role. This sponsor suggested
that more guidance was needed in determining the project and also what elements of a
project work well.
In the EPICS program, all of the participants who were interviewed in this study
were more generally able to give examples to projects that were successful and
unsuccessful. In EPICS, students often create a design and then show it to a partner who
provides feedback and clarifies any questions or confusions they have on the project.
Over time the project may involve development of prototypes, and through iterations the
project will ideally meet the partner’s need. Yet, there were times identified by the
partners where projects were unable to meet the partner’s needs. One partner gave an
example where the students did not listen to the parameters of the project, and so the
students attempted to design a project themselves instead of going to a professional:

I said, “don’t try to design [it] yourself, that is not your skill set, and rely
on experts to do that.” Well, it’s really hard for an engineering type person
to, you know, they are inventive, they are creative, they like to put their
stamp on everything they do and so, instead of going to a [professional]
that would help them through the process, they did it on their own and
came up with these ridiculous plans. Not only that but they did a
cardboard replication … and put a lot of hours into it, and I just threw it

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away. I didn’t throw it away in front of them, but they didn’t listen to me.
(EPICS Project Partner)

This example highlights how students’ creativity and desire to help, coupled with
incorrect assumptions regarding the constraints and minimal contact through the design
process, resulted in a project that was not useful for the partnering agency.
Overall, transactional projects have a clear separation in identity between the
students and the partnering agency, either through minimal interaction or distinct
identities. These projects can be successful when the project needs, scope, and constraints
are clearly defined and understood, so that the project can be done independently, or with
minimal feedback provided at distinct steps. The projects tend to be unsuccessful if they
are too complex, lack regular interactions with the partner, are outside the scope of the
students’ abilities, and/or there is a lack of understanding of the constraints.
5.6.1.2 Cooperative Projects
Projects that result in more cooperative interactions and activities tend to integrate
the students into the organization, involve open-ended projects, and require the students
to critically engage with the partners and also question the constraints and assumptions
related to their projects. There were a few projects identified in the interviews with an
administrator of GPP-US that were unsuccessful cooperative projects, where the advisor
said that students were asked to take unethical actions by the partnering agency and so
the center directors had to end the project. This theme will review how the students are
integrated, the open-ended constraints of projects, process that blur boundaries, and the
ethical issues that can be present in cooperative projects.
By integrating the students into the partnering agency, the students are able to
learn about the complex nature of the organization, are able to break down boundaries
that separate themselves as distinct entities, and recognize the need to include all
constituents into the project. For instance, one GPP-US center director highlighted how
students were able to break down social boundaries that existed within the organization:

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They can walk into somebody’s office, and ask questions that the person
down the hall, who’s been there for five years, would never do – because
you just don’t do that. [chuckle] There was one project in, at a [Federal
Agency], [and] at the final presentation, one of the [sponsor’s said], ‘You
know, they did a great job … but the best thing they did was they got the
people from office A, or floor A and floor B, to sit in the same room at the
same time for three hours, and talk about this issue in a productive way,
without beating each other up.’ He said, ‘We’ve never been able to do
that!’ [laughter] You know, kind of hard for [the employees] to say ‘no,’
to the kids. Took the students, what’s the word? A little bit of ignorance
and naiveté. (GPP- US Center Director)

In the process of working on the project, the students recognized that two offices needed
to talk to each other in order to create a solution to the problem. They asked for a meeting,
and the two offices had a meeting to discuss this issue. This process was cooperative
because it broke down social barriers and included all of the constituents in the project.
For this cooperative project to have happened, the students needed to be integrated within
the organization throughout the design process so that they can understand the context.
The projects themselves can also lend themselves to requiring more cooperative
interactions and activities. These projects tend to focus on building capacity, with the
goal of organizational self-reliance. One of the most notable examples of a project that
embodied cooperative interaction in GPP-US is that of the IT assessment mentioned
above under Theme 3. Many of the staff members had limited formal education, and
often had a fear of computers. The project originally started as an IT assessment, yet
during the students’ time at the agency, they worked with the organization to offer
training to increase the computer skill levels of the staff:

[The students] were good teachers… [The students] didn’t just do it for [the
staff] and then walk away, they made sure that [the staff] understood what
[the students] taught them… In the interim there have been PowerPoint

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presentations and posters and flyers have been made. [The] staff would
have never known how to do that without these kids. So now [the staff]
feel comfortable exploring the computer and learning more about its
capabilities. (GPP-US Sponsor)

The students taught useful skills, and as a result the staff had an increase of confidence
and computer literacy by the end of the engagement. The organization has greater
capacity than it had at the beginning of the program, as evident in the PowerPoint
presentations and posters that have been developed since the students had left. In order
for the students to have done this project, they needed to be integrated into the
organization, understand where the needs were, and work with the staff directly to meet
these needs. This also highlights the kind of process that is critical to cooperative projects.
Cooperative projects also frequently require critical thinking coupled with direct
interactions with the project partner and the community when appropriate. This process
engages the community throughout the design process to create clarity on design
decisions while also drawing community partners in. An EPICS advisor gave a clear
example of how students did this while listening to the community regarding a design
decision:

The EPICS students, in [TEAM], they built [a project] some of the ideas
that they initially brought up were not initially received very well by [the
organization]. “Oh, we have done it this way, or it’s going to be too
expensive,” but then the students took the initiative to broaden the
perspective. So there was listening on both parts. The students listened to
why such a solution would not work, and then the partners listened to how
the students could make it work. (EPICS Advisor)

In this case, the students were able to work with the project partner on a design decision.
The students did not just take the constraints as given, but questioned them while

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engaging and approaching the partner. Together, they were able to make a decision that
worked.
Integration into the organization and capacity building are not required
components for making cooperative interactions, yet these components tend to result in
more cooperative interactions because in order for the project to be completed certain
boundaries are likely to be recognized and challenged. However, the process of critical
thinking coupled with interaction is essential.
Additionally, when the students are working cooperatively with the organization,
complex issues and power dynamics can surface. A conversation with one of the GPP
affiliates provided the most insight regarding these situations. The administrator provided
an example where was a sponsor asking the students to collect data that was not in
accordance to IRB:

In one of our locations, where the sponsor was perfectly happy for us to do
all kinds of things that were not according to IRB standards. And I was
advising at the time, and I simply told the students, “You either have to
find the data from another study that’s been published, peer-reviewed and
published, that will confirm what this sponsor wants, or we can’t do this
project this way. And if we can’t do it this way, we’ll help you convey that
to the sponsor.” So the students went to work, and they found the body of
literature that made the project as it had been designed not necessary; we
didn’t have to go into that particular area and get data. (GPP
Administrator)

This example was about collecting data from children that was against the IRB protocol.
The students were instead able to get the data from previous research, and finish a project
that was useful to the organization.
However, not all ethical issues that arise are able to be solved to meet the needs of
the sponsoring organization. There were times when the projects had to be altered or

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stopped completely. The same administrator of the GPP-US discussed such a project that
needed to be stopped:

There was another very large company and I can’t even describe that
project ‘cause it’ll give it away, where it was just absolutely unethical, and
we felt it was industrial espionage. And so, we simply stopped it. We just
stopped it. We said, “The students can stay here and do something else for
you, but this project is not ethical.” And so, we the faculty, designed
another project that the students could do for us using other data. And then
the students did a satisfactory project from the standpoint of what they
learned, but the sponsor didn’t get anything that they wanted. (GPP
Administrator)

This project was unsuccessful in one important sense, as the end result was not useful for
the partnering agency. Yet in order to provide the desired result, the students would have
had to engage in unethical practices. The project itself was cooperative as the students
worked with the organization and critically analyzed the project in conjunction with the
partner, yet it did not create a useful deliverable. Reflecting on such cases, this same
participant states that it is very important to have faculty members’ guidance when
students are facing potential ethical issues:

[The students] are very often tempted to just want to satisfy the sponsor,
but they’re scared also because there’s something not right. So, faculty just
come in and help explain it to the students, “This is maybe why you’re
feeling uncomfortable. Let’s talk about the issues.” And then help them
brainstorm how they can convey that distress to the sponsor and get
something changed so that they can continue; and the sponsor can be
satisfied. (GPP Administrator)

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This highlights that in order to navigate potentially complex ethical situations, the
students need to have guidance from faculty members throughout the project.
Overall, the projects that lead to cooperative interactions are more likely to integrate the
students into the partnering organization, and focus on projects that result in capacity
building. The process the students go through cooperative projects includes a critical
analysis of the project itself along with engaging the community organization within the
analysis.
5.6.1.3 Communal Projects
Projects that result in communal interactions and activities view and treat all
constituents as a part of, and/or connected to, a community. Emphasizing shared
ownership in the project or making connections to common life events are ways the
constituents feel connected. This is different than just integration within an organization,
since it is connected to a part of an individual’s personal identity or life story. The
project often also addresses a social justice issue and has personal significance to a core
group of people. Additionally, the process of the project creates a sense of unity, where
different skill sets are recognized and appreciated.
The clearest example of a communal project is the building of the playgrounds.
The activity where all the hard work from all the constituents becomes the reality of a
playground, and in just a few days the elementary students go from having little or no
playground to having one. The builds are intended to get everyone involved and the
process itself can be seen as a way to build community. The build itself is an important
step in the playground. In fact, one of the partners had the option to have the contractors
provide the surfacing, which would eliminate many of the activities that could be
accessible to many of the community members and volunteers, and the faculty member
suggested against this since it would take away from the community building experience:

[The contractors] had a backhoe, they could have taken the machinery,
and [the faculty member] was like, “No. We’re gonna haul it in our
wheelbarrows and on tarps, and we’re gonna dump it.” But she said,

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“Because it’s just all part of it.” … Those two days were so amazing. …
Other community people came out… It was like one of those days that I
put up there with my wedding day and the birth of my kids. It was so
fantastic to have everybody. I understand why she wanted the community
build because it was one of those days. It was just so awesome. Awesome.
I’m tearing up thinking about it. (CPP Partner)

The experience very much touched her emotionally, and did others as well. In the
interview with the faculty member, there was mention of a reporter who came to do a
story of this build, and once the reporter got all the information, he picked up a shovel
and started helping. It was the first time she had seen a reporter do this.
Another quality of the build is that it provides a sense of equality. Everyone is
physically working as a team, contractors who are not educators in their daily lives
become the experts during the build, and normal class structures are challenged for this
short time. One of the F&G partners highlights this sense of equality when describing a
CEO who often volunteers:

We’ve got a CEO of a major company that shows up on just about every
playground build… You would never know who he was out there in a pair
of grungy shorts and dirty t-shirt out there moving mulch all day, or
whatever anybody asks him to do. And [the playground project] just draws
everybody from that to the parent whose kid goes to the school who is out
cutting grass at a company opposite of mine everyday coming over and
lending the same hand, working side-by-side. There’s… That’s one thing
about manual labor is it doesn’t judge. Anybody can get out there and do it
if they’re willing to sweat and work. (CPP Partner)

The nature of this activity described is communal, as the interactions transcend the roles
and boundaries of the individuals working, and they are coming together for a common
good to build a playground and support a school.

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The projects not only meet the direct needs of providing a playground, but also
produce other benefits from the projects that support community. The playgrounds are
seen to provide elementary students the ability to see that the community cares for them.
The playground also can meet the needs of the local community, since the students are
often bussed in each day, the children at the school are not the same as those in the
neighborhood, and so the playgrounds can provide a place for families in the
neighborhood of the school. Lastly, this project is also seen as a pathway for individuals
to engage with the schools and their wider community. Local community members might
hear of or be a part of the build or raise money for the playground and find other ways to
volunteer their time and/or give resources to the schools. In general, the projects provide
a variety of interactions with differing natures that unite at the final step of each project,
the build. The build is often recognized as a highly communal experience, as individuals
can transcend their daily boundaries and roles and come together to help build the wider
community.
There was also evidence of a communal project in the GPP-US program, namely
one that involved creating a garden for a disenfranchised part of the community. This
project was not discussed in too much detail by the participants because it had been done
a few years back, yet the interviewees described how the students worked to design the
garden, determine the appropriate type of food to be grown, and looked into possible
locations. The garden was built by a grant from a hardware store, and now grows food
for the community it was intended to serve. The students were able to come back to the
site and be a part of the build, even though they had already received a grade for their
project. There was not the same explicit discussion of ownership of the community, or
class boundaries broken, yet the project itself was able to bring the whole community
together while addressing a need rooted in a social justice issue.
There were no unsuccessful projects identified in this study in terms of the
usefulness of the project for the partnering organization. The most difficult challenges
identified by the participants of the CPP were raising funds for the projects. However,
there was some discussion in the interviews of the faculty member and one of the F&G
employees of the longevity of the project in terms of sustaining and maintaining the

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playgrounds, and the socio-political issues related to the fact that these children did not
have playgrounds to begin with. Even though the playground projects build communities
and provides playgrounds to schools, it does not address the political issues that result in
no funds for the playgrounds. The faculty member felt that if she worked diligently, she
could provide playgrounds to the schools in the East Baton Rouge Parish, and was set on
doing that, yet did not know how successful a political approach would be.
5.6.1.4 Conclusion of Project Theme
As the preceding sections describe, the projects can have a considerable influence
on the nature of the partner interactions and activities. The three main project
characteristics that influence the nature are the: student integration into the partnering
agency, project constraints, and the process the students go through will solving the
problem. The transactional examples tended to keep each group of constituents distinct,
involved well-defined problems, and could be done independently or require feedback at
distinct times with the partners. Unsuccessful transactional projects were ones that were
viewed as not useful by the organization, because students made incorrect assumptions or
worked on projects that were inappropriately scoped. The projects that resulted in
cooperative interactions were more likely to have students integrated into the
organization, the types of projects were often focused on capacity building, and the
process required a level of critical thinking while engaging with the partners. The
unsuccessful projects, which were not useful to the organization, were most often stopped
because of ethical issues.
The communal projects saw all the constituents (i.e., students, community
members, volunteers, faculty members, etc.) as part of or connected to the larger
community. The projects addressed a socially just cause while engaging personal
passions, and the process itself builds a sense of unity among the constituents. The
unsuccessful element of the project is not the usefulness, but rather the inability of the
projects to address the root cause of the issue. Although the project has these
characteristics, there is inequality in the fact that the public schools do not have the funds
for playgrounds to begin with. There is discussion on addressing the issue on a political

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level. Nonetheless, there is also concern that a long-lasting political solution may not be
feasible, and confidence that the immediate need of providing playgrounds is possible
and should be addressed before a political solution as potentially realized

5.7 Theme 6: The role of Students
This theme examines how the role of students and the corresponding curricula
structure of the three programs influence the relationship between the students and the
project partner. In EPICS, students sign up for a team, and the course is taken as an
elective for one or two credits per semester. It is also opened up to students at all levels,
from first-year to senior. Students are therefore taking the course on top of their other
courses, and they may have widely varying degrees of relevant experience and expertise.
There is a lecture portion, which focuses on the human centered design approach of
EPICS. Some students are also expected to leadership roles within the partnerships, as
there are student liaisons charged with communicating with project partners, and students
who serve as leaders for each of the projects undertaken by a given team.
Some of the students are excellent at supporting partnerships and managing their
time. They incorporate the partners into the design process, seek out regular feedback,
and may even integrate the partners in the design process. This is the way EPICS is
supposed to run, and in these cases, the interactions are cooperative. However, some
students do not do this. The projects are sometimes rushed at the last minute, and the
partners are not incorporated into this process. In these cases, the process is more
transactional, and sometimes, unilaterally transactional. Since the partners all have a long
history with EPICS, each could remember times when the students did not follow the
correct protocol, and the projects are unable to meet the organization’s needs. Due to the
long-term partnership model, the issue can be addressed in the following semester.
This ability for student to make mistakes and learn from them is a unique learning
experience of EPICS. The low time commitment of the sponsor, coupled with the long-
term partnership model, allows the project to be completed, so there remains potential
benefit for the organization with relatively little time wasted from the side of the project-

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partner. Projects that are not successful are often seen as temporarily not successful, since
the partners know the that many of the students are new to design and/or EPICS, the
projects will be revisited in subsequent semesters, and the students are doing the design
work alongside what is often a heavy load of other courses. Because of the structure of
EPICS, there is room for specific interactions and activities that are unilaterally
transactional; however, on the whole the projects incorporate the partners’ voices and are
able to meet the needs of the organization.
In the GPP-US, there were few mentions of issues with teams, and some instances
when students fell ill and were not able to complete the project. However, all the partners
praised the students’ abilities in completing the projects. This can be linked to the
extensive process the students go through prior to meeting the partners. The GPP-US is
considered the flagship program of this small technical school. There are only one
thousand new students enrolling each year, and many of the faculty said that in the last
ten years, the demographic of students changed since the program started to recruit
students for the university based on the IQPs, specifically those involving locations
abroad. Also, the students are exposed to project-based approaches throughout their
curriculum. In the process of applying for a specific project center the students are
interviewed by the center directors. They do not simply just sign up for the course. Then,
if they are accepted, they have to take an intensive preparation course, research the
project as well as the agency, and write a project proposal. The students are also taught
explicitly about appropriate behavior. If students act inappropriately, for drinking
alcohol or other illegal or inappropriate activities, a part of their punishment is to go to
the following year’s preparation courses and warn the students to not follow their paths.
In the CPP, none of the partners had negative interactions with the students, and
many could not speak in depth about the university students within the course. This can
be correlated with the structure of the program. The first-year course has little
interactions with the partners interviewed (they did have interactions with the elementary
students, but that was outside the scope of this study), and the design team consisted of
volunteers and paid students working with the faculty member. She chooses students
based on their abilities to work with the community. A student in the first-year course

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can easily follow through to work on the build of a playground, but the students in the
first-year course have little opportunity to impact the partnership, for the better or the
worse, and the students in the design team are a carefully selected group.
Overall, the way the program structures the students’ exposure with the project
partner influences the nature of interactions. EPICS has the students sign up for the
course, and they can take on leadership positions within the partnership. When
everything is done correctly, the partnerships are cooperative; however, there are times
when this does not happen. In GPP-US, there is an extensive process to get into a team,
and an extensive preparation before the students ever meet with their project partner.
Students are monitored closely to follow the correct protocol and act appropriately during
their seven-week placement on site. As a result, the partners praise the students’ skills
and abilities. In the CPP, the first-year students have limited interactions with the project
partners, and the faculty member selects the students that have more interactions to
continue onto the design team.
This theme also highlights the topic of self-selection in engineering community
engagement programs. The students in EPICS and GPP-US are self-selected, as the
program is not a requirement. For EPICS it is a technical elective, where in the GPP-US
it is one avenue to meet a graduation requirement. All of the first-year biological
engineering students in the CPP are required to take the course and be a part of the
partnerships. However, the way the programs integrate the students varies. This theme
highlights nuances related to how the role of students within the curricula impact the
partnerships.

5.8 Overview of the Research Question 2 and 3
In summary, this chapter reviewed six structural themes that influence the
partnerships: the purpose, overall structure, partnering agencies, individuals, projects, and
the role of students. The purpose of the organizations fell into two main categories:
transactional and cooperative. In a transactional purpose, there is an explicit recognition
and focus on the exchange of a project or product for an educational experience for the

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students. In a cooperative purpose, there is greater emphasis and importance placed on
the collaborative qualities of the partnerships. These purposes were present in the
statements on the websites, in the interviews, and in other program publications. The
purposes also influenced the other structural qualities of the program, including the
overall structure.
The overall structure of each program was predominantly grounded in either
organizational structure or personal relationships. In the organizational structure, there
were more well established roles and procedures. These specific steps were likely to
correlate with a specific nature. For example, both the EPICS and GPP-US use a
cooperative approach to defining a project for the students to work on. The project
partners will identify a need and work with the advisors to ensure that it meets the
educational requirement of the students. In EPICS, it is likely that the students will be
involved in this process, and possibly suggest problems if they know the organizations
well. The CPP was more reliant on personal relationships, which I call the “network of
support.” This network structure was centered on the domain expertise of each individual
or group of individuals, a foundation of trust, and the ability to count on one another.
There were times when individuals would work independently, and is transactional, and
other times when the different individuals come together and make a decision as a team,
which is more cooperative. All the projects are focused on building playgrounds, and
intentionally aim to also raise the quality of life for the children at the school and in the
neighborhood while bringing a whole community together, which is communal in nature.
The third theme centers on the partnering agency. This theme highlights that the
nature of the partnering agencies will influence the nature of the partnership itself. If the
partner works within a transactional mindset in their own work, they will most likely
view the partnership as a transaction, and will focus on the transactional elements of the
partnership. On the other hand, if the partnership is more cooperative, then the partners
will likely look at ways to blur the lines between the students and the organization, either
by working as a team or inviting them into their organization’s functions.
Like agencies, there are often specific individuals whose mindsets will impact
how they view the partnership, influencing their interactions and activities. This is

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particularly highlighted by different individual approaches to education. Some
participants approached the education process in a more cooperative way, highlighting
that they were learning with the students, while others viewed themselves as teaching
students specific knowledge and skills. Each individual’s approach, experience,
dedication, and unique personality could potentially influence the nature of the
partnerships.
Within all programs and projects, there were also times when stakeholders
worked independently, either for ease or urgency, which is transactional, and other times
when the stakeholders worked cooperatively together for the completion of the project.
Yet there are also specific projects that tended to lead to more transactional, cooperative,
or communal interactions. Transactional projects tended to be well-defined and meet
specific needs of the partnering agency while keeping the boundary between the
stakeholders clearly established. Cooperative projects focus on blurring social barriers
and fostering capacity-building. The communal projects transcend the project process
while touching on deeper needs of the community. The communal property of a project
that was highlighted in this study was the process of bringing a whole community
together within the project. In addition to these three natures, some projects were
unsuccessful, and this might have been related to lack of communication among
stakeholders or deviation from a program’s official protocols.
The final theme focuses on how the role of students within the curriculum impacts
the partnerships. The students’ roles and their preparation vary greatly between the
programs. For example, in GPP-US the students apply for a team and are interviewed by
the advisors. There is also a seven-week preparation course on the project before the
students even meet the partners. The students appear to the project partner as having a
large skill set and being very capable. In the CPP all the first-year biological engineering
students need to take the course, thus have to be a part of the partnership. However, these
students have limited interactions with the project partner and spend more time with the
elementary students at the school. The project partners were less familiar with university
students for this reason, representing a weaker relationship. This theme highlights the
various ways the student placement impacts the nature of the partnership.

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These themes highlight a number of key ways that the structure of each program
influences the nature of the partnerships. The next chapter goes into more detail
regarding the TCC framework, including in relation to the existing literature and previous
findings. Recommendations for engineering community engagement programs are also
given based on the program structures highlighted above, followed by a discussion of
limitations and future research, as well as my personal desires and next steps.

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CHAPTER 6. DISCUSSION, RECOMMENDATIONS, & CONCLUSION
6.1 Introduction for the Discussion, Recommendations, and Conclusion
This chapter is organized in three sections: the discussion, recommendations, and
conclusion. The discussion primarily focuses on the second and third research question.
While a more extensive discussion of the first question appears in Chapter 4, some
findings related to motivation are also included here as they relate to the broader
implications of this work. The recommendations provide suggestions for engineering
community engagement programs, organized by the six structural themes identified in the
research. The conclusion highlights limitations and future research, and provides a
subsection on my personal desires and next steps. It is my hope that this research will
result in more critical reflection and discourse related to the types of relationships that
engineering community engagement programs have with their partnering communities.

6.2 Discussion
The discussion is split into three subsections. In the first, I spend some time
reviewing the influence of the technocratic culture of engineering on the structure of the
programs. This was not explicitly mentioned by many of the participants, and so it did
not warrant a finding, yet it was something that I observed in the three programs that is
worth discussing. In the second section, I review the TCC framework, the benefits and
difficulties of each type of relationship, and how this relates to other assessment
approaches in service learning partnerships. The third subsection reviews how this
research contributes to the service learning literature, the learning through service
community, and the broader engineering education community.

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6.2.1 Technocratic Culture Influence on each of the Programs
One tension that arose in my perception of the programs was the technocratic
culture of engineering questioning the legitimacy of community engagement programs.
There is a belief within engineering colleges that there needs to be a high level of
technical rigor for something to legitimately be called engineering (Cech, 2014; Lucena,
Schneider, and Leydens, 2010), and so there are tensions around whether these
community engagement programs can be considered engineering. Each of these
programs has a different approach within this tension space, often unbeknown to the
project partner and often not explicitly discussed by the affiliates of the program. I offer
this section to provide some of my thoughts, yet believe a more thorough research study
should be done to focus on the relationship of the engineering community engagement
programs with their associated colleges of engineering.
At Purdue a faculty member who is now the Dean of the College of Engineering
started the EPICS program, originally in the electrical engineering department. This
foundation itself helps provide legitimacy within the college. Each discipline oversees
their own graduation requirements, and the acceptance of EPICS to meet these
requirements is determined by the faculty members in the departments. For example,
some departments allow EPICS students to do their capstone project through EPICS
while others do not. The departments then have additional requirements on the type of
projects students do as well as who can oversee the students. The EPICS program has to
lobby for their legitimacy to provide students with requirements within each of the
engineering disciplines. The most common concern by faculty members around campus
is the technical legitimacy of EPICS, and the level of technical rigor. This contradicts
many of the partners, who say the students often try to “over engineer a solution.” EPICS
accommodates this tension by placing the program in the College of Engineering, only
having one to two credit given for the course (even though the time required for the
course is high), and having engineering faculty members oversee the students taking the
course for capstone design. Additionally, they are balancing the needs of the partners by
focusing on a human-centered design approach that regularly checks in with the project
partners to insure the projects are meeting the partner’s needs.

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One way that WPI’s GPP program deals with this tension is by not considering
their program engineering. Although the program itself would not likely say that they are
avoiding this tension, this is a benefit of being declared in a separate domain. The
participants seemed to agree that engineering was connected to the technical expertise
and this was not something the program was attempting to promote. Rather, the program
focused on developing the social skills the students needed to be successful professionals.
As mentioned prior the program was for all students, but about fifty percent were
engineers. Having the GPP in a separate domain allows the program to function without
engaging in the discussion of the appropriateness or technical rigor. They were able to do
this through the term system that is unique to WPI. A disadvantage of this approach is
that as a separate domain you may not be given as many resources or respect within the
university. One of the participants also spoke at length with his desire to integrate the
program into the curriculum, so that students are linking the projects to the other courses.
It is my assumption, based on the technocratic culture, that the process of doing so might
call into question the legitimacy of the program. In addition, the GPP program was seen
by some of the participants and the individuals I talk to as underfunded by the university.
For example, the program does not often hire faculty members to advise students on the
GPP programs, but rather full-time staff employees.
LSU’s CPP program works only with a single freshman design course, and is an
isolated phenomenon from the rest of the college. In the first years of the program, there
was some tension about the importance of engineering service learning as a research
domain, as the faculty member was going up for tenure. She had enough publications in
traditional engineering journals; however, the trajectory of her career was towards service
learning. The committee in her department denied her case, yet the college and other
higher level committees approved it. She became a model of the University’s dedication
to service learning. Since then, she has gone up for full professorship, and is now an
endowed faculty member. The university has continued to support service learning, yet
this is done without too much involvement with others in the engineering domain. The
CPP is able to manage the tension of the technocratic culture of engineering by limiting

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the course component to one freshman level course, and having the technical rigor both
consistent for each class and at an appropriate level for the first-year students.
Overall, the prevalence of the technocratic culture within engineering impacted
the structure of the programs. The programs needed to accommodate the culture, either
by proving their technical rigor, or by separating from the engineering domain. Yet there
are risks with the separation in such a culture, namely that the legitimacy of the program
will be lowered, and there may be a reduction of resources provided to the programs.

6.2.2 Review of the TCC framework
I established the TCC framework after my initial engagement and reflection on
the data. The framework was grounded in a combination of previous literature
categorizing partnerships in service learning, along with the research done on institutional
logic in science museums’ approach to equity, and was intended to categorize specific
interactions, activities and language used by the participants as a way to build an
understanding of the partnerships that were formed. This method of understanding
partnerships is similar to Dorado and Giles’ (2004) work on understanding the paths of
service learning partnerships, and Feinstein and Meshoulam’s (2014) work on the
institutional logics that influence how museums approach serving the public, specifically
in terms of equity. Certain patterns within the data were also reflected in various
literatures, specifically how the learning institution (i.e., service learning program,
science museums, etc.) identified with the partnering communities.
The TCC framework categorizes the type of interactions, activities, and language
within engineering community engagement partnerships. The dominant codes of the
interaction of each participant imply a dominant relationship experienced by the
participant interviewed. This section also reviews some benefits and potential issues
associated with the transactional, cooperative and communal partnerships, while also
linking these partnerships to two additional concepts. The first concept is how
reciprocity is viewed in each of these types of partnerships. The second concept is the
notion of “thick” and “thin” approaches to service. This concept is connected to Morton’s
(1995) work that I reviewed in Chapter 2, which reviews how charity, projects, and social

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action can each be done well or poorly. This is also congruent with Feinstein and
Meshoulam’s (2014) discussion of the benefits and negatives of institutional logic.
In the transactional relationship, the identity of the community is separate from
that of the program. There is a sense of “otherness,” or an “us” and “them” relationship.
In the context of the project, there is a mental model of the program providing a solution
or product for the community, and the interactions, activities and language reflect this
dyadic relationship. Reciprocity in the transactional context focuses on the partnerships
meeting the desired needs of all constituents. For example, there is a need identified by
the community, and the students meet this need while also getting their own needs of
education meet.
The thick version of the transactional approach recognizes and respects
stakeholders groups involved in the partnership, while also having clear roles and
responsibilities within the groups. The benefit of a transactional relationship is that it
allows for greater consistency, scalability, durability, efficiency, and potentially a lower
time commitment for many constituents. The programs can also create a unique structure
that can be used with a variety of partnerships. There are specific roles that individuals
can take on, so stakeholders can be trained in a role, and enter into the partnership
knowing the amount of time and personal energy needed to meet the expectations within
the partnerships. This relationship can be more accessible to faculty and community
partners without a personal passion for community engagement, as they may have less
time and energy to invest into a partnership. Faculty advisors or partner liaisons can
learn the program, fit into the role, and complete the task. When done well, this type of
relationship can serve a specific need for a community, while offering a learning
experience for the students.
Feinstein and Meshoulam (2014) highlight the benefits of more transactional
strategies to “offer more efficient ways to address particular well-known and deeply
entrenched problems” and “protect and enhance the things that make a particular
[Informal Science Education (ISE)] organization interesting and unusual” (p. 389). ISE
organizations, like many service learning programs, tend to be underfunded, and so
having financially efficient ways to address an issue, when there is already a clear need,

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is much more important than working closely with the community to define a need and
determine, together, how to approach the problem. Also, ISE organizations have another
community they are working within, namely their professional communities. ISEs learn
from other organizations and will have varying amounts of alignment within their own
community. This is similar to taking common practices from other engineering
community engagement programs and utilizing these practices within a program you are
involved with. In the process the community is not engaged in the decision, yet the
program can learn interesting and valuable processes. The EPICS program is a clear
example of this, by having a set program and policies with a brand and workshops, they
are able to provide suggestions, support, and a structure to other programs that want to
offer service learning at their institution. They have expanded to include EPICS High, for
high school students, and IEEE is expanding EPICS to other countries. EPICS provides
an avenue for establishing new service learning programs, where creating the structure
and identifying projects directly with the community without such a model may be
intimidating, overwhelming, and confusing. To start a partnership with a lack of clarity
and structure may result in negative experiences.
When the transactional relationship is thin, the relationship becomes too one-
sided, and one partner will either not take in consideration or make assumptions about the
needs and goals of the other, or may even exploit the other partner for their own benefit.
For example, the students may assume that the partner may need a highly technical
solution to fix a problem, yet there are more simple solutions that would better fit the
need of the partner. In an even more problematic example of such dynamics, one of the
participants even stated that one partner attempted to involve the students in what they
felt was “industrial espionage.”
The cooperative relationship has the program (i.e. students, advisors, and
administrators) working with the partner (i.e., community partner, sponsor and intended
end users) as a single team. There can be separate roles, yet there is an intentionality to
blur the lines and work as a cohesive whole. There is more a sense of a “we” mentality,
seeing both the community and the program working together. In the context of a project,
the activities, interactions, and language show recognition for the expertise of the

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differing individuals. Regular and consistent interactions are needed to insure the voices
of all the constituents are included throughout the project. Further, reciprocity in such
relationships should focus on the process as well as the product. The partnership needs to
be adaptable to the community, and their input needs to be included in the program
structure as well as the projects themselves.
The “thick” version of a cooperative relationship allows for each person to fully
engage in the partnership. There is clear intentionality and integration of the partner
throughout the process, increasing the likelihood that the projects are being created with
the voice of partner and the intended users. Feinstein and Meshoulam (2014) state that
cooperative partnerships may “maintain more fluid and dynamic connections with their
changing communities, recognize and meet the needs of smaller and less visible minority
groups, and open up a broader array of partnerships with local agencies and organizations”
(p. 389). Using the cooperative relationship during design also teaches the engineering
community engagement students the importance of listening and integrating the
stakeholders into the design process. This also challenges the overarching paradigm that
engineers are the ones that solve problems, since there is greater awareness and
recognition that they are only one part of the solution. The cooperative model within the
overall structure allows the program to be clearly molded for each unique partnership that
develops, since the partners will work together to determine what needs can and should
be met for the benefit of all the constituents of the partnership. Yet since the cooperative
partnership involves shared decision-making, things take longer and there is a higher
chance of conflict to arise.
A cooperative partnership, by its nature, requires shared decision-making, which
results in a higher potential for conflict. When a cooperative process is done in a “thin”
way, the partners are specifically chosen to agree with the programs. The voices of the
marginalized are excluded from the process, and the projects can reinforce injustices
present within communities.
In communal relationships, the “we” mentality is expanded from the partnership
to include the wider community or society while addressing human needs. In these
partnerships, the level of reciprocity is also expanded to the community or the society.

