Embedding Public and Community Engagement in the Higher Education Curriculum

A Practical Guide: Embedding Public and Community Engagement in the Higher Education Curriculum

Preface

References to public and community engagement have become near ubiquitous in the higher education context. Applications for research funding demand stakeholder engagement, universities integrate public engagement into their strategies, and the UK’s Research Excellence Framework 2029 includes “Engagement and Impact” as one of its three assessment elements. However, these activities often omit the integration of key actors in any university: taught students.

Indeed, practical guidance on the types of curricular and co-curricular activities through which students may interact with local communities and the broader public is still rather scarce (although some is referenced in this handbook). This is curious given unfavourable descriptions of universities as detached from their communities and calls for them to better prepare students for the ‘real world’.

Therefore, this handbook is a starting point for higher education professionals who are interested in integrating public and/or community engagement into their teaching. The pages that follow offer concrete examples and step-by-step guidance on how to implement these activities.

The handbook is structured around 19 case studies developed by University of Warwick staff and students. It contains case studies from across and beyond all faculties at the University of Warwick on a wide range of activities from podcast assignments to student-run teddy bear hospitals. The handbook covers engagement both within modules and beyond the regular curriculum, for instance as part of the Warwick Institute of Engagement Resonate programme. It also includes general insights on public and community engagement pedagogies (including what we mean by these terms – p. 4).

The handbook was created by the Pedagogies of Public and Community Engagement Learning Circle, shared by the Warwick Institute of Engagement (WIE) and the Warwick International Higher Education Academy (WIHEA). The learning circle connects students and staff to consider the ways in which students can and should be involved in public and community engagement. Having been established in 2021, the learning circle has benefitted tremendously from several generations of leadership by Kevin Moffat, Mark Hinton, Gioia Panzarella, and Jonathan Hickman-Heron. We would like to thank them for their outstanding efforts in championing public and community engagement pedagogies. We would also like to thank the Warwick Institute of Engagement and the Warwick International Higher Education Academy for their commitment of funding and staffing resources which made this project possible, as well as Annabel Bagshaw for her editorial work. Finally, we would like to thank the contributors. They have volunteered their time to share their experiences and guide future engagement practices in higher education teaching.

Laura Gelhaus, Naomi Kay, Rachel Turner-King

Come to our launch event - From Guide to Action

Thursday 19 November, 3-5pm, The Library

To celebrate the launch of this guide we're inviting staff and students from the Warwick community to join us for a panel discussion to explore some of the challenges and opportunities of public and community engaged teaching. Featuring a range of speakers who have contributed to the guide, this session will discuss their case studies in depth and explore their ideas and insights. There will also be an opportunity for refreshments and networking with a range of the case study authors, and with colleagues from Warwick Institute of Engagement. If you're interested in exploring how you might embed engaged teaching practices in new or existing modules we'd love for you to join us.