The Post-secondary institutions strive to engage students in their learning while simultaneously developing strong university-community relationships that enrich the potential for students’ experiential learning within the community and/or private sector. Experiential learning is not just recognized for its resultant knowledge acquired through doing, but also for its role in building participants’ confidence to learn in different settings, to make critical connections to their curricula learning, build greater self-efficacy, reflection and innovation [5], [6]. Kolb’s experiential learning paradigm resonates with postsecondary students, faculty, and community partners [3], [5], [7]. While the resources and relationships invested in university-community collaborations are extensive, it is important to remain attentive to potential disconnect among stakeholders, particularly in periods of uncertainty [4]. Community partners, university administrators, and professors may be unaware of the additional needs of students and community partners and neglect to consider these in the design, supervision and evaluation of experiential learning placements. This gap can result in missed mutual learning opportunities, community development and networking.

Author: Eileen O’Connor

Published in: Ireland International Conference on Education (IICE-2023)

• Date of Conference: 11-13 April 2023
• DOI: 10.20533/IICE.2023.0025
• ISBN: 978-1-913572-51-8
• Conference Location: Dún Laoghaire, Ireland