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For example, the whole community is relied upon in the design and the construction of
the project, through events such as town hall meetings. The project themselves can be
meeting the human needs for play, human connection, or food security, etc. And the
process allows for reciprocity, so that the individuals put in the energy into the project,
they are also getting something out of it as well, either a deliverable or a human need.
In the “thick” version of a communal partnership, individuals explicitly recognize
and reflect on the value they are bringing to the community, have a sense of openness to
new opportunities that may arise, and a core group of the involved individuals have a
deep commitment, as it represents their passion and dedication to improving the
community through the program. The funding, planning, and operations are done as a
cohesive group, and the project is grounded in a socially just cause. The benefits of
communal relationships are that there is recognition of serving the wider community, and
possibly the society as a whole. The students may also be more oriented toward civic
responsibility and there is a recognition of not just the intended end user, but a deeper
reflection of the complexity of the project. For example, there may be a reflection on
how a wider community is impacted by a project, how design needs to address issues of
accessibility, or that engineers have a responsibility for the wider society. At the same
time, the community partners are just as committed to the core mission of the program.
They see and value the program addressing root issues, not just in terms of the project or
student education, but deeper human needs.
The “thin” approach to the communal partnership is characterized by a number of
possible issues. For instance, Johnson (1983) suggests that privileged individuals may
feel a sense of guilt, and due to this guilt, they decide to go “help” a poor community.
The intention might seem communal, as they may come through spiritual or other reasons,
and see the context of a larger “we,” yet are truly doing the project for themselves and not
the community they are intending to serve (e.g. Carlson 1995). Without deep reflection
and growth of oneself and the program, there may be only a superficial aid, without
recognizing or addressing the root causes of an issue.

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There has been some discussion on preferable approaches to partnerships. For
instance, Lucena argues the engineer-user relationship needs to recognize the end user as
a citizen to reach a level of sustainability:

The engineer-user relationship allows for the inclusion of diverse and
complex perspectives and opens the possibility of users becoming co-
creators of technologies and sustainable solutions. This leveling of the
expert-non-expert relationship might mean a loss of power and status by
engineers but a gain in transforming [sustainable development] into real
sustainability. (p. 813)

While I agree that leveling of power and seeing the end user as an equal contributor may
result in more sustainable solutions, I also recognize the benefits of more transactional
approaches. Transactional approaches are often more pragmatic, and therefore might be
the most appropriate in certain situations, while offering potential scalability to provide
more individuals with an engagement experience. I tend to agree with Feinstein and
Meshoulam (2014), in their view of client and cooperative logic. That is, the authors
suggest integrating both logics while recognizing the tension between them:

Rather than asking whether ISE organizations should adopt client or
cooperative logic, then, it may ultimately be most productive to ask when
and how they can use both institutional logics in responding to the
challenges of equity posed by their field and embodied by their local
contexts. We are not naive about the tension between these logics. Indeed,
perhaps the clearest evidence we saw for the existence of different logics
was the conflict within several ISE organizations where different
stakeholders had adopted client and cooperative logics. At one
organization, an administrative leader expressed frustration about board
members who didn’t understand “that your organization is not just for
them.” Several ISE organizations in our sample housed their outreach and

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floor staff in different buildings, leading to a growing separation in
routines and priorities. One programmatic leader even described her
outreach operations as “very much, I would say, disconnected from what
goes on, on a daily basis, here at the center.” Yet if it is possible to balance
both perspectives—either in alternation or simultaneously—the ISE
organization and its local community may benefit. (p. 390)

Having a variety of approaches creates a certain amount of tension, yet it is through
working through this tension and providing a variety of approaches that I believe will
most benefit the community. I see that there are certainly situations and contexts where
each of the approaches has certain advantages and benefits.
Transactional relationships are able to reduce the barriers for entering into
community engagement partnership, as the commitment and personal investment is lower.
The programs can create a more unique perspective, are lower cost, and can potentially
reach more people. On the other hand, history is filled with examples of failed projects
because the community was not integrated into a design process. The cooperative
approach can integrating the community voice can make sure that the community’s
viewpoints are not ignored, and projects can adapt to each situation. Communal
partnerships can more clearly target issues of social justice, and should be addressed and
reflected upon within and through engineering. I personally would strive for a communal
approach; yet that would create the most work, and I do not think that is the best
approach for all programs. Also, if you are not actively open to and learning about the
social issues that you would be involved in, there is a high chance that the program would
do more harm than good.
Yet, any approach taken should be done with some openness to growth and
reflection. Each of the programs had some type of reflection process, either through
research group meetings, or regular discussions with the partners. Additionally, all the
programs had gone through a development process. None of them had the same structure
as they had when formed, and frequently the program purposes and structures evolved
over time. It is essential that the programs reflect on their role within their communities.

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The amount of resources and commitment of the individuals would impact the type of
partnerships you would want to have. It is possible that a program can serve as an
incubator for partnerships, offering resources, guidance and structure, when appropriate,
for individuals and organizations to help them decide which type of partnership is best for
them. If a faculty member and a community partner have a passion for developing a
communal partnerships the program may need to step out of the way and give more open
space for the partnership to flourish.
The next section reviews how the TCC and other findings of this study adds to the
existing literature, specifically in the service learning field, the LTS community, and the
engineering education research field.

6.2.3 Contributions to the Literature
For the TCC framework discussed in this study there are three specific themes
that can contribute to the current literature. The first is the contribution to the service
learning literature, the second is the impact to the engineering Learning Through Service
(LTS) community, and the third is related to the engineering education literature.
6.2.3.1 Contributions to the Service Learning Literature
For the service-learning community, this study can offer insight to help
understand why some research is best done using a framework grounded on
organizational partnerships, and others have looked at partnerships in terms of individual
relationships. In the literature review, I wrote about differing approaches of researching
service-learning partnerships. The first is through conceptual models that view
partnerships as a series of individual relationships. Bringle and Clayton (2012) argue for
this conceptual model for two reasons, one is the fact that the type of relationship will
look different across the differing stakeholders. For example, the relationship of the
students with the program administrators will look different than the relationships
between the students and the community. Second, the degree of relationship will differ.
Bringle and Clayton argue that the term “relationship” should be used in a broad sense,
while “partnership” should be grounded in closeness, equity, and integrity, and that each

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relationship among individuals, or groups of individuals (i.e. students and faculty), has
the ability to form a partnership. The second conceptual model is grounded in
organizational structure. Janke (2012) argued for the use of organizational theory to
understand and research partnerships in service learning. Additionally, Janke argues that
examining partnerships at an organizational level, rather than only studying dyadic
interpersonal level, is “useful in conducting research into what makes partnerships
successful over the long term or, specifically, why service learning faculty and
community partners remain together over many years” (Janke, 2012, p.286).
Many of the participants in the CPP program focused more of their experience on
individual relationships. The roles and responsibilities changed based on the level of
commitment and personal talent the individuals brought to the partnership. For example,
the community partner in the CPP who had a skill for fundraising and passion for
bringing a playground to the school used her skill sets to raise large amounts of funding
for the playground. Yet, another partnership did little to raise the money, so the design
students and the faculty member wrote grants for the playground. Many of the other
participants spoke of the personal connections and friendships as a main motivation for
being in the partnership, and point to the qualities of the individuals as reason for the
program success.
On the other hand, EPICS and GPP-US Sponsorships have a higher degree of
organizational structure. There are expected roles and responsibilities of the different
constituents, and there is some level of training for these roles. Individuals are
replaceable, and when participants were asked what made the program successful, there
was more discussion on policies and procedures rather than individual characteristics. In
Janke (2013) paper, there is discussion of two types of partnerships: inter organizational
relationships (IORs) and joint ventures. In the IORs, the identities of the partner
organizations have remained separate, and in joint ventures there has been a type of
merge. Janke offers an example of an IOR that turns into a joint partnership: the director
for a local branch of the United Way noticed that many low-income individuals in the
community were not filing their taxes, and as a result, were not receiving their refunds.
Through partnerships with local organizations, a new organization formed where

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volunteers and college students worked with the low-income community to offer tax
assistance. Within three years, the organization became self-sustaining, and the original
founder stepped down, and a new chair was appointed. The partnership became an
organization of its own, with specific roles and responsibilities for each group. There
were relationships among individuals, yet the success of the program was most notable
from an organizational level. An IOR formed, and it turned into a joint partnership.
The partnerships in the EPICS and GPP represent more of an IOR dynamic, since
the programs have their distinct identity, and the partnership is designed to meet mutual
benefits. The successes of these approaches are organizational in nature, and have set
policies that are aligned with the learning objectives and the mission of the program. To
reiterate, for the CPP there is not a formal structure, but rather an approach that is more
malleable for each new partnership that is started with a new school.
Through this analysis, it is worth noting that in some relationships, there is more
weight on and power in the specific individuals. Such persons have the influence to alter
the structure of the program, and in these cases there needs to be more emphasis on the
personal relationships that are formed. On the other hand, there are some programs that
are grounded more on the organizational nature of the program. Their success is more
connected to policies, roles and responsibilities. The individuals still do have influence
in these partnerships, yet the impact is less.
Each of these approaches has benefits and challenges. Partnerships that are
focused on the individual level are more personal, can touch on the passion and
dedication of the individual, and can be more malleable based on the needs of specific
partnerships. The negatives of these programs is that there is more pressure on
individuals, that there is a higher likelihood of burnout, or potential collapse of the
program if a person is unable to continue, and the programs are also not scalable, since it
depends on the specific individuals involved. The organization structure is more durable,
reliable, and accountable compared to individual relationships (Scott 2003). The
negatives include a lack of malleability, a potential of stifling out of personal passion
individuals may have for engagement, and a bias in favor of transactional and cooperative
interactions that can be more easily replicated across partnerships.

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6.2.3.2 Contribution to the Learning Through Service (LTS) Community
The second contribution that this research provides is the impact on the Learning
Through Service (LTS) community. In October 2014, I went to a global humanitarian
conference where I discussed my research, and a few individuals asked for publications
since they were in the process of developing an engineering community engagement
program and were seeking insight. This dissertation, and papers and workshops to follow,
will be able to provide a framework in discussing the types of relationships a program
wishes to have with its partners and larger community. The five structural themes provide
guideposts for how to align the structure with the intended nature of the program, while
recognizing the complexity of various partnerships within a program. In addition, the
overview of the motivation can provide greater understanding for why individuals and
partner organizations enter into engineering community engagement partnerships.
The TCC framework also has some resonance with Lucena’s (2013) book chapter
that categorizes the various ways engineers can see community: as a client, stakeholder,
user, or citizen. With each one having a specific historical context, Lucena integrates
listening at each step and connects it so sustainability implication. The value of the TCC
framework for the LTS community is that the context is specific to the community
engagement programs and recognizes that different approaches are appropriate depending
on the circumstances. There is recognition that the different types of relationships have
their benefits and drawbacks, and that there is a “thick” and “thin” version of the different
partnerships. The specific type of relationship should depend on the specific partnering
organization that the program is working with. As mentioned in the large federal agency
example I presented in Chapter 5, theme 3, the partnering agency was able to benefit
from the credibility of the students as a third-party. This would be a more transactional
relationship, since there is a clear separation among the community and the program, yet
it was the more appropriate method for this partner. In this case, the reason there was a
need for a transactional relationship was in part connected to the union within the
organization. Thus the transactional element allowed for a more socially just approach,
since it respected each of the parties, and the power dynamic of the workers within the
organization. Additionally, the transactional partnerships were often able to successfully

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meet the missions of each partnering organization, as in the case for EPICS to meet the
educational goals of the program, while meeting the technical needs of community
partners.
I would consider the CPP communal approach as being done well, and that is
largely connected to the dedication, passion and reflection of the individuals involved.
The communal approach, however, needs to be rooted in individuals with this level of
dedication and support, as well as critical reflection of the communities they serve.
Engineers have historically gone into communities in the name of development,
undertaking projects with little or no consideration of local cultural values. The intention
of these project was to benefit the local communities, yet they often had did more harm
since they did not respect or listen to the communities they were attempting to serve (e.g.,
Carlson, 1995, Lucena et. al 2010, Mazzurco & Jesiek 2014).
However, I would argue that there is still a hierarchy involved in the types of
relationships because I believe that a communal relationship done very well will meet a
much deeper need in a community. The potential of the communal relationship is great,
yet it needs a high level of personal energy and commitment, and reflection. One needs
to understand and be willing to be open to one’s cultural biases in the world, as the
relationship will likely push personal limits. This type of work, I believe, has the ability
to take engineering to a new paradigm, to reclassify what it means to be an engineer.
Engineers could work as community organizers or activists. However, without the ability
to reflect and take responsibility for personal biases, the engineer will likely repeat the
historical colonial patterns in poorer communities. Essentially, I believe the transactional
relationship done well is far better than an attempt at the cooperative or communal
approach without the financial and emotional support needed for the partnership. The
learning curve for the transactional partnership is also much lower, providing an easy
stepping stone for individuals just interested in exploring the potentials of community
engagement, and this can potentially grow into a more cooperative or communal
partnerships.

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6.2.3.3 Contribution to Engineering Education Community
The third contribution this study brings is to the engineering education
community, specifically connected to teaching new professional ways of being in
engineering through project-based learning (PBL) approaches. I argue that by integrating
PBL community engagement programs into engineering education, you are essentially
transforming the ontology of engineering, and this transformation should be recognized
and stated explicitly in order to understand the implications, importance, and value of
these programs.
Dall’Alba (2009) argues that professional education has historically focused on
epistemology (i.e., ways of knowing) while the educational system fails to address
ontology (i.e., ways of being). Students are tested on concepts and knowledge, and in this
process, students also come to inadvertently associate this narrow knowledge with what it
means to be a professional. Students learn what it means to be an engineer through the
culture and situation within their education, often unacknowledged in the institutions of
higher education. An example of this is the Engineering Problem Solving (EPS)
approach (Downey & Lucena, 2006). Throughout their tenure in higher education,
engineering students will solve thousands of EPS problems, where students are given
specific information, and need to go through specific steps in order to set up a problem
and find a solution. The typical steps of a problem are: identify the givens, determine
what is needed to be found, identify assumptions, create a diagram, identify the equations,
and then solve and check the problem (Downey & Lucena, 2006). This process embeds in
the students’ mindsets and teaches them that there is a “right” answer for every problem,
and this influences how students essentially view the world;

Students who complete hundreds of problem sets on graded home works
and exams are simultaneously receiving intensive training in dividing the
world of problem solvers into two parts, those who draw boundaries
around problems appropriately and those who do not. The first group
becomes capable of being “right,” while the second is, by implication,
“wrong.” Quality students emerge from engineering curricula knowing

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that engineering problems have either right or wrong answers, that the
chief metric of ability is the frequency that one is right, and that difference
is usually a sign of error. In the process, they have acquired solid grounds,
seemingly mathematical, not to trust the perspectives of co-workers who
define problems differently. (Downey & Lucena, 2006).

Lucena et al. (2010) argue that this process – finding the “right” answer – can be
especially detrimental for engineers working in working with the community, since the
problems are often much more complex and nuanced.
This concept is also connected to Shuman et al.’s (2005) assertions about the need
to build professional skills within engineering. The authors highlight how some programs
have started to use service learning and community engagement to integrate the
professional skills into the engineering curriculum, and advocated for wider adoption of
such programs. In this same paper, Shuman et al. also recognized the value of project-
based service learning in the process of learning the professional skills. The project-based
pedagogy was founded in the principle that you taught the knowledge in the context in
which that knowledge would be used (Donner & Bickley, 1993). So when you provide a
project-based learning experience, you are teaching not only the topic, but also teaching
the way to solve project as an engineer. The goal is therefore not really about making a
“better” engineer, but also changing what it means to be an engineer. If you have an
engineering education program that incorporates professional skills, you are also teaching
students that part of being an engineer necessarily includes these skills.
This study contributes to conversations about the ontology of engineering by
recognizing that the relationship that engineers have with their community can vary
greatly, and the relationship defines how engineering is preformed. This builds on
Lucena’s (2013) work that highlights how engineers can recognize the end-user as a
client, stakeholder, collaborator, and/or citizen. These terms are grounded in different
histories, and conceptual frameworks, and as a result require a different process of doing
engineering; so the way of being an engineer must expand past historically dominant
images and current educational practices. This conversation also connects with Cech’s

218
(2014) work suggesting that students’ social engagement declines throughout their
college career, and that their educational experiences are likely leading them to be less
socially engaged. By building new types of partnerships with communities, there is the
potential and the ability to reshape engineering in new ways. If we want engineers to be
active and engaged citizens who think of social considerations and sustainable impact, we
need programs that teach students, and ourselves, the way of being this type of engineer.
In order to make these types of engineers, there need to be more LTS and other kinds of
programs that push engineering students to identify and reflect on the types of
relationships that they wish to have with the communities they serve. The following
section will provide some further specific recommendations for LTS programs.

6.3 Recommendations for Programs
The recommendations below are organized around the six structural themes
presented in the second and third research questions. These suggestions are connected to
the nature of the partnerships between engineering community engagement programs and
the organizations and/or communities with which they work.

6.3.1 Purpose
I have two suggestions for addressing the purpose of the program. The first is
determining what kinds of partner relationships are desired, and the second is making
sure this nature is reflected in the program’s mission statement and policy documents.
If a program is just starting, or wants to reflect on the partnerships with the
community, it is important to explicitly discuss what types of partnerships are desired
between the program and the community partners. The programs might want to have a
communal partnership, yet their potential partners do not have the resources needed to
commit to co-creating the partnership, and would rather have a more transactional or
client-oriented model. If the desired natures do not align, the partnership may not be a
good match and could even lead to negative outcomes.

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Having a well-articulated mission statement that is explicit about the program’s
philosophy toward partner and community relationships is also important, including as
reflected on public web pages and other literature that is easily accessible by the
community to provide clarity about its expectations. This language can also act as an
important guidepost for the advisors, staff and students within the program. Language
that uses terms to refer to the community as a “customer” or “client” potentially creates
an identity boundary between the program and the community. That is, “client” or
“customer” terminology is deeply embedded with transactional connotations, and is
rooted in a context of providing a service for a community (Lucena, 2013). If a
partnership seeks to be cooperative, the program should use terms that frame the
community as co-designers. This intention needs to be clearly stated in the language of
the program, and the partners should recognize themselves as co-contributors to the
projects. For instance, an advisor in GPP-US who was frustrated with a recent magazine
describing the program highlights an example of the importance of the messaging:

You should grab a copy of the WPI Alumni magazine that just came. I got
it in the mail last week. And you read the first few pages, there’s the
profile of couple of new projects that was in here…. Our students, how
they go out and save the world … I mean I think we’re all aggravated by
that mentality. Sincere work that we’re trying to do with people in other
countries and here it’s boiled down to blurbs, that the marketing
department takes them and sells in ways that aren’t really true to what the
experience is all about. It’s talking about going to live in [a foreign country]
for seven weeks. It’s about going to understand what life is like in a
[foreign country] outside of [a main city] and why people live 10 miles
outside of town. (GPP-US Center Director)

The marketing within the university program boiled down the experience into a blurb
which made it sound as if they program was set up to “save” an international community
partner, even though the program’s intention was to work “with” the community:

220

We shouldn’t be selling it as that. That shouldn’t be part of our messaging.
Our messaging should be “Come learn with them. Let’s learn together.”
You’re not teaching. I don’t care if you’re the most talented, up-and-
coming chemical engineer. That doesn’t matter. (GPP-US Center Director)

The program was attempting to be cooperative, yet the messaging came off as more
transactional. This example also highlights the importance of working with the
marketing department, to insure that any advertisements and newsletters accurately
describe the program.
If a program is seeking to be communal in nature, having a purpose of community
empowerment and addressing social justice issues in a community is critical and should
be stated as part of a program’s purpose. An example of this a document that is stating
the nature of the partnership is the “about us” section of the community playground
project’s web site:

The LSU Community Playground Project has been in existence since 1998
to provide children in Baton Rouge and surrounding communities with
safe, fun, accessible playgrounds that the children themselves help to
design. LSU Biological Engineering students are required to take a
Service Learning design class in which students are assigned to work with
a local public school to design a playground that encompasses the soul of
the community. The design, funding, and construction processes engage
elementary students, parents, teachers, and school staff. LSU faculty, staff,
and students have worked alongside their community partners to address
the community needs, demonstrating a commitment to work with the
community, rather than simply providing a product for the
community. (CPP, 2014)

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In the above example, the elementary students are identified as co-designers, and it is
clearly stated that all the members of the community are engaged throughout the project
cycle.
In addition, the messaging needs to be discussed within engineering colleges and
departments and the other engineering constituents, such as the ABET, Inc. accreditation
body. Often, within the engineering community, terms like “client” and “customer” are
much more prevalent than alternatives like “co-designer.” If a given program decides to
promote cooperative and communal partnerships, they might retain more conventional
language and terminology when interacting with other constituent groups. Yet it would
be preferable if such a program adopted terminology in line with their partnership
philosophy, and embraced opportunities to educate other groups on the importance of co-
designing. For example, programs could discuss the nature of different types of
relationships, and explain why they are prioritizing partnerships with certain kinds of
natures. They can point to associated benefits in team preparation and the importance of
students working with others from various backgrounds. The teams of the cooperative
and communal programs do not only consist of students, but also that of the community.
This should be intentionally stated to these various constituents.
In summary, the mission statement should guide and inform a wider range of
program policies and procedures. The structural elements included in the following
subsections should also reflect the intended nature of the partnerships.

6.3.2 Overall Structure
The overall structure of a program may differ considerably depending on
whether a given program is seeking to build and leverage an organizational structure or
rather one that is grounded in individual relationships. The organizational structure will
likely be more scalable and will depend less on the individuals involved, while the one
grounded in individual relationship may be able to place greater emphasis on the assets
the individuals are bringing to the partnership.
Specific structural elements are also important in bringing the projects to fruition.
Further, there will likely be periods of time when the university students are involved in

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activities that are transactional, were they are separated from the community members,
are working independently, and then seek feedback at a later date. Having the
engineering students reflect on how the user will be impacted is a way to integrate the
community in a transactional way. Yet in cooperative interactions and activities, there
need to be more extensive and intensive direct interactions between the university
students and project partner or the community, and the partners need to be continuously
engaged in the design process. There are likely to be times when the partner might take
the lead on a project, and the students are learning from and with them. In communal
structure, the program also reflects on the deeper social needs that the project is
addressing, and there are activities that create a sense of togetherness.

6.3.3 Type of Agency
An engineering community engagement program should consider the type,
mission, and culture of partner agencies and organizations while establishing
partnerships. If a partner organization has a transactional model within their
organization or in their interactions with the wider community, such as where they see
the community as a client they are serving, they will likely seek out and desire a
transactional relationship with the program. If, on the other hand, they see themselves
integrated into the community they are serving, and have a strong cooperative
relationship with the community, the partnership may be inclined toward a more
cooperative nature. Not every community agency will likely fit with a program, and so
having the program and agency understand how they can help one another is important.
Also, for a more cooperative partnership, there is an expectation of adaptation for
both parties. Allowing the program to be able to better meet the needs of the partnering
agency, and the partnering agency being able to work with the changing needs of the
program. In fact, all three of the programs were able to maintain a variety of different
relationships, some that are more cooperative and some that are more transactional,
based on the type of agencies they partnered with. This was done by to some extent
having a set model, yet also having room for variation and adaption to allow for more
cooperative interactions, if appropriate. For example, any of the partners that join

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EPICS were expected to meet with the students two or three times a semester, yet some
of the partners had a higher degree of commitment and met with the students more
regularly. These partners were more likely to be invested in the design process, and the
partnerships were more cooperative in nature.

6.3.4 Individuals
Having partners that are dedicated, passionate, and interested in the program
helps the projects run smoothly, and tends to be very important for the success of most
every partnership. There is often a personal motivation among these individuals to
contribute to the wider community, including through the mission of the partnering
agencies and/or the students’ education. In all the cases, this was found true for the
partnerships.
In programs that have a well-established organizational structure, the individual
will influence the partnership largely within their own role. For instance, a partner can
influence how students are integrated within the agency, and the advisor may take their
personal interests and skills into the partnerships. This can be in either transactional or
cooperative ways.
If the programs that are centered more on personal relationships, the individuals
have more influence on shaping the program structure. The motivations to be involved
are more explicitly connected to personal relationships. With communal programs, it is
important to have a network of supporters who are dedicated and are able to see the
project to completion, even if some of the involved individuals are not as invested in the
program.

6.3.5 Projects
A program needs to reflect on the nature of the partnership when deciding a
project, including in which stages of the process it is desirable or appropriate for the
community to be involved.

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More specifically, transactional projects will likely seek community feedback
through surveys or demonstration sessions. The project is done in partial isolation of the
recipients, and the community members are seen as giving feedback.
In a cooperative project there should be reflection and regular discussion on the
level of involvement with the community. Asking questions such as: How can we get
involved with the community, and is it appropriate to bring them in at this stage? If the
subject is highly technical, will that be a barrier for the community? Can there be
education, and is educating the appropriate? What is the expertise of the community?
How can each stakeholder learn from each other through the project? I recommend
having such questions as regular reflections that are done throughout each project.
The communal projects are meeting a deeper need of a community, and
transcend the boundaries of the stakeholders. If your goal is to identify and develop
projects that are more communal in nature, you need to look at injustices in a
community and how they can be addressed. And throughout the process, there needs to
be regular reflection on the impact that the program is having on the community.
Specific examples of project can be found within the projects theme in Chapter 5.

6.3.6 The Intersection of Students and the Curriculum
The dominant mindset of engineers approach is that of “problem solver” and one
seeking the “right answer” (Downey & Lucena, 2006). As mentioned in the discussion
section above, this can be linked to the approach engineers use to solve technical
problems. This mentality of engineering students needs to be addressed within the
structure of the program.
According the Lucena et al. (2010), engineering students embarking on
development work should be pushed to understand “how what is considered ‘technical’ is
shaped by engineers’ engagement with community and how community could be
impacted by technology” (p. 104). The authors also point to reflection as a way to
process what they have learned. Indeed, much has been written about the value of
reflection in service learning (see Eyler, Giles, & Schmeide, 1996) and even engineering

225
service learning explicitly (see Lima & Oakes, 2013). Reflection is often viewed as a
central part of service learning, and is utilized in both EPICS and CPP programs.
The contribution and suggestion, as it relates to this paper, is the importance of
reflecting on the actual type of relationship, and how one sees the community. In the
workshops that are planned to follow this dissertation, I am working with Juan Lucena,
Marybeth Lima, and Andrea Mazzurco to propose and run a workshop at ASEE 2015 to
help attendees learn about different partnerships they wish to have, and reflect how their
current programs are meeting or not meeting the types of partnerships they wish to have.
The act of reflection can be expanded within EPICS, GPP-US, or the CPP, so that
students, administrators, and advisors are intentionally reflecting on the types of
relationships they are having with their community, and how this relationship is leading
students to see themselves as engineers.

6.4 Conclusion
I conclude this paper with two areas: the first looking at the limitations of this
study and some possible directions for future work; the second discussing my desired
outcomes and next steps leading from this research.

6.4.1 Limitations and Future Research
Findings from qualitative studies, by their nature, are highly dependent of the
context and cases examined (Patton, 2002). In this study, the cases of engineering
community engagement programs were selected looking at programs that have had long-
term partnerships, serve a majority of engineering students, and whose partnerships are
within the United States. Patton emphasized that, “the validity, meaningfulness, and
insights generated from qualitative inquiry have more to do with the information richness
of the cases selected and the observational/analytical capabilities of the research than the
sample size” (p.245). Hence, my discussion of the limitations of this study are broken
into information richness, which includes the site selections, observations, and

226
participants, and the researcher’s (my) personal capabilities. Within each of the areas,
there is also discussion of further research that can address some of these limitations.
This study examined three sites, although the validity, meaningfulness and
insights of the study are connected more to the richness of sites rather than quantity. The
programs chosen had both differences and similarities in terms of length of partnerships,
location, structures, types of partnering organizations, etc. I feel that I did a good job
getting a breadth of programs and individuals within partnerships in this study. However,
there is a saying within the service learning literature, “when you’ve seen one partnership,
you’ve seen one partnership.” Each program and partnership is to some extent unique,
and thus there may be structural factors or motivations that were not included within this
study, yet are highly influential in other programs and partnerships.. Additionally, the
programs included in this study were well-established and leading programs in the
country. Each had already gone through a longer developmental process to get to where
they currently are. Other programs, new and old, will have a different developmental
pathway that will influence the nature of the associated partnerships. The depth of
understanding and insights gained from this study shed light on partnerships, yet more
research is needed to expand and extend this work.
Another issue of site selection was that all the partnerships were within the United
States. This was recognized as a limitation at the beginning of the study. There are a
growing number of engineering community engagement programs that are reaching
outside the United States. The additional language, cultural, geographical, etc. boundaries
encountered in such programs and projects create more complexities in the structure and
the nature of partnerships. More research is needed to see how the findings from this
research can be related to partnerships in global context.
The second area of limitation of this study is the lack of in-depth observations.
Interviews were the main data source, and participants of this study could speak to a
variety of experiences, as well as a given program’s policies and procedures. I also
experienced some informal interactions within the programs, but this information was not
directly used as data. Essentially, I assumed that the way the participants described their
experience correlated with their actual experiences within the partnerships. I recommend

227
that future research should include observations and interviews with different participants,
specifically other individuals associated with each program (e.g., students, staff and
administrators) and other individuals associated with the partner organizations and wider
community (e.g., community partners, residents, end users, etc.). This could further
confirm the findings, especially related to the TCC framework.
The third area of limitations within this study are the participants. The research
focused on the partnership, so individuals were chosen who had extensive knowledge
through participating in the programs for a variety of terms, or by being identified by
individuals within the program as having a high level of dedication. This limited the
number of unsuccessful partnerships under investigation, as well as the impacts of
partnerships on students. Unsuccessful cases can provide greater insight into how and
why partnerships are successful by providing counterexamples to help validate and
triangulate findings, and can further expand and validate the TCC framework and used in
this study. Additionally, only two students were included in this study, yet many of the
findings and discussion includes impacts on students learning. The findings of this
research are thus mainly focused on perceived or desired learning outcomes in
partnerships, and more research is needed to determine what students learn in these
partnerships.
Finally, there are the researcher’s (my) capabilities to carry out the study. One of
the main issues was the length of time from the initial interviews to the end. The EPICS
interviews were done in Spring 2011 at Purdue University, the university I attend for my
Ph.D. The interviews for GPP-US were conducted in Spring 2013, and the interviews for
the CPP were conducted in Spring 2014. Throughout this time, my knowledge of
partnerships and interviewing skills improved, and so the interviews at the end, I believe,
offered more depth than the ones at the beginning. Also, I had a deeper personal interest
in cooperative and communal partnerships, and an increased interest for the CPP program.
This bias, I believe, influenced the interviews as well as the analysis, since I was more
genuinely interested in partnerships that had more cooperative and communal qualities.
Both my advisor and a committee member brought this to my attention during the
analysis process. Although I focused on empirical evidence in the findings and

228
recognized this bias and consciously focused on the benefits of the transactional
partnerships, I recognize that my own subjectivity influences the findings.
While future research should take these limitations into account, this study
provides a stepping-stone for a variety of possible research projects. For example, future
work might focus on categorizing global engineering partnership, or developing new
survey instruments that could be used to evaluate the nature of partnerships.

