Grassroots Engagement within a Regional Education Environment – A Program Theory Approach

Delaforce, Wayne H. and Buckley, Judi A. and Adkins, Barbara A. and Rich, Bruce R. (2007) Grassroots Engagement within a Regional Education Environment – A Program Theory Approach . In Proceedings 6th International Service-Learning Research Conference: From Passion to Objectivity: International and Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Service-Learning Research, Portland, Oregon, United States.

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Abstract

As with policy and programs generally, education community engagement tends to lack a coherent and explicit theory explaining why and how engagement strategies are likely to achieve desired and articulated outcomes. This paper addresses the problem by proposing a theoretical framework for educational and community cross-sectoral collaboration and engagement in the context of education sector engagement at a regional level in the northern corridor of Brisbane, Australia. Locating the relationships involved in engagement within a program theory of cross-sectoral collaboration and its proposed outcomes, this paper explores how Basil Bernstein's idea of classification and Ernest Boyer's concept of the scholarships of integration and application can be applied to identify the mechanisms through which engagement is generated. A series of cases studies is presented to illustrate the processes, incorporating shared physical, virtual and human infrastructure and curriculum initiatives that represent a multiplicity of activities and levels of engagement.

Item Type:	Conference Paper
Status:	Unpublished
Keywords:	Engagement, Collaboration, Boyer, Bernstein
Subjects:	220000 Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts - General
ID Code:	13038
Deposited By:	Delaforce, Wayne
Deposited On:	18 March 2008
Alternative Locations:	http://www.servicelearning.org/events_jobs/slconf_events/index.php?action=detailed&event=396
Copyright Owner:	Copyright 2007 (please consult author)
Additional Information:	This paper forms part of developmental work for the PhD program for Wayne Delaforce and will be published in the Thesis document.