Leveraging adult students’ connected knowing and
prior community relationships to strengthen their
community engagement, retention and success:
What we know and need to know
SUSAN REED, SUZANNE BUGLIONE,
AMANDA WITTMAN AND JEFFREY
HOWARD
IARSLCE ANNUAL CONFERENCE
SEPTEMBER 25, 2012 – BALTIMORE,
MD
Session Outline
 Who’s in the room and why
 What we know about CBSL with adult
students
 Analyzing student experience from
qualitative data
 Best practices for CBSL faculty working
with adult students
 Discussion: Identifying a research agenda
for the future
“Non-traditional” Student Characteristics (%
undergrads)
 25+ years of age (43%)
 Part time students (38%)
 Employed full time (39%)
 Parents (27%)
 First-generation college (47%)
(U.S. Department of Education, 2001; 2002; 2011)
Characteristics of Adult Learners
 Adults negotiate multiple roles and responsibilities
 With age, individual differences become more distinct
 Adults seek learning that is relevant to real life
 Adults’ new learning builds on prior learning
 Adults participate in decision making about learning
 Adults learn in dialogue with others
(MacKeracher, 2004)
CBSL with Adult Students: Quantitative
• Adults and working students appreciate CBSL but less likely to
strongly agree that project enhanced learning and skills
(Rosenberg, Reed, Statham and Rosing, 2011)
• Service learning promotes persistence toward degree complete
for students of all ages (Reed, Rosenberg, Rosing and Statham,
2012)
• Student engagement in active learning varies across the lifespan
with adults being more or less engaged at different ages
(Southerland, 2010)
CBSL and Adult Students: Qualitative
 Adult students feel that they have a wealth of
experience that should be taken into consideration
(Largent and Horinek, 2008)
 Adults appreciate community involvement as a
lifelong practice….want flexibility (Reed, Rosing,
Rosenberg and Statham, 2011).
 Buglione’s (2012) indepth study of adult service
learners
CBSL and Adults: Guidance for practitioners
 Engage students of all ages in reflection on their knowledge and skills
(Largent and Horinek, 2oo8)
 Encourage working students to participate in CBSL and make sure
options are flexible (Holland and Robinson, 2008)
 Allow students to tap into existing social and political networks (Reed,
Rosing, Rosenberg and Statham, 2011)
 Campus Compact (2012) indepth study of experience faculty
Nontraditional Students &
Connected Knowing
SUZANNE BUGLIONE, ED.D.
DEAN OF TEACHING AND LEARNING, BRISTOL
COMMUNITY COLLEGE
PRINCIPAL, COMMUNITYBUILD
IARSLCE 2012
The Study: Objective/Purpose
Part-time
Enrollment
(NCES)
Isolation -Lack of
Social Network
Immigrants
Over-represented Racial
Minority
Delayed Enrollment
in Postsecondary
Education (NCES))
First Generation
College Students
Lack of
Standard High
School Diploma
(NCES)
NCES (2002) Special Analysis:
Nontraditional Undergraduates
Financially
Independent
(NCES)of Parent (NCES)
Adult Learning
Needs
Low-income
Work Full-time
While Enrolled
(NCES)
UNIVERSE
OF THE
NONTRADITIONAL
STUDENT
Experience
Have Dependents
Other Than
Spouse (NCES)
Are Single
Parents
(NCES)
Commuter
Students
Highly Nontraditional
Students in Higher Education
4 or More:
11% attain a Bachelor’s degree (NCES, 2002)
Highly Nontraditional
(four or more characteristics)
 Delayed enrollment in
postsecondary education
 Currently enrolled part-time
 Financially independent of
parent(s)
Moderately Nontraditional
(two to three characteristics)
 Currently works full time
 Have dependents other than a
spouse
Minimally Nontraditional
(one characteristic)
(NCES, 2002)
 Is a single parent
 Did not receive a standard high
school diploma (got a GED)
Participants (13)
Age
Gender
Race
Discipline
NCES
Nontraditional
Characteristics
50
50
M
F
W
W
Psychology
Gerontology
4
5
49
48
42
42
41
40
39
39
F
F
F
M
M
F
M
M
B
W
W
W
B
W
W
Multi
38
M
W
Criminal
Justice
Nursing
Social Work
Photography
Management
Psychology
Education
History
Computer
Science
34
30
F
F
B
W
Psychology
Psychology
4
6
5
4
4
5
4
6
4
4
4
Work
Course
Utility Co
Manager
Waitress
Internship
s-l
Office Worker
s-l
Nurse
Online s-l
Retail
s-l
Technician
s-l
Military
s-l
Consultant
vol/s-l hybrid
Cook
pre-practicum
Cook
s-l
Technician
Psych Unit
Worker
Child Care
Capstone s-l
s-l
vol/s-l hybrid
11=1st s/l course
5=Senior
3= Jun/Senior
2 = Soph/Junior
1=First Year
2= Junior
NCES Characteristics
13
Ages 30-50
7
Works Full Time
6
12
College Part Time
Financially independent
8
Has dependents other than spouse
2
No standard high school diploma
4
Single Parent
8
Delayed college
Connected Knowing Adults Bring:
Convergence of Life Experience, Past & Current
 History of Challenge
Lack of Family Support/Discouragement, Perceived Academic
Failure, Health/Social Challenges, Immigration, Recovery,
Juvenile Justice involvement, Disability, Unplanned Pregnancies,
Job Loss
 Know them…
My mom…didn’t encourage me, she said I

