Background: Evidence-based practice (EBP) use is varied in autism spectrum disorder community-based organizations (ASD-CBOs) in the United States. Aim: The ACT SMART Implementation Toolkit--a multi-faceted implementation strategy guiding teams through implementation phases--was pilot tested to assess its preliminary effectiveness in increasing EBP…

Using the Pennsylvania Department of Education Family/Community Standards, university professors from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford collaborated with multiple community clubs such as the Rotary and Kiwanis as well as local agencies including St. Bonaventure University on the development and implementation of a family literacy day event…

This study examines how community partners understand reciprocity and co-education in service-learning. Twenty community partners participated in 30-minute telephone interviews. When asked to define reciprocity, participants identified the importance of communication and maintaining a two-way relationship. With regard to co-education, community…

Although research illustrates that community-based organizations (CBOs) offer critical support to the education of historically marginalized youth, less is known about CBOs' role in developing youth's critical civic praxis toward social justice. In this case study, we analyzed semi-structured interviews with youth who participated in a college…

Collective impact is an organizational model that is often used as a tool for solving complex social problems through cross-sector collaboration. Traditional applications of this model require a separate backbone organization to oversee the organizational partnership. Using qualitative data from a larger mixed methods study, we examined…

Community-Based Research (CBR) presents a wide range of benefits in higher education to students, community partners, and universities. Yet on our campus (and many others), CBR remains less common than other high-impact practices (HIPs) such as service learning and undergraduate research due to lack of effective institutionalization. Moreover,…

Children in Liberia receive 2.2 learning-adjusted years of schooling, one of the lowest levels of educational attainment in the world. We study one approach to address low enrollment and low rates of learning: a 10-month accelerated learning program run by the Luminos Fund to help out-of-school children catch up to grade level. We conducted a…

This paper gives an account of how Action Learning Sets (ALS) are used in two of The Rank Foundation investment streams to support the social action impact of charities and social enterprises. With the aid of two Case Studies, the paper illustrates how the ALS can help to connect, sustain and support the social action responses of the local…

Research on community impacts from service-learning has been scarce, yet this area is worth exploring in order to understand how and why service-learning can make a difference. The current research sought to validate a conceptual framework (Lau & Snell, 2020), which categorizes the impacts of service-learning on community partner organizations…

Over the last twelve years, an innovative community engagement practice has immersed undergraduate students enrolled in a 300-level leadership course in adaptive leadership by giving them power to make progress on complex challenges at the local level. This unique partnership between a university, donors, and a local United Way, makes students…

Environmental education (EE) is an integrated component of the South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document. Pro-EE civil society organisations are actively involved in the implementation of EE policies in schools. The roles played by civil society organisations contribute to the trajectory of practical environmental…

Through a collected case study, this research study examines the relationships between college students and community partners in three separate service-learning projects. Although all of the service-learning relationships can be characterized as transactional, the reciprocity within each relationship manifests in different ways based on the…

In order to build connections with the community, the authors of this study undertook a participatory process for developing a comprehensive service-learning initiative within a teacher education program. This case study examines the impact of the service-learning initiative on building social capital for the community and preservice teachers. The…

Community-based learning (CBL) has been linked to improved student civic engagement. However, few studies have evaluated the long-term impact of CBL on student engagement. This study examines students' self-evaluation (N=1,257) of the impact CBL experiences on their civic engagement attitudes and skills at an R1 Liberal Arts institution. The study…

We evaluate how the U-Links Centre for Community-Based Research (U-Links), a nonprofit organization that brokers research for community-based organizations with postsecondary institutions in Haliburton County, Ontario, has impacted this rural region of Ontario. Our approach uses contribution analysis and realist evaluation as layered tactics…