NATIONAL STUDY OF COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Photo Credit: Bryan Hains
Community development philosophies, epistemologies, and contexts vary widely among post-secondary education programs across the United States. Field fragmentation is influenced by its multidisciplinary nature - because community development is a process, it transcends diverse community contexts, an aspect often not realized when trained in a traditional discipline. Until recently, curricula and pedagogical practices had not been compared, contrasted, or debated in any systematic way. Currently, there remains no agreed upon or clearly articulated foundation for community development education.
To better understand the current state of community development higher education, the Community Innovation Lab at the University of Kentucky in collaboration with the UC Davis Center for Regional Change (CRC) documented both undergraduate and graduate community development programs in the United States. After completing an initial inventory of existing programs, we completed three phases of research including:
Programmatic Survey
Faculty Survey
Program Site Visits
Through this exploratory study, we aimed to identify foundational knowledge and skills to advance the impact of community development higher education programs, and subsequently strengthen national communication and knowledge about curriculum development, instructional delivery, and student inclusion in program design.
Photo Credit: UC Davis Center for Regional Change
Programmatic Inventory
The first phase consisted of inventorying current post-secondary community development programs across the United States. Parameters for the inventory included those with the terms “Community Development” in their title. Second tier evaluation included those programs with the terms “Community Development” in their mission and/or vision.
Click to see an overview of CDE programs nation wide and their programmatic categorizations.
Review the dynamics between undergraduate and graduate CDE programs within the United States.
Examine the list of CDE certificate programs nationwide
Explore the number of emphasis programs focusing on CDE within the United States.
programmatic survey
Once U.S. CDE programs were identified, a questionnaire was distributed to program leaders gathering basic information about program structure and demographics. Baseline data was analyzed and compiled complimenting the existing inventory. Additionally, the survey requested the names of up to five community development faculty that teach in the program. This was used to create a faculty sample for the third phase of research.
Photo Credit: University of Detroit Mercy
Faculty Survey
The third phase of research involved the distribution of an online survey to community development faculty identified in phase two. The faculty survey was designed to gather information regarding program epistemologies, philosophies, structure, and educational practices. Surveys and basic descriptives have been analyzed and reported.
Photo Credit: University of Detroit Mercy
Program site visits
Once the initial stages were complete complete, an intensive qualitative inquiry was conducted to gain a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the educational practices used in community development higher education. Members of the research team were able to immerse themselves in five selected institutions chosen for maximum programmatic variation. The team spent two to three days at each institution observing classroom instruction, interviewing faculty and students, and collecting instructional artifacts. (ANALYSIS FORTHCOMING)