don’t want you to be upset when you
fail…she was trying to be helpful…I am a
grown up and I’m going to do this for me
Jacqui
As a foster child, first to go to college, one of two
siblings in a family of eight that graduated high
school, children’s academic failure, there’s a lot
of pressure: I’m the one
Raine
Connected Knowing Adults Bring:
Convergence of Life Experience, Past & Current
 Positive Worker Identity

Connecting Work to Student Identity
I decided I don’t want to sit in a cube all day…that
motivated me to go back to school...I’m pretty
dedicated…the first time around I was just getting a
degree basically to get a job. I’m definitely putting more
effort into it this time around
Jennifer
I think of our generation… at the work place…we work extra, hard
working, loyal and even at my waitressing job…I see the young people
come in, do what they have to do and…leave; and don't feel guilty about
that…I'll just do it. It's different
Jane
My background
is in culinary
arts…hands on
real time kind
of
work…transfer
red over well to
academia…a
kind of
intensity…
strong work
ethic
Scott
Connected Knowing…
 Identity Connections to Service-Learning Course
Meaning
Drawn from Life Experiences
Service Resurrected Positive Worker Identity
Enabled Application of Experience & Learning
Construction…waitressed…managed a restaurant…retail…I could not keep
the job …The woman at the pantry…said that I should be in a managerial
position…I was very good at what I did…delegated very well…at seeing the
whole picture…I didn’t realize I was doing that…I guess it just comes out
Jacqui
I can share my own experience…being an older student…who has been
around a little bit and then coming back into a classroom setting
Raine
As an addict,
[this course
and I] are
connected…
you’re the
only one that
I’ve told that
to…
Steven
Connected Knowing…
 Identity Connections to Service-Learning Course
Place
– a sense of “Home”
I grew up in the area…there were a lot of Portuguese people there, I’m
Portuguese so…basic customs that we talked about
Jennifer
I go to the library…I knew that
…people hanging out there were
homeless and after the experience
(course)…these people have a face
and a name and it made it really
different .. If I went to do an errand, I
would see... my people
Jane
I made my opinion known that we should try
this project because this particular group that
we were researching is in my community. So
the closeness, the proximity, the timing, it all
just seemed to work out
Robert
Connected Knowing…
 Identity Connections to Service-Learning Course
Coming
Home
Civic/Community Identity: Current, Lost!
Plans to Continue
I think if you want to live in a good
community you have to make it a
good community. It doesn’t happen
by itself. It takes people to be active,
to be passionate and supportive and
understanding
Robert
When I went to nursing
school…had my youngest child..I
kind of lost my sense of
community... that's why I'm
continuing my community service
because it almost felt like I was
home again; when I walked in, I
was like: I miss this. This is me,
like I felt comfortable; I want to
be involved again
Jane
Connected Knowing…Understanding Societal Context &
Consciousness Raising-Social Mobility-Personal Growth & Awareness
Understand the field and my ‘fit’ in it
Understand my community better
Affirmed my path
Made me more
determined
New Learning – Surprises!
Sonia
It was a
blessing in
disguise
for me
Jacqui
I didn’t know everything
Liked it, Felt Good, Could Manage it
Broken Stereotypes related to Self
It was nice as I was learning things either I have already done
or been in some of those situations and be able to you know
directly where I can apply that
Nicholas
Liked what it was
doing for me as a
person
Raine
Especially
[important] since I
am at the end [of
school]
Georgette
Connected Knowing…
Social Creativity – Outgroup Experiences Analyzed
Vehicle for Student Identity Development
Motivator/Incentive for Retention
Lack of College Connections – Faculty Relationships
Juggling – Stop/Start Educations
Something
Risks & Losses, Can Pass
inside of me
clicked…that’s
Choose Placements with a Menu
why I’m still
here… plugging
Connected Readings, Reflection
along
Jaqui
I sacrificed a lot to be here and I have to
Service reassured me, given me an incentive
make it work
to finish
Stephen
Georgette
[I] question why I do this –
others discourage me
Raine
Significance & Further Inquiry
 Service-Learning with Nontraditional Learners…
How is it different?
 How do we do it?
 How do we identify and understand this group?

