Service Learning Commons^™

9th Gsep Research Symposium - 2025

GSEP Research Symposium

The Ninth Annual GSEP Research Symposium, themed "Building Bridges to Elevate Humanity: Innovations and Insights in Education and Psychology", was hosted by the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology (GSEP) on June 19–20, 2025, at the historic Château d’Hauteville in Switzerland and virtually via Zoom.

This hybrid symposium convened a vibrant global community of students, alumni, faculty, and scholars to share research that addresses real-world challenges, advances scholarly inquiry, and builds pathways for inclusive collaboration and leadership. Spanning a wide array of topics—from artificial intelligence and mental health to trauma-informed practices, educational equity, social justice, and cross-cultural leadership—the …

Exploring The Impact Of Community-Engaged Programs On Undergraduate Students’ Attitudes Toward Intellectual Disability, Jennifer L. Jones, Kami L. Gallus, Amber Manning-Ouellette

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education

Positive outcomes for students have motivated educators to identify effective strategies for advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in people with intellectual disability (ID), a minoritized population often excluded from DEI efforts. The current study investigated undergraduate student attitudes toward ID and compared changes in attitudes following participation in one of two community-engaged programs alongside adults with ID. Findings indicate both programs were effective in changing all three components of students’ attitudes: affect, cognition, and behaviors.

Calling All Students? Enrollment In Community-Engaged Learning Courses At A Marianist University, Molly Malany Sayre, Castel V. Sweet, Kelly Bohrer

Research and Reflection on Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

‘Community’ is a pervasive concept at the University of Dayton, a Catholic, Marianist institution in Dayton, Ohio. As such, it was unknown how students who enrolled in community engaged learning (CEL) courses were different from their peers in demographic characteristics, previous experiential learning, and views of community engagement. Findings can inform CEL recruitment as well as evaluation of CEL outcomes, especially at institutions with a similar values orientation. This mixed-methods study indicates that among four semesters of students in three selected CEL courses, few differences were found with students in non-CEL control groups. One significant difference found was in racial …

Diversity And Engagement In Supplemental Elementary Art Education, Maggie Espinoza Sennesael

IPS/BAS 495 Undergraduate Capstone Projects

In this project, I identified two main issues in standard elementary level art education through consultation with a teacher (second grade, public school), and research. These issues are the apparent lack of diversity in the selection of artists that are included in lessons, as well as a tendency for children’s art activities to be oversimplified or limited in regard to their potential for creative expression and overall engagement. In an effort to address these two issues, I designed and assembled an educational resource (digital lesson/activity book) that would include a diverse range of artists for students to learn about as …

A Case Study Of Four Districts' Procedures For Identifying And Serving Culturally, Linguistically, And Economically Diverse Gifted And Talented Students In One State, Mackenzie Anderson

Curriculum and Instruction Undergraduate Honors Theses

The underrepresentation of culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse students is a problem historically researched in gifted and talented programs. This problem largely comes from the way districts identify for giftedness as well as the programming for gifted students. Traditional methods of identification often largely exclude students due to racial or ethnic bias and harsh cut-off scores on tests. This study investigated the current identification procedures of four districts in one state. Additionally, the study addressed programming and how these districts specifically targeted underserved populations within their district. Data were collected through interviews with four District Coordinators from school districts with …

The Diversity Of Terrestrial Mammals Surrounding Waterfall At Billy Barquedier National Park, Kelsey Johnson

Animal Science Undergraduate Honors Theses

Billy Barquedier is a National Park located in the Stann Creek district of Belize that contains Neotropical vegetation and wildlife. This study was performed in order to provide a baseline inventory and appearance frequency patterns of the terrestrial mammals located within Zone 1 of the park near a waterfall. The goal of the data and information collected during this study is to gain a greater understanding of the biodiversity and activity patterns of terrestrial mammals within the park and across Belize as a whole. The use of camera traps, small Sherman live traps, large live traps, and tracking methods were …

Best Of Friends, Barbara Ward

International Journal of Undergraduate Community Engagement

I wrote my story book based on diversity and to show empathy to people with differences. To teach kids that we are not all the same and yet each of us has our own value to this world. I wrote the book based on my family's dog and kitten and how they live with one another. The end result is that we just need to show love to each other in order to accept our differences.

Cultures, Madeline Martinson

International Journal of Undergraduate Community Engagement

This document is a poster I created after making and reading my book to the children on the Bells for Books book mobile. First I created a book about culture and diversity. Once I finished the book I went to the book mobile and read it to the children that were on the bus that day. After reading the book I reflected on culture and diversity and put my conclusions on this poster. The poster rejects on my process through my book Culture and reading it to the children and our class conception of diversity and ethics. I talk about …

Fearless Friday: Jeffrey White, Jeffrey M. White

SURGE

In today’s edition of Fearless Friday, Surge is thrilled to honor the work of the incomparable Jeffrey White ’17. Jeffrey is a junior from Baltimore, Maryland, who is majoring in Religious Studies and minoring in Music. As an incredibly active member of the campus community, he is involved in leadership roles in many facets of campus life. He works as a Resident Assistant (RA), serves as the Program Organizer for the Office of Intercultural Advancement, the Live Music Chair of the Campus Activities Board (CAB), and devotes time to being a Peer Learning Assistant for Anthropology 103 as well. [ …

