Module 3: McMaster’s Principles of Community Engagement

In partnership with our local community, McMaster developed a set of principles during its community engagement strategic planning process. These principles are important as they shape McMaster’s engagement with local and global communities and ensure that there is a consistent approach at the foundation of this engagement. These principles include:

 

Orange background with yellow lightbulb in middle. Light coloured blocks around the lightbulb read respectful relationships, Reciprocity, Equity, Continuity, Openness to Learning, Commitment to Act
The Bright Light of McMaster’s Six Principles of Community Engagement

McMaster’s 6 Principles of Community Engagement:

      1. Relationships
      2. Reciprocity
      3. Equity
      4. Continuity
      5. Openness to Learning
      6. Commitment to Act

This module will consider the six principles of Community Engagement in more detail, providing scenarios and examples to clarify the concepts.

Module 3 Learning Objectives

By the end of Module 3, learners should be able to:

  1. Identify the six principles of community-engaged learning and differentiate them from other, more problematic approaches to charity work and volunteering
  2. Analyze how the principles of community-engaged learning intersect and function as a whole
  3. Envision how they will carry out the principles of community-engaged learning in their own service-learning experiences
  4. Identify which components of community engagement come into play in presented scenarios
  5. Analyze how well a particular community engagement project aligns with McMaster’s views on community-engaged learning
  6. Create their own scenarios that make use of their newfound understanding and practical knowledge of the principle
Orange background with four light yellow blocks. Black text header reads: "Students...". Yellow boxes contain text: learn with community partners; apply classroom knowledge; develop skills beyond classroom; engage responsibly in community.
The Benefits of a Principled Approach to Community Engaged Education

In the following chapters, we detail the different principles and sketch out how best to live up to them.

License

Icon for the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Draft: Fundamentals of Community Engagement: A Sourcebook for Students Copyright © 2022 by McMaster Office of Community Engagement is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

Feedback/Errata

Comments are closed.