6.4.2 Personal Desires and Next Steps
It is my hope that this research will result in more critical discourse and research on
service learning partnerships, and will spur inclusion of the community directly in
program design and research. In addition, I hope that this research also provides a step in
on the path of broadening the way of being and becoming an engineer. I hope engineers
can one day be trained to be community developers, and recognize that it takes a village
to build infrastructure.
In my own next steps, I would like to develop a non-profit that teaches
engineering skills through community-led design process. Following the defense, I will
be going to South Africa, where I will be volunteering with an organization that focuses
on science education. The students join science clubs throughout the country, and the
agency distributes newsletters with science concepts and activities. I would like to work
with the agency to establish a way to have the students have more control over the topics
the newsletters focus on, while also integrating engineering concepts into the newsletters.
I hope to learn about non-profit work and then move back to America to work with
another agency that has a similar mission.
Eventually, I would like to have developed the skill sets to start a program myself,
where I can work with communities to expand their resources and learn engineering
design.

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APPENDICES

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Appendix A Interview Questions
Note: The [engineering service-learning program] will be replaced with the name of
the specific program the interviewee is associated with

1. History
a. Personal and professional background
i. What is your title/role within your organization?
ii. Can you tell me a little about your educational and professional
background, including how you got involved with this organization?
b. How did you and/or organization get involved with [engineering service-
learning program]?
c. Why did you and/or your organization partner with [engineering service-
learning program]?
d. What is your role within the partnership?

2. Projects
a. What projects have work on with [engineering service-learning
program]?
i. Examples
b. What are typical
i. Successes
1. Why?
ii. Failures
1. Why?
c. How do [engineering service-learning program] students get
background information about your organization and the project(s) they
work on?
d. What things do you feel are most important to tell students each semester
as they are introduced to the partnership?
e. What could be done to better orient students to your organization and the
project(s) they work on?
f. What is your interaction like?
i. With students?
ii. With faculty members?
iii. With teacher assistances?

3. Project relational dynamics
a. What have you been satisfied with the students’ ability to understand the
needs of your organization and the goals of the project(s)? Why or why
not? Any specific examples?

241
b. How are decisions made within the project(s)? Such as which project
students should work on, what material are used, etc.
c. Do you feel like your voice is heard on the projects? Why or why not?
Any specific examples?
d. What were your expectations of EPICS projects when you first started
working with EPICS, including student capabilities, useful project
deliverables, benefits to your organization, etc.
e. How have your expectations changed over time?

4. Motivation
a. What do you like about working with [engineering service-learning
program]?
i. Examples
b. What do you find difficult about working with [engineering service-
learning program]?
i. Examples
c. What resources do you allocate to [engineering service-learning
program]?
i. Personally
ii. The organization
d. If you were not involved in the [engineering service-learning program]
partnership, how would your resources be spent?
i. Personally
ii. The organization
e. What are the benefits from working with [engineering service-learning
program]?
i. Personally
ii. The organization
f. Are the benefits greater than the costs?
i. Personally
ii. The organization
g. Do you find value in the partnership?
h. How do you view the long-term partnership model?

5. Students
a. What do you think the students gain from the project(s)?
b. What do you see as students most difficult hurdle, during any phase of the
project(s)?
c. How do you view the [engineering service-learning program] student’s
feelings toward the project(s)?
d. How do you view the [engineering service-learning program] students’
feelings toward your organization?
e. What do you see as the students’ strengths and weaknesses?

242
f. What are common attributes of the students working with [engineering
service-learning program]?
g. What do you hope the students achieve?

6. Overall
a. Who benefits from the [engineering service-learning program]
partnership? Why?
b. Have you worked with other volunteers/service-learning groups?
i. How does [engineering service-learning program] compare?
c. What would you like to change about the [engineering service-learning
program] program?

243
Appendix B Participation Email
Note: The [engineering service-learning program] will be replaced with the name of
the specific program the interviewee is associated with (EPICS or WPI)

Dear [Participant’s Name],

We are conducting a research study on the motivations and perception of
[engineering service-learning program] among [engineering service-learning
program] partners. We have received your contact information through [engineering
service-learning program]’s staff as a potential participant and would like to ask for
your involvement.

Participation includes an interview about the your experiences with and
perceptions of the program and students, lasting about 90 minutes. For the interview, we
could meet at [engineering service-learning program site], at another mutually
agreeable location, or over a telephone or Skype call.

Thank you for your time and consideration, and we look forward to speaking with
you.

Julia Thompson
Graduate Student, School of Engineering Education
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
thomps87@purdue.edu

Brent Jesiek
Assistant Professor, School of Engineering Education
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
bjesiek@purdue.edu

If you have large tables or figures to include and need to use margin space, use
the right margin and bottom margin.

244
Appendix C Participation Consent Form

RESEARCH PARTICIPANT CONSENT FORM
Transactional or Transformative: Investigating Partnerships in Engineering Project Based Service-
Learning (PBSL)

Professor Brent Jesiek
Purdue University
College of Engineering
School of Engineering Education

Purpose of Research
This research project is designed to examine the motivations of community organizations, partnerships
and the role of project within engineering service-learning programs.

Specific Procedures
If you participate in this study you will be interviewed in a semi-structured format and observed with
student on ______ date. The interviewer will ask you questions about topics such as your professional
background, career and history with the service-learning program. The interview will be audio
recorded and later transcribed. After the transcripts has been prepared and proofread, you will have
the option of reviewing it for inaccuracies or confidentiality concerns. A copy of the transcript will be
edited to address any concerns you may have.

Duration of Participation
We anticipate the interview will last 45-90 minutes. Reviewing the interview transcripts may require
an additional 45 to 60 minutes of your time, if you choose to do so.

Risks
You understand that the risks associated with participating in this study are no more than what you
would encounter in everyday life. You should refrain from answering questions that make you
uncomfortable or might identify you in ways you do not want to risk. Upon request, you may ask the
interviewer to strike specific remarks or responses from the interview record. Some staff may be able
to infer your identity if they encounter publications by the research team that include quotes or stories
from the interviews, this is described below in the confidentiality section.

Benefits
You understand that there is no direct benefit to you for participating in this study. However, the
interview may provide you with a valuable reflective learning opportunity. Findings from this study
may also be used to improve the quality of service learning programs.

Compensation
You are not compensated by being in this study.

Initial ________ Date ________

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Confidentiality
You understand that if you participate in this study the information you provide will be anonymized
(all identifying information removed) prior to any data analysis or reporting. However, some
[engineering service-learning program] staff may be able to infer the identity of some participants if
they encounter publications by the research team that include quotes or stories from the interviews.
You understand that comments from the interview will not be directly sent to [engineering service-
learning program] organization, unless specified by you. All recording will be destroyed within two
years of the interview. The anonymized transcripts will be kept indefinitely in a password-protected
file on a secure network at Purdue University. The project’s research records may also be reviewed by
departments at Purdue University responsible for regulatory and research oversight.

Voluntary Nature of Participation
You understand that you do not have to participate in this research project. If you agree to participate,
you can skip any question you are uncomfortable with, and you can withdraw your participation
without penalty. You understand that withdrawal from this study will have no effect on your status
with [engineering service-learning program

Contact Information:
If you have any questions or concerns about this research project, you may contact Prof. Brent Jesiek
at 765-496-1531 or Julia Thompson at 408-499-7703. If you have concerns about the treatment of
research participants, you can contact the Institutional Review Board at Purdue University, Ernest C.
Young Hall, Room 1032, 155 S. Grant St., West Lafayette, IN 47907-2114., Ph. (765) 494-5942, E-
mail: irb@purdue.edu

Documentation of Informed Consent
I have had the opportunity to read this consent form and have the research study explained. I have had
the opportunity to ask questions about the research project and my questions have been answered. I
am prepared to participate in the research project described above. I will receive a copy of this
consent form after I sign it.

__________________________________________ _________________________
Participant’s Signature Date

__________________________________________
Participant’s Name

__________________________________________ ___________________________
Researcher’s Signature Date

246
VITA

246
VITA
Research Interests

• Engineering community engagement, with emphasis on community partnerships
• Engineering Project Based Learning (PBL)
• Global engineering education and professional practice

Education

Ph.D., Engineering Education (May 2015)
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
• Dissertation: “Engineering Community Engagement Partnerships:
Investigating Motivation, Nature, and Structure.”
• Committee Members: Profs. Brent K. Jesiek, Alice Pawley, William Oakes,
and Dwight Giles Jr.
Bachelor of Science, Chemical Engineering (December 2006)
University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA

Honors and Awards

• Engineering Education Change Agent Award (2013)
• Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) Grant: Purdue University (2010)
• Ross Fellow: Purdue University (2009)
• Honorable Mention: Bears Breaking Boundaries Curricular Competition,
University of California, Berkeley (2006)

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Research Experience

Graduate Research Assistant, School of Engineering Education, Purdue University
(July 2009 – present)
• Co-facilitator (with Dr. Jesiek) for Global Engineering Education
Collaboratory (GEEC) research group
• Dissertation-related research on the relationships between engineering
service-learning programs and their local community partners funded by a
Purdue Research Foundation (PRF) Grant.
• Supporting research on global competency, including developing scenario-
based assessment instruments, and creating and using a survey to establish
desirable attributes for global engineers. This work funded by a Purdue
Engineer of 2020 seed grant and NSF award no. 1160455.
Undergraduate Research Assistant, Center for the Studies of Higher Education,
University of California System (Sept. 2006 – Dec. 2006)
• Instigated an independent research project focusing on the need for
engineering students to gain a broader education. Relevant activities included
organizing a curriculum review committee and writing up final findings in a
project report.

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Bio-Fuels Research Group, University of
California, Berkeley (Sept. 2005 – Aug. 2006)
• Contributed to an ethanol efficiency analysis.
• Analyzed the total energy balance of ethanol production, the total carbon
intake, and the corresponding policies related to ethanol in the U.S. and Brazil.

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Thompson, Julia and Brent Jesiek. (2014). Motivation of Community Partners
and Advisors to Participate in Community Engagement Engineering Programs.
Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Indianapolis, IN.

Thompson, Julia, Mel Chua, and Cole (2014). Engineering Education as a
Spiritual Vocation. Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference and
Exposition, Indianapolis, IN. Received Best Paper in LEES division.

Jesiek, Brent, Yating Haller, and Julia Thompson. (2014). “Developing Globally
Competent Engineering Researchers: Outcomes-Based Instructional and
Assessment Strategies from the IREE 2010 China Research Abroad Program.”
Advances in Engineering Education.

248
Jesiek, Brent, Qin Zhu, Sang Woo, Julia Thompson, and Andrea Mazzurco
(2014) Global Engineering Competency in Context: Situations and Behaviors.
Online Journal for Global Engineering Education.

Jesiek, Brent, Anne Dare, Julia Thompson, and Tiago Forin. (2013). Global
Engineering Design Symposium: Engaging the Sociocultural Dimensions of
Engineering Problem Solving. Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference
and Exposition, Atlanta, GA.

Thompson, Julia, and Brent Jesiek. (2011). Work in Progress – Project-Based
Service Learning in Engineering: Investigating Partner Relationships. Paper
presented at FIE Conference, Rapid City, SD.

Chang, Yating, Joe Lin, Julia Thompson, Yi Shen, Brent K. Jesiek, Eckhart
Groll, and E. Daniel Hirleman. (2010). Intersecting Cultural Images:
Transformative Global Research Experiences for Underrepresented
Engineering Students. Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference,
Louisville, KY, June 20-23, 2010.

Thompson, Julia, and Brent K. Jesiek. (2010). Assessing Intercultural
Competence Among Sophomore Mechanical Engineering Students: Baseline
Data and Analysis. Paper presented at ASEE Annual Conference, Louisville,
KY, June 20-23, 2010.

Jesiek, Brent K., Deepika Sangam, Julia Thompson, Yating Chang, and Demetra
Evangelou. (2010). Global Engineering Attributes and Attainment Pathways:
A Study of Student Perceptions. Paper presented at 2010 ASEE Annual
Conference, Louisville, KY, June 20-23, 2010.

Invited Presentations

Thompson, Julia. (2012). “Engineering Education Research: What it is and its
common mistakes.” Invited presentation at the Building Engineers And
Mentors (BEAM) student group at UC Berkeley, CA, Oct. 8, 2012.

Thompson, Julia. (2011). “Feminine Morality in Engineering.” ENE Department
Seminar, West Lafayette, IN, Sept. 1, 2011.

Presentations and Panels

Jesiek, Brent K., Jane Lehr, Juan Lucena, Andrea Mazzurco, and Julia
Thompson. (2014). “Frontiers of Humanitarian Engineering: Learning from
Social Justice, Feminism, and Failure.” Presented at IEEE Global
Humanitarian Technology Conference, San Jose, CA October, 2014

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Jesiek, Brent K., Julia Thompson, Anne Dare, James L. Huff, William C. Oakes,
Juan Lucena, Kurt Paterson, and Richard F. Vaz. (2012). “Panel –
Engineering and Development: Facilitating Successful Project Work in
Diverse Global Contexts.” Presented at Frontiers in Education Conference,
Seattle, WA, October 3-6, 2012.

Thompson, Julia, and Brent Jesiek. (2010). “Contextualizing Energy Balance
Problems.” 2010 ASEE Illinois/Indiana Regional Conference, West Lafayette,
IN. April, 10, 2010.

Teaching Experience

Faculty Apprentice, School of Engineering Education, Purdue University (Fall 2012)
• Collaborated closely with graduate faculty instructors to develop lesson plans
and teach graduate-level course on the History and Philosophy of Engineering
Education (ENE50200).

Volunteer Mentor, Mentornet.com (July 2011 – Dec 2011)
• Sent e-mails to undergraduate engineering students at a community college in
Virginia to answer questions about engineering careers.

Volunteer Teacher, YMCA, Lafayette, Indiana (Oct. 2010 – April 2011)
• Worked closely with other graduate students and Boston’s PBS station,
WGBH, to introduce a curriculum created by the Design Squad of Boston to
an afterschool program. We met once a week to introduce engineering,
design, and invention concepts to 10- to 12-year-olds.

Instructional Assistant, School of Engineering Education, Purdue University
(March 2010)
• Organized and led discussions and activities on sustainability for first-year
honors engineering course.

Professional Development

• Non-voting representative, School of Engineering Education Graduate Committee,
Purdue University (Fall 2012 – Spring 2013)
• Chair of Professional Development Committee, ENEGSA, Purdue University
(Fall 2012 – Spring 2013)
• Co-Chair, Communication Committee, Engineering Education Graduate Student
Association (ENEGSA), Purdue University (Aug. 2010 – May 2011)
• Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC), Purdue University (Aug. 2009 –
May 2010)

250

Reviewer

• American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference (2011,
2013)
• Frontiers in Education (FIE) Annual Conference (2011, 2012)
• Synthesis Lectures on Global Engineering, Morgan & Claypool Publishers, Gary
Downey, Editor, and Kacey Beddoes, Assistant Editor (2012)

Professional Development Workshops and Conferences

• IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference, San Jose, CA (2014)
• Friends National Committee on Legislation (FCNL) public policy institute
focused on lobby training on the reduction of Pentagon spending (Nov. 2012)
• Young Adult Leadership Development (YALD), Philadelphia, PA (June 2012)
• American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) Annual Conference, (2010,
2012, 2014)
• Graduate Engineering Education Consortium for Student (GEECS) (March 2012)
• Foundations in Education Conference (FIE) (October 2011)
• Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW) National Conference 2010, West
Lafayette, IN (Oct. 7-10, 2010)
• Engineering and Social Justice Conference (Oct., 2009)
• Energy Efficiency Workshops, San Francisco (2007, 2008)

Affiliations

• American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
• Graduate Engineering Education Consortium for Student (GEECS)
• Engineers without Borders (EWB)
• American Association of University Professors (AAUP)

Professional Experience

Research Engineer, KEMA Services (April 2007 – June 2009)
• Implementation and evaluation of various energy efficiency programs
throughout the United States.
• Specialized in performing and quality checking energy calculations for
variable frequency drives on pumps and fans and custom energy savings
related to industrial processes.

The

Role of Rural Community Colleges in Promoting Sustainable Economic Rural

Community Development:

A Multiple Case Study

Dissertation Manuscript

Submitted to Northcentral University

Graduate Faculty of the School of Education
in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of

DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

TERRI D. ANDERSON

Prescott Valley, Arizona

April

2017

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Approval Page

The Role of Rural Community Colleges in Promoting Sustainable Economic Rural Community

Development: A Multiple Case Study

Terri D. Anderson

Approved by:

Date

Certified by:

Dr. John Neal 5-30-17

Dean of School: Dr. John Neal Date

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to examine the role a rural community

college plays in the sustainable economic rural community development, using a

community-based lens that considered rural community college and rural community

context, interactions and results to answer the question: How do rural community and

rural community leaders describe the strategies needed to establish a criterion to develop

a rural community college-rural community economic sustainability? This qualitative

multiple case study took place in a rural community and its rural community college. It

involved interviewing six participants who are known as the community leaders within

the rural community college and the rural community, to obtain their perceptions about

the value of implementing an established criterion in their leadership roles to alleviate the

problems between the two in the establishment of a sustainable economic community

development in partnership with the rural community college. Participants were

interviewed in an informal setting, and further participated by explaining more fully how

they believed the partnership of sustainable economic development between the

rural

community and its rural community college in establishing a working criterion would

enhance opportunities for the community as a whole. The analysis of responses received

by all the participants revealed they all agreed that establishing a criteria of sustainable

economic community development the best approach for engaging the community in a

partnership with the community college and thereby maximizing opportunities for them

to attain success in future sustainable economic growth between the rural community and

its rural community college. In addition, all the participants expressed support for more

partnerships between the two to enable them to be better community and community

iii

college leaders in promoting sustainable economic community development. The

findings of this study implied that not all leaders were adequately prepared to work

effectively in partnership, and it is recommended that leadership roles within the rural

community and rural community college establish a criterion of engaging all leaders

within the two in on-going involvement in the acquisition of skills required for

addressing the needs and sustainable economic community development in partnership

with its rural community college

Dedication

I dedicate this to the memory of my Dad and Mom, Warren and Katie Anderson, and my

best bud of a brother, Warren S. I miss you all so much.

Acknowledgements

It is with the upmost respect and gratitude I pay to my wonderful Chair, Dr. Robin

Buckley. Dr. Buckley was there for me at just the right time to lead me to the conclusion

of this wonderful, and arduous, journey. She knew exactly what I needed at a particular

time, and offered sincerity, praise, toughness, and that little extra push. I still have my

nose plug and arm floaties, and am so happy to have traveled that stream with you, Dr.

Buckley. I will take you with me in my heart all the days of my life.

The NCU staff were especially professional, kind, and went out of their way to

assist me with all my crazy questions. Thank you for that.

To the NCU faculty I worked with throughout my journey who were always

generous in their encouragement and coaching, which I needed in abundance. Hands

down, the best of their kind.

To my precious friends and colleagues. You have made me feel so loved and I

will always be grateful for that.

And to the one I treasure above all else, David.

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ………………………………………………………………………………………… 1
Background ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Statement of the Problem …………………………………………………………………………….

Purpose of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………..

Research Questions …………………………………………………………………………………….

Nature of the Study …………………………………………………………………………………….

Significance of the Study …………………………………………………………………………….

Definition of Key Terms ……………………………………………………………………………

Summary …………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter 2: Literature Review ……………………………………………………………………………….

Documentation ………………………………………………………………………………………… 17
The Public Agenda of Accountability in Higher Education ……………………………

Building the Public Trust …………………………………………………………………………..

Community Engagement in Higher Education ……………………………………………..

The Characterization of Rurality ………………………………………………………………..

The Concept of Community……………………………………………………………………….

The Role of Rural Community Colleges ……………………………………………………..

Summary …………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter 3: Research Methods ………………………………………………………………………………

Research Methods and Design ……………………………………………………………………

Population ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Sample……………………………………………………………………………………………………. 66
Materials/Instruments ……………………………………………………………………………….

Data Collection, Processing, and Analysis …………………………………………………..

Assumptions …………………………………………………………………………………………….

Limitations ………………………………………………………………………………………………

Delimitation …………………………………………………………………………………………….

Ethical Assurances ……………………………………………………………………………………

Summary …………………………………………………………………………………………………

Chapter 4: Findings …………………………………………………………………………………………….80
Context ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

The Community College ……………………………………………………………………………

Regional Identity and Attitude …………………………………………………………………… 84
Small, Rural, Comprehensive Institution ……………………………………………………..

Community Attuned…………………………………………………………………………………. 85
Dynamic Approach …………………………………………………………………………………..

The Community ……………………………………………………………………………………….

Regional Identity and Attitude ……………………………………………………………………

A Sense of Place ……………………………………………………………………………………… 88
A Sense of Time………………………………………………………………………………………. 90

vii

A Sense of Work ………………………………………………………………………………………

Summary: Context ……………………………………………………………………………………

Process ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

Community and Community Leadership and Partnership ………………………………

Community College Regionally Driven Instructional Programs ……………………..

Community and Community College Presence …………………………………………….

Summary: Process …………………………………………………………………………………….

Results …………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Improved Economy and Skilled Workforce ………………………………………………… 98
Strengthen Community College and Community Leadership ……………………….

101

Summary: Results ……………………………………………………………………………………102
Evaluation of Findings: Chapter Four ……………………………………………………….103

Chapter 5: Implications, Recommendations and Conclusions …………………………………106
Implications…………………………………………………………………………………………….107
Limitations ……………………………………………………………………………………………..108

Significance…………………………………………………………………………………………….109
Implications…………………………………………………………………………………………….110
Recommendations ……………………………………………………………………………………119
Conclusions …………………………………………………………………………………………….123

References …………………………………………………………………………………………………………126

Appendices ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..138
Appendix A: Test Instrument: Interview Protocol…………………………………………………139
Appendix B: Test Instrument: Informed Consent Document ………………………………….141

Chapter 1: Introduction

The work of rural community colleges is tied inherently to their local rural

communities by virtue of the founding legislation and mission of the community college

(Miller & Deggs,

2012).

The connections, interactions, and actions of a rural community

college flow from and into the community. The college typically plays a vital role in

myriad aspects of the community (Crookston & Hooks, 2012). Rural community

colleges serve their surrounding community area in an effort to educate, to create a

trained workforce, and to alleviate outmigration. Any employment growth and decline in

a given rural county is often influenced by the larger economic and political context

(Crookston & Hooks, 2012). In this era of accountability, developing a more

comprehensive understanding of rural community colleges’ relationships, roles, and

results in their respective rural communities, especially with regard to economic

sustainability, is important. The nature of the rural community college and community

sustainable economic development and the results of these efforts are important yet

challenging to understand.

As a result of budgetary issues due to shrinking state budgets, rural community

colleges must compete for support with other social institutions and initiatives, in

particular policing, incarceration, and health care (Crookston & Hooks, 2012, p. 35). For

many rural community citizens in the United States, the standard of living and the

prospects of a better future are diminished by a lack of proximity to urban areas, such as

out-of-date technology, poor public transportation, geographic isolation, and more

importantly, a lack of comprehensive education delivery system (Goldrick-Rab, 2011).

Rural community colleges must additionally begin to prepare their community citizens

for the technological, economic, and societal changes that have emerged in the twenty-

first century (Ashford, 2013).

Background

In the late 1960s, rapid changes hit Arkansas State higher education. The

legislature began to look seriously at junior colleges for the state. It was deemed that

every county could have one (Higher Education in Arkansas, 2014). The main financial

burden was to rest with local communities who would have to authorize a millage to

support the schools. This became a major stumbling block until the early 1990s when

Arkansas State University recruited Dr. Les Wyatt as president (Higher Education in

Arkansas, 2014). His presidency ushered in the new emphasis on different methods of

program delivery, including distance learning and the development of community

colleges throughout the state under the ASU umbrella. These included Arkansas State

University Mountain Home in 1995 (Higher Education in Arkansas, 2014). The

community college was brought into the state-wide campus of ASU which included

appropriate funding, that the local community would contribute to but would not be

solely responsible for. As a result, enrollment went up for the community college even

though it was located in a rural community, which was a major factor in its continuing

development (Higher Education in Arkansas, 2014).

While these state level changes in community college funding were taking place,

on the national level the concept of community engagement and development has

garnered increasing interest among institutions of higher education in recent years,

especially in relation to the question of higher education’s benefit to the public (Ashford,

2013). This mounting interest is evidenced by the Carnegie Foundation’s establishment

of a new elective classification focused on institutions of higher learning with special

commitments in the area of community engagement. The Foundation defines such

engagement as “the collaboration between institutions of higher education and their

larger communities for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a

context of partnership and reciprocity” (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of

Teaching, 2015, p. 1).

In this era of accountability, developing a more comprehensive understanding of

rural community colleges’ relationships, roles, and results in their respective rural

communities, especially with regard to sustainability, is important (Ewell, 2011). As a

result, rural community colleges are now being faced with challenges and conditions that

threaten their existence. Chief among these serious challenges are inadequate state

funding, shrinking student population resulting in the inability to attract and retain

credentialed faculty and staff, lower property tax values resulting in lower tax revenues,

and, more importantly, an inability to maintain technology demands necessary for the

twenty-first century (Hicks & Jones, 2011). The stability of an important community

agency and the rural community college may be questionable (Miller & Deggs, 2012).

Statement of the Problem

The rural community college and the rural community are at a crossroads as rural

community colleges face shortages in leadership, budget, faculty, and more importantly,

the students (Evans et al., 2015). The rural community college draws from its rural

community to fulfill these shortages. The reasons for the shortages have been attributed

to the additional burden of community colleges surviving in a market system that have

been catapulted in both the private sector and public institutions into a global arena

(Crookston & Hooks, 2012). The promise and openness of the rural community college

and the fluctuating boundaries between community and college are both its strength and

its greatest challenge (Mellow & Heelan, 2008). Rural community colleges must depend

on the rural community to be a collaborative sustainable member (Evans et al., 2015).

The problem was that there were no established criteria for leadership in strategies for the

partnership of the rural community and its rural community college in creating a

productive avenue to encourage sustainable economic between the two (Yang et al,

2015).

The specific problem of the rural community college in sustainable economic

rural community development is that some of the community college and community

stakeholders were not experienced in their leadership roles, and that the lack of an

established criterion in the economic sustainability development could be directly

affecting their potential growth (Simmons et al., October 2015). There is limited research

available that assess the quality of sustainable economic development between the

college and the community (Evans et al., 2015). The literature findings on sustainability

can be found through the fields of scientific, political, economic, technical, social, and

academic (Miller & Deggs, 2012). Although the term sustainability is a far-reaching topic

of discussion and is an issue of concern in many facets of society, the literature for rural

community colleges in sustainable economic development with its rural community has

been found to be limited due to the nature of the subject matter (Simmons et al., October

2015). Currently, few empirical studies have examined the nature in conjunction with

rural community colleges and their sustainable economic development for rural

communities to facilitate or improve this collaboration (Evans et al., 2015).

Exploring the connection between the rural community college and its rural

community in their understanding of sustainable economic development was utilized a

semi-structured interview process with the college leadership team and the community

leaders, along with a document review to ensure the desired results from the perspective

of all stakeholders involved (Yang et al., 2015). The context was unique enough to

warrant a careful study and the results may be informative in understanding the

relationship between the rural community college’s sustainable economic rural

community developments (Yang et al., 2015). The lack of an established criterion for the

rural community college in promoting sustainable rural community economic

development defines the problem to be investigated in this study.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the place-based

context of a rural community sustainable economic development within the rural

community college environment, the college-community interaction, and the resulting

impact on community sustainable economic development. To build an in-depth picture

of this interaction, the Arkansas State University (ASU) Mountain Home two-year

community college, which serves fewer than 2,000 students and the Mountain Home

rural community of 13,000 of people, served as the site (Higher Education in Arkansas,

2014). A semi-structured interview process with six purposively sampled leading

individuals in the rural community and the rural community college was utilized, along

with document review of memoranda of understanding, marketing materials, news

articles, policy and procedures, committee meeting minutes, and program evaluation

reports. Participants included business and industry executives and educational officials

from the college. Including a variety of key community leaders was important for

understanding the rural community college’s role in the rural community’s sustainability

development (Stake,

2013).

To secure the kind of information sought, open-ended questions were used in 60-

90 minute interviews. Ultimately, this research study provided a description of the case,

which is the rural community college and the sustainable economics of the rural serving

community, an analysis of the themes related to the process of college-community

interaction, an analysis of the themes related to the results of the college-community

engagement, and an in-depth understanding of the many facets and complexities of the

case and the phenomenon of interest to reveal interactions of the many constituents and

variables, the many perspectives of stakeholders on what works and what does not work,

and the multi-layered and sometimes contradictory experiences of the players in this

drama (Marshall and Rossman, 2011).

Research Questions

The specific research questions that guided this study were:

RQ1. How do community and community college leaders describe the

strategies needed to develop a rural community college-rural

community economic sustainability?

RQ2. How do community and community college leaders describe changes in

the sustainable economic relationship between the rural community college-rural

community?

RQ3. What do community and community college leaders perceive to be

effective strategies for promoting sustainability for the alliance of rural

community-rural community college?

Nature of the Study

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore rural

community sustainable economic development within the rural community college

environment, and perspectives on critical factors relating to the sustainability. The intent

was to provide a view of college-community interactions and results.

According to Schwandt (2010), the interpretive researcher seeks to understand the

complex world of lived experience from the point of view of those who lived it (p. 221).

