Changing The Landscape Of Social Capital Higher Education Community Engagement And Civic Renewal

This thesis argues that higher education community engagement programs are exactly this kind of strategy. When designed and implemented well, these programs can immediately strengthen social capital and lead to dramatic long-term changes in the civic skills, attitudes and behaviors of student participants. This thesis draws upon a growing body of research which demonstrates how community engagement participation impacts student participants in the short- and long-terms. My methodological approach has been to provide a snapshot of the field, to refine operating definitions of high-impact community engagement programs, and to weave together existing research with theoretical frameworks to make a more vivid case for the importance of this work.