My other classes that I had to take seemed
better because of it
Sonia
[s-l course]
makes me
more well
rounded
Raine
The project excited me to push forward - it was the
right direction, right thing
Robert
Connected Knowing: Service-Learning
Practitioners and Adult Learners
 Amanda Wittman, PhD
Director of Academic and Strategic Initiatives,
Campus Compact
awittman@compact.org
The only national higher education association
dedicated solely to campus-based civic engagement
Campus Compact envisions colleges and universities as vital agents
and architects of a diverse democracy, committed to educating
students for responsible citizenship in ways that both deepen their
education and improve the quality of community life. We
challenge all of higher education to make civic and community
engagement an institutional priority.
The Campus Compact Connection
Commitment to providing resources and best
practices
Dedication to research-based practice
Increasing population of adult/non-trad learners
We believe that faculty are one of the key connecters
to higher education for adult students
Important for retention
 Important for student development
 Important for institutional growth

Research Questions
What are the emerging ‘Promising
Practices’ in Service-Learning or
Community-Based Learning with Adults?
In what ways do they align with the
existing literature?
In what ways to they align thematically?
Practitioners discuss their experiences using
Service-Learning with adult and nontraditional learners in three primary ways:
Differences of adults from traditional students
Benefits that come with using Service-Learning with adult
students
Specific strategies that work well with adult learners.
Differences of adult learners from
traditional learners
Motivation is different, and often higher than found
with traditional students
Adult learners come to class with more life
experience, which leads to specific differences




They are more comfortable with diversity, and bring diversity
to the classroom
The become leaders and mentors in the class with other
students and in relation to community partners
They have unique skills in management, community
engagement, conflict resolution and problem solving that
separate them from traditional students
Adult learners already have connections and experience with
community partners
Benefits of using service-learning
with adult learners
Career development
Reflection