Improving The Human Condition: Leadership For Justice-Oriented Service-Learning, Marilynne Boyle-Baise, Betty Bridgewaters, Leslie Brinson, Nancy Hiestand, Beverly Johnson, Pat Wilson

Diversity

The Banneker History Project (BHP) reconstructed the history of the Benjamin Banneker School, which operated as a segregated school for African Americans from 1915 to 1951. It was a project in social justice education with community service as its base. Here, the authors provide an insider perspective of group dynamics among core leaders for the BHP. Building relationships, working for social justice, and confronting racism are key themes for the group. Leaders recall moments of discomfort, particularly related to issues of race and racism, and describe ways they worked through them. Based on their wisdom of practice, authors offer suggestions …

We Know It's Service, But What Are They Learning? Preservice Teachers' Understandings Of Diversity, Courtney A. Bell, Brian R. Horn, Kevin C. Roxas

Diversity

A great deal of research on multiculturalism looks at different approaches to multicultural education and visions of multicultural teaching and learning. Though some research theorizes about how preservice teachers might learn about race or gender, there is very little work that helps teacher educators understand what learning about diversity more broadly, might look like. This study uses the conceptual framework developed by Paine to raise questions about and illuminate differences in the learning outcomes of preservice teachers who participated in two similar yet notably different service-learning experiences. Through examinations of writing tasks we find that teacher learning did indeed depend …

El Milagro: The Miracle Of Service Learning On The Border, Kathleen A. Baca, Elizabeth J. Gutierrez, Luly Valencia-Glenn

Diversity

In 2000, DoZa Ana Branch Community College (DABCC) received a grant from the American Association of Community Colleges Broadening Horizons through Service Learning program to develop service learning in southern New Mexico. Poised on the United States- Mexico border, DABCC serves a population that includes 40% colonia residents. Colonias are communities within 150 miles of the border that lack basic infrastructure such as paved roads, water and sewage treatment facilities, and adequate housing. DABCC has developed community partnerships with colonia residents and with agencies that provide services within the colonias. In their presentation, a DABCC team will describe service learning …

Meeting Ncate Standards Through Service-Learning: Diversity, National Service-Learning In Teacher Education Partnership

Diversity

Over the past several years, college campuses across North America have seen an increase in the variety of service-learning projects integrated with academic course goals. Federal and state governments are asking schools, colleges, and departments of education to promote service-learning because of service-learning's unique capacity to promote high-quality learning and civic engagement in its participants. Teacher educators are responding by embedding service- learning into various teacher education courses and they report positive outcomes. For example, experiences in culturally diverse and/or low-income schools and communities juxtaposed with multicultural education courses provide preservice teachers the opportunity to gain a better understanding of …

Service-Learning And Multicultural/Multiethnic Perspectives: From Diversity To Equity, Wokie Weah, Verna Cornelia Simmons, Mcclellan Hall

Diversity

The "missionary ideology" that currently underlies much of the service-learning movement is mostly the result of a series of decisions intended to "do good things" for others, and so the movement does not directly acknowledge what those others, particularly communities of color, might hove to offer, the authors say. It's time to change that.

The Dialogue Guide, Sandy Heierbacher

Diversity

Developed in 1999 for National Service programs interested in fostering understanding, respect and teamwork among their diverse participants. The Dialogue guide is designed to help National Service leaders engage their members in meaningful dialogues on race.

Integrating Service Into A Multicultural Writing Curriculum, Robert Franco

Diversity

In 1986, the American Association of Community Colleges brought together nineteen distinguished leaders in higher education to produce Building Communities: A Vision For a New Century. Their mission statement focused on excessive fragmentation, cultural separation, and racial tension in local communities ·across America. It emphasized that many neighborhoods and families had lost their cohesiveness and that an atomistic individualism was on the rise (Commission on the Future of Community Colleges, 1988).

Applied Learning: Giving African-American Students An Edge In The Job Market, Jennifer Jones

Diversity

Applied learning experiences such as internships, cooperative education or public service programs offer significant benefits to African American college students. Students gain exposure and develop contacts in various industries prior to graduation. Applied learning also helps students evaluate their career interests and objectives as well as improve both their pre-employment and job survival skills.

Language, Culture, And Violence In The Education Crisis Of U.S. Latino/ As: Two Courses For Intervention, Frances R. Aparicio, Christina Jose-Kampfner

Diversity

This article discusses the educational crisis of U.S. Latina/as and argues for the recognition and understanding of the extent to which institutional racism and violence are exercised by schools against this cultural sector. It then describes, as forms of intervention, a course which trainsfuture Spanish teachers in developing Latino cultural competence, and a community service learning course which offers tutoring and emotional support to at-risk middle school students.

Service Learning, Diversity, And The Liberal Arts Curriculum, Richard Battistoni

Service Learning, General

In the many years I have been teaching, I have attempted to engage students in issues surrounding their place as citizens in a multicultural democracy. In my second year of involvement in AAC&U's American Commitments: Diversity, Democracy, and Liberal Learning project, I have become acquainted with the perspectives of faculty from different disciplines and institutions and with a wide array of excellent multicultural materials and curricula; but even the best of curricula tend to be somewhat abstract.