Elevating Rural Voices: Strengthening Community Partnerships for Lasting Change
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This multi-method study centres on the perspectives of rural community partners in community engagement (CE), a population often underrepresented in the literature, to examine how partnerships function in a rural context. Using survey data, semi- structured interviews, the Transformational Relationship Evaluation Scale (TRES) and perceived closeness measures, the study examines how partnerships function in a rural context. Partners reported positive relationships with the college, including trust in faculty and a willingness to continue collaboration. However, partners consistently rated ideal partnerships as more transformational than their current experiences, with gaps in decision-making, resource sharing, roles, power, continuity and student preparedness. Qualitative findings identify structural challenges, including limited organisational capacity, inconsistent communication and variability in student readiness and professionalism, which place strain on rural organisations. Partners also emphasised the college’s role as a rural anchor institution and the potential for deeper, relationship- based collaboration and contributions to community capacity. Overall, findings indicate that effective rural CE requires relationship infrastructure, not just goodwill, to support continuity, shared decision-making and mutual accountability. This study contributes to the limited scholarship on rural CE by offering a context-specific framework for strengthening equitable and sustainable partnerships in rural settings and a model that can be adapted by other institutions.
Article Details
Issue
Section
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who submit articles to this journal from 31st March 2014 for publication, agree to the following terms:
a) Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share and adapt the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
b) Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
c) Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Open Access Citation Advantage Service). Where authors include such a work in an institutional repository or on their website (ie. a copy of a work which has been published in a UTS ePRESS journal, or a pre-print or post-print version of that work), we request that they include a statement that acknowledges the UTS ePRESS publication including the name of the journal, the volume number and a web-link to the journal item.
d) Authors should be aware that the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) License permits readers to share (copy and redistribute the work in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the work) for any purpose, even commercially, provided they also give appropriate credit to the work, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. They may do these things in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests you or your publisher endorses their use.
For Volume 6 (2013) and before, the following copyright applied:
Articles published by UTSePress are protected by copyright which is retained by the authors who assert their moral rights. Authors control translation and reproduction rights to their works published by UTSePress. UTSePress publications are copyright and all rights are reserved worldwide. Downloads of specific portions of them are permitted for personal use only, not for commercial use or resale. Permissions to reprint or use any materials should be directed to UTSePress.
References
References
Barreneche, G. I., Mayer, M. & Gross, S. 2018, ‘Reciprocity and partnership’, in B. Berkey, C. Meixner, P. Green & E. Eddins (eds), Reconceptualizing faculty development in service-learning/community engagement: Exploring intersections, frameworks, and models of practice, Stylus Publishing, Sterling, Virginia.
Bender, T. (ed.) 1988, The university and the city: From medieval origins to the present, Oxford University Press, New York.
Berkey, B., Meixner, C., Green, P. M. & Eddins, E. A. (eds) 2018, Reconceptualizing faculty development in service-learning/community engagement: Exploring intersections, frameworks, and models of practice, Stylus Publishing, Sterling, Virginia.
Bortolin, K. 2011, ‘Serving ourselves: How the discourse on community engagement privileges the university over the community’, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 49–59, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A310365620/AONE?u=nysl_oweb&sid=googleScholar&xid=b664ab4c.
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. 2012, ‘Thematic analysis’, in H. Cooper (ed.), The handbook of research methods in psychology, American Psychological Association, Washington, DC, https://doi.org/10.1037/13619-000.
Bringle, R. G. & Hatcher, J. A. 2002, ‘Campus–community partnerships: The terms of engagement’, Journal of Social Issues, vol. 58, no. 3, pp. 503–516.
Celio, C. I., Durlak, J. & Dymnicki, A. 2011, ‘A meta-analysis of the impact of service-learning on students’, Journal of Experiential Education, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 164–181.
Clayton, P. H., Bringle, R. G., Senor, B., Huq, J. & Morrison, M. 2010, ‘Differentiating and assessing relationships in service-learning and civic engagement: Exploitative, transactional, or transformational’, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 5–21, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/differentiating-assessing-relationships-service/docview/822505477/se-2?accountid=8268.
Cooper, J. R. 2014, ‘Ten years in the trenches: Faculty perspectives on sustaining service-learning’, Journal of Experiential Education, vol. 37, no. 4, pp. 415–428, https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825913513721.
Gelmon, S. B., Holland, B. A. & Spring, A. 2018, Assessing service-learning and civic engagement: Principles and techniques, Stylus Publishing, Sterling, Virginia.
Hea, A. C. & Shah, R. 2016, ‘Silent partners: Developing a critical understanding of community partners in technical communication service-learning pedagogies’, Technical Communication Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 48–66, https://doi.org/10.1080/10572252.2016.1113727.