Indeed, the researcher’s concern for understanding the emic perspective and meaning

people construct as they interact in their social worlds is central to interpretive research

(Marshall & Rossman, 2011). Additionally, the approach of the interpretive researcher is

holistic (Schwandt, 2010). According to Stake (2013), the researcher must look at

interconnections and context – temporal, spatial, historical, political, economic, cultural,

social, and personal. Additionally, interpretive research is inductive and oriented toward

discovery and exploration, minimizing investigator manipulation of the study setting

(Yin, 2011).

These conceptual tenets of the interpretive paradigm translate pragmatically to

five central characteristics of interpretive research (Marshall & Rossman, 2011). These

characteristics align with the purpose of the study; to understand the meaning that

individuals construct as they live and interact with their social world; to be the primary

instrument for data collection and analysis, thus able to be responsive to the context and

data collection situations; to conduct research in the field to become familiar with both

the context and the participants in the study; to use inductive research strategy; and for

the study to be descriptive and interpretive (Marshall & Rossman,

2011).

The case study strategy was chosen because of its emphasis on understanding

processes and contexts (Lee & Roth, 2009). The strategy aligned with the focus of this

study, which was the interaction of a rural community college and a rural community.

Additionally, the case study strategy supported the inquiry into the relationships that exist

among an environment context, and organization, and social processes (Yin, 2011). The

key feature of the case study approach was on understanding processes as they occur in

their context rather than method or data (Schwandt, 2010, p. 233). To understand the

complex phenomenon of the case study, it was important to view it through the emic,

experiential perspective of the study participants in order to make conceptual, theoretical

sense of the case (Gall et al., 1999).

To conduct the qualitative research study, participants included six rural

community leaders and rural community college administration officials. The

participants were interviewed by the researcher. The interviews were utilized to

determine the relationship between leadership practices, rural college and community

cultures, and to ascertain the effects of the sustainable economic development.

Additionally, a review of the documents, both historical and recent, was conducted to

determine an overview of the variables of a shared vision and process of sustainable

economic development within the rural community and its community college.

Examination of the data analysis revealed several major themes and five significant

findings:

1. The rural community defines itself through a regional, rural lens and is

characterized by an interconnectedness of its people to the land and to the history

of the region.

2. The rural community college and the rural community invest in reciprocal

partnerships and collaborate on mutually beneficial economic pursuits.

3. An improved regional economy and skilled-up workforce are identified as

positive rural community changes, and the rural community college’s

contributions to those

positive changes are cited as a

public

benefit.

4. A rural community leadership network with increased confidence in

collaboration, understanding of the rural community assets, and efficacy in rural

community economic sustainability development is recognized as a positive rural

community change, and the rural community college’s contributions to those

positive changes are cited as a public benefit.

5. An enhanced rural community image and an optimistic rural community outlook

are identified as positive rural community change, and the rural community

college’s contributions to those positive changes are cited as a public benefit.

When these findings are taken into account with the related literature, this study offers

consideration for practice and further research among rural community college, civic, and

policy leaders.

Significance of the Study

This study is significant for two reasons: (a) the need to better understand the

rural community college impact on the local economic development in the rural setting;

and (b) the opportunity to contribute to the scholarly literature on rural community

college and community economic sustainability and to the scholarly literature on rural

community engagement in higher education. The understandings and expectations of the

public always matter to public institutions, but in an environment where calls for

accountability are increasing at the same time resources are diminishing, the stakes

become even higher. As a result, the rural community college and the rural community

are at a crossroads as rural community colleges face a plethora of shortages in leadership,

budget, faculty, and more importantly, the students (Flora & Flora, 2013). The reasons

can be attributed to the twenty-first century bringing the additional burden of community

colleges surviving in an emerging market system that have been catapulted both the

private sector and public institutions into a global arena (Crookston & Hooks, 2012).

Rural community colleges need to reflect on the requirements of their rural community

and be a collaborative strategic sustainable alliance member. However, these

partnerships often are job specific, narrow in focus, and are aligned with a specific

business in the community. One of the primary reasons for the lack of research data are

that typically most educational reforms do not have longevity (Caffarella & Daffron,

2013). An additional constraint is of time- and place-bound individuals needing current

higher educational training and connections to rural community businesses for

cooperative work experience. Because of the combination of these factors, rural

communities and rural community colleges are becoming isolated because of not having

greater access to what the current economic trends have to offer from the benefits that

may be afforded them – expansion in workforce development, innovative faculty

positions, as well as opportunities to use the community as a classroom (Torres et al.,

2013).

The nature of the rural community college and community sustainable economic

development and the results of these efforts are important to understand, yet challenging

to analyze and communicate. The “promise and openness [of the rural community

college], and the fluctuating boundaries between community and college, are both [its]

strength and [its] greatest challenge” (Mellow & Heelan, 2008, p. 14). Thus, the

utilization of systems and external perspectives, which take into account that the whole is

greater than the sum of its parts, proved to be a helpful lens for the endeavor of

understanding the impact of a rural community college on its local rural community

sustainability for development (Ashford, 2013; Hicks & Jones, 2011; Jacobs, 2012). The

rural community college, in most of rural America, is one of, if not the only, entity that

offers a comprehensive program of workforce training, yet issues of institutionalization

of reforms within an organization, particularly located in a rural community, are

problematic to sustain. There are few studies from this particular lens that have actually

examined the sustainability of reforms over a long period of time (Grayson, 2012). This

study has provided critical insight into developing a better understanding of the problems

facing the rural community college in promoting sustainable economic rural community

development.

Definition of Key Terms

Accountability and Public Benefits. The delegation of authority down the chain

of command in institutions of higher learning and public service organizations show that

it is a long distance from the initial delegation of authority starting from governors and

legislators to state higher education boards and ultimately to the professors providing the

instruction, research, and service that benefit the local community. Ultimately, the

benefits are for the general public and, more importantly, students, businesses,

governments, and social and civic organizations (Altbach, Gumport, & Berdahl, 2011).

Accountability Community Colleges. Degree attainment goals in the rural

community college include increasing prominence for them. However, this also creates

greater scrutiny in the form of accountability. What can offset this accountability is the

technology along with the new generation of accountability measures that are appropriate

to the distinctive rural community college mission, can be made available to meet this

challenge (Ewell, 2011).

Arkansas Rural Community Colleges. Citizens of rural Arkansas are typically

less educated than urban citizens although civic pride and sense of satisfaction with

quality of life often seem stronger in rural communities (Deggs & Miller, 2011).

Educational attainment analysis shows that given the educational opportunities that urban

citizens have, rural community citizens see education as the key to strengthening their

rural community because it is the means for improving the knowledge and skill level of

the citizens (Deggs & Miller, 2011).

Asset-Based Rural Community Sustainability. The asset-based approach to

rural community sustainability provide a common framework for linking what has been

regarded as disparate approaches to reporting on sustainable economic development in

rural community communities. The recognition that those involved have different

responsibilities for different mixes of assets is the key to understanding how information

and action can be combined to develop the level of sustainability that is sought (Chesson,

2013).

Higher Education Classification. Globalization has been forcing change across

all higher educational institutions. These institutions are now placing a premium on

education and degree attainment. Because higher education plays a fundamental role in

creating competitive advantages, there is increasing emphasis value of performance

assessment within educational institutions. Accordingly, many governmental agencies are

restructuring higher education system to ensure they can compete better by creating

classifications for educational institutions (Hazelkorn, 2013).

Institutional Effectiveness. The current assessment movement in higher

education appears to be heavily student focused. The current thinking is that the

usefulness of the faculty, administration, and institutional assessment, i.e., effectiveness,

depends in large part on how effectively students are assessed (Astin & Antonio, 2012).

Outmigration. The challenge facing governments is how to entice more students

to acquire a postsecondary education so that a socially optimum number of students in the

region attend college. A theory of investment in human capital, such as students, is that

they can make decisions about their level of education based on the benefits of going to

college along with the cost level (Toutkoushian & Hillman, 2012). As a result, policies

(such as financial subsidies to students or to designated postsecondary institutions) that

reduce the private cost to students of investing in human capital, which in turn would

cause some students who were at the margin for attending college to conclude that it is

now in their best interest to pursue a postsecondary education (Toutkoushian & Hillman,

2012).

Rural America. Since 2010, it has been determined through statistics of the

regions that unprecedented numbers of low-wage, low-skill jobs continue to be created in

rural areas of the nation due to the mobility of people. Consequently, these jobs are being

filled by culturally and linguistically diverse individuals. As a consequence of this

mobility, it has been determined that many rural areas are now becoming just as diverse

as urban areas (Reed, 2010). The changing demographics of rural America suggests that

rural community colleges with these diverse populations are more likely to hold negative

views of multicultural education.

Rural Community Colleges. College attendance stakes are higher in the twenty-

first century than ever before, both in terms of costs and the potential benefits to students

and society. To become economically self-sufficient in information driven world

economy, some form of postsecondary education is all but essential in order to thrive in

the world, not just survive (Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, & Whitt, 2010). As a consequence,

unprecedented numbers of historically underserved students are coming to campuses,

including the rural community college.

Rural Development. Statistical data has proven that there are many rural

communities in the United States that are economically depressed since the turn of the

century. Nonetheless, while many poor rural communities are geographically isolated

with small populations, they are more likely to be rich in social capital (Ring, Peredo, &

Chrisman, 2010). As a result, the nature of the social capital in these rural communities

can either facilitate or constrain the development of business networks in their totality.

Rural community level conditions that might increase the probability of business network

effectiveness almost always include a rural community college.

State Accountability Standards. What has been happening to teaching over the

last decade or so bears a close resemblance to what has been happening in other areas of

the public sector, nationally and internationally. Health provision, housing, employment

and welfare services have experienced a period of restructuring, driven by many of the

same impulses and arguments as those which have become well known to people

involved in education (Mahony & Hextall, 2013). This idea has been internationally

based on the idea of taking managerial and organizational approaches developed within

the private sector and applying them to public policy. This drive provides one way of

understanding the enormous significance being attributed to the concept of standards

(Mahony & Hextall, 2013).

Sustainable Economic Rural Community Development. Rural communities

that are socially equitable and economically viable are suitably positioned to respond to

changes in the built environment, changes which ultimately impact the health of the

communities. A community is a rich source of capital, which can be used as a powerful

means to shape local solutions for sustainable economic development (Roseland, 2012).

Summary

In summary, while the rural community college’s connection to the local rural

community is largely inherent, a full understanding of community college-community

interaction and the impact of those interactions on the community as a whole is often

difficult to articulate. Given the context of today’s accountability requirements, it is

advantageous to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the rural community

college with regard to the sustainable economic development of the rural community,

both for impact and public benefit.

Examining the place-based relationship of a rural community and a rural serving

community college through a system lens is the focus of this study. The intent is to

provide a community based view of community college-community contexts,

interactions, and results by answering the question: How does the rural community

college impact the sustainable economic development of the rural community? The

significance of this study resides both inside and outside the community college. For

community college practitioners such as me, a clearer understanding of the impact of

rural community college endeavors on the rural community as a whole is important. For

the public and for policy-makers, a clearer understanding of the impact of rural

community college endeavors on the sustainable economic development with the rural

community as a whole is perhaps more important. Scholastically, this study may

contribute to the literature on rural community colleges and rural community sustainable

economic development and to the scholarly literature on rural community engagement in

higher education.

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Researchers have studied the changing role of the rural community college, the

rural community, and the challenges faced by these colleges and communities, the growth

or decline at a rural community college, as well as the growth or decline of a rural

community. The literature on sustainability is diverse and drawn from a multiple of

fields: scientific, political, technical, social, and academic. Due to the complexity of the

topic and the extensiveness of the literature on the subject, it is not reasonable to cover its

entire history or its impact globally. Rather, this review is intended to introduce

economic sustainability with a rural community-rural community college. An analysis of

the economic sustainability between the rural community and its rural community college

in identifying an established criterion in ways to partnership between the two for public

benefit is the focus of this review. The following literature review will provide a

summary of the current literature available related to this study, both directly and

indirectly.

Documentation

The review of the literature is an emergent and recursive process. A number of

keyword searches have been conducted thus far in article databases such as ERIC,

EbscoHost, FirstSearch, ProQuest Gale Academic OneFile, SAGE Journals Online and

Knowledge, SAGE Navigator, as well as Academic Search Premier and LexisNexis.

Additional exploratory searches have been in Dissertation Abstracts in ProQuest

Dissertations and Theses. Further keyword searches were utilized in the Northcentral

University Library Databases Catalog, WorldCat Catalog, Annual Reviews, Ebrary,

Taylor & Frances Online, Web of Knowledge, and Wiley Online Library. Occasionally,

Google Scholar, Informaworld, and the Community College Research Center will be

conducted.

Represented keywords that will be utilized during the review of scholarly

literature will include: rural areas; rural America; rural education; rural community

college sustainability development; rural community colleges; rural development; rural

sustainability development; community development; community sustainability;

economic development; rural community colleges and community sustainability

development; place-based education; place-based theory; Arkansas community colleges;

community colleges and economic development; community theory; community

development; rural community development; community development models; social

capital; community capital; asset-based community development; systems thinking;

systems theory; logic models; civic engagement; higher education; community colleges

and civic engagement; community engagement; higher education and community

engagement; accountability higher education; accountability community colleges; state

accountability standards; institutional effectiveness; higher education performance

measures; accountability and public benefit; and rural community college and rural

community sustainability.

To develop the framework for this study, four areas of literature are reviewed,

which addresses the following concepts: (a) the public agenda of accountability in higher

education, (b) the building of trust from the rural community in the sustainable economic

development alongside the rural community college, (c) the concepts of rurality,

community, and community development, and (e) the role of the rural community college

(U.S. Department of Education, 2016). This chapter presents the review of the literature

in these areas.

Researchers have studied the changing role of the rural community college as well

as the challenges faced by rural community colleges and the surrounding rural

communities. People living in rural settings typically have lower education completion

levels, higher than national average obesity rates, poor health, and lower than average

wage earnings (Miller & Deggs, 2012). Additionally, during the most recent United

States recession, job growth in rural America has been slow to recover and has not

returned to the levels of employment of 50 years ago (Miller & Deggs, 2012, p. 331).

Kennamer et al. noted that numerous studies have evaluated the growth of

community colleges. Community colleges are seeing the greatest surge in enrollment

since the baby boomers of the mid-1960s and early 1970s (Kennamer, Katsinas, Hardy,

& Roessler, 2010, p. 13). Two-year colleges, as a whole, project a 20% increase in

enrollment around the nation over the next decade (U.S. Department of Education,

National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). Community colleges along with rural

community colleges are typically the first to venture beyond the predictable borders of

higher education because they seek to fulfill their open-door mission and tradition of

community service (Kennamer et al., 2010, p. 15). Kennamer et al. also found that by

Carnegie classification, 42% of 2.3 million new students in 2009 currently are or will

enroll in community colleges, while the remaining will enroll in the four-year university

(p. 13).

Hicks and Jones (2011) notes that the rural community college is student-

centered, without having large numbers of support staff that would be commonly seen in

4-year institutions. There is a willingness on the part of employees to extend themselves

beyond what those of larger institutions would do. Therefore, employees at rural

community colleges are found to be student-focused which supports the mission

statement of their college. Helping students succeed motivates the employees to do the

same. This is the two-factor theory supported by Herzberg, which states that people

experience a high or pleasure from the satisfying experience working the students and

their goals for college success (Hicks & Jones, 2011).

The Public Agenda of Accountability in Higher Education

Public accountability literature reflects the public’s growing concern regarding

returns on an investment in higher education. In the 1990s, accountability requirements

began to emerge as a key challenge for community colleges and all post-secondary

institutions as government officials, accrediting agencies, and public constituents began

to call for greater accountability from institutions of higher education (U.S. Department

of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). Burke (2005b) described

the accountability pressures on higher education in America as an accountability triangle

of three entities – state priorities, academic concerns, and market forces.

This quest for evidence of institutional performance, individual and societal

benefit, quality, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness was driven, according to Murray

(2010) by the increasing complexity and cost of public higher education (p. 51). Laanan

(2011) also noted that the decreasing availability of state funding, concern over the

academic and technical preparation of the American workforce, as well as interest in

higher education’s role in society has led to the need for better linkages between public

post-secondary institutions and the local community. Krueger and Casey (2014)

observed that whether [accountability] is an asset, a tool, or a bludgeon, every indication

is that accountability measures are increasing and are here to stay (p. 56).

It was not until the turn of the twenty-first century that the rules of accountability

for higher education began to change to a paradigm of state level accountability,

according to Flora and Flora, (2014). Myriad federal reports called for new

accountability models, including the 2004 Measuring Up report (National Center for

Public Policy and Higher Education, 2014), and the 2015 Business and Higher Education

Forum report (American Council on Education, 2015). They called for an accountability

model emphasizing public agendas and return on investments, not only for student

enrollments and institutional processes, but on student learning and educational

attainment criteria Flora and Flora, (2014).

The literature reflected the emergence of accountability as a tool for state policy

initiatives, as Flora and Flora, (2014) noted that the focus of accountability is not what

state institutions do, rather how the state and its citizens benefit with a more capable

workforce and productive economy (p. 12). Chambers (2014) noted that while

accountability, access, and quality framed higher education public policy for over

years, a new outside-in aiming of the agenda was emerging, focusing not on the

institution as the unit of performance but on society’s needs from higher education, and

on a desire to measure progress to meet a public agenda. Chambers (2014) identified

seven specific elements of this new public agenda: (a) high school graduates with

increased academic preparation for college-level work, (b) high school graduation rates

be increased, (c) racial and economic lines among high school students need to be

decreased, (d) college affordability through need-based aid, tuition levels need to be

maintained at a reasonable level, (e) the number of science, engineering, and math related

disciplines should be doubled, (f) college preparation, retention, and degree attainment

must be increased for all students, (g) work to increase the quality of student learning

outcomes for college graduates (p. 25).

Chambers (2014) stated that the emergence of this new public agenda for post-

secondary education used a functional and utilitarian framing, focusing on national and

state-level outcomes and investment strategies. The United States government’s stake in

higher education accountability was made clear in the Spellings Commission report

(American Council on Education, 2015), which called for more access to information

about colleges and universities due to a lack of pertinent data and accountability that

could hinder policymakers and the public from making informed decisions, resulting in

higher education becoming inhibited from demonstrating its contribution to the public

good. Thirty years ago, Bowen (1977) sounded the same call when he stated that as

educators, they could not ignore the call for accountability. Bowen (1977) believed that

society needed facts and reliable judgments about the outcomes of higher education.

What was troubling for him was that if educators could not meet this need, decisions

made about the allocation of resources to higher education could be made on the basis of

incomplete criteria, which Bowen believed would be biased toward the tangible, the

quantifiable, and perhaps the irrelevant.

Perhaps the strongest statement about mismatched accountability measures came

from the National Commission on Community Colleges’ report (2014), which called for

community college leaders to develop new accountability measures that better assess the

unique and varied missions of the community college. The report contended that

contributions of community colleges are not easy to document and that traditional

performance metrics often reflect the culture of four-year institutions rather than the

culture of community colleges. The Commission stressed the complex missions of

community colleges within their local communities that the contributions of community

colleges to their communities are difficult to document, and the effort to do so is

hampered by a lack of appropriate accountability metrics.

Soots, Sousa and Roseland (2010) noted that the political and economic

restructuring since the mid-1990s has had a profound impact on the social and economic

economy pertaining to sustainable economic development. This has resulted, they stated,

in non-profits, as well as educational institutions alike, taking on a greater responsibility

in address the social needs and fluctuations of the local marketplace. Furthermore, it was

noted that there was an increasing need for an inter- and cross-disciplinary approach to

the complex social, economic, and educational sustainable problems that are facing rural

societies today.

As a result of the frequency and urgency of the sustainable problem, regions

around the world are now attempting to transition to the knowledge based economy in an

effort to addressing these complex changes. Knowledge production and utilization as

well as innovation and social cohesion, are some of the key processes in addressing the

issues in long-term community sustainable economic development. To this point, Butler

et al. (2015) addressed the importance of education being a prerequisite for promoting the

behavioral changes. Additionally, it was determined that to provide citizens with the key

competences needed would be the transition tools needed to achieve sustainable

economic development. The success in revising unsustainable trends will, to a large

extent, depend on high quality education with the key processes in the sustainable

development phase.

Knowledge based economies are not to be considered a one size fits all deal to

planning sustainable development, according to Gismondi and Leon (2012). New skills

and information will be needed to foster growth and that will depend on a number of

local factors and variables, including size of the community; existing infrastructure and

partnerships within the community; the depth of vision that is shared throughout the

public, private and community stakeholders; monetary commitment; and the ability of the

community to attract and retain the highly skilled workers. It is therefore incumbent for

the rural community to invest in the local citizens through education, training and lifelong

learning that would be required, such as including with the economic, public, educational,

civic and voluntary spheres. Therefore, frameworks that emphasize educational

opportunities as strategies for economic growth and community wellbeing will be the key

to the success in planning for knowledge based economy.

Gilchrist and Taylor (2016) discussed the need for community college leaders to

work with local and state leaders to define a rubric which would measure the community

college’s impact on economic, workforce, and community development. They

maintained that, with current performance indicators, the real value a community college

adds to its locality is missed. Moreover, they mused that it would be even more difficult

to measure how different a community would be without its community college. Another

advantage of rural community colleges for the rural community arise from their multiple

missions which may result in the presence of local kinship networks, according to

Howley, Chavis, & Kester (2013).

In this accountability milieu, the American Association of Community Colleges

(2011b) responded with a new set of community college accountability measures, entitled

“The Voluntary Framework of Accountability”. The association noted that the metrics

are espoused to give community colleges what many believe have long been lacking in

reporting their successes to the public and policymakers. The metrics cover student

progress and outcomes tracking, career and technical education enrollments and

outcomes. Adult Basic Education/GED tracking and Student Learning Outcomes (in

progress). Fain (2011) noted that community college leaders say the measures are fair

after long arguing that they are fundamentally different from four-year institutions and

should be judged by different yardsticks.

Building the Public Trust

Identifying the public benefits of higher education and communicating those

benefits to the public have been shown to be critical components of building the public

trust. Three decades ago, Bowen (1977) wrote a classic work Investment in Learning in

which he discussed the purposes and outcomes of higher education as being both

individualistic and collective. He proposed that while Americans have historically leaned

toward an individualistic purpose for education, there are inevitable social functions of

higher education, such as agents of social change and agents of social stability (p. 22).

Bowen (1977) observed that the public or social benefits of higher education are often

subtler and difficult to evaluate than individual benefits, but are, nonetheless,

undoubtedly present. The social benefits he identified included quality of civic and

business life; effective citizenship and responsible leadership; community spirit;

improved home care and training of children; good public health; public policy change;

specialized talent, technological knowledge, and professional earning power; refinement

of conduct; cultural heritage preservation; artistic creativity; social problem solving;

economic growth; and military power (p. 45). Nonetheless, Gilchrist and Taylor (2016)

believed that while public benefit or public good is an abstract concept, it manifests in

three primary ways, (a) by economic measures, (b) as a civic resource, and (c) as an

ethical code.

Economic growth is distinguished from economic development, according to

Adelman (2010), in that growth is concerned with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and

individual earnings or income (W-2), whereas economic development is a combination of

changes in production patterns, self-sustaining growth, institutional change, technological

upgrading, and widespread improvement in the human condition. All of the literature

reviewed in the human capital and economic growth section was concerned with

economic growth that is often measured by aggregate income. The conceptual

framework for this study is sustainable economic development because this can be an

ideal lens for understanding the impact of a diminutive income on human survival or the

things humans are able to do or become in society while still maintaining sustainability in

their local environment.

The distinction between economic growth and sustainable economic development

is important because economic growth can occur to the income scale only, while

sustainable development refers to growth that is spread out and shared. The Spellings

Commission (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, 2013) report called

for a postsecondary education system that would be accessible for all rural community

citizens, or a higher education that could be widely shared. Hence, changes in higher

education, it was believed, need to be directed at sustainable development, not economic

growth. But why is sustainable development significant for rural development? Poverty

remains a predominantly rural problem with a majority of the nation’s poor located in

rural areas, according to Phillips and Pittman (2014). However, in rural areas, the

connection with social and economic dimensions appears particularly evident, and their

joint consideration in a sustainable analysis seems an obvious consequence. This

interaction is described in the analysis of different case studies reported by Antonio

Andreoni (2011), who shows that rural systems are more resilient in comparison with the

urban areas, since they can better maintain their equilibrium with the economy and bear

the effects of economic shocks.

In the opening decade of this century, public benefit emerged as a central focus

for higher education. Community college leaders, and leaders in all realms of higher

education, were called upon more than ever to engage their external constituents to

discern public needs, establish priorities, align college mission, assessment and reporting,

so that their efforts would not only be effective but also understood. Institutions began to

find that improving the public’s understanding of the work and contributions of post-

secondary education was no small task, requiring reciprocal communication, including

continuous gathering of public feedback and opinion and continuous communication

from institution to constituents.

In the community college arena, building public support was viewed as one of the

six key policy levers of the Achieving the Dream – Community Colleges Count initiative,

led by the Lumina Foundation (2012). The initiative focused on the benefits of an

associate degree, including the individual benefits of increased earnings, improved health

care, leisure time, and opportunities for the next generation. Additional benefits included

the community for economic development, lowered poverty rates, reduced

unemployment, reduced reliance on social safety net programs, and overall decreased

demand on public budgets. Public-trust building remains central to the initiative’s

mission. Another advantage of rural community colleges for the rural community arise

from their multiple missions which may result in the presence of local kinship networks,

according to Howley, Chavis, and Kester (2013). They noted that because rural-serving

institutions address a range of educational and economic development needs, especially

for the local community, they have often served several generations of community

members at one time, thus creating unique family environment(s) that has shown to

support student development.

At the national level, American Association of Community Colleges (2012)

acknowledged the need for increased communication as it launched a listening tour in

2011, traveling across the nation in preparation for its new 21st century initiative

Reclaiming the American Dream (Reclaiming the American Dream (2012). Public

communication at the local level by college presidents and other community college

leaders was also underscored as an important aspect of building and maintaining public

trust. Spilde (2010) encouraged legislative advocacy and relationship building. Duncan

and Ball (2011) cited accountability as a pillar of effective advocacy, contending that

college presidents should work closely with elected officials at all levels.

Adelman (2010) discussed the strategic cross-sectorial alliances that are

productive allow the opportunities for shared knowledge, reallocation of scarce resources

to maximize organization (individual or collective) capacity, and shape expansion

through systemic planning and performance monitoring. The implementation of new

knowledge through networking enhances the successful strategies throughout the

organizations and builds satisfaction across the community (Hicks & Jones, 2011).

The social capital that strategic cross-sectorial alliances create can be difficult to

measure, as Gismondi and Leon (2012) points out. They describe it as to the frequency

and the value of specific transactions that can occur as a result of relationships between

groups and the people surrounding them. For instance, community owned businesses

tend to bring people together more frequently, it was noted. Investors, workers, business

owners and a variety of support networks (customers, government, family, education, and

media) can help find good employees which would result in possibly reducing advertising

costs because of the network of word of mouth. Gismondi and Leon (2012) believe that

this would help identify investment opportunities, connecting investors and

entrepreneurs. Additionally, established communities are known to be sources of social

capital and as the well of democratic action. It is these social factors, rather than the

stock of capital, for instance, that can strengthen local economies.

Community Engagement in Higher Education

According to Phillips and Pittman (2014), the concept of community engagement

emerged out of the interest in higher education’s accountability to its public, acquiring

such attention in post-secondary education as to be called a movement. Researchers

exploring the concept of community engagement in higher education have offered

various definitions, views, and benchmarks, but with a common thread: exploring the

interactions between college and community. Lawson and Elwood (2014) outlined

common forms of college-community engagement as being (a) service learning, (b) the

local economic development, (c) a community-based research, and (d) social work

initiatives. Ramaley’s (2009) definition highlighted the common thread of genuine

mutuality, that is engagement is characterized by shared goals, a shared agenda, and an

agreed upon definition of success. The resulting collaboration or partnership is mutually

beneficial to all and is likely to build the capacity and competence of all parties.

The most recognized benchmarking for community engagement was the

framework established by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

(2010) for a Community Engagement classification. Defined by Carnegie (2010) as the

collaboration between institutions for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and

resources in the context of partnerships and reciprocity, the Community Engagement

classification was outlined further in a press release about the program: Curricular

Engagement: described teaching, learning and scholarship to engage community, faculty,

and students in a mutually beneficial and respectful collaboration. These interactions can

address community-community college identified needs, thus enhancing community

wellbeing, deepen students’ civic and academic learning, and enrich the scholarship of

the institution. Outreach and Partnership Engagement: described two related

approaches to community engagement. The first would focus on the provisions of the

institutional resources for community use along with benefits to both campus and

community. The second would focus on collaborative interactions with community and

campus for related scholarship for the mutually beneficial exploration, exchange, and

application of knowledge, information and resources (research, capacity building,

economic development, etc.) (para. 5).

The advent of this new Community Engagement classification for colleges and

universities was perhaps the most accurate gauge of the significance of the community

engagement movement. Through an elective application process offered to college and

universities for the first time since 2006, 76 institutions were chosen for the inaugural

classification. Of those 76 institutions granted Community Engagement classification

status, four were community colleges: Chandler/Gilbert Community College in Arizona,

Kapolei Community College in Hawaii, and Middlesex Community College and Bristol

Community College in Massachusetts.

In the 2008 Community Engagement classifications, 119 institutions were

successfully recognized with the Community Engagement classification. In 2010,

115

colleges and universities were selected for the Community Engagement classification.

Community engagement took hold as a movement inside institutions as well. Colleges

and universities began developing institution-wide infrastructures to support community

engagement efforts. Howley, Chavis, and Kester (2013) called for both academic and

administrative infrastructures in order to respond interactively to the surrounding

community. To that end, colleges and universities developed engagement plans;

established new outreach and engagement administrative structures; generated

engagement benchmarks and outcome indicator categories; created websites; held

conferences; expanded service learning, economic development, community-based

research, and social work initiatives; and developed new community engagement

journals. Simpson’s (2011) research study of 13 community engaged classified

institutions revealed that the perceived benefits of community engagement practices to

the community and to the institution were significant enough to warrant mention.

The majority of community college community engagement related writing and

resources primarily addressed two aspects of the community engagement concept –

service learning and partnerships. This observation was supported by the Campus

Compact IOEP which identified experiential pedagogies and service learning as key

activities, and by the Community College National Center for Community Engagement

(formerly the Campus Compact National Center for Community Colleges), committed to

civic engagement through service learning (American Association of Community

Colleges, 2011a).

The literature reviewed supported the idea that community colleges have been

viewed as intrinsically more community-focused than their university counterparts, and

have been often seen as having the most successful community based programs in the

United States, as noted by Warburton (2013). In fact, Bell (2016) commented on the

range of higher education – community engagement as being at one end of the spectrum

is the huge community college network, as its title implies, intimately related with both

local economies and political preferences. At the other there is the pinnacle of private,

research-intensive universities, often having fraught and tense relationships with their

immediate localities. Yet, even with this acknowledgement of community colleges’

connections to their communities, community colleges have remained largely outside

scholarly discourse about community sustainability. As the Carnegie Foundation (2010)

found, today’s community college and community-based training system need to provide

responsive training in various delivery modes (traditional, hybrid, and online courses and

training) that reflect the needs and demands of the community and respond to the needs

of industry and business in sustaining community development with the community

college. Maurrasse (2012) noted that one of the greatest ironies of the burgeoning

national movement around higher education/community partnerships regarding

sustainability is the limited involvement of community colleges. He went on to

encourage community colleges to get involved in the community college engagement

movement and to share their deep knowledge of working successfully with local

communities.

The Characterization of Rurality

A characterization of rurality must begin with an acknowledgement that the

meaning of rural is more varied than might be expected. In some situations, rural has

been defined by data, and in some situations, rural has been defined by image. Blakely

(2007) noted that most people are not concerned with what is officially rural, but rather

understanding the various ways in which rural is defined is a critical step.