Designing for the margins
(Ceasar McDowell, 2011)
Strategies that work well with adult learners
in a s-l context
Curriculum redesign
Connect to Career
Services
Rethink partnerships
Use storytelling
techniques
Enable family service
Drawbacks of using service-learning
with adult learners
 Adults have less time to spend on service
 Adults have competing priorities to their
education
One has not only an ability to
perceive the world but an ability to
alter one’s perception of it; more
simply, one can change things by
the manner in which one looks at
them.
Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues
Service-Learning and
the Nontraditional Student:
Developing a Research Agenda
JEFFREY HOWARD
DIRECTOR, FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
STEANS CENTER, DEPAUL UNIVERSITY
ADJUNCT FACULTY
SCHOOL FOR NEW LEARNING, DEPAUL
UNIVERSITY
EDITOR
MICHIGAN JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY
SERVICE LEARNING
Goals
Stimulate thinking about potential research
questions / topics / areas of interest
2. Generate those questions / topics / interest
3. Determine next step(s), if any
1.
Process / Plan
1. Stimulate Thinking about Potential Research
Questions/Topics/Areas of Interest
a. General Research Areas in Service-Learning
b. Nontraditional Student Characteristics
c. Potential Intermediary Variables
d. Potential Dependent Variables
e. Sample Article Titles
2. Generate Research Questions/Topics/Interests
(Journals Devoted to Service-Learning /
Community-Engagement)
3. Next Steps?
Environmental Scan
 How many of you are interested in pursuing research
related to service-learning and the nontraditional
student?
 Ask a few volunteers to identify their particular
research interests related to nontraditional students?
 We’ll come back later to generate research
topics/questions/interests
General Research Possibilities
Related to Service-Learning
STUDENTS
Academic
Civic
Multicultural
Others
FACULTY
Motivation
Impediments
RESEARCH ON
SERVICE-LEARNING
COMMUNITIES
Impacts
Partnerships
INSTITUTIONS
SERVICE-LEARNING
DISCIPLINES
Comparing expressions
of community
involvement
Nontraditional Student Characteristics
as Potential Research Study Factors
MORE LIKELY TO BE:
 Older (delayed college)
 Employed
 First Generation To Go to College in their Family
 Low-Income
 Single Parent
 Part-Time Student
 Racial Minority
 Financially Independent
 Commuter Student
 Immigrant
 Non-Standard High School Education
 More Mature
MORE LIKELY TO HAVE:
 A History of Challenges
 More Life Experiences
 A More Permanent Geographic Community
 Prior (Full-Time)Work Experience
MORE LIKELY TO TAKE:
 Online Courses
 Longer to Graduate
Independent Variable
Service-Learning
(Ensure High Quality)
Potential Intermediary Variables
(Variations on Service-Learning)
 Direct v. Project-Based v. Capacity-Building




Community Service
Service in One’s Own Community v. Outside One’s
Own Community
Traditional v. Critical Service-Learning
Student- v. Faculty-Selected Community
Placements
Traditional v. Nontraditional Students
Potential Student Dependent Variables
 Academic Learning
 Civic Learning
 Multicultural Learning
 Personal Development
 Identity Development
 Career Development
 Personal Values
 Social Justice Values
 Social Development
 Persistence / Retention
Recent Michigan Journal of
Community Service Learning Articles
Related to Nontraditional Students
 Service-Learning and Persistence of Low-Income, First
Generation (LIFG) Students: An Exploratory Study
 Justice Learning: Exploring the Efficacy with Low-Income
First Generation (LIFG) Students
Research Categories Related to Service-Learning and
Nontraditional Students
Students (Nontraditional; nontraditional v.
traditional)
 Faculty
 Community
 College/University
Generating Research
Questions/Topics/Areas of Interest
Journals Publishing
Community-Engaged Scholarship















Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning (University of Michigan)
Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement (University of Georgia)
Metropolitan Universities (Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities)
Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement
Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship (University of Alabama)
Journal of Public Scholarship in Higher Education (Missouri Campus Compact)
International Journal of Service-Learning in Engineering
Reflections (writing and rhetoric) (Syracuse University)
Partnerships: A Journal of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement (University of
North Carolina - Greensboro)
Partnership Perspectives (Community Campus Partnerships for Health)
Journal for Civic Commitment (Mesa Community College)
Florida Journal of Service-Learning in Teacher Education
Academic Exchange Quarterly and others have done special issues on servicelearning
See Campus Compact website for others:
www.compact.org/resources/service-learning_resources/
Next Steps?
For More Information
Suzanne Buglione, Bristol Community College
Suzanne.Buglione@bristolcc.edu
Jeffrey Howard, DePaul University
jhowar15@depaul.edu
Susan Reed, DePaul University
sreed@depaul.edu
Amanda Wittman, Campus Compact
awittman@compact.org