Educating for Citizenship in a Diverse and Interdependent Society

The purpose of this essay is to place the community-university partnerships movement
in the context of a broader reform agenda to advance higher education's role in
American democracy and society in general. Understanding this, community members
can better assess an institution's readiness for effective collaboration. There are
many curricular and co-curricular strategies universities can undertake that encourage
students to be productive, responsible citizens and that inspire a sense of public purpose
in faculty and administrators. This essay examines: (1) global and multicultural
studies, (2) interdisciplinary studies, (3) learning communities, (4) interactive
pedagogies, (5) ethics and moral reasoning, (6) engaged scholarship, and (7) deliberative
dialogue. The centrality of these reforms to the academic program can indicate
how seriously an institution views its role in democracy and, in turn, how committed
it will be as an institutional partner in addressing social and community concerns.(Author)