Holton, N., Casey, K. M., Fletcher, C., Ganzert, C., Hamerlinck, J., Henness, S. A., Curry, P. P., Ross, A. J., Stevenson, H. A., Stoecker, R., Tullier, S. & Wood, S. 2017, ‘The landscape of rural service learning’, in The landscape of rural service learning, and what it teaches us all, MSU Press, East Lansing, MI, pp. 3–14.
Jacoby, B. 1996, ‘Service learning in today’s higher education’, in B. Jacoby (ed.), Service-learning in higher education: Concepts and practices, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco.
James, J. H. & Logan, K. 2016, ‘Documenting the community impact of service-learning coursework: Theoretical and practical considerations’, Partnerships: A Journal of Service-Learning and Civic Engagement, vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 17–36, http://libjournal.uncg.edu/prt/article/view/1312/973.
Karasik, R. J. 2020, ‘Community partners’ perspectives and the faculty role in community-based learning’, Journal of Experiential Education, vol. 43, no. 2, pp. 113–135, https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825919892994.
Karasik, R. & Hafner, E. S. 2021, ‘Community partners’ satisfaction with community-based learning collaborations’, Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, vol. 14, no. 1, DOI: 10.54656/DDVW5450.
Kronick, R. F. & Cunningham, R. B. 2013, ‘Service-learning: Some academic and community recommendations’, Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, vol. 17, no. 3, pp. 139–152, ISSN 1534-6104.
Mashek, D., Cannaday, L. W. & Tangney, J. P. 2007, ‘Inclusion of community in self scale: A single-item pictorial measure of community connectedness’, Journal of Community Psychology, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 257–275, https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.20146.
Miron, D. & Moely, B. E. 2006, ‘Community agency voice and benefit in service-learning’, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 27–37, http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3239521.0012.203.
Mitchell, T. D. 2008, ‘Traditional vs. critical service-learning: Engaging the literature to differentiate two models’, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 50–65, http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3239521.0014.205
O’Meara, K. & Niehaus, E. 2009, ‘Service-learning is . . . How faculty explain their practice’, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 17–32, https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cehsedadfacpub/33/.
Patton, M. Q. 2014, Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice, Sage Publications, Los Angeles.
Author 2018
Author 2024
Rinaldo, S. B., Davis, D. F. & Borunda, J. 2015, ‘Delivering value to community partners in service-learning projects’, Journal of Community Engagement and Scholarship, vol. 8, no. 1, p. 115, DOI: 10.54656/THOH3113
Sandy, M. & Holland, B. 2006, ‘Different worlds and common ground: Community partner perspectives on campus–community partnerships’, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 30–43.
Smalley, K. B., Warren, J. & Rainer, J. (eds) 2012, Rural mental health: Issues, policies, and best practices, Springer Publishing Company, New York.
Stoecker, R., Holton, N. & Ganzert, C. (eds) 2017, The landscape of rural service learning, and what it teaches us all, Michigan State University Press, East Lansing, MI.
Stoecker, R. & Tryon, E. 2009, ‘Unheard voices’, in R. Stoecker, E. A. Tryon & A. Hilgendorf (eds), The unheard voices: Community organizations and service learning, Temple University Press, Philadelphia, pp. 1–18.
Stoecker, R., Tryon, E. A. & Hilgendorf, A. (eds) 2009, The unheard voices: Community organizations and service learning, Temple University Press, Philadelphia.
Stoecker, R. & Schmidt, C. 2017, ‘Geographic disparities in access to higher education service learning’, in R. Stoecker, N. Holton & C. Ganzert (eds), The landscape of rural service learning, and what it teaches us all, MSU Press, East Lansing, MI, pp. 29–40.
Tryon, E. & Madden, H. 2019, ‘Actualizing critical commitments for community engagement professionals’, Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 57–80.
U.S. Census Bureau 2010, Rural America, https://mtgis-portal.geo.census.gov/arcgis/apps/MapSeries.
U.S. Census Bureau 2022, State and county quick facts, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/meadvillecitypennsylvania.
Warren, J. L. 2012, ‘Does service-learning increase student learning?: A meta-analysis’, Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 56–61.
Waters, S. E. & Brigden, J. J. C. 2013, ‘Assessing the community partner in academic service-learning: A strategy for capacity-building’, PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement, vol. 2, no. 2, p. 1, https://encompass.eku.edu/prism/vol2/iss2/1.
Welch, M. & Plaxton-Moore, S. 2018, ‘A holistic framework for educational professional development in community engagement’, in Reconceptualizing faculty development in service-learning/community engagement, Routledge, New York, pp. 27–58.