Date of Award
Fall 11-5-2019
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctorate of Education, Ed.D.
College
College of Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Floralba Arbelo Marrero, Ed.D.
Second Advisor
Alicia Holland, Ed.D.
Third Advisor
Deborah Jones, Ed.D.
Abstract
Service-learning is a high impact practice that is considered a new pedagogical shift in higher education. Even with the evidence of the benefits of this pedagogical method, college faculty are not using service-learning in their classrooms. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore community college faculty experience with service-learning pedagogical practices. The research question for this qualitative study was: How do community college faculty experience service-learning pedagogical practices? The study employed a qualitative methodology with an interpretative phenomenological analysis design. The primary sources of data were semistructured interviews, follow-up surveys, and a focus group discussion from a pool of participants who have engaged in service-learning at the community college level. According to the findings of this research study, faculty reported that service-learning was beneficial in some way to student understanding, experience, and connections to the community. Faculty also experienced challenges within the service-learning implementation or utilization process. The themes that emerged from this study of faculty experience were community connections, connecting theory to practice, and challenges within the service-learning process. The results will be of interest to faculty interested in service-learning and administrators interested in improving service-learning programs and increasing service-learning participation.