Multiple definitions for rural have been used by the government for statistical and

funding purposes, and debates over appropriate size limits have been ongoing, according

to Cromartie and Bucholtz (2008); Flora and Flora (2013) found over 15 different

definitions of rural used by various federal programs. Cromartie and Bucholtz (2008)

described the array of definitions as dizzying. The U.S. Census Bureau divides the nation

into urban and rural. By the Census Bureau definition in 2010, rural areas comprised

open country and settlements with fewer than 2,500 residents located outside urbanized

areas and urban clusters. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2013b) system, in 2010,

19.3% (59.5 million) of the population in the United States was deemed rural. But

debates over the appropriate size limits are ongoing, as noted by Cromartie and Bucholtz

(2008). Explaining this characterization on its webpage “What is Rural?” the United

States Department of Agriculture (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2012) stated that in

2003, the OMB designated non-metropolitan areas as either micropolitan – a non-metro

county with an urban cluster of at least 10,000 people; or noncore – neither metro nor

micro. Outside the OMB, both these non-metro areas have been generally considered

rural

A rural distinction, or any place-based distinction, of the nation’s colleges and

universities did not exist in higher education’s Carnegie Classification system until 2006.

This revision of the Carnegie Classification (2010) added setting and size classifications,

including for two year institutions, as rural-serving, suburban-serving, and urban-serving;

and size distinctions of very small, small, medium, large, and very large. The addition of

these categories was largely credited to the work of Stephen Katsinas and John Friedel

(2010), and David Hardy (2008), who advocated the utilization of the new classification

system to distinguish rural, suburban, and urban institutions and their similarities and

differences.

These variously defined classification systems revealed, according to Flora and

Flora (2013) researchers attempting to delineate rural as distinguished from suburban and

urban, so as to communicate a sense of their scale and scope based on the numbers of

people living in an area. Rural in this sense referred generally to a small population

available to interact within a large space. An alternative method, again according to

Flora and Flora (2013) of defining rural has been termed imaged-based. Often historical

and somewhat stereotypical, these image-based definitions of rural often have been

equated with small size, isolation, homogeneity, and a strong sense of local identify.

Davis and Marema (2008) noted that, even though America is no longer a predominantly

rural nation, rurality lingers in the nation’s DNA. It is both a storehouse of values and

the point of origin for the national mythology. Shortall and Warner (2012) observed that

rural areas have been seen as both idyllic places of peace and backward areas that shunt

the lives of rural people.

The media has used rural images to suggest simpler, slower, rustic, or pastoral

impressions, according to Blakely

(2007).

And proponents and critics have been found

conversely, observed Merrett and Collins (2009), to maintain that rural places are either

idyllic or outmoded. Indeed, researchers have found rural America to be diverse, as

noted by Davis and Marema (2008) and Flora and Flora (2013, whereby its communities,

history, resources, and issues have often diverged. For instance, Davis and Marema

(2008) debunked three myths about rural America – that there is a single rural America,

that isolation alone makes rural places and people different, and that rural Americans are

mostly farmers. At the time of their writing, they pointed out that there was more ethnic

and racial diversity in rural America than was generally recognized, with significant

population clusters of Native Americans, African Americans, and Mexican Americans in

various rural regions of the country. They explained that rural America was not as

geographically isolated, intellectually deprived, nor trouble free as rural stereotyping

would portray.

Many rural Americans, living adjacent to 80% of the U.S. highway systems,

commuted to metropolitan areas for work, shopping, and medical services. Many rural

Americans made excellent use of media and telecommunication technology. Yet,

according to Davis and Marema (2008), many rural Americans did face geographic

separation, lack of transportation, persistent poverty, and a high incidence of drug and

alcohol addiction. Finally, they clarified that more rural Americans were not farmers,

since less than 2% of rural residents claimed the farm as their primary source of income.

Shortall and Warner (2012) maintained that because of the significant changes in

rural America since the Industrial Revolution and the resulting differentiation of rural

realities, the concept of rurality is necessarily contingent. Fluharty stated it this way in

his 2012 testimony to the Agriculture Committee of the U.S. Senate, that there is no one

rural America, rather, it is a diverse, dynamic and every-changing landscape. These

various nuances of rurality converged at one significant point; that the meaning of rural,

both its denotation and its connotation, has been important to understand, one rural

community at a time. Geographic locations, sparse population, and local identity may

have been oft-defined factors of rurality, but for the purpose of this study, it is important

to understand the myriad nuances of rurality as context for understanding rural

community economic sustainability and for understanding the role of a rural community

college in that sustainable alliance.

Miller and Deggs (2012) pointed out, to fully recognize the challenges that rural

community colleges face it is important to understand the characteristics of a rural

environment, especially considering 85 percent of the nation’s geography consists of

rural areas where 65 million reside. According to Gillett-Karam (1995), Rural America

consists of low population density, low total population, low-per-capita income, low

levels of educational attainment, slow job growth, high poverty, high unemployment, and

high rates of illiteracy. Although rural areas share many commonalities, they vary in

their geographic locations. For example, Mahaffey (2009) found that rural areas can be

on southern reservations, in Appalachian mining communities, or next to affluent

suburbs.

Many of the concerns and issues that rural residents face is a result of poor

academic preparation before and during high school, which can be seen in both high

school graduation rates and rural college enrollment rates. According to the Alliance for

Excellent Education (2010), more than one fifth of the nation’s two thousand poorest-

performing high schools are located in rural areas. Additionally, Johnson and Strange

(2009) found that one in five rural children live in poverty, leading to higher high school

drop-out rates and lower college enrollment rates. AEE (2010) found that one out of

every four rural high school students fails to graduate.

According to Shamah (2009), rural parents often have conservative values, have

lower educational expectations, and are less supportive of their children in earning a

college degree. Since many rural parents lack a college degree themselves, their children

also hold lower educational and occupational aspirations than their urban peers. (Graves,

2011) states that many rural children do not have parents with colleges degrees to help

them navigate the maze to college. Rural parents worry about the costs, while many do

not see the eventual payoff of a college education, so they sometimes push back the idea.

If students do not have support from a mentor or do not feel comfortable discussing their

educational or career expectations with their parents, Graves (2011) believed they are

more likely to become discouraged and drop out of high school or become involved with

drugs and alcohol.

The evolution of rural America from homogeneous, agrarian-based communities

to widely diverse communities often dominated by nonfarm activities such as

manufacturing, services, mining, and government operations has complicated rural policy

discussions. More recently, the goals, resources, opportunities, and challenges of rural

communities have diverged (Flora & Flora, 2013). Flora and Flora (2013) contended that

the differences among rural communities have often been more distinct than the

differences between rural communities and their urban counterparts. Some areas of rural

America, faced with population and economic decline, have focused on economic

stimulation and community growth, while other areas rich in natural amenities have

focused on responding to the rapid population growth, through the provision of roads,

services, and schools. Whitener and Parker (2007) noted that given the various

circumstances of rural communities, rural policy for the future will need to encompass a

broader array of issues and a different mix of solutions.

The Concept of Community

The concept of community has been not only closely associated with the concept

of rural, but also like rural, it has been defined in myriad ways. Flora and Flora (2013)

observed that while sociologists use the term community in many ways, they ascribe to

three defining aspects of the term community, (a) a place or location, (b) a social system,

and (c) a shared, common identity. They maintained that a shared sense of place,

involving human, cultural, and environmental relationships is often central to the concept

of community (p. 15).

The concepts of rurality and community previously discussed emphasizing place

based context, social interaction, and local solutions, provide the backdrop for a review of

community development models. In 1980, James Christenson opened the book

Community Development in America with the sentence: “The community development

profession is coming of age” (p. 3). Christenson went on to note that in spite of the

growth in community development activities, the terminology and the profession of

community development remained ambiguous, as it does today. A new mode of

community development, promoted by Flora and Flora (2013), advocates an asset based

premise to community development. They have found that every community, however

rural, isolated, or poor, has resources within it. When those resources are invested to

create new resources, they then become capital. Flora and Flora affirmed the importance

of building on strengths, recognizing what is working, and seeking out success factors in

community development studies.

According to Kanter (2011), alliance building and maintenance of the

relationship(s) can be problematic given the essence that collaborative organizations are

working to develop an external (virtual) open and living system that requires structures,

processes, and resources to sustain it. These living systems require monitoring and

strategies to effectively work for individuals or teams towards common goals for each

organization. Kanter (2011) noted there are signs where instability occurs and it takes

individuals and leadership to address the fragile relationship. Fundamental practice of

collaborative leadership is to have instilled in the cooperative relationship the process for

building, networking, and moving forward the vision of the mutual benefits and

individuals’ goals for each organization(s) involved in the relationship to realize real

sustainable economic development.

Developing cooperative partnerships and efforts toward joint socio-economic

resources and shared opportunities could provide for education, employment, and

community or recreational events for family members. According to Flora and Flora

(2013), the obstacles facing rural communities is the lack of development of talent for

members of a rural community because many rural communities have not yet learned to

make the most of their young population and their talents, especially those who began life

in impoverished surroundings. They go on to say that rural communities have

characteristics of a country setting with agricultural-based economy and removed from

city conveniences and populations. Building strong relationships in the community to

benefit the community members can lead to a sustainable learning organization and

community.

Researchers exploring the concept of community engaged in sustainability

associated with higher education have offered various definitions, views, and

benchmarks, but with a common thread – exploring the interactions between community

and college. Donaldson and Daughtery (2011) outlined common forms of college-

community engagement as local economic development, community based research,

service learning as well as social work initiatives. Their definition highlighted the

common thread of genuine mutuality, which is engagement that is characterized by

shared goals, agenda, and agreed upon definitions of success. The resulting collaboration

would be mutually beneficial and likely to build the capacity and competence of all

parties involved. The authors shared a service learning model that progresses into a

graduate- level social work macro practice course. This model would give explicit

attention to respecting the dignity and worth of each individual by sharing the power and

developing collaborative relationships between students and community residents where

both are serving and learning together.

A learning community is not just an education institution where learning occurs,

noted Bragg (2011). In fact, a learning community is not necessarily associated with

formal education per se. Learning communities typically integrate multiple disciplines;

learners are taught in a cohort (a specialized group of individuals taking common

courses); and there is a concerted effort among all stakeholders to assist all participants in

building a unique culture that includes the formal educational environment as well as the

social one. Learning communities typically have two common features: they link classes

together to build relationships with different subject matter to provide coherence for

students, plus they build both academic and social communities for students and faculty

by enrolling them together in large blocks of coursework.

Based on a study by Etuk, Keen and Wall (2012), between the fall of 2011 and the

spring of 2012, graduate students and a faculty member from the Oregon State

University, engaged in an effort to identify the factors associated with rural community

vitality. These factors were grouped into five broad categories by Etuk, et al. They

reflected the aspects of communities and their contexts which Etuk, et al. deemed pivotal

in the collective change process. The factors were: (a) conditioning influences, (b)

capacity, (c) resources, (d) processes, and (e) external conditions. Recognizing some

important key features of the community and external conditions that play a role in that

transformation, the study noted that in order for rural communities to become more vital,

they will have to go through some sort of collective change utilizing these five categories.

Using past research, the study by Etuk et al. (2012), continued to address

particular attributes of rural communities present that could be worth cultivating if

vitality is to be attained. In particular, the study noted that vital rural communities have

low levels of inequality and high values. That is, a diverse economic base with farming,

manufacturing, health, and trade service industries; values that make them proactive,

persistent, learning-oriented, diversity-oriented. Additionally, these vital communities

have a willingness to invest in the community. The study indicated that today’s vital

communities are likely to have demonstrated their resilience in the past, which suggests

that past successes positively influence future successes or that current success can build

future successes.

The study of Irwin et al. (2010) statistical analysis of rural counties in the United

States found that income inequality was a significant negative predictor of rural

prosperity. In this particular study, it was found that rural prosperity was defined by an

index of four indicators: unemployment; high school dropout; poverty; and housing. In

rural counties where income inequality was high, prosperity tended to be low. In rural

counties where there was more income homogeneity, or where the relatively greater

income equality existed, prosperity tended to be greater.

It is unclear why this is the case, although Irwin et al. (2010) hypothesized that

this relationship between inequality and prosperity suggested the importance of building

a larger middle class in the rural counties through upward mobility to reduce household

income inequality. While these findings provided solid evidence as to a relationship,

more research must be done to understand the implications as well as the underlying

reason for the relationship between inequality and prosperity in rural counties in the

United States.

In addition, Irwin et al. (2010) found there were certain features of an economic

base related to the prosperity of rural counties in the United States. The conclusion of the

study found that prosperous rural counties tended to have more non-farm private sector

jobs. By breaking out private sector jobs by industry, Irwin et al. (2010) were able to

isolate the types of jobs that are associated with prosperity. Counties with prosperity

tended to have more independent manufacturing jobs than non-prosperous counties.

Independent manufacturing, an industry that is not tied to local resources and

inputs, consequently, had more location choices. These independent manufactures

include paint manufacturers, automobile factories, and apparel manufacturing. The study

also found that the prevalence of jobs in secondary and tertiary private industry, such as

white collar industries, health care, trade, professional services, and real estate, were

linked to prosperity. Irwin et al. (2010) found that prosperous counties had more

secondary and tertiary private industry jobs than non-prosperous counties. Interestingly,

the study found that the number of resource-based manufacturing, food, lodging, mining,

and government jobs per capita had no statistical significance in relationship to prosperity

in rural counties in the United States.

The findings of Irwin et al. (2010) noted values were present in vital rural

communities, namely being proactive, have a diverse population, being persistent,

learning oriented, and a willingness to reinvest in the community. Irwin et al. (2010) past

research has revealed that globalization has changed the landscape for many rural

communities. The research suggested that for rural communities to succeed in the

increasing globalization economy, they must compete not only with other rural

communities, but also with urban areas. From this research, infrastructures including

bridges, roads, waste disposal, transportation, and especially telecommunications, would

be critical for rural communities in getting their products and services to global

consumers. This in turn would assist the rural communities to be far more attractive sites

for non-local firms for their global consumers in transporting goods and service in an

expeditious time frame.

In addition to physical resources, the Irwin et al. (2010) study noted that human

resources are tied exponentially to the sustainability of rural communities. The study

specifically stated that human capital, the skills and education of individuals, would

matter in the ability of rural communities to be sustained into the future. The study goes

on to argue that this resource would be needed in rural communities with the changes that

are occurring to innovative technology in the workplace at a rapid rate.

Globally competitive firms require that technology be a major factor in making

their products and services available in delivering them to consumers across the globe.

Therefore, a rural workforce must be able to function within this technological advanced

environment. Rather than advocating for the development of particular technological

skills, the researchers suggested that rural communities should offer workforce training

with the ability to think independently and adjust quickly to a changing technological

work environment.

As a result, the study suggested that rural areas with this type of highly skilled

workforce would be more likely to attract and retain employers, which is a critical

component of a sustainable rural community and its rural community college in offering

the workforce training. Of course, more research would be needed to validate this link

with human capital and industrial retention, which would then segue to improved

economic, social, and educational outcomes for rural communities, but the suggestions do

seem logical.

In this study, human capital refers to the knowledge and skills individuals have

that can be effectively applied to work settings. Some researchers simply use the level of

education attained by an individual as the indicator of human capital, while others use

more complex measures that can reveal ability along with training. It is possible to

measure the human capital of individuals at the rural community level.

The Irwin study (2010) involved statistical analyses that examined the association

of multiple factors to notions of rural community and its higher education involvement.

They found that rural communities in the United States were prosperous if their rates

were above the U.S. average. Rural communities with high percentages of adults over

the age of 25 with high school degrees tended to have higher odds of being prosperous

than other regions. According to this study, there appeared to be evidence that the

prevalence of human capital, as measured by the percentage of adults with high school

and greater education, is an important factor associated with rural community vitality and

sustainability with its rural community college.

A community along with a community college can provide current students an

opportunity to participate in service-learning activities or cooperative work experience.

These experiences in the field can benefit both community and employer from the work

accomplished and the potential of hiring a valuable employee that has experience with

the processes necessary for the job. Jacobs (2012) stated that service-learning is an

extension of volunteerism and cooperative work experience is the element of reciprocity

that elevates it to the level of philosophy. The philosophy of service learning is mutual

community benefit, individual growth, and generosity. Service learning also has a

component of pedagogy based on the experiences and reflections of individual learners.

The difference between service learning and cooperative work experience is the aspect of

volunteerism, community benefit, and reflective process for individual growth that

cooperative work experience does not address. According to Jacobs (2012), the benefit

to the community college professional-technical program is the continual improvement

feedback on existing curricula outcomes measured against industry benchmarks.

Howley, Chavis, and Kester (2013), in their study, described that despite the

hardships many rural communities and their community colleges face, they can be

socially enabling institutions that improve the sustainability and help form the identity of

rural America, both in terms of individual communities and in terms of the individuals

themselves (p. 2). They stated that for quality of life in rural places and especially for the

sustainability with the community, one advantage would be the rural community college

due to it, in many instances, serving as community centers or hubs in providing meeting

space and other support for rural community civil groups. The rural community college

can offer various educational, social, cultural, and entertainment programs and services to

their local communities in the sustainability efforts between the two (p. 3).

Rural community colleges can offer a wide array of economic and workforce

development efforts to enhance the sustainability with the community. Traditionally,

according to Howley, et al. (2013), rural community colleges have contributed to local

community economic development sustainability by (a) providing the first two years of

higher education, (b) being a local employer, (c) preparing students for the workforce, (d)

offering basic skills education, (e) conducting contract training, (f) facilitating internships

and cooperative education, (g) providing prescreening services for employment, and (h)

offering placement services for graduates. These services provide the foundation in the

sustainability of the rural community and its rural community college.

Howley, Chavis, and Kester (2013) explained that some rural community colleges

form partnerships with local businesses as well as up and coming ones in their rural

community, to provide workforce training or to develop degree programs that align with

regional employer needs and the sustainability of the rural community and its alignment

with the rural community college (p. 3). Rural community colleges also participate in

state or regional consortia that are focused on improving regional markets, serve as

business incubators, and provide office space or technical assistance for startups.

Collaborative or shared governance needs a foundation of a shared vision,

according to Flora and Flora (2013). Cooperative and collaborative efforts by all

stakeholders in organization(s) from the rural community to the rural community college

that can learn from one another are called team learning. Jacobs (2012) noted that leaders

must work toward transforming collective thinking skills, so that groups of people within

the rural community can reliably develop intelligence and ability greater than the sum of

individual members’ talents in the workforce sustainability.

The ultimate goal is to create productive, creative, and energetic organizations

that are aware of themselves and the relationship that it has with the rural community

college and other systems and organizations in the sustainability efforts. Broadening a

vision statement to include other organizations, groups, and individuals (stakeholders)

from the rural community and the rural community colleges creates interconnection and

combined efforts that lead to the development and actualization of a sustainable

community college-community-based learning organization, according to Kanter (2011).

The Role of Rural Community Colleges

The purpose of this section is to review the existing literature on rural community

colleges. The following highlights the key themes and regional sources of the prevailing

literature. The literature reviewed was found to explore the scope of rural community

colleges in the twenty-first century. It was discovered by Hardy and Katsinas (2008) that

of America’s 896 publicly controlled two-year community and technical college districts,

553 or 62% were classified by the Carnegie Foundation as rural serving community

college districts (p. 10). Nearly a third of the nation’s community college student

enrollments occurred at rural community colleges. In Oregon, for example, the

Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development (2008), approximately

60% of the state’s unduplicated student enrollment occurred at the 14 rural serving

institutions (Oregon Department of Community.

In regard to postsecondary institutions (community and technical colleges) in the

United States, the Carnegie Foundation (2010) found that rural institutions are classified

as small when enrollments are below 2,500 students, medium when enrollments are

above 2,500 but below 5,000 students, and large when enrollments exceed 5,000

students. Rural community colleges serve fewer students, with more of their students

being full-time and less diverse than that of urban or suburban community colleges. Low

enrollments in smaller and medium-sized rural community colleges also suggest that they

may lack sufficient resources to address educational issues, and their cost per student is

higher, factors that indicate more budgetary limitations, according to Fluharty and Scaggs

(2007).

According to Benjamin, Hyslop-Margison, and Taylor (2010), a community

college shares three historical roles; education, training, and providing community

resources. During the twentieth century, events such as urbanization, industrialization,

and economic development caused dramatic changes in society. Some of these changes

resulted in the creation of junior colleges, many of which later became community

colleges.

Jacobs (2012) discussed several education movements that also supported the

creation of community colleges: expansion of the public education system, the increased

professional standards for public school teachers, the vocational education movement,

and the demand for increased community and adult education (p. 191). Benjamin,

Hyslop-Margison, and Taylor (2010) noted that during the 1930s, due in part to the Great

Depression, there was a shift in the purpose of junior colleges with an increasing

direction toward workforce development. The Truman Commission first formalized the

term community college in 1947, stating that a network of state supported community

colleges could provide affordable, accessible education for a more diverse student

population, indicating nontraditional students (p. 125). After World War II, in 1946, with

the United States having to accommodate all the returning veterans, the G.I. Bill was

created for the specific purpose to increase college enrollment of veterans which resulted

in greater growth for community colleges (p. 126).

Benjamin, Hyslop-Margison and Taylor (2010) noted that the events of the

twentieth century, such as World War II in the 1940s, the Korean War during the 1950s,

and the Vietnam War in the 1960s, led to the establishment and later expansion of the

community college to include a comprehensive mission. Initially, the expansion of the

community college was a direct reflection of the veterans of the wars. In the 1960s and

1970s, with the enrollment of baby boomers in addition to the returning Vietnam War

veterans, community colleges continued to expand. They began to become places that

would respond to local community needs, offering open access to postsecondary

education and training programs. During the 1980s, community colleges began to shift

their focus to align their curriculum with local high schools in order to prepare students

for vocational and technical two-year programs. This led to the rural community college

becoming a major focus for its rural community. A major shift in the 1990s occurred

where community colleges became more market-oriented in their goals and more

businesslike in their behaviors (p. 130).

The role of training for workforce development became a major component in the

1990s within the community college structure. According to the American Association

of Community Colleges (2011a), community colleges gained a much more significant

economic function during this time. The traditional community college mission was

expanded to include workforce training and technical skills development. As a result,

community colleges became institutions that combined an entrepreneurial college with a

workforce training center, and yet preserved the traditional institution comprised of an

open admission policy coupled with a comprehensive curriculum. Consequently, today’s

community colleges do not resemble the junior colleges of the twentieth century.

The Association (2011a) noted that a comprehensive community college offers a

wide variety of programs specific to the community needs that encompasses economic,

cultural, and social factors. Comprehensive community college course offerings range

from career and technical to developmental education, and especially attractive to many

students, transfer education opportunities. They provide many benefits to their

communities, such as the creation of job training, a competent skilled workforce,

business incubator resources, and community-based activities. Blanchard, Casados and

Sheski (2009) showed that community colleges began offering six-month vocational

diplomas; one- and two-year career and technical and pre-professional certificates; and

two-year programs of general and liberal arts education associate degrees which will

transfer to a four-year institution. These offerings have continued to evolve over the last

ten years to match the global and technology worlds of today with two-year science,

math, and information technology degrees.

The rural community college is an integral part of the community. Since 1972,

when the first rural community college was built, community colleges have been and

continue to be open to anyone and everyone from all demographics, according to Hardy

and Katsinas (2008). They stated that in order to be able to train rural community’s work

force, the rural community college must be accessible to the most remote and

disadvantaged populations. Unlike students in heavily populated urban and suburban

areas that have the option of attending several two-year community colleges, and public

and private four-year institutions, rural students often have only one accessible option.

Katsinas (Hardy and Katsinas, 2008), also noted that for potential college students who

live in rural regions, the choice is not between a community college and another

institution; it is between a community college and nothing.

In order to serve all populations, the rural community college has focused its

mission on being all things to all people, especially the underprepared, the

underrepresented, and the underachieving student, according to Blanchard, Casados, and

Sheski (2009). Katsinas (2008) said that to be all things to all people, the rural

community college has become the land-grant college of the twenty-first century,

working to academically prepare students to transfer into a four-year degree program or

vocationally prepare them for a skilled profession. The rural community college has been

able to provide a practical and liberal education at a cost that even the working classes

can afford.

Rural community colleges also emphasize their ability to focus on the student, be

flexible and accessible, provide remedial services, and adapt to their community’s

educational and economic sustainability. The rural community college has become

trusted by people across social classes. Although rural community colleges have an open

door enrollment policy, students continue to face enrollment barriers. As Ashford (2013)

pointed out, since rural community colleges have to cover a large service area, many

students cannot access transportation or afford to travel upwards to fifty miles to attend

an hour-long class with the high prices of cost-of-living recently incurred.

Since the majority of rural college students are low income, according to

Abraham Maslow’s (1954) hierarchy of needs theory, their first priorities consist of

meeting their physiological needs, such as satisfying hunger pangs and securing a place

to live. To meet these needs, a large number of non-traditional students work full time

and go to school part time to assure that their groceries for themselves and their families

will be covered. After their physiological needs are met they are able to work on meeting

other needs, such as safety, love, belonging, and self-esteem.

Traditional aged students often live on campus, work fewer hours, and have more

time to become involved with campus extracurricular activities. Nontraditional students

typically live off campus, go to school part-time, work full-time, and engage in few on-

campus activities, which make it more difficult to meet one’s psychological needs such as

safety and belonging. If nontraditional students cannot make connections for find a

community with the campus, they are less likely to become socially and academically

integrated into the college culture, according to Collier and Morgan (2008).

Scholarly attention to the unique needs of rural community colleges has

permeated research during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, according to

Theobald and Wood (2010) in that they noted that rural Americans may well represent

the single most diverse and heterogeneous group of individuals and communities in our

society (p. 2). There has to be the ability to meet the needs of the rural community

college on a declining budget. To do so that takes real entrepreneurial spirit, innovations,

and constantly watching the horizon for opportunities (Hicks & Jones, 2011).

Leadership of a rural community college is, in essence, tasked with revitalizing

the college. While pressing needs are able to provide adequate facilities, using updated

technology, serving the communities, increasing enrollment, and numerous other critical

components, the primary driving force behind these institutional efforts is a driven

compassion for meeting the needs of all students across the rural community college

campus (Hicks & Jones, 2011).

The best known research regarding the role of the rural community college has

grown out of the Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI), a 1994-2001

demonstration project to promote economic development and increase access to post-

secondary education in distressed areas of rural America. This initiative involved 24

rural community colleges from 11 states, was funded by the Ford Foundation, managed

by MDC, Inc., and assessed by the American Association of Community Colleges. What

was found – and stressed – was the importance of community colleges’ mission, capacity,

and position in the community for place-based economic development and people-based

education.

The evaluation of the RCCI program revealed three key factors supporting

community colleges’ outreach roles: (a) committed and well-funded partners, (b) a

culture of change, and (c) focus on economic development and educational access (Rural

Community College Alliance, n.d.) Evaluation of the North Central Regional Center’s

RCCI program yielded a list of success factors which included – flexible, albeit limited,

funding; a strategy to identify assets; connecting passion for place to action; new

collaborations; and coaching expertise (Emery, Flora, Fey, Hetland, & Cooper, 2008).

Emery, et al. (2008) stated a continuing outcome of the RCCI has been the Rural

Community College Alliance (RCCA), an organization of rural colleges primarily from

Appalachia, the South, the Southwest, and the Northern Plains Indian Reservations. The

RCCI seeks to provide peer learning and support as well as represent the voice of rural

community colleges regarding challenges of rural America such as changing economies

and demographics and disconnected public policies (Emery et al., 2008). The Mid South

Partnership for Rural Community Colleges, a research and technical assistance

partnership among Mississippi’s land grant institutions and southern community colleges,

credits its beginning to the RCCI as well.

In the paper Invigorating Rural Economies: The Rural Development Mission of

Mississippi’s Community Colleges (Rubin, Cejda, Fluharty, Lincoln, & Ziembroski,

2005), recommendations were made to both community colleges and the state.

Recommendations to the colleges included: (a) shift the college’s mindset to place more

emphasis on the college’s role in the community, (b) expand the benchmarks by which

the college measures its success, and (c) be a strong voice in rural development

initiatives. Recommendations to the state included: (a) encourage community colleges to

play expanded roles in community and economic development, (b) make community

colleges eligible grantees for community and economic development programs, and (c)

publicly recognize community colleges for their work in community and economic

development.

Beyond the RCCI research, there has been additional interest in the role of rural

community colleges in the communities they serve. Frequently covered topics in the

literature on community colleges included: the issues faced by rural community colleges,

especially fiscal challenges, leadership in rural community colleges, and the institutions’

role in economic development. Research regarding the issues, especially fiscal

challenges, that rural community colleges face has highlighted the symbiotic relationship

between a rural community and its community college.

Fluharty and Scaggs (2007) wrote about rural community colleges serving rural

communities which have limited financial resources. They noted that rural community

colleges and their communities share a common destiny. They also stated that while

parts of rural America are prospering, other areas are in economic decline or mired in

poverty. The downward spiral of state funding for community colleges and its impact on

rural community colleges was also addressed by Roessler, Katsinas, and Hardy (2008),

who noted that rural-serving community colleges appear to be the most vulnerable to

funding shortages.

In the second vein of rural community college research, studies related to rural

community college leadership have often focused on the leadership challenges and

opportunities related to place and relationships at rural community colleges. Parker

(2010) asserted the importance of community college presidents taking on leadership

roles in the community. Clark and Davis (2008) stressed the importance of a rural

community college president’s deep engagement with the community in order to develop

a systemic view of the relationship between the community and the community college.

Third, the role of the community college in economic development has been

addressed widely, even beyond the previously reviewed research related to the RCCI. As

stated by Phelps (2012a), U.S. community colleges have historically played a prominent

role in economic and workforce development. This role as an economic engine for the

nation was recently expounded on by Boggs (2012), who described community colleges’

quick and localized responses to workforce and economic needs. As well, Jacobs (2012)

wrote about community colleges having proximity to the local workforce, technical

training experiences, and program-offering flexibility, all of which have positioned

community colleges to engage successfully in local economic development.

Katsinas and Friedel (2010) promoted the unique positioning of community

colleges’ local delivery system to meet economic sustainability development challenges

through their non-traditional economic development programs such as small business

development centers and customized training programs. Their review of the community

college-economic development literature ended with a call for community college leaders

to get involved in community college-economic development policy formation.

Dissertations involving rural community colleges and economic development have

included Parker’s (2010) study in North Carolina concluded that the primary role of the

community college was to support economic development, while Haynes’ (2006) study

focused on the utilization, needs, and gaps in workforce education, training, and

retraining of business and industry in rural Mississippi community college districts.

Thomas’ (2003) dissertation identified successful community college economic

development programs and services in rural southwest Virginia, and Gossett’s (2002)

study of western North Carolina small business owners found that the most important

economic development activity for community colleges were perceived to be their job

training programs for existing businesses.

The semantic lines between economic development and community sustainable

development or community building have sometimes been blurred. But in the literature

review community colleges, the underlying thesis that rural community colleges’ play an

important role in the development of the community has been consistent. Miller and

Tuttle’s (2007) study of three rural communities identified four outcomes beyond

academic programs and job training included developing community inclusiveness,

developing community pride, creating a value-added community lifestyle, and being the

central defining component of the community. Miller and Kissinger (2007) maintained

that rural community college services such as economic development, cultural

enrichment, educational opportunity, and leisure programs extend program activity

outputs to influence the status and identity of both individuals and the community as a

whole.

