The pedagogy known as service learning has become increasingly popular within the higher education community, including the community college sector. Grounded in experiential learning principles espoused by the philosopher John Dewey and later David Kolb and others, the practice of service learning is facilitated through partnerships developed and maintained by, and between, institutions and community organizations. The premise is that, theoretically, the partnership is mutually beneficial and that value is added at the macro or structural level for the community organization. However, a review of the literature shows a significant gap when it comes to the perspectives of the community organizations relative to the service learning partnership. This qualitative study was conducted to add, in a small but significant way, to the literature.
This research was conducted using an instrumental, single case-study design focusing on 10 diverse community organizations that were involved with Middlesex Community College for at least three years. Using a three-stage, semi-structured interview process, the 10 partners were afforded the opportunity to reflect on their partnerships and to give a collective voice regarding how they perceived the benefits and the costs to their organizations. Several themes and sub-themes emerged and recommendations were provided as a result of these findings. Finally, recommendations for future research were proposed.
","abstract_html":"<p>The pedagogy known as service learning has become increasingly popular within the higher education community, including the community college sector. Grounded in experiential learning principles espoused by the philosopher John Dewey and later David Kolb and others, the practice of service learning is facilitated through partnerships developed and maintained by, and between, institutions and community organizations. The premise is that, theoretically, the partnership is mutually beneficial and that value is added at the macro or structural level for the community organization. However, a review of the literature shows a significant gap when it comes to the perspectives of the community organizations relative to the service learning partnership. This qualitative study was conducted to add, in a small but significant way, to the literature.</p> <p> This research was conducted using an instrumental, single case-study design focusing on 10 diverse community organizations that were involved with Middlesex Community College for at least three years. Using a three-stage, semi-structured interview process, the 10 partners were afforded the opportunity to reflect on their partnerships and to give a collective voice regarding how they perceived the benefits and the costs to their organizations. Several themes and sub-themes emerged and recommendations were provided as a result of these findings. Finally, recommendations for future research were proposed.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Rawls, Mary McLeod"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Campus Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership and Policies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jennifer L Bloom","Christian Anderson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:38:31Z","subjects":["Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Career Exploration","Reciprocity","Service Learning","Work Skills"],"languages":[],"rights":["© 2012, Mary McLeod Rawls"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/997","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jennifer L Bloom","Christian Anderson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Rawls, Mary McLeod"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership and Policies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Campus Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ph.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Career Exploration","Reciprocity","Service Learning","Work Skills"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© 2012, Mary McLeod Rawls"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/997"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The pedagogy known as service learning has become increasingly popular within the higher education community, including the community college sector. Grounded in experiential learning principles espoused by the philosopher John Dewey and later David Kolb and others, the practice of service learning is facilitated through partnerships developed and maintained by, and between, institutions and community organizations. The premise is that, theoretically, the partnership is mutually beneficial and that value is added at the macro or structural level for the community organization. However, a review of the literature shows a significant gap when it comes to the perspectives of the community organizations relative to the service learning partnership. This qualitative study was conducted to add, in a small but significant way, to the literature.
This research was conducted using an instrumental, single case-study design focusing on 10 diverse community organizations that were involved with Middlesex Community College for at least three years. Using a three-stage, semi-structured interview process, the 10 partners were afforded the opportunity to reflect on their partnerships and to give a collective voice regarding how they perceived the benefits and the costs to their organizations. Several themes and sub-themes emerged and recommendations were provided as a result of these findings. Finally, recommendations for future research were proposed.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Voices From the Field: The Perspective of Leaders From Service Learning Partner Organizations"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jennifer L Bloom","Christian Anderson"],"dc:creator":["Rawls, Mary McLeod"],"dc:description.abstract":["The pedagogy known as service learning has become increasingly popular within the higher education community, including the community college sector. Grounded in experiential learning principles espoused by the philosopher John Dewey and later David Kolb and others, the practice of service learning is facilitated through partnerships developed and maintained by, and between, institutions and community organizations. The premise is that, theoretically, the partnership is mutually beneficial and that value is added at the macro or structural level for the community organization. However, a review of the literature shows a significant gap when it comes to the perspectives of the community organizations relative to the service learning partnership. This qualitative study was conducted to add, in a small but significant way, to the literature.
This research was conducted using an instrumental, single case-study design focusing on 10 diverse community organizations that were involved with Middlesex Community College for at least three years. Using a three-stage, semi-structured interview process, the 10 partners were afforded the opportunity to reflect on their partnerships and to give a collective voice regarding how they perceived the benefits and the costs to their organizations. Several themes and sub-themes emerged and recommendations were provided as a result of these findings. Finally, recommendations for future research were proposed.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/997"],"dc:rights":["© 2012, Mary McLeod Rawls"],"dc:subject":["Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Career Exploration","Reciprocity","Service Learning","Work Skills"],"dc:title":["Voices From the Field: The Perspective of Leaders From Service Learning Partner Organizations"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership and Policies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Campus Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:38:31Z"}