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Developing an Evaluation Tool to Examine Motivational Factors of Non-student Community Partnership Participants

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Conference

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 23, 2018

Start Date

June 23, 2018

End Date

July 27, 2018

Conference Session

Holistic Assessment and Teaching in Service-learning Environments

Tagged Division

Community Engagement Division

Tagged Topic

Diversity

Page Count

9

DOI

10.18260/1-2--30297

Permanent URL

https://strategy.asee.org/30297

Download Count

422

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Paper Authors

biography

Julia D. Thompson San Jose State University

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Dr. Julia Thompson directs the EPICS (Engineering Projects In Community Service) affiliate program at San Jose State University (EPICS@sjsu). Dr. Thompson is currently developing and expanding a service-learning EPICS program. The program is open to all engineering students, including seniors completing capstone requirements. Her research focuses on the characteristics of successful relationships between engineering service-learning programs and the communities they serve. She is currently developing a motivational instrument that identifies factors of participation among administrators, faculty, and community partners.

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biography

Jinny Rhee San Jose State University

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Dr. Jinny Rhee is the associate dean of the College of Engineering at San Jose State University. She oversees all aspects of the undergraduate programs in the college. Her research interests include administration of programs supporting student success, in addition to thermal management of heat and power systems. Dr. Rhee received a PhD in mechanical engineering from Stanford University (1995).

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Abstract

Research of engineering community engagement has primarily focused on the experiences and outcomes of students, yet it is often the faculty, administrators, and community partners who have a long-term commitment to the program’s success. In this study, we are developing and validating an assessment instrument that combines two previously identified aspects of community engagement programs: participant motivation and the nature of engagement relationships. Participant motivation refers to the reasons people stay engaged in the community engagement experience and can be categorized into: student learning and growth, personal and professional development, and benefits to the community organization. The nature of an engagement relationship is defined as the quality of interactions and interpersonal dynamics within partnerships. It is associated with transactional, cooperative, and communal interactions. A validation survey was developed by creating 45 statements associated with the interacting effects of motivational categories and the nature of engagement relationships. Statements were validated by service-learning practitioners with a minimum of two years research and/or practical experience. Validation participants were provided with a codebook for motivational categories and relationship natures. They were asked to code each of the 45 initial statements with the provided categories and natures. We received feedback from eight researchers, with the initial goal of attaining 10 responses. We identified ten statements that maintain at least 75% coding convergence across responses. Our results highlight key underlying assumptions associated with the TCC Framework and opportunities to improve the instrument to increase clarity and reduce potential bias.

Thompson, J. D., & Rhee, J. (2018, June), Developing an Evaluation Tool to Examine Motivational Factors of Non-student Community Partnership Participants Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30297

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