Noting the heightened importance of rural community colleges to their

communities, Eddy and Murray (2007) advocated for collective visioning and planning

so that community expectations of rural community colleges were realistic. At the same

time, Eddy and Murray called for state and federal policymakers to address the rural

differential, recognizing that rural development requires a regional approach and that the

needs in rural community colleges are not all the same. Over a decade earlier, Valek

(1995) observed that rural community colleges were committed to assisting communities

with their most crucial needs. Valek cited community colleges’ capacity building role

through promoting cooperation, maximizing existing resources, and providing

consistency over time.

Summary

In summary, the literature on the role of rural community colleges can be

characterized as quite rich, especially with regard to rural community colleges and

economic development in the southern and north central region of the United States. Of

particular interest is the majority of the scholarly literature on rural community colleges

originating from the southern and north-central regions of the country. Community

colleges in the Northwest and especially rural Northwest community colleges have been

essentially absent from the resources.

The literature review proved very helpful for establishing the background of this

study. As the review of the literature progressed, connections and relationships among

significant concepts in the different areas of the literature which eventually led to the

tentative development of a framework that coherently linked the personal research

perspective with the focus of the research study and the chosen research strategy. The

literature review revealed that opportunities where this study might one day contribute to

the literature based as well as the daily practice.

Key findings thus far include the emerging focus on the public agenda of

accountability in higher education; the mounting activity and corresponding literature

related to community engagement in higher education which included the Carnegie

Foundation’s new Community Engagement classification; the wealth of community

college contributions to the community engagement; the many voices calling for better

measures of community college’s complex mission and impact on local communities,

especially related to state performance measures; the need to better understand rural

America’s diversity, needs, and policy directions; the absence of literature on rural

community colleges in the Northwest; and lastly, the absence of literature on rural

community colleges’ impact on the rural economic sustainability community

development.

Similarly, there was a lack of findings regarding leadership roles in the economic

sustainability of a rural community and its rural community college. As rural community

and community college leaders who are expected to lead their respective institutions into

the domain of a global society, the establishment of a criterion in these leadership roles

represent a crucial predicament. The next generation of leadership will have to be

receptive to the economic sustainable development taking place within the rural

community and its rural community college. Careful consideration and selection of

individuals for developing economic sustainability between the rural community and its

rural community college in new leadership roles with their respective institutions and

developing a succession of established criterion will be an important component of this

transition.

Chapter 3: Research Method

The rural community college and the rural community are at a crossroads as rural
community colleges face shortages in leadership, budget, faculty, and more importantly,

the students (Flora & Flora, 2013). The reasons have been attributed to the additional

burden of community colleges surviving in a market system that have been catapulted

both the private sector and public institutions into a global arena (Crookston & Hooks,

2015). Rural community colleges must reflect on the requirements of their rural

community and be a collaborative strategic sustainable member. However, these

collaborations are often job specific and narrow in focus, particularly with businesses in

the community. There is a lack of research data regarding sustainable community

economic development (Yang et al., 2015). A time and place bound constraint in the

research is needed for current higher educational training and connections to rural

community businesses for cooperative work experience. The combination of these

factors, rural communities and rural community colleges are becoming isolated from the

benefits that may be afforded them if they had greater access to what the current

economic trends have to offer, as well as opportunities to use the community as a

classroom (Torres et al., 2013).

The nature of the rural community college in sustainable economic community

development and the results of these efforts are important to understand, yet challenging

to analyze and communicate. The promise and openness of the rural community college,

and the fluctuating boundaries between community and college, are both its strength and

its greatest challenge (Evans et al., 2015). The rural community college in most of rural

America is one of a small number of institutions that offers a comprehensive program of

workforce training. The local context was unique enough to warrant a careful study to

determine what local theories and best practices might help improve its practices

(Grayson, 2012). It was critical to develop a better understanding of the problems facing

the rural community college in promoting sustainable rural community economic

development. The utilization of systems and external perspectives may prove to be a

helpful lens for the endeavor of understanding the impact of rural community college

sustainability on its local rural community development (Ashford, 2013; Hicks & Jones,

2011; Jacobs, 2012).

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore rural
community sustainable economic development within the rural community college

environment, and perspectives on critical factors relating to the sustainability. To build

an in-depth picture of this interaction, the Arkansas State University (ASU) Mountain

Home two-year community college, which serves fewer than 2,000 students and the

Mountain Home rural community of 13,000 of people served as the site. A semi-

structured interview process with six purposively sampled leading individuals in the rural

community and the rural community college was utilized along with document reviews.

Participants included business and industry executives and educational officials from the

college. Including a variety of key community leaders was important for understanding

the rural community college’s role in the rural community’s sustainability development

(Stake, 2013).

To secure the kind of information sought, open-ended questions were used in 60-

90 minute interviews. Ultimately, this research study should provide a description of the

case, which is the rural community college and the sustainable rural serving community,

an analysis of the themes related to the process of college-community interaction, an

analysis of the themes related to the results of the college-community engagement, and an

interpretation of the impact of the rural community college in promoting sustainable

economic rural community development (Marshall and Rossman, 2011).

The specific research questions that will guided this study were:

RQ1. How do community and community college leaders describe the

characteristics needed to develop a rural community college-rural

community sustainable alliance?

RQ2. How do community and community college leaders describe changes in

the economic sustainable relationship between the rural community college-rural

community?

RQ3. What do community and community college leaders perceive to be

effective strategies for promoting economic sustainability for the alliance of rural

community-rural community college?

The study consisted of semi-structured interviews with six experienced rural

community and rural community college leaders. Through the interpretation and analysis

of the data collected in these interviews, using a consistent semi-structured interview

guide, the researcher developed conclusions for future guidelines for future exploration of

the sustainability of the rural community and the rural community college.

Research Methods and Design(s)

Qualitative multiple case study methodology is often used as an alternative choice

when attempting to solve problems that cannot be solved by manipulation of the

environment by means of quantification and probability testing (Stake, 2013). The

principles of qualitative research are to investigate complex events involving real-life

experiences (Maxwell, 2014) and make meaning of them (Christian, 2014). The case

study (Yin, 2009) design was chosen in order to gather information from multiple sources

as to why the rural community college may not be aligned with sustainable economic

community development. Both Shank (2013) and Maxwell (2012) stressed the

personalization that the case study approach brings to research, enabling the views of the

participants in the study to be revealed.

The major justification for the chosen research methodology is that in being a

case study with selected participant interviews drew upon descriptive qualitative

information, gathered from individuals directly involved in the day-to-day functionality

of leadership within the community college and the community. The aim of the research

was to provide a description of the phenomenon – community college and community

stakeholder’s experiences of community college sustained community development – a

descriptive case study was utilized. The inquiry focused on one rural community college

and its sustained development with the community, with the multiple case study

structure. The definitive boundaries of the case were utilized by the unit of analysis,

which was the experiences and perceptions of the community college and community

stakeholders, resulting in a holistic design not warranted. The very nature of utilizing a

case study was that it enabled a much richer picture to be revealed (Palinkas, 2013).

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore rural
community sustainable economic development within the rural community college

environment and perspectives on critical factors relating to the sustainability. The intent

was to provide a community-based view of college-community interactions and results.

The college, Arkansas State University Mountain Home, was chosen from the

classification of small, rural community colleges in Northwest Arkansas based on the

researcher’s professional knowledge of the community and college. In choosing the rural

community college, the ability was to gain access to the community and the community

college which was important. The primary participants in the study were key community

and community college leaders, identified by participant attributes including community

leadership, which the researcher utilize a purposeful sampling strategy in selecting the

participants from within the case (Schwandt, 2010). By including a variety of key

community and community college leaders, the discovery of an array of perceptions of

the rural community college’s role in community development was discovered.

The professional experience has afforded a range of place-based experiences,

from a small, rural college in an agricultural and recreation-based environment, to an

urban community college in a technology and manufacturing environment, to a large

rural community college in a government and service-based environment (Stake, 2013).

Subsequently, the opportunities have afforded the researcher to work effectively with

local stakeholders in asking the questions regarding college and community sustainable

economic development. The opportunities with state level policy based questions around

mission and funding prioritization, performance reporting, public understanding, and

systems collaboration have expanded the researcher’s experiences (Institute of Education

Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2013).

The theoretical concept that has emerged as a scaffold for the research study

include (a) the concepts of rurality and community, (b) systems theory, and (c) college-

community engagement and the relationship of higher education to public benefit

(Gonyea, Wright, & Kulkosky, 2014). In this study, the functional whole was the

community, and the goal was to understand the community embedded in its natural and

social environment and the interdependence of its parts. Research consisted of

interviewing six experienced rural community and rural community college leaders with

questions of college and community sustainable economic development, observation of

these individuals, and document review of databases of county/city socio-economic

information, community newspaper archives, college and community websites, college

and

community planning reports, and public information and marketing documents.

Using three types of data collection enhanced the reliability of the study (Patton, 2002).

The term for this is triangulation (Yin, 2009). Gall, Gall and Borg (2007) stated that

triangulation should be used within the case study. These methods of data collection

should be used and then analyzed so that the data is supported within the methods (Gall

et. al., 2007).

A basic logic model guided the data collection, data analysis, and data

interpretation for this study, including data about the context of the rural community and

the rural community college, data about the process of interaction and engagement of the

college and the community; and data about the results of that interaction (Yin, 2011).

Consistent with a case study research strategy, multiple qualitative methods of data

collection were employed, including document review, individual interviews, and

participant observation (Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education,

2013).

Population

The multiple case for this study was a rural Northwest Arkansas community and

the rural community college within it, and the rural community and rural community

college leaders. The selection of the small, rural-serving community college, utilizing the

Carnegie Classification of Colleges and Universities, was due to it being classified as a

small, rural-serving college with an annual unduplicated credit enrollment of under 2,500

students (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 2010). The rural

community college is located in a primarily mountainous region and is situated in a city

of around 13,000 people.

Sample

Purposeful sampling was used for the qualitative case study because the potential

participants were being easily accessible and met the study criteria. The study

participants, rural community leaders and rural community college leaders were

contacted requesting that they assist in the study. The study participants were contacted

by mail, and email to explain the purpose of the study, the criteria for participation, and

the participant’s time commitment. The rural community college and the rural

community leaders’ have the knowledge and experience with sustainability between the

two to facilitate the study data. The group of participants were identified as: (a) rural

community leaders affiliated with industry, banking, and health services; and (b)rural

community college administration in the Chancellor, and Vice Chancellor category, thus

they were confirmed to participate in the study, it was the researcher’s expectations that

their participation represented a varied theory knowledge formulation.

Decisions associated with enacting closure to further searches for evidence must

be guided by the sampling as well as pragmatic constraints (Parker, 2012; O’Reilly and

Suri, 2011). Sample saturation of data was associated with this stage when further

collection of research evidence provides little in terms of further themes, insights,

perspectives or information in a qualitative research study (Suri, 2011). Although no

precise formula for sample size in qualitative research exists (Yin, 2011), the six

participants for this study were the initial target to ensure confidence in the results and to

achieve data saturation (Yin, 2011).

Materials/Instruments

The strength of the case study design was that it permitted the use of multiple

sources of evidence (Houghton, Casey, Shaw, & Murphy, 2013). Two data collection

methods were utilized in this study – community college and community leadership

interviews and documentation in the form of databases of county/city socio-economic

information, community newspaper archives, college and community websites, college

and community planning reports and public information and marketing documents.

These sources were complementary in they delved into the structure and context of state

mandated stakeholder collaboration. Four principles of data collection can contribute to

establishing validity and reliability in case study research: (a) use of multiple sources of

evidence, (b) create a case study database, (c) maintain a chain of evidence, and (d)

exercise care when using data from electronic sources (Yin, 2013).

For the purposes of this case study, data collection was collected over a period of

four months. The participant interview was supported as one of the most important

sources of case study evidence (Jung, Chan-Olmstead, Park, & Kim, 2012; Sharifi-

Tehrani, Verbic, & Chung, 2013). Interviews are targeted sources focused on the case

study’s topics of inquiry. Additionally, interviews provide insightful explanations as well

as participants’ personal perceptions about the topic (Stake, 2010).

The case study is designed to look for patterns, themes, and constructs in the data

(Yin, 2011); patterns which will identify relationships within the case (Marshall &

Rossman, 2011); themes which will describe salient, recurrent features of the case; and

constructs, new and previously identified in the literature (Gall et al., 1999). A

qualitative method of data collection (Yin, 2011), document review, was utilized (Stake,

2013). The document review examined databases of county/city socio-economic

information, community newspaper archives, college and community websites, college

and community planning reports and public information and marketing documents

(Stake, 2013). The process of inductive analysis of the data was utilized, looking for

patterns, themes, and constructs that were identified in the literature and as new data

(Creswell, 2009).

In this study, the interviews were maintained using an open-ended conversational

tone (Stake, 2010), but a semi-structured interview guide was used (see Appendix A)

with each one-on-one interview. The interview guide was designed to help focus the line

of inquiry on the participant’s actual experiences as a stakeholder as well as their

perception about their professional experiences. Instead of holding a rigid stream of

questioning, interviews were conducted in a more fluid conversational manner as

suggested by Rubin and Rubin (2011).

Data Collection, Processing, and Analysis

Prior to the interview data collection, a preliminary document review was

conducted by examining databases of county/city socio-economic information,

community newspaper archives, college and community websites, college and

community planning reports, and public information and marketing documents.

Following the document review, individual interviews were conducted. With the six

study participants, the interview process was conducted over a four-month span. This

was a good number of participants with a seemingly adequate amount of data saturation,

the process of highlighting certain data through descriptive phrases and looking for

patterned regularities was the focus (Gonyea, Wright, & Kulkosky, 2014). By reducing

the data in searching for patterns and sorting into categories, the focus became more

streamlined.

The plan was to utilize both methodological triangulation and data source

triangulation protocols to ensure soundness of the data within this qualitative study

(Marshall and Rossman, 2011). The collection of data was through multiple methods,

including interviews, observations, and review of documents, as well as data from

multiple study participants. Engaging in both an iterative method and data triangulation

process was to establish trustworthiness of the qualitative study (Yin, 2011). Essential

feedback after the interviews ensured soundness of the data. Strategies of soundness for

the study needed to be highlighted for presuppositions by the researcher for the beginning

of the study as well as during the research process.

A limited sample field test was conducted to assess the appropriateness of the

interview questions (see Appendix A). A field test can inform decision making regarding

the redesign or changing of a survey (Remenyi, 2011). The purpose of the field test was

to identify the major components of sustainable economic development involvement with

the rural community college and the rural community through an examination of the

literature and nonbiased feedback the researcher gathered about whether answers being

sought to the questions were be appropriate for the population, whether they made sense

to the population, and whether they represented the perspective of the field (Remenyi,

2011). The nonbiased feedback included one social science professor, one leading expert

on research into community colleges, and one sociology professor. Once the feedback

had been compiled, this was incorporated into a redesigned instrument that was used to

update the interview questions and sample design to measure new phenomena. In theory,

a redesign may allow for implementation of better data collection, processing and

estimation methods (Remenyi, 2011).

In order to understand the context of the rural community and its community

college, questions about the community were asked of the participants. Examples of the

questions was to ask what kind of interactions with the content of the community college

would generate engagement in sustainability for how will community members

collaborate with community college members to achieve shared goals. Their description

of the community was crucial, especially relating to the community’s challenges,

problems, and/or need faced in today’s world. Questions relating to the rural community

college was be geared toward understanding the process of community college-

community interaction, for example, asking in what ways do the community college and

community partner together, particularly with the community college leaders and the

community leaders in community development efforts. (See Appendix A).

Understanding the results (outcomes, impact, and positive change) with the last

set of questions asked of the participants, especially the sustainable e4conomic

development on the rural community and the rural community college was achieved

(Marshall & Rossman, 2011). The recorded interviews were transcribed to gain

familiarity and understanding of the interview data. Using the software data analysis

program, NVivo, the data was analyzed looking for pattern regularities and sorting the

data into categories (Marshall & Rossman, 2011).

NVivo is a comprehensive qualitative data analysis software package. The

software was used to organize and analyze interviews, textual sources, field notes, and

other types of qualitative data including image, audio and video files (Truxaw, Casa, &

Adelson, 2011). The decision to use software was based on the volume of data that was

gathered as well as the options of different software packages before the decision was

made to use NVivo. Qualitative data analysis software is often based on grounded theory

approaches to data analysis in that theory will emerge from the data, thus, the software

often has “memoing” tools which facilitate theory building from the data (Truxaw et al.,

2011).

The grounded theory approach to data analysis can also mean allowing the data to

“speak for itself” rather than approaching the data by using the existing theoretical

frameworks (Stake, 2013). While the “memoing” tools in NVivo could push the

researcher to draw a theory from the data, it was not necessarily following the grounded

theory guidelines when using this software. NVivo was relatively simple to use.

Documents were imported directly from a word processing package and then coded

easily in the computer. Coding stripes were then made in the margins of documents so

the researcher could see at a glance which codes had been used where.

Decisions were made based on sampling one package to found it will to be

appropriately user-friendly. Time becoming familiar with the package was an important

part of the decision making process. As a result, the availability of a support network

was necessary so that the researcher quickly became proficient in use of the package

(Truxaw et al., 2011).

Document Review. All data are considered in the context of the environment in

which they are gathered. In the documentation, an attempt was made to understand the

perspectives of the group being studied and to experience the insider’s viewpoint.

Documentation was recorded without superimposing a judgment or value system.

Inductive reasoning was used to examine the data, develop an understanding of the

situation, and document generalizations and findings.

Individual Interviews. The participants in the study for interviewing were key

community leaders with important attributes; including community leadership

Participants included business and industry executives and education leaders. By

including a variety of key community leaders, a discovery of an array of perceptions with

regard to the community college’s role in sustainable economic community development

was sought. The taped interviews were conducted as semi-formal in a private boardroom

of the rural community college campus. Confidentiality was maintained and the

participants who agreed to be interviewed were given documents to that effect, which

were signed by them and by the researcher. Data collection was stored in a locked

cabinet after the taped interviews were transcribed. The transcribed interviews were sent

to each participant so that they could verify the authenticity of the interview. The data

that was collected for the analysis has been locked in a cabinet and will remain there until

the time limited runs out so that the data can be destroyed.

Participant Observation. Observational techniques are methods to gather data

firsthand on programs, processes, and/or behaviors being studied. In particular,

responses by participants were based upon their experience with strategic sustainable

alliances and in which sector that they work. There were two major sectors of

participants; (a) educational, specifically university, and (b) business (Caffarella &

Daffron, 2013). By directly observing the activities, the researcher developed an

understanding of the context within which the project operates (Institute of Education

Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2013). Observational approaches allowed the

researcher to learn things the participants may be unaware of or that they were unable to

discuss during the interview. Observations were carried out using a carefully developed

set of steps and instruments, and were guided by a structured protocol (Institute of

Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2013). Moreover, observations were

important in gaining insight by describing activities or identifying challenges within the

context (Observation Research, 2011). The goal was to have two rounds of responses that

were provided by an expert panel of individuals anonymously. Thus, the feedback on the

collective responses and observation gained the most reliable consensus of opinion from

the group of experts (Caffarella & Daffron, 2013). (See Appendix A)

Assumptions

Bloomberg and Volpe (2012) defined research assumptions as basic factors that

researchers hold as true in regard to research. Several assumptions were made for this

qualitative study. First, it was assumed that the rural community and rural community

college leader participants understood what was expected from them by the study and

that those were taken seriously. It is thus also assumed that they gave honest and

meaningful responses during their interviews. Mero-Jaffe (2011) suggested that

convenient, comfortable, and private interview locations can increase a participant’s

likelihood to provide honest information to the researcher, thus, a location for a safe,

quiet and comfortable interview was provided in which to conduct the interviews.

Another assumption is that a sufficient number of participants would be willing to be

interviewed for the study. A carefully monitored open-coding was utilized to ensure

saturation had taken place from the sample of the six participants. A significant

assumption for the study was that the participants would have adequate experience to

meaningfully discuss the topic of community college sustainable economic community

development (Palinkas et al., 2013).

Limitations

The study was limited by the population for this study, which included only six

out of 10 rural community and rural community leaders. The generalizability of the

findings to other community leaders is therefore not guaranteed. It was also delimited by

the qualitative method used. When conducting data analysis, experience and bias could

have affected the results and interpretations developed. This is an important limitation.

Creating a codebook of thematic analysis could be subjective. For this reason, the

researcher complied the transcribed data and entered it into a commercially available

qualitative research software solution, NVivo, to comprehensively code, organize, and

analyze the data. Provided that a coding scheme was developed, using NVivo to develop

a system could make coding the entire data set based on the coding scheme less

subjective and more efficient.

Delimitations

As defined by Bloomberg and Volpe (2012), delimitations refer to the researcher

imposed parameters of the study. The delimitations in this study principally related to the

designated sampling frame in this study. In this study, participation was delimited to one

community which houses a community college. This particular case study was selected

because of access to study participants – community college and community leaders.

This study was based on using data to uncover the sustainability between the rural

community and its rural community college. There was a literature review available to

the participants on the various methods in using data and also to know why the need of

additional data might be needed. A multiple case study which is qualitative and holistic

in nature had been created for this purpose to understand the in-depth analysis as well as

the need of using appropriate methods for sustainability in the community-community

college relationship. Various methods and procedures with effect to usage of data could

be helpful to guide the community-community college leaders.

There was the expectation that adequate evidence would be derived from the data

gathered; however, in a case study, this researcher had to continuously judge the acquired

data for importance. Only one rural community college in a rural community had been

chosen along with six of the leading leaders of both. While several sites could have been

chosen, it was the decision of the researcher to focus on one site with the belief that even

though this delimitation could affect the reliability and validity of the study, it was the

belief of the researcher that this may not occur and did not.

Ethical Assurances

This study followed the ethical mandates of the Belmont Report (National

Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral

Research, 1979) by following its principles to protect human subjects of research: respect

for persons, beneficence, and justice. An important component of respect for persons is

the concept of informed consent (Dresser, 2012). According to the research, examining

the data was determined by using qualitative research in the form of a case study (Lia,

2010; Lee, 2010; Yin, 2009). Qualitative research can provide an important role in the

research of sustainable economic development in rural community –community colleges.

The interview process, observations, and examination of documents were used to try to

discover the sustainable development for future research. It was imperative that while

using the described process that validity, ethics, and integrity was involved. While

conducting interviews, Schram (2006) stated that a researcher cannot separate ethics and

interactions within individuals in a study. Schram then suggested four points to consider

establishing the ethics in a qualitative study. First, researchers must consider how they

present themselves. Second, researchers must be aware of the conversation and how the

participant and researcher communicate. Third, researchers must make private the

information the participants are sharing. And finally, researchers must separate

themselves from the research without losing touch with the participants. If researchers

consider the previous points, they more accurately understand the researcher and the

participants. Researcher must remain true to the research and know that they may have

some influences on the outcome of the study. Researchers must also understand that the

participants are people with feelings, fears, and issues of trust. The interview process

itself could have become an ethical problem because of its use of open-ended and

discovery based questions. However, all precautions were utilized to ensure a nonbiased

outcome.

All respondents were informed that the participation was voluntary and they could

have opted out at any time. Confidentiality was addressed by not revealing the names of

the participants, but rather using a coding sequence instead of the names. Names of the

participants in in a locked cabinet. The researcher, by utilizing an informed consent form

for the participants in order to allow the researcher to collect and use the data gathered

being kept private in order to protect the participants from harm. However, there was

minimum risk physically or mentally in this study due to it being conducted in an

educational setting. Data collection began only after permission was granted by the

participants. The participant’s privacy regarding the data complied was treated with a

high degree of confidentiality by the researcher in order to maintain honesty and trust

among the professional participants involved in the study. Ethical assurances, as per

Schram (2006) suggests, there was no engagement in practices intended to suppress,

falsify, or to invent findings to meet the researcher’s needs.

Researchers must bear in mind that their interpretation of participants answers

themselves can influence the study. Care must be taken to avoid the researcher’s input

into the narratives of the participants by journaling researcher’s input and/or bracketing

researcher’s possible bias. In order to protect both the researcher and participants, each

study must be approved through the Institutional Review Board (IRB). The IRB’s goal is

to conduct ethical research when using human participants (Northcentral, 2014). The

board does this by having each researcher apply to the IRB. The research then requires

each participant to sign a consent form agreeing to participate in the research. It is only

with approval of the IRB that research involving humans can be conducted. The research

data is in a secured location using locking devices including physical keys and online

password protected files. When the process began the task of gathering and analyzing the

research data, study participant identification codes was utilized, as well as utilizing

pseudonyms for the study participants, attributing direct quotes by pseudonym.

Summary

In summary, the focus of this study was to describe and understand the

relationship of a rural community college’s role in promoting sustainable economic

development in its rural community, along with college-community engagement, and the

resulting impact of the rural community college on rural community economic

sustainability development (Hanson, et al., 2011; Houghton et al., 2013). In conducting

this qualitative study, a constructivist perspective, a case study research strategy, and a

multiple case design was employed (Yin, 2011; Stake, 2010). A conceptual framework,

comprised of the following associated concepts, provided the foundation for the study

design: (a) the concept of community and rurality, (b) systems theory, the community

capitals framework, community development, and (c) college-community engagement

and the relationship of higher education to public benefit (Marshall & Rossman, 2011;

Houghton et al., 2013). This research study has provided a qualitative case study of the

rural community college and the rural community’s economic sustainable development,

culminating in practical recommendations for improvement of the themes related to the

process of college and community interaction, interpret themes related to the results of

the college and community engagement, and the rural community college’s promoting

sustainable rural community economic development (Andreoni, 2011).

Chapter 4: Findings

Chapter Four presents the findings of this qualitative multiple case study which

examined the role of rural community college in sustainable economic rural community

development. The intent of the study was to provide a rural community college-rural

community based view of context, interactions, and results. The participants in the study

were community leaders, including (a) business and industry executives, and (b)

community college administration. The completed study will provide the community

college and community leaders strategies to improve the sustainable economic rural

community college-community development. As discussed in Chapter Three, a

combination of constant comparative and theoretical analysis were used to analyze the

data from the six participant interviews (Draper & Swift, 2011; Suri, 2011). All

participants and information provided will remain anonymous by assigning pseudonyms

to all

participants.

During the research process, it was important to be informed of various research

designs and adhere to the most appropriate design type to ensure the use of best practices

in the investigation to produce the most useful data. In conducting this research, a

qualitative case study design was selected as most appropriate. A qualitative case study

design effectively reveals the logical use of repetition and reflection created from the use

of collected data (Yin, 2014). In this study, a qualitative multiple case study design was

conducted to gain an understanding of rural community college and rural community

leader’s perceptions about their level of insight and preparedness to implement

sustainable community development effectively. The methodical assumptions suggested

in this inquiry was based on the individual experiences of the individual, and

understanding and interpreting their experiences helps to maintain validity. The potential

limitations of the design of this study were stated, and the researcher remained focused

on the goals of the study through a continual review of the statement of the problem and

the study’s purpose. In addition, the researcher implemented several tactics applied

throughout the conduct of the study to establish construct, validity and build internal

validity. The delimitations of this study were clearly stated regarding the number of

participants, the number of rural colleges, and the geographic location. Ethical

assurances were considered and approval was gained by the IRB at Northcentral

University.

Research question 1 asked, “How do community and community college leaders

describe the strategies needed to develop a rural community college-rural community

sustainability? “Research question 2 asked, “How do community and community college

leaders describe changes in the sustainability relationship between the rural community

college-rural community?” Research question 3 asked, “What do community and

community college leaders perceive to be effective strategies for promoting sustainability

for the alliance of rural community-rural community college?”

The findings that emerged from the data analysis are presented here by way of the

primary research questions that follow a logic-model design of context, process, and

results. Thus, the four sections of this chapter are:

• Context: How do community and community college leaders describe the

strategies needed to develop a sustainable economic rural community college-

rural community development?

• Process: How do community college leaders describe changes in the sustainable

economic community development relationship between the rural community

college-rural community?

• Results: What do community and community college leaders perceive to be

effective strategies for promoting sustainable economic community development

for the alliance of rural community – rural community college?

• Summary of Findings

Individual interviews were conducted with the six community college and

community leaders to ascertain information about how the sustainable economic

community development between the two could improve. Three community college

leaders and three community leaders were utilized for the study. All of the volunteer

participants have been given pseudonyms to keep their identities anonymous, and all

information provided by the participants will remain confidential. The interview protocol

also aligned with the research questions. Community college leaders chosen for the study

were ones who were involved in working directly with the community college and

community in an effort to obtain data that were consistent among the community college

leaders. To further substantiate the findings, a database of information collected during

the study was developed as one way of helping other researchers who might wish to

replicate the study. The interviewees were both male and female. Ages of the

community college and community leaders ranged from 40-60 and their experience in the

profession ranged from 10 to 30 years.

In the first section of this chapter, findings from the document review and participant

interviews provide a description of the context in which the rural community college and rural

community are situated. In the second section, findings from participant interviews provide

insights into college and community interaction. In the third section, findings from document

review and participant interviews provide understanding of the perceived results of rural

community college and sustainable economic rural community development interaction.

Context: How do community and community college leaders describe the strategies

needed to develop a rural community college sustainable economic rural community

development?

In this first section of Chapter Four the findings are presented from the findings from

the data analysis of the first research question regarding the strategies needed to develop a rural

community college sustainable economic rural community development. The data were

derived from interviews with the six study participants, from participant observation, and from

a document review of the community college and the community. The descriptive themes

which emerged from the data analysis include:

1. Community College

a) Regional Identity and Attitude: Small, rural, comprehensive institution

b) Regional Identity and Attitude: Community-attuned

c) Regional Identity and Attitude: Dynamic Approach

2. Community

a) Regional Identity and Attitude: A sense of place

b) Regional Identity and Attitude: A sense of time

c) Regional Identity and Attitude: A sense of work

This study comes at a time when rural community colleges have been facing a public

increasingly interested in return on investment in higher education, and searching for ways to

increase that investment. Rural community college leaders have proposed that a rural

community college cannot be accurately assessed with a close examination of the community

where they are situated and their relationship with those communities. Hence, at the heart of

the rural community college mission is connecting with and indeed joining other community

institutions to bolster the community, to provide educational opportunities to its citizens not

only for workforce development but for overall quality of life. Thus, the first consideration for

this study is a contextual examination of both the rural community college and the rural

community under exploration.

The Community College. The site of this study is a community college located in a

rural region. It is a two-year community college serving predominately the residents of two

counties, as well as neighboring counties in a border state. It is situated in a rural community

with an approximate population of 15,000 surrounded by mountains, lakes, and rives with

fishing and tourism being its prominent source of tax revenue. It’s current student base is

approximately 1,500 students, coming from a two county and bordering state.

Regional identity and attitude. The six community college and community leaders

who participated in the study expanded on the preceding information about the community and

community college by offering their perception of the unique characteristics of the community

college. The data analysis of community college characteristics elicited one over-arching

theme – Regional Identity and Attitude. This theme of Regional Identity and Attitude

developed from a fusion of three sub-themes which emerged from the study participants’

interview responses: (a) a small rural comprehensive institution; (b) community-attuned; and

together, the local history, geography, and economy of the community and community college

intermingled to create a certain regional identity and attitude described by the study

participants.

Small, rural, comprehensive institution. The first research findings revealed a strong

sense that the small, rural, comprehensive institution, among the study participants, defined

here as recognition and respect for the community college’s location and natural environment.

The community college is a public, open-access two-year campus serving students in a two

county and northern border state. The campus is located in the heart of the mountain range,

within minutes from two fresh water lakes and two rivers. CL3 quantified the community

college: “The college meets a need for the local people in that it is close and they can earn a

degree and get a better paying job.” CL4 states:

“I have quite a bit of experience in university and I have seen a lot of them, a
lot of program development including program development for economic
development. I will say that this institution is a little unusual in that it supports the
physical facilities as well. It supports programming as well, which is quite brilliant,
actually. I think the community college does a . . . good job at attempting to balance
different missions. One of the missions is higher education, helping people to move on
in the intellectual rule of pursuance, and they do that. But there is also a job training
component, and I think the community college does a . . . good job of matching its
programs to the community needs, and even more importantly, of addressing those
needs. I am impressed that the community college recognizes that the basic skills gap
that is here. The mixed goal of the community college which is of course higher
education and transfer students into a four-year university and move on in that
direction, enrich their lives and the lives that depend on them. And it has a vocational-
technical goal as the two are welded together.”

Community Attuned. The second research findings revealed a strong sense that the

community attuned, among the study participants, defined here as a recognition and respect for

the community college with the community. CL 4 gives a definition of this: “The community

is deeply rooted in the community college. Both are influenced by the other; it’s a two-way

street. Those tendrils run both ways. And good for the community college recognizing that

unmet need. There are a lot of places that don’t and won’t.” CL6 states:

“Our community has two sides. One side is relatively progressive compared to
other rural communities in neighboring counties. This side is comfortable financially
and enjoys the things this community has to offer and is able to travel outside the
county. The second side is very different. They struggle to meet the demands of
everyday life and really don’t see a way out. This side is just surviving another day
while trying to meet the needs of their family. The community college is a spring board
for those starting their careers and also provide education and training for those who
need skills to enter the work force. So it helps the people who are struggling by
offering workforce development programs. I mean, can you even picture our
community without the community college now? I certainly can’t.”

Dynamic approach. The third research findings revealed a strong sense that the

dynamic approach among the study participants, defined here as a recognition and respect for

the community college. “The community college is a reflection of the community it serves.

They are tied in a symbolic relationship that is so intertwined that most people either take it for

granted or don’t see the connection at all” (CL1). CL2 had a succinct view:

“Our strengths lie in our partnerships. This is the most giving community I’ve
ever seen. The community has seen fit to bestow on the community college millions of
dollars of art, finest physical facilities in the state. There is so much support for the
community college. While we have the most beautiful campus for a community
college in the state, not just be the most beautiful campus, but to surround . . . students
with this particularly suited to learning. It shows the community values their
community college students through the physical. They see that they are in a building
usually reserved for small, expensive liberal arts campus students. So they are
surrounded by the very best and that tells them [students] that they are valued by the
community and the community college. The community college has been gifted with
Rembrandt paintings, Asian artifacts and all sorts of different art including worldwide
recognized performances that the students are surrounded with. That lets the students
know that they are enveloped in this culture of value and they belong with this valuable
artifact. I think that is very unique to the community college. The same approach
applies with the technical education, having some of the finest mechatronics in the state
and soon to be nation. Again, the finest nursing program around a great simulation
room donated to the community college by the community medical center. The

community college is investing a lot because of our community and the education of
the students, whether it’s liberal arts, science, or technical education, it’s very unique.”

The Community. The site of this study is a community located in the South within a

national scenic area. The primary community is approximately 12,000 residents situated

within a county of approximately 41,000 residents, covering 587 square miles – or 75 persons

per square mile. The community is located approximately 100 miles from a larger

metropolitan area. The primary community falls into the metropolitan category set by the U.S.

Office of Management and Budget (2012) defined as an area with a population of 10,000 to

49,999, plus surrounding counties that are linked by commuting patterns. The U.S. OMB

definition, which remained in place at the time of this writing (Economic Research Service,

U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2012), stated that these metropolitan areas often represent

important economic and trade centers in rural areas. The definition held true of this

community. A review of Bureau of Economic Analysis (2015) data for the years 1969-2008

revealed that the county’s population grew from 9,943 to 38,386 or 23.1% during that 40-year

period. By comparison, the percentage of population growth for the state was 47% and for the

nation, 52.2%, during that same time period (BEA, 2015). The county population is

predominately white, with an estimated 1.66% Hispanic or Latino population as of 2015 (BEA,

2015).

Fishing, tourism, and forest products have long been the underpinning of the area’s

economy. As well, the area’s economy has long been bolstered by two major rivers which run

through the region, and two major lakes. Today, tourism has become one of the driving forces

for the area’s economy.

Regional identity and attitude. The six community college and community leaders

who participated in the study expanded on the preceding information about the community and

community college by offering their perception of the unique characteristics of the community.

The data analysis of community characteristics elicited one over-arching theme – Regional

identity and attitude. This theme of regional identity and attitude developed from a fusion of

three sub-themes which emerged from the study participants’ interview responses: (a) a sense

of place; (b) a sense of time; and (c) a sense of work. These sub-themes permeated the data,

both oral and written. Taken together, the local history, geography, and economy of the

community and community college intermingled to create a certain regional identity and

attitude described by the study participants.

A Sense of Place. The first research findings revealed a strong sense of place among

the study participants, defined here as a recognition and respect for the community’s location

and natural environment. This prevailing view was quantified by CL2: “Our local community

is unique. I’m sure they are all but ours is particularly unique in that it is a really good example

of how a community and a community college can partner to create something strong.” CL3

reiterated, “. . . our community has remained pristine, [being isolated] keeps us away from the

corridor [interstate] that drugs run up and down. We are off the beaten path.” CL4 states,

“This community is deeply rooted . . .”

The rivers and lakes flowing through this community seems to underlie the

community’s sense of place. Surrounding by steep mountains, river valleys, and soaring

palisades, the community is situated in a river valley, the heart of the community is positioned

on the beaches of the lakes. As CL2 states “We have the most beautiful campus in the state,

and not just be the most beautiful campus, but to surround our students with this is particularly

suited to learning. It shows we value our students through the physical.” CL3 underscored

that by stating, “We have a history here.”

This sense of place, referenced by the participants, contributes to a regional identity that

grows out of the region itself, which is sprawling and rural, extending beyond the community

boundaries and county lines, and following the lakes and rivers to include two other counties.

When the participants discussed their community, they referenced city, county, and region

interchangeably. CL5 made this representative assertion: “Our community has taken on the

attitude of blurring the boundaries between the community and the state, and that is a huge

strength.” In this same vein, CL6 noted the reciprocity among these bi-county rural

communities, “We are unique in that we service multiple counties. We have our own small

airport that is beneficial to the surrounding counties. That creates this reciprocal relationship

that is critical to a rural community.” And CL1 added this commentary about the community’s

location: “We are a gateway, if you will. It’s either the front or the back! We have some

beautiful country around us . . . we easily draw from the surrounding counties and the state just

north of us.”

Community and community college leaders also discussed the location of the

community as it pertained to transportation and access. They underscored the disadvantage of

the community location with regard to transport and people, citing lack of interstate highway

and railway. “I believe that our location, our very isolated location, and we are isolated in a

different way because we are 2 ½ hours from any larger area. We are really in a rural location

even for our state because we do not have the infrastructure that comes through, we do not

have the highways that come through, we are isolated being located in the mountains. This is

our challenge to us as it relates to economics, to jobs” (CL3). CL6 further addressed the

isolation of the community: “I believe at this point the community and the community college

cannot survive without each other!”

A Sense of Time. Second, the research findings revealed a strong sense of time with

the community and community college. As the community and community college leaders

described the people and the activities of the community and community college today, they

often did so through historical references and turns-of-phrase which emphasized their

awareness and appreciation of local history and of hearty ancestry. Two historical references

are frequently linked to the characterization of the area. First, the region is recognized as one

of the best locales in the United States in fishing for trout. Second, the area is celebrated as a

critical juncture for the Cherokee Indians in their move to the west via the Trail of Tears. CL3

observed, “We have a history and appreciation of history. There is a pride in the community

and the community college of our history.”

Other community and community college leaders described the people in the

community in terms of determined and hard-working pioneers. CL3 articulated the

community’s historical connection this way:

“Those ancestors and others that arrived, in many instances, their descendants have
remained to continue the stabilization of the community. And along with that, the drive
to engage in education and slowly build a place of where these rural people could
engage in education, is remarkable.”

Other participants described the community citizens in similar terms, highlighting

strength, independence, determination, and a pioneering spirit. “The people of this community

are strong and independent. They have created a community that faced adversity and survived.

There is a lot of perseverance here” (CL1).

A Sense of Work. The third research findings revealed another element of this

regional identity, a strong sense of the community’s place-based regional economy and worth

ethic. CL3 explained it:

“The community college, in the beginning, met a need for the local people in that it was
close and they could earn a degree and get better paying jobs. The community college
was filling the pent up need of the backlog of the people in the community who had
wanted to get a degree, but were unable to travel the 2 ½ hours any direction [north,
south, east, west], so the community college was able to really fill a need for the local
people to upgrade their skills to get more money for their skills. The people in the
community are determined, hardworking, and want a better life for themselves and their
families.”

“The community provides employers and the community college provides job ready

employees” stated CL6.

The opportunities for work and industry in the community are starting to expand. For

example, tourism, small businesses, retail trades and services continue to grow. CL6 went on to

say, “The project with the most impact on the citizens of the community is the technical center

at the community college. That will fill an enormous need in the community.” CL1 explained

it further,

“The community college has been directly involved in the recruitment of a
manufacturing expansion opportunity for the community. The community college has
worked directly with the company and state economic development officials to develop
a training program that would address the company’s concerns of adequate workforce
skills to staff its expansion. This led way to a new program and a nearly $2 million
investment by the company in facilities and equipment for the community college. So,
the college started a new program aimed at moving people from unemployment to a
position of workforce readiness. This is a partnership between the community college
and a large number of social service agencies in the area. The primary focus will be to
engage individuals receiving service from any of the participating agencies into an
education continuum that allows them to enter employment with job readiness and life
skills training. This is a direct response to the community and employer leaders
indicating that more employees with higher skill sets are needed to sustain the economy
of the

community.”

Summary: Context. In summary, the community college of this study is a small, rural

comprehensive community college serving approximately 1,500 students annually. It serves a

two county and one border state geographic region described in the previous section and its

mission statement is to “LEAD through educational opportunities: Lifelong learning, Enhanced

quality of life, Academic accessibility, and Diverse experiences.” The study participants

described the community college as being community-attuned and taking a dynamic approach

to its work. The community-attuned theme referred to in the study participant’s perceptions of

the college as being integrated and in sync with the community. The dynamic approach theme

represented a continuum of related community perceptions about the college’s proactive

approach to its work.

Community leaders demonstrated a strong sense of regional identity and attitude. The

majority of the community’s citizens have a strong work ethic and community theme of place

and time, and the work ethic permeates the community college as they do the community as a

whole. The study’s participants understand their economy as place-based, and believe that

sustainable community development between the community and community college is

desired, attainable, and within reach working together. The study participants recognize that

the community college is an integral part of the community’s proactive, sustainable community

development attuned, and is dynamic in its approach to attaining this goal.

Process: How Do Community and Community College Leaders Describe Changes in the

Sustainable Economic Relationship Between the Rural Community College-Rural

Community?

This second section of Chapter Four presents the findings from the data analysis of the

second research question regarding the processing of the rural community and the rural

community college in changes in the sustainable economic community development

relationship between the two. The data derived from the interviews of the six study

participants. The study participants were community college and community leaders including

community college administration and community business executives. The findings respond

to the question: How do community and community college leaders describe changes in the

sustainable economic relationship between the rural community college-rural community?

Three themes emerged from the data analysis:

1. Community and Community College Leadership and Partnership

2. Community College Regionally Driven Instructional Programs

3. Community and Community College Presence

Community and Community College Leadership and Partnership. The study

participants were asked the question “How do community and community college leaders

describe changes in the sustainable economic relationship between the rural community

college-rural community?” CL1 responded: “The community college leaders have been

directly involved in the recruitment of a manufacturing expansion opportunity in the

community. The community college worked directly with company and state economic

development officials to develop a training program that would address the company’s concern

of adequate workforce skills to staff its expansion. This has led to a new program and a nearly

$2 million investment by the company in facilities and equipment for the community college.”

And CL2 expanded on this: “The community college works closely with community partners

to develop curriculum. They have got recruiters and case managers to guide students all the

way to a job. They then get out of the line to serving someone else. That is exactly the point.

That is a really unique thing, I’ve never seen much of that, so I am really proud of the

community college for not only using partnerships in the traditional way and doing that better

than most but from a non-traditional approach.”

This is a prominent theme throughout all of the study participant’s responses; the

partnership with industry to build programs at the community college to enhance the workforce

for not only a sustainable economic community development, but for the community college to

create a sustainable economic workforce. CL3 give a specific instance of utilizing state dollars

for the partnership of the community college and the community: “We have a history here;

that’s another thing interesting that needs to be mentioned regarding sustainability with the

community and the community college. The former chancellor of the community college got

involved with the State Department of Corrections, which is a whole other entity, to come and

assist the community college with big maintenance and building jobs on the campus. What a

way for state dollars to be used effectively in rural community partnerships to help each other.

These kind of partnerships are going to have to develop for there to be sustainability.”

CL4 talked about working with community leaders and the overarching concern was

the workforce either not being sufficiently trained or refusing to do the job required. The

example was:

“I talk to area employers all the time and the common complaint is that they
cannot get people to do a good job; they will work when they show up. I say maybe
pay a better wage and the employers tell me that when they do that, the workers will
collect their paycheck for the week or two weeks they worked, they would get a little
money in their pocket, more money than they ever had, and would not come to work
anymore. The employers have to start the hiring process all over again. They went on
to say that their turnover was worse when they paid more wages. If you can do
something about that mindset, and the community college is doing that, I think that will
improve to make it easier for employers to attract more productive workers.”

Community College Regionally Driven Instructional Programs. As mentioned

before, the study participants found that there is a strong drive with partnerships of the

community college and community industry in their efforts to produce a quality workforce for

community industry and businesses to ensure that production as well as productivity is

sustained. With this focus, CL1 talked about the new $2 million investment by a company

with a branch located in the rural community to

“. . . to develop a training program that would address the . . . concerns of adequate workforce

skills to staff its expansion . . . resulting in a new facility and equipment for the community

college.” CL5 expanded on this: “the medical facility in the community, which is a huge

source for the community college graduates, finds that the quality graduates from the

community college has been a driving force behind expanding their facilities. The community

college works with high schools, giving these students exposure to higher educational training.

There is an instructional program whereby high school students can take college course

concurrently, get college credit, and have their first two years of college completed by the time

they graduate from high school. That is and will continue to be a strength for them to continue

on with their education.” CL6 was succinct in their reply: “The instructional program with the

most impact on the lives of high school graduates, or really anyone seeking job training, is the

new technical center at the community college. That will fill an enormous need in the

community.”

Community and Community College Presence. The community and the community

college are located in an isolated region, surrounding by lakes, rivers and mountains. There is

no prominent infrastructure that comes through the community and there is no major city

located nearby. The community is considered being ‘off the beaten path.’ That is considered

to be a good thing and a bad thing, according to the study participants. “I know with all rural

areas there is a connotation of being isolated, but we are kind of isolated in a different way

because we are 2 ½ hours from any larger area. We don’t have a major airport close, we are

really in a rural location because we don’t have the infrastructure that comes through, we don’t

have the highways that come through, we are isolated being located in the mountains. Unlike

major cities in the state, they have rural areas around them and they have the infrastructure

around them, so I think that is a challenge to us as it relates to economics, to jobs” participant

CL3 responded. CL3 went on to clarify the isolation of the community: “It is also what

allows our community to remain pristine, it keeps us away from the corridor that drugs run up

and down, it doesn’t mean we don’t have that in our community, but we are not located near an

interstate. A good thing about a rural community is it allows the children to be children, not be

pushed into what television says children should be. The children are not exposed to the ‘hurry

up and grow up,’ to mature quickly. They can be children and play outside. They are not

pushed into the adult crowd too soon. That is a challenge in many ways, but the needs for

today, this is an exception of that for a rural community”

CL2 emphasized the uniqueness of the rural community and the rural community

college: “The perceptions of a rural community and community college is that I think ours is

different. It is a really good example of how a community and state organization can partner to

create a successful endeavor that could and will have an enduring future.” CL1 brings it

together by stating: “The local community college is a reflection of the region it serves. The

primary purpose for the creation of the rural community college is to bring the access of higher

education services and opportunities to a focused region enriching the lives of those served.

The rural community and the rural community is tied in a symbiotic relationship that is so

intertwined that most people either take it for granted or don’t see the connection at all. The

economic health of the community has a direct impact on the college.”

CL2 reiterates on the locale and presence of the community having such a unique

community in its midst: “Our local community is unique. I’m sure they all are but ours is

particularly unique in that it is a really good example of how a community/state organization

can partner to create something strong. Our strength lies in our partnership. We have the most

giving community I’ve ever seen. The community has seen fit to bestow on the campus

millions of dollars of art, finest physical facilities in the state. There is also a great high school

and lots of support for the community college. While we have the most beautiful campus in

the state, not just be the most beautiful campus, but to surround our students with that so that is

particularly suited to learning. That lets the students know that they are enveloped in this

culture of value and they belong with this valuable artifact. I think that is very unique to us.”

Summary: Process. The themes that emerged from the data analysis of interviews

with six participants regarding how the community and community college leaders describe

changes in the sustainability relationship between the rural community college-rural

community: a community leadership and partnership network, regionally driven instructional

programs, and the community and community college presence. The community and the

community college network through workforce partnerships that will allow the community

leaders to better understand the community’s requirements to the community college, and to

create a network of partnerships, which have resulted in developing productive and rewarding

relationships that have yielded solutions to the community’s challenges by including regionally

driven instructional programs in welding, mechatronics, nursing, natural resources, and high

school student advancement. As such, the community college’s integral role in these

community partnerships leads to a strong presence in the community as one of the vital forces

in the region’s successes. The community college is involved in the community, and vice

versa, in myriad ways, most notably through business connections and involvement, as well as

the resources and facilities to help fulfill the community needs.

Results: What Do Community and Community College Leaders Perceive to be Effective

Strategies for Promoting Sustainability for the Alliance of Rural Community-Rural

Community College?

This section of Chapter Four presents the findings from the data analysis of the third

research question regarding the results of effective strategies for promoting sustainability for

the alliance of rural community-rural community college. The data was derived from

interviews of the six study participants. The study participants were community college

administration leaders and community leaders. These findings resulted from the question:

What do community and community college leaders perceive to the effective strategies for

promoting sustainability for the alliance of rural community-rural community college? The

data analysis elicited two key themes that answered this third research question:

1. Improved Economy and Skilled Workforce

2. Strengthen Community College and Community Leadership

Improved economy and skilled workforce. The community and community college

leader’s responses emphasized the work of the community and community college working

together to train and advance the local workforce, creating, ultimately, a positive sustainable

economic development in the local economy. They talked about the need for a skilled

workforce to ensure positive sustainable economic development in the local economy and how

having the community college in the community is generating the needed skilled workforce

which has resulted in the expansion of local businesses to ensure the workforce can be

productive and beneficial to the local economy. “The community college doesn’t rest on

success. The community college continues to pursue programs that will benefit and contribute

to the health and sustainability of the community” (CL6). CL1 emphasized the pubic

beneficial aspects of the community college’s contributions: “The community college

continues to be on the cutting edge of using technology to assist in the delivery of instruction.”

CL2 underscored the public benefit of the community college working with the community:

“The community college works closely with community partners to develop curriculum.” CL3

spoke about the community college’s sustainable economic vitality being tied to the

community: “We have created opportunities and changed thousands of individuals lives who

make up our community, so I think at the individual level, the community college has made a

huge impact.” CL5 listed several aspects of the community college’s sustainable contributions

toward positive development in the community: “Community college leaders are active in

Rotary, Lions, Chamber of Commerce, sitting on the Board of Directors of the medical center,

working with high schools with the Promise Grant, local industry infusing $2 million into the

community college as well as their facility to ensure skilled workers will be available.”

In supporting the positive sustainable economic development, all of the study

participants responded that the community college’s role in workforce training of the local

workforce has been a major result of the community college and the community partnerships.

“Find an area employer who has an improved workforce is the bottom line because the training

costs have gone down, the workforce is more stable, the employer is more productive and more

profitable. Now they are able to expand the employment base and the productivity” noted

CL4. “Within the past five years, we have developed a complete technical center and program;

within the last five years we have now automotive training; HVAC and mechatronics that are

really needed in the community and the community has really jumped in and helped us with

that” CL2 emphasized.

100

Community leaders have also underscored how a skilled workforce improved not only

individual lives, but has also improved the community’s sustainable economic development

and livability. The following quote describe the community’s sustainable economic

development as a result of partnering with the community college:

The community members, individually, have contributed to the arts on campus, with
individual foundation money, significantly that the community college could build the
new simulation building, sustain the campus buildings, maintenance so that the grounds
of the community college so that they have more and the state will allow more. The
community members have given enough money to the campus so that the community
college will have an ongoing maintenance above what the state provides. The
community leaders have given the community college millions of dollar for a
simulation center for the health program. The local medical industry has given the
community college $1.5 million for expanding the college’s medical labs. The local car
dealership donated a 10,000 square feet building for the tech center. So, providing the
facilities and the remodeling the facility itself is a very physical representation of their
support.” (CL2)

The second quote illustrates the community leader’s emergent awareness of the

sustainable economic partnership between the community, as a whole and individually, and the

positive beneficial results of the skilled workforce development:

The education within these structures, each program, it is easy to teach standard
programs-nursing, math, English, those things, but when the community college gets a
customized degree, it is very important that it be sustainable to the community. Over
saturate a market and then people cannot get a good job, so the community has stepped
in to help the community college build programs that the community will hire from.
That is a big thing! The community leaders have helped develop these programs for a
better path for students. The community leaders have told the community college
leaders what they needed to be taught so they would be hired and be sustainable. So,
not only does the community help the community college build the buildings but they
help build the curriculum they need so that the students are well placed in jobs. (CL2)

Finally, CL3 described the results of the community college sustainable community

development as having an impact that is surpassing all expectations for a positive future, not

only for the community, but for the community college: “It’s going to take a lot of hard work

to sustain, but it just might make it.”

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Strengthen Community College and Community Leadership. The community

leaders discussed the community leadership as both the process of community college and

community being sustainable and the economic development of the community college and

community partnerships. In this section, community leadership is presented as a finding

related to the results of the community college and sustainable economic community

development. In response to the question about what type of strategies might enable the

community to advocate successfully for sustainability development with administrative and

legislative policies that affect community college services in rural areas, the study participants

reflected on the improved efficacy of community leadership overall as a positive and as a

public benefit derived in part from the community college sustainability to the community’s

economic development. Community leaders have learned to work collaboratively and have

learned to build on that unity to develop a more unified political influence on the community’s

behalf.

Some of the community leaders reflected on the unique individuals who have been part

of the community leadership and the unique situations that reflected in the community: “We

have to communicate with each other consistently. The community should expect the

community college to be constantly monitor the needs of employers and interest of students in

an effort to meet the demands of an ever changing economy. It is the community’s

responsibility, along with the community college, to demand the attention of our legislators and

support the efforts of the partnership. Here is where I believe success will produce more

success” (CL6). CL1 also reported: “The combination of the variety of services being

delivered by governmental agencies across any community college region would be a prime

strategy that could drive legislative policies in the future. Small rural community college such

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as ours are surrounded by six to 10 governmental agencies all serving the same 1000 to 2500

people. A strategic and policy shift could save millions of dollars and perhaps provide more

revenue to directly serve the students.” CL3 reinforced the belief that the community and

community college leaders work together to strengthen the partnership because of the

challenges of what state legislation might create:

“I think we are going to have to take a very strong look at doing more with less
because we are seeing that as our legislative dollar’s decrease. We are going to have to
listen carefully to what the legislators and the . . . you hate to do things based on
politics, but that is just the reality. I think what speaks always is dollars, so anytime we
can impact the economy of our community, if we can prove impact on the economy
that will sustain, and of course, there is a whole lot wrapped up in that. That means that
we have got to have the right programs, we have to treat our students and we have to
treat each other respectfully so that we can all work together in an environment where
we can really affect change in the community to move forward.”

The interview data also revealed that community leaders felt their unified relationship

with one another fostered more political influence, and ultimately, success in their sustainable

economic community development endeavors, especially with the community college. CL5

expanded upon this:

“If community leaders, when they come together with politicians and with
government representatives, when the community leaders can show that they are all
together, that the community and the community college are on the same path, for
example, look at this combined group coming to you asking for your assistance in
something that is going to better the community and give you a payback. Good
intentions can get you hired. It necessarily makes sense to apply a business model to
the community college – community sustainable economic development knowing there
is going to be a payback But the key thing is just work together, don’t assume that you
are a specialist, an economic leader expert, and educational leader expert.
Collaboration is the term I want to use here.”

Summary: Results. In summary, the results of the community college and sustainable

community economic development that were identified by the community leaders who

participated in this study center around two themes:

1 Improved Economy and Skilled Workforce

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2 Strengthen Community College and Community Leadership

The community college’s contributions to creating a diversified local sustainable

economy and to providing local workforce development that can lead to local employment

were noted. The community college’s role in the improved unity of the local leadership,

including leadership wisdom such as the importance of a shared community college-

community vision, the recognition of regional aesthetic value, and taking a leveraged approach

to seeking financial capital were also highlighted. And, finally, the importance of the

community college’s presence and involvement in the community as well as the community’s

generous giving of dollars, facilities, and scholarships in bolstering both the community’s view

of itself and the outsider’s view of the partnership between the community college and the

community was underscored.

Evaluation of Findings: Chapter Four

The results obtained from the qualitative thematic analysis were supported by the

literature of the subject. As expected it was found that the rural community and the rural

community college leaders were in favor of establishing a criterion for the sustainability

economic development for the rural community-rural community college partnership to

achieve a deeper knowledge acquisition and understanding for the economic sustainability

development. Although the rural community-rural community college leaders were in favor of

the acquisition and understanding of the partnership, they admitted the need to have adequate

time and planning to integrate the economic sustainability development into the overall five

and ten year plans for the rural community-rural community college alliance. These findings

then imply the prerequisite for a proper application and implementation of the integrated

partnership theory which is the framework of this study. Hickey (2012) and Pendergrast et al.

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(2012) described that integrated partnership should create positive benefits to the rural

community-rural community college. Meanwhile, Hacieminiglu (2014) supported the rural

community-rural community college leaderships’ notion that the integration may be difficult

given that it could mean extra time and work for them; increasing their already hectic and busy

work schedules.

In the second research question, the rural community and rural community college

leaders believed that indeed, the integration of an established criterion for a sustainable

economic development partnership may lead to the application and connection of the two

groups to achieving their long range goals. The participants as a whole agreed with this

initiative. The negative effects of the integration were reported to be minimal that it does not

affect the strong belief of the leadership that the integration should generate the rural

community-rural community college population awareness on community growth in general.

Finally, the leadership in this study shared that the best method of incorporating a

sustainable economic development through an established criterion is through the inclusion of

the criterion for the population as a whole. The literature majorly reported how the rural

community usually integrated the rural community college by connecting both concepts into an

established criterion. However, in this case, the leadership proved a specific goal of creating

an established criterion as the main vehicle in which they integrate and apply the criterion for

the benefit of the public.

Based on the findings above, it can be observed that the results of the study should

increase the call and need for other rural community-rural community colleges to attempt in

practicing the implementation of integrating an established criterion in to their leadership

public plan. The leadership of the rural community and the rural community college may learn

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and gain insights from the narratives and experiences shared by the six participants. The

current study should help in realizing the need of a more intensified incorporation of an

established criterion for long range planning, and to avoid creating this long range plan without

the sense of identity and awareness about their region’s history, culture, and civic competence.

Summary

In Chapter 4 of the study, the findings from the interviews, discussion, and document

review with the six rural community-rural community college leaders were discussed. Again,

the purpose of the qualitative multiple case study was to discover the leaders’ perceptions on

the outcomes of creating an established criterion in creating an economic sustainable

development between the two. Using a qualitative content analysis, the three research

questions were addressed through the main themes established. Several other themes were also

formed and presented to fully present the perceptions and experiences of the participants on the

effectiveness of the integration of an established criterion on sustainable economic

development for the rural community-rural community college. Chapter 5 contains the

discussion of the findings, the limitations and recommendations, implications, and conclusion.

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Chapter 5: Implications, Recommendations and

Conclusions

The work of rural community colleges is tied inherently to their local rural

community by virtue of the founding legislation and mission of the rural community

college (Miller & Deggs, 2012). The connections, interactions, and actions of a rural

community college flow from and into the community. The rural community college

typically plays a vital role in myriad aspects of the rural community (Crookston &

Hooks, 2012). Rural community colleges serve their surrounding community region in

an effort to reverse negative trends such as stagnant economic sustainable growth and

outmigration. Any employment growth and decline in a given rural community is often

influenced by the larger sustainable economic and political context (Crookston & Hooks,

2012). In this era of accountability, developing a more comprehensive understanding of

rural community colleges’ relationship, roles, and results in their respective rural

community, especially with regard to economic sustainability growth, is important. The

nature of the rural community college and community sustainable economic development

and the results of these efforts are important yet challenging to understand.

The rural community college and the rural community are at a crossroads as rural
community colleges face shortages in leadership, budget, faculty, and more importantly,

the students (Evans et al., 2015). The rural community college draws from its rural

community to fulfill these shortages. The reasons for the shortages have been attributed

to the additional burden of rural community colleges surviving in a market system that

have been catapulted in both the private sector and public institutions into a global arena

(Crookston & Hooks, 2012). The promise and openness of the rural community college

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and the fluctuating boundaries between the rural community and the rural community

college are both its strength and its greatest challenge (Mellow & Heelan, 2008). Rural

community colleges must depend on the rural community to be a collaborative

sustainable member (Evans et al., 2015). The problem is that an evaluation of the rural

community college with promoting sustainable rural economic community development

is necessary to assess their role due to the lack of an established criterion (Yang et al.,

2015).

The specific problem of the rural community college in sustainable rural

economic community development is that the rural community college and the rural

community stakeholders may not fully understand that the lack of an established criterion

in the sustainable economic development could be directly affecting their potential

growth (Simmons et al., October 2015). There is limited research available that assess

the quality of sustainable economic development between the rural community college

and the rural community (Evans et al., 2015). Currently, few empirical studies have

examined the nature in conjunction with rural community colleges and their sustainable

economic development for rural communities to facilitate or improve this collaboration

(Evans et al., 2015).

Implications

Although the study only included the perceptions and experiences of the six

leader participants, it was ensured that their narratives were analyzed thoroughly to

maximize the meanings and essences of their responses. By doing so, the themes

established successfully addressed the research study questions and general objectives.

From the findings presented in Chapter 4 and the interpretations discussed in Chapter 5,

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is strongly believed that with this current research study, the effectiveness and

importance of an established criterion is substantiated. The results of the study can

benefit the rural community, the rural community college, educators, community leaders,

and the society to experience positive changes once the integration of an established

criterion has been applied correctly and in a more formal manner. The study can then

allow for the key decision makers of the rural community-rural community college to

develop insights on the importance of the established criterion on the lives of the rural

community and the rural community college as well as the effectiveness of the theory of

an established criterion integration.

By developing these insights, the key decision makers can then perform more

concrete actions into reinforcing the application and integration of the established

criterion into a more sustainable economic development for the rural community and the

rural community college. Finally, and in the long run, the efforts of creating an

established criterion for the sustainable economic development of the rural community-

rural community college partnership can create socially aware and active members of the

society to apply these concepts into their lives and the world around them.

Limitations

The limitations that may have affected the conclusions of this study was that the

original ten study participants were reduced to six study participants. The four potential

participants that did not participate were elected officials of the community. The six who

did

volunteer may have been more confident in their leadership identity and more

comfortable speaking about their leadership and open to exploring the answers to the

questions asked of them. Additionally, some of the participants were more talkative and

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eloquent than others and some of the participants may have given answers that they

thought would please the researcher (Jakobsen, 2012; Lizzo, Andrews, et al., 2011). The

six study participants were in working environments that were considered stable careers

rather than having to campaign for their position. Thus, the skill, background, and

experiences of the researcher may have led the six study participants to feel comfortable

in sharing their views, vision, critical observations, and hopes for a brighter future in their

rural community college and rural community. Lastly, the results of the study may not be

transferable to a larger population because of the small study size and the use of

purposeful sampling (Patton, 2012).

However, recognizing these limitations and the effect that the limitations may

have had on the conclusions, the study is still valuable. It is an exploratory study, and

therefore not striving for the results to be generalizable, but looking to start the process of

investigating the perceptions of the rural community college sustainable efforts with its

rural community development. Various measures were put in place to mitigate the effect

of the limitations of the study. Because of the study design, analysis process, and study

alignment, the results can be considered trustworthy and valuable in presenting the

perceptions of the sustainable economic development with the rural community college-

rural community.

Significance

This study is significant because the nature of the rural community college and

rural community sustainable economic development and the results of these efforts are

important to understand, yet challenging to analyze and communicate. The “promise and

openness [of the rural community college], and the fluctuating boundaries between the

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rural community and its rural community college are both [its] strength and [its] greatest

challenge” (Mellow & Heelan, 2008, p. 14). Thus, the utilization of systems and external

perspectives, which take into account that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,

may prove to be a helpful lens for the endeavor of understanding the impact of a rural

community college on its rural community sustainability for development (Ashford,

2013; Hicks & Jones, 2011; Jacobs, 2012). The rural community college, in most of rural

America, is one of, if not the only, entity that offers a comprehensive program of

workforce training, yet issues of institutionalization of reforms within an organization,

particularly located in a rural community, are problematic to sustain. There are few

studies from this particular lens that have actually examined the sustainability of reforms

over a long period of time (Grayson, 2012). This study will provide critical insight into

developing a better understanding of the problems facing the rural community college in

promoting sustainable economic rural community development.

Implications

This chapter reviews the purpose and significance of the study and presents a

summary of the data themes detailed in Chapter Four. It then provides the implications,

recommendations, and conclusions in relation to the literature, participant interviews,

analyzes the limitations of the study, offers consideration for professional practice and

further research.

The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the role a rural

community college plays in the sustainable economic development of a rural community.

The study examined community leaders’ perceptions of their rural community and its

rural community college, the interaction between the rural community and the rural

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community college, and the results of that interaction. The participants in the study were

six community and community college leaders, included business executives and higher

educational administration.

Collaborative regional efforts that encompass stakeholders from traditional and

nontraditional education institutions and organizations, e.g., community colleges, non-

profits, governmental agencies, business, and alternative schools, that are willing to

develop strategic alliances and sustain the effort may be able to effectively develop

solutions for issues associated with scarce resources, lack of technical experts, as well as

geographical isolation or a decentralized community base (Attard, 2012; Coburn, Russell,

Kaufman & Stein, 2012). The concept is here, but to make it work in rural communities,

the leadership must work in a collaborative venue, not in isolation (Jones & Yarbrough,

2013). While a rural community college’s connection to its community is largely

inherent, a full understanding of the rural community college-rural community interaction

and the impact of those interactions on the rural community as a whole is often difficult

to articulate (Jones & Yarbrough, 2013). Given today’s demands on higher education

institutions to defend their benefits to the public, it was determined that a more

comprehensive understanding of a rural community with regard to sustainable economic

development and the impact on the rural community it serves (Battersby & Verdi, 2015).

Thus, the rural community college sustainable efforts toward the rural community’s

economic develop was the focus of this study. The intent was to provide a community

college-community based view of the contexts, interactions, and results.

This first section of Chapter Five summarizes the data themes presented in

Chapter Four. Next, the data themes are synthesized into significant findings and

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discussed within the framework of the three research questions: (1) How do community

and community college leaders describe the strategies needed to develop a rural

community college-rural community sustainability? (2) How do community and

community college leaders describe changes in the sustainability relationship between the

rural community college-rural community? (3) What do community and community

college leaders perceive to be effective strategies for promoting sustainability for the

alliance of rural community-rural community college?

The data and subsequent findings were derived from interviews with the six study

participants, from participant observation, and from a document review of the rural

community and the rural community college. The themes/findings which emerged from

the data analysis were:

1. The community college was characterized as being:

a. regional identity and attitude including being small, rural,

comprehensive institution;

b. regional identity and attitude including being community-attuned;

c. regional identity and attitude including using a dynamic approach.

2. The community was characterized by:

a. regional identity and attitude including a sense of place;

b. regional identity and attitude including a sense of time;

c. regional identity and attitude including a sense of work.

3. The community college and the community interacted by way of:

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a. a community and community college leadership and partnership;

b. community college regionally driven instructional programs;

c. community and community college presence.

4. The results of the community college-community interaction were:

a. improved economy and skilled workforce;

b. strengthen community college and community leadership.

In this study, five significant findings emerged from a synthesis of data themes

and an alignment of those data themes to key language from the literature. The term

“significant” in this study is used to convey importance, not to convey statistical

significance. They are as follows:

1. The community defined itself through a regional, rural lens and was

characterized by an interconnectedness of its people to the land and to the

history of the region.

2. The community college and the community invested in reciprocal

relationships and collaborated on mutually beneficial pursuits.

3. An improved regional economy and skilled workforce were identified as

positive community changes, and the community college’s contribution to

those positive changes were cited as a public benefit.

4. A community and community college leadership network with increased

confidence in collaboration, understanding of community assets, and

efficacy in sustainable community economic development was recognized

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as a positive community change, and the community college’s

contributions to those positive changes were cited as a public benefit.

5. An enhanced community college and community image and an optimistic

community outlook were identified as positive changes were cited to a

public benefit.

The discussion that follows is organized by the three research questions and the

corresponding significant findings. Thus, the first section covers research question one:

“How do community and community college leaders describe the strategies needed to

develop a rural community college-rural community sustainability?” and the single

corresponding significant findings.

The second section covers research question two: “How do community and

community college leaders describe changes in the sustainability relationship between the

rural community college-rural community?” and the single corresponding significant

findings. The third section covers the research question three: “What do community and

community college leaders perceive to be effective strategies for promoting sustainability

for the alliance of rural community-rural community college?” and the two corresponding

significant findings

Research Question 1 Findings. How do community and community college

leaders describe the strategies needed to develop a rural community college-rural

community sustainability? The findings of research question one did emerge in response

to the first research question regarding the context of the study: The rural community

defined itself through a regional, rural lens and was characterized by an

interconnectedness of its people to the land and to the cultural history of the area.

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Through this lens this finding highlighted the importance of both the natural capital and

the cultural capital of the rural community.

The importance of the context in this study was three-fold. An interpretive study,

the underlying assumption was that a description of the context was part of the complex

whole, and therefore, central to building understanding of the research topic (Coburn,

Russell, Kaufman & Stein, 2012). Also, as a case study, the context of the study was

important because “the phenomenon under study is not readily distinguishable from its

context” (Yin, 2011, p. 4). Finally, for this rural community college-rural community

study, it was important to view the findings through a systemic lens, interpreting how the

rural community was situated in its natural and social environment (Parker, 2010).

The six rural community college and rural community leaders who participated in

this study described the rural community in terms of an interconnectedness of people to

place and broad geographical definition of the community. They spoke proudly about the

community’s rural characteristics, geographical location, natural resources, and cultural

history. They emphasized the rural nature of the community, viewing the community’s

physical location as noteworthy, with regard to natural resources and livability. Taken

together, the study participants’ reflections on their rural community revealed a palpable

rural and regional identity and attitude, punctuated by the interconnectedness of its

people to the area’s natural and cultural environments.

The six rural community college and rural community leaders also made repeated

references to the community college’s embrace of the community, noting that it reached

out to serve the community. The college’s planning efforts, leadership networking and

partnerships, and program development strategies were all cited as evidence of the

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college’s regional, rural orientation. The college’s nursing, mechatronics, welding, and

natural resource programs were noted as reflections of the community. In fact, all of the

six study participant’s descriptions of the community and community college were often

intermingled: “I believe at this point the community and the community college cannot

survive without each other!” (CL6). Thus, this finding about the rural community’s

regional identity and approach included the rural community college as well and reflected

the literature’s emphasis on the relationship of the rural community college to their

unique locale, “Colleges. . . are place-based institutions, deeply affected by their local

environment” (Harkavy & Hodges, 2012, p. 3).

The significance of this study’s findings that the rural community defined itself

through a regional, rural lens and was characterized by an interconnectedness of its

people to the land and the cultural history correlated with the literature. The context of

this study was presented as a rural community wherein the people viewed themselves as

interconnected with the rural community college and the importance of developing

strategies to sustain the economic development of both.

Research Question 2 Findings. How do community and community college

leaders describe changes in the sustainable economic relationship between the rural

community college-rural community? The findings emerged in response to the second

research question regarding changes in the sustainable relationship between the rural

community college and its rural community. The rural community and its rural

community college have invested in a reciprocal relationship and have, and are,

collaborating on mutually beneficial pursuits for the sustainable development of both.

This finding also highlighted the importance of the development of the social capital

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between the rural community college and its rural community. All of the six study

participants cited the financial investment the rural community has put into the rural

community college as well as the partnerships that have sprung up in recent years to

encourage economic sustainable growth for both the community and the community

college. The partnerships of the community and community college leaders was

described as an effective means which had been developed among leaders from the

community college, industry, and local commerce. In the course of their narratives, the

study participants underscored the uniqueness of this partnership of leaders, stressing the

importance of continuing to develop partnerships, building mutual understanding,

effective communication, maintaining reciprocity, and fostering trust among the

partnerships. According to CL2, “Our strength lies in our partnerships. We’re investing

a lot because of our community and our community college and the education of the

students . . . it’s very unique.” The descriptions of the community and community

college leadership partnerships from the study participant’s responses, coincided with

three defining factors attributed to the social capital in current social science literature:

partnership, trust, and reciprocity (Flora & Flora, 2013; Grayson, 2012; Gismondi, 2012;

Jones, Stall & Yarbrough, 2013).

Within this section, the process of rural community college-rural community

partnerships for changes in the sustainable economic relationship was represented the

findings for research question 2: the rural community college and the rural community

invested in reciprocal relationships and collaborated on mutually beneficial pursuits for

positive changes. The study participants’ personal experiences with the leadership

partnerships in the rural community and the rural community college as well as their

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perspectives on the process of these partnerships between the two yielded the above

findings. Their responses echoed literature on community capitals, literature on social

capital, literature on community partnerships in higher education, and literature on the

mission and role of the rural community college. These findings represented the study

participants’ responses about partnerships in changes for the sustainable economic

development between the rural community college-rural community.

Research Question 3 Findings. What do community and community college

leaders perceive to be effective strategies for promoting sustainability for the alliance of

rural community-rural community college? Three findings emerged in response to the

third research question regarding effective strategies for promoting sustainability for

alliance: (a) an improved community economy and skilled workforce were identified as

effective strategies, and the community college’s contribution to those strategies were

cited as a public benefit; (b) a community-community college leadership partnership with

increased confidence in collaboration, understanding of community assets, and efficacy

in sustainable economic community development was recognized as effective strategies,

and the community college’s contributions to these strategies were cited as a public

benefit. These findings also highlighted the importance of the investments and the

interactions among the rural community and its rural community college.

First, the study participants identified an improved rural community sustainable

economy and a skilled workforce as positive rural community changes, for which the

rural community college was directly recognized. Specifically, study participants cited

career and technical educational programs at the rural community college which had

recently been developed to respond to the need for local skilled workers as a central

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factor in the recent upswing in the local economy, attributing it to the sustainable efforts

on the part of the rural community college. Another principal finding of this study was

the rural community college and rural community leaders of their role in the workforce

and sustainable economic development. The study participants’ responses on the rural

community college’s role in sustainable economic development were consist with the

literature on the importance of the rural community college’s roles in local workforce and

sustainable economic development (Coburn, Kaufman, & Stein 2012; Jones, Stall, &

Yarbrough 2013).

The rural community’s workforce and sustainable economic development

achievements cited by the study participants as important results of the rural community-

rural community college partnerships bear many consistencies with the literature on

regional development. The concepts from this study that aligned with the literature on

regional development included: the merit of face-to-face connections, the need for a

community-community college unifying narrative, community stewards practicing

collaborative community -community college leadership, and the shared pursuit and

acquisition of external funding (Coburn, Kaufman, & Stein 2012).

Recommendations

This study examined the role of rural community colleges in promoting

sustainable rural community development, and its impacts on rural community

sustainable economic development from three angles: context, process, and results. The

context of this study was revealed as a rural community wherein the rural community

leaders are to view themselves as interconnected with the area, the culture, and the

history of the area. Within this context, the rural community college was viewed as an

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integral part of the whole of the rural community. The process of rural community

college-rural community partnerships was represented in the finding: The rural

community college and the rural community are invested in reciprocal partnerships and

the collaboration on mutually beneficial pursuits. The results of the rural community

college-rural community sustainable economic partnerships were represented by three

findings: (a) for the rural community in having an improved sustainable economic

development and a skilled workforce; (b) a rural community college-rural community

partnership with increased confidence in economic collaboration, understanding of the

rural community assets, and efficacy in the rural community sustainable development,

and (c) to have an enhanced rural community image and an optimistic rural community

outlook.

The study participants’ experiences with new rural community college training

programs which promote the training of a skilled local workforce, as well as their views

on improving the rural community sustainable economic development, contributed to

their citing these as positive rural community changes to make and recognizing the rural

community college’s contributions to these changes as a public benefit. As well, the

study participants’ observations of the rural community college-rural community

partnerships, leadership, and increased collaboration, and understanding of the rural

community assets, and efficacy in the rural community sustainable economic

development efforts, contributed to their citing this as positive rural community changes

and recognizing the rural community college’s contributions to these changes as a public

benefit. The study participants’ view was that the rural community needed to be viewed

with an enhanced rural community image and an optimistic rural community outlook, and

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recognized the rural community college’s contributions to these changes as a public

benefit.

These significant findings aligned with the literature on rural community

sustainable economic and community development; the literature on rural community

development; the literature on asset-based rural community sustainable development

models, especially the partnership with the rural community college and the rural

community industrial economy; and on the literature on mission, role, and accountability

of the rural community college. These finds also highlighted the importance of investing

in the sustainable development of human, social, political, cultural, natural, financial, and

built capital as systemic assets that each will contribute to the rural community college-

rural community sustainable development. The literature on rural community college

sustainable economic rural community developments discussed the importance of

involving a broad-based band of rural community leaders, which could allay the

possibility of biasing sustainable economic development efforts away from under-

represented groups (Flora & Flora, 2013).

The first recommendation for future research would be to expand these results by

conducting a similar study at other universities in the United States, particularly within a

close urban region. Results may be different in another location and would expand

general knowledge on rural community college in sustainable economic rural community

development. The second recommendation for future research consist of using a larger

sample that would include participants with more involvement in the rural community.

For example, the study could include local elected officials and governmental leaders for

more experienced to provide a greater opportunity to identifying the perceptions of a

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larger number of rural community leaders that would not only result in greater depth and

breadth of data collected but also allow for a comparison in less versus more experience

leadership. A third recommendation would be to conduct a quantitative study with a

larger sample once a deeper understanding of rural community college and rural

community leaderships’ perceptions is gained through qualitative study. The fourth

recommendation would be for future researchers to recruit perhaps less invested rural

community college and rural community leaders to address the likely self-selection bias

occurring in this study. This would allow researchers to see a greater breadth of

perception and explore what motivates leadership to put in extra effort in creating

partnerships between the rural community college and the rural community leaders when

they perceive it is needed as a result of lack of a trained workforce. However, in order to

secure a larger sample, a recommendation for future research would be to implement

other recruitment efforts. For example, researchers should meet individuals in positions

that could assist with recruitment. Said individuals can have a positive impact with

respect to encouraging others to partake in research. Another example would be to

include call potential participants as part of recruitment. Asking potential participants to

participate via telephone calls can have better results as everyone does not check their

mail with great frequency.

Additional recommendations would be that future researchers could attempt to

separate and isolate perceptions. Research on the perceptions toward both groups would

assist not only the rural community college leaders but the rural community leaders in

meeting the needs of both. The sixth recommendation for future research would be to

conduct a quantitative study on the effects of the partnership collaboration of rural

123

community college and rural community leaders. Moreover, the study would also allow

researchers to assess leadership responses to the collaboration. This study could help

rural community colleges identify if the collaborative partnerships made by leaders in

response to their perceptions are beneficial to the partnership.

Based on the results of this current study, practical application recommends are

presented. The first recommendation for practical recommendation would be for rural

community college leadership to understand that rural community leaders tend to quickly

formulate perceptions of collaborative partnerships and adjust their strategies based on

these perceptions. The second recommendation would be for rural community leadership

to assess rural community college leaderships’ perceptions. Furthermore, the third

recommendation for rural community college leadership would be to design professional

partnerships with rural community leaders, and vice versa. By acknowledging that the

rural community college leadership and the rural community leadership develops

perceptions rather quickly, both groups can address the process of developing perceptions

and establishing perceptions while developing the partnerships. The fourth

recommendation would be having both groups of leaderships to build an infrastructure

within the two groups that could assess the collaborative partnership as it is developing

and alleviate potential negative issues that may arise.

Conclusions

“We used to think that if we knew one, we knew two, because one and one are

two. We are finding that we must learn a great deal more about ‘and’”

(Eddington, 1920, p. 103).

124

The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the rural

community college sustainable economic development within the rural community

environment, and perspectives on critical factors relating to the sustainability. The

research questions were designed to delve in the context, interaction, and results. The

findings and conclusions have provided information to answer each of the research

questions.

Regarding context, it was concluded that the study participants’ believed that the

context of this study was revealed as a rural community wherein the rural community
leaders are to view themselves as interconnected with the area, the culture, and the

history of the area. Within this context, the rural community college was viewed as an

integral part of the whole of the rural community. In the area of interaction, it was

concluded that the process of rural community college-rural community partnerships is

invested in reciprocal partnerships and the collaboration on mutually beneficial pursuits.

In the area of results, it was concluded that the results of the rural community college-

rural community sustainable economic partnerships were represented by three findings:

(a) for the improved rural community in having an improved sustainable economic

development and a skilled workforce; (b) a rural community college-rural community
partnership with increased confidence in economic collaboration, understanding of the

rural community assets, and efficacy in the rural community sustainable economic

development, and (c) to have an enhanced rural community image and an optimistic rural

community outlook.

These conclusions may have been affected by several study limitations including

the original ten study participants were reduced to six study participants. The six who did

125

volunteer may have been more confident in their leadership identity and more
comfortable speaking about their leadership and open to exploring the answers to the

questions asked of them. Additionally, some of the participants were more talkative and

eloquent than others and some of the participants may have given answers that they
thought would please the researcher (Jakobsen, 2012; Lizzo, Andrews, et al., 2011). The
six study participants were in working environments that were considered stable careers
rather than having to campaign for their position. Thus, the skill, background, and
experiences of the researcher may have led the six study participants to feel comfortable
in sharing their views, vision, critical observations, and hopes for a brighter future in their

rural community college and rural community (Patton, 2012).

The study is significant because it gave voice to the rural community college and

the rural community leadership literature (Head, 2011). The voices of the leadership are

an important aspect of understanding the rural community and its rural community

college perceptions (Archard, 2013; Lizzo, Andrews, et al., 2011). This study may also

help to fill several gaps in the literature relating to collaborative partnerships between a

community and its community college (Mortensen et al., 2014).

Given the literature, limitations, findings, and conclusions, it is recommended that

the rural community and the rural community leaders view themselves as important in the

sustainable economic development between the two. It is also recommended that the

rural community and its rural community college be recognized as important contexts in

the leadership sustainable community economic development.

126

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Appendices

139

Appendix A

Test Instrument: Interview Protocol

Project Title: The Role of Rural Community Colleges in Promoting
Sustainable Economic Rural Community Development, A
Multiple Case Study

Principal Investigator: Terri D. Anderson, Northcentral University Ed.D.
Candidate

Date of Interview:

Time of Interview:

Study Participant Identification Code:

Thank you again for consenting to participate in this study. I will record the interview so

the data I gather will be as accurate as possible. Remember that you may request that

the tape recorder be turned off at any point in the interview. (If the participant has not
agreed to audio-recording, then say: I will be taking notes during the interview so the
data I gather will be accurate.)

Semi-structured open-ended interview questions may include:

A. Understanding the Context of the Rural Community and the Rural Community

College:

1. What is your position and role in the community?
2. What are the community’s challenges, problems, or needs today?
3. Please describe your professional pathway to becoming part of the

rural community college.
4. Describe your perception of the characteristics of the local community

college.
5. What do you see as the college’s mission and purpose?
6. How important is the community and this unique locale to the

college?

B. Understanding the Process of College-Community Sustainability

Development

7. In what ways does the community college and community partner?

140

8. From your perspective, in what ways have ASUMH leaders worked
with other community leaders in community sustainable economic

development efforts?

C. Understanding the Results (outcomes, impact, positive change) of Rural

Community College-Rural Community Engagement on Community

Sustainability Development

9. What positive changes have you seen in the community in the past 5-

10 years with regard to the community college?

Closing Questions: I have a summary question for you.

10. What type of strategies might enable districts to advocate successfully

for sustainability development with administrative and legislative
policies that affect community college services in rural areas?

That concludes my interview questions. Do you have any additional comments you would

like to share? Do you have any questions regarding the study?

Thank you for participating in this interview. The next steps are:

1. I will transcribe the interview and deliver the transcription to you so that you can

review it for accuracy and completeness. I will deliver it marked as

‘Confidential.’ I will include directions for your response.

2. Next, if you would like the opportunity to clarify, modify, or expand the

transcribed information, I will happily schedule a follow-up meeting with you. As

well, if I have follow-up questions, I will ask them at that time.

Thank you again for participating in this interview. Your perspectives as a rural

community leader are very important for this study. And I appreciate the time you have

dedicated to this interview

141

Appendix B

Informed Consent Document

The Role of Rural Community Colleges in Promoting Sustainable Economic Rural

Community Development, A Multiple Case Study

Sustainable economic rural community development serves as one of the premier

development efforts emphasizing strategies to increase the competitiveness of rural

community, local economic base and the rural community college to enhance rural

residents’ quality of life. I am working on a dissertation research project at Northcentral

University that involves surveying rural community leaders and the rural community

college administration about development efforts in the community.

You are being asked to participate in the study to gather information about your thoughts,

actions, or decisions regarding sustainable economic rural community development.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary. You may skip any questions

that you feel uncomfortable answering. Your individual responses will remain strictly

confidential. Any information received will not be associated with you. There are no

foreseen risks from participating in this study.

The following people are involved in this project and may be contacted at any time:

Researcher:

Terri Anderson

T.Anderson0630@ncu.edu

Dissertation Chair:

Dr. Robin Buckley, Ph.D.

rbuckley@ncu.edu

142

The survey will take no longer than 30-40 minutes of your time. I greatly appreciate your

participation. It is only the generous help of people like you that this research study can

be successful. You are encouraged to ask questions at any time during this study.

If you have any questions about the rights of research subjects or research-related inquiry,

please contact the Institutional Review Board at Northcentral University at irb@ncu.edu,

Phone 928-541-7777, 10000 E. University Drive, Prescott Valley, AZ 86314.

Thank you for participating in this study! We would be happy to answer any questions
you may have. Please direct your questions or comments to either myself or my
Dissertation Chair:

Terri Anderson, Researcher
T.Anderson0630@ncu.edu

Dr. Robin Buckley, Dissertation Chair
rbuckley@ncu.edu

Respectfully,

Terri Anderson
Ed.D. Candidate
Northcentral University

143

I have read the above description for the “A Case Study of the Role of Rural Community

Colleges in Promoting Sustainable Economic Rural Community Development” study. I

understand what the study is about and what is being asked of me. My signature

indicates that I agree to participate in the study.

Participant Name (print)

Participant Name (signature)

Researcher’s Name (print)

Researcher’s Name (signature)

Date: ___________________________________________________________________

Annotated Bibliography

Akange, S. S. (2016). Impact of potable water availability on economic development of north Benue state (Order No. 10240266). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1834498174). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1834498174?accountid=14872

Scope

This dissertation examines how economic development and social transformation deficiencies in Benue state, Nigeria are caused by lack of water or inadequate water supply.

Purpose

The study conducts a quantitative, non-experimental and cross-sectional research to gauge of the lack of portable water availability in Benue state and its socioeconomic development impacts thereof.

Philosophical Approach

The researcher adopted a quantitative, non-experimental and cross-sectional approach in the study because it is best suited to examine the complex relationships and correlations that exist between variables. This approach is also more practical when conducting research on rural community settings where decision-making agencies are involved.

Underlying Assumptions

One of the paper’s underlying assumption is that the lack of portable water availability is directly linked to other variables. In addition, the paper’s second assumption is that the direct link between other variables and lack of potable water availability has significant impacts on Benue’s economic development and social change.

Research

The researcher adopted survey-sampling methodology, where participants, were interviewed in lieu of the impacts of lack of potable water or its inadequacy on their economic and social development.

Limitations

The researcher indicated that paper’s limitation is the lack of political will in Benue state to implement the findings of the study. According the researcher this lack of political will undermines the implementation of policies that seek to enhance social-economic development in Benue state.

Opportunities for further inquiry

The researcher indicated that there is need for further research on other areas that have the potential to serve as great opportunities to develop and improve Benue’s subsector services.

Validity of use

This dissertation was essential as it illustrated how lack of portable water availability has impacted Benue’s economic and social development.

Madsen, T. (2014). Evaluation of a leadership program’s impact on participants and civic engagement (Order No. 3640165). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1619572076). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1619572076?accountid=14872

Scope

The dissertation explores how leadership programs have impacted the participants civic engagement in the US.

Purpose

The purpose of the study was to evaluate and address the gap in the program assessment to effectively determine how it has impacted the participant’s civic engagement.

Philosophical Approach

The researcher adopted a mixed-method approach which focuses on increasing a leader’s capacity and to enable one to connect with the participants in a way that there is equitable sharing of resources and effect full change implementation.

Underlying Assumptions

The study contained several assumptions. The first underlying assumption in the study was that it was hoped that the responses given by the participants was honest and accurate. The second underlying assumption was that survey conducted in the research provided relevant data that addressed all the research questions.

Research

The researcher used summative program evaluation based on Community Leadership Survey that was sent to the program’s association comprising of 448 graduates from 2003 to 2012 which had a total yield of 155 surveys.

Limitations

The first limitation of the study was the inability of the programs curriculum design to reveal the long-term impacts on the graduates and the ability to achieve the program objectives. The second limitation was the lack of adequate resources, which hampered the ability to conduct an internal summative evaluation of the program. The third limitation was lack of adequate financial resources to contract external researchers.

Opportunities for further inquiry

The study illustrated that the local MWCLP and alumni association are the primary stakeholders who have an opportunity to address the gap between in the achieving the program objectives and decision-making authorities.

Validity of use

The study showed how program assessment impacted the participants engagement in civic duties.

Owusu-Achiaw, K. (2013). The effect of community participation on affordable housing: A study of a housing program in a borough of New York City (Order No. 3565621). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1415457665). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1415457665?accountid=14872

Scope

The research explores how community participation in reference formulating affordable housing.

Purpose

The objective of this study was to examine how effective community participation via exploration of particular program in the US leads to affordable housing.

Philosophical Approach

The study employed community participation approach in reference to provision of affordable housing programs. The approach provides sustainable education and outreach programs to the public on the best ways and practices of having affordable housing.

Underlying Assumptions

The first underlying researcher’s assumption is that the selected participants in the study provided accurate and forthcoming responses in reference to the interview questions on the participants’ experience and knowledge in affordable housing. The second assumption was that the participants’ experiences were instrumental in helping them express their perceptions on community participation. The third assumption was that the participants voluntarily responded to interview questions.

Research

The researcher used semi structured interviews where open-ended questions were posed to the participants and used to collect lived experiences.

Limitations

(1). There was small sample used of the original population due to the participant’s financial and time constraints. (2) The views and responses expressed by the participants may not accurately reflect those of the selected community. (3) The research methodology used was inherently limited.

Opportunities for further inquiry

The research deducted that if community members played a leading role, there would be positive social change in reference to affordable housing. In addition, if extensive education is conducted, community members can be able to use their abilities to take effective measures to promote positive social change.

Validity of use

The study indicates that it is imperative for community members to have positive social change to address their housing needs.

Engelbright, C. L. (2015). Planning for a community supported farmers market in a rural USDA food desert (Order No. 3707617). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1696319272). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1696319272?accountid=14872

Scope

The study seeks to develop community initiative to illustrate how it can effectively address the inadequate access to fruits and vegetables to persons living in USDA designated food desert.

Purpose

The study’s purpose is to develop and plan for implementation and evaluation of farmers who are supported by the community, residing in South Wood County to ensure that the farmers’ access to fruits and vegetables is increased.

Philosophical Approach

The researcher conducted the study based on three approaches. (1) Assembling interdisciplinary project team comprising of community stakeholders. (2) Use of literature review on the best practices to have a sustainable farmers’ market. (3) Creation of a development plan to review literature used in the study.

Underlying Assumptions

(1) Produce prices will reduce in the farmer’s market when compared to the local retail outlet. (2) Implementing local and sustainable food system will increase the access to fresh produce and at the same time increase the community health.

Research

The researcher adopted survey-sampling methodology, where participants, were interviewed on the experiences on lack of affordable and fresh fruits and vegetables.

Limitations

(1) There was limited community resident participation. (2) The town hall meeting used to conduct the meeting was small. (3) Bad weather conditions hampered travelling to conduct interviews and attend meetings. (4) The town hall meetings coincided with a large sporting event, which significantly reduced the level of attendance.

Opportunities for further inquiry

If there is a liaison between the community and other government authorities, the cost of fresh produce can significantly reduce and make it affordable and accessible.

Validity of use

The study was instrumental in seeking ways in which fresh produce can be made accessible and affordable.

Amabipi, A. K. (2016). Understanding host community distrust and violence against oil companies in Nigeria (Doctoral dissertation, Walden University).Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/docview/1619572076?accountid=14872

Scope

The study explores the reasons behind community distrust and violence against oil companies in Nigeria via use interviews.

Purpose

The study seeks to gather comprehensive and contextual account of the causes of the said distrust and violence in addition to examining various elements that can be used to address the causes.

Philosophical Approach

The researcher uses sampling and survey approach to determine the root causes of distrust and violence that is experienced by oil companies in Nigeria.

Underlying Assumptions

Experiences of distrust and violence netted on oil companies will be communicated freely. (2) Authorities cannot control the distrust and violence on oil companies. (3) The experiences are not similar in all geographical areas. (4) Data collected is based on accurate responses. (6) Data collected is a representation of the host communities. (7) Study findings will provide peaceful management strategies. (8) Elements of social change spread from the affected villages to other communities. (9) Case study will portray the accurate story in reference to the host community and oil companies.

Research

The researcher used interviews to ascertain the root causes of community distrust and violence on oil companies.

Limitations

(1) The terrain impended access to various geographical locations. (2) Participants not giving accurate information. (3) Residents not willing to be interviewed.

Opportunities for further inquiry

The researcher deducted that if there is more transparency and coordination by the oil companies and the respective communities, the distrust would significantly reduce and the violence. Thus the researcher was of the view that there needs to be more studies to achieve this management practices.

Validity of use

The research was instrumental in determining the possible root causes of the said distrust and violence and the possible solutions.

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