A Pilot Study in a Homeland Security Classroom

Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education Volume 11, Number 3 Leadership Opportunities in Service-Learning: A Pilot Study in a Homeland Security Classroom Jess Bonnan-White and Emily Lanaras Stockton University ABSTRACT Service-learning opportunities provide students with valuable professional experience beyond training and practical skills. In a pilot study of Criminal Justice students enrolled in an undergraduate Homeland Security class, student volunteers report opportunities for practicing leadership at an after-school program. Responses were also compared to a leadership curriculum pre- pared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Student volunteers collectively focus on providing mentorship, tutoring assistance, and behavioral regulation. Results add to literature documenting service-learning impact on professional development. Keywords: community policing, criminal justice, mentorship, community engagement “Leadership for me in this project comes in ership skill development. This paper pre- when the students come to me for advice sents the results of a qualitative examina- and help on a homework or a question on a tion of responses by undergraduate Crimi- project or even a question on a day to day nal Justice students (hereafter referred to as topic and me being able to be a role model “student volunteers”) to questions probing for them to look up to and lead them in a their potential for demonstration of leader- safe and successful direction.” (Student A) ship in a pilot “community policing” ser- “[I show]the students a mature adult and vice-learning project. A focus on student [show] them how to be respectful to adults. reflection on professional skills develop- If I look like a leader hopefully they will ment through service learning provides em- want to become one too.” (Student B) pirical support for further expansion of “We are essentially the ‘cool kids’ coming campus service-learning initiatives. into their school. I hope at the very least I am a good role model for these kids. Also, Service Learning as a Pedagogical Tool we are there to guide and teach the kids Service-learning initiatives combine aca- through their programs.” (Student C) demic objectives with social activism (Scharff, 2009) and facilitate application of INTRODUCTION curriculum concepts to community needs (Davis, 2015). Service learning has been Research on the outcomes of service previously defined as: learning often focus on either content-based a method of teaching, learning and learning outcomes, or a set of skills that in- reflecting broadly defined as a credit cludes critical thinking, development of em- -bearing educational experience in pathy, consideration of social justice con- which students link the academic cerns, and interpersonal skills (Celio, Dur- with the practical through participat- lak, & Dymnicki, 2011; Keen & Hall, 2009; ing in an organized service activity Moely, Furco, & Reed, 2008; Prentice & that meets identified academic and Robinson, 2010; Simons & Cleary, 2006; community needs. (Davidson, Warren, 2012; Yorio & Ye, 2012). The cur- Jimenez, Onifade, & Hankins, 2010, rent paper augments this literature by turn- p.443) ing attention to students’ perception of lead- 19 © Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education Copyright © by Indiana State University. All rights reserved. ISSN 1934-5283 Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education Volume 11, Number 3 As such, service learning simultane- support skill development, and immerse ously allows students to complete learning students in field practice. For instance, the objectives, build knowledge comprehen- Michigan State University Adolescent Di- sion, develop competency skill sets, and version Program (ADP) used student volun- create community relationships (Clevenger- teers in an attempt to reduce juvenile recidi- Bright et al., 2017; Degelman, Doggett, & vism and divert juveniles from formal court Medina, 2006). One hallmark of service- processing. Student volunteers were trained learning pedagogy is the creation of linkag- to practice intervention techniques that fo- es between pressing social issues and cus on skill building, goal building, and self course content through self- and guided re- -advocacy among the youth participants flection. This reflection process distin- (Davidson et al., 2010; Davidson, Redner, guishes service learning from other styles of Blakely, & Mitchell, 1987). As a result of community engagement or volunteering the multi-decade program, youth partici- opportunities. Service learning thus not on- pants remained in school at higher rates ly serves as a pedagogical tool, but is in- than before the program was implemented tended to foster empathy and compassion and in control groups, and recidivism de- through problem solving and critical think- creased compared to those who received ing (Barnes, 2016; Degelman et al., 2006). traditional court processing. Additionally, Beyond its impact on academic pro- annual expenditures on probation costs de- gram success, service learning has been creased over the 30 years of program imple- shown to have positive impact on the devel- mentation (Davidson et al., 2010). The ser- opment of practical skill sets and profes- vice-learning student volunteers reported sional competencies. For example, nursing learning about themselves, their world, the students who participated in service learn- multiplicity of community perspectives, ing with an agency serving vulnerable pop- problems with social services, social ine- ulations reported an increase in the sense of quality, and the direction of their career responsibility to serve, feelings in the abil- paths. Davidson et al. (2010) also reported ity to make a difference, community aware- students gained an appreciation of a variety ness, and bias awareness (Barnes, 2016). In of learning tools, including intensive train- another case, students similarly felt greater ing, learning through directing a social in- capacity for making a difference and prob- tervention, and learning from student col- lem solving after completing a project with leagues through small-group discussion. an environmental law agency (Situ, 1997). Other examples of service learning These individual project results are mir- in a criminal justice context largely repre- rored in a meta-analysis of 62 studies on the sent a focus on juvenile offenders (e.g., effectiveness of service learning, with docu- Hirschinger-Blank & Markowitz, 2006; mented significant increases in social Swanson, King, & Wolbert, 1997; Vigorita, skills—particularly those related to empa- 2002), elderly prison populations (Davis, thy, problem solving, and leadership (Celio 2015), or the diversity of community organ- et al., 2011). izations that provide services related to criminal justice procedures (e.g., Lersch, Community-based Criminal Justice 1997; Penn, 2003). In one recent prison- Learning and Leadership based project, students volunteering with an Effective preparation of criminal elderly population reported an increase both justice professionals to exercise leadership in knowledge of the target community, as remains a key issue in criminal justice edu- well as comfort interacting with prisoners cation literature (Roberts, Herrington, (Davis, 2015). In another prison-based pro- Jones, White, & Day, 2016). Designated ject, students spent two hours weekly par- service-learning projects have been used to ticipating in recreational activities or tutor- supplement criminal justice course material, ing juvenile offenders (Hirschinger-Blank 20 © Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education Copyright © by Indiana State University. All rights reserved. ISSN 1934-5283 Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education Volume 11, Number 3 & Markowitz, 2006). Post-project analyses 2009; Schafer et al., 2009). The community generally revealed positive attitudinal policing model has also been revisited in changes, with students reporting feeling the post-September 11, 2001, context to ex- they learned more through the experience plore how core aspects of the model than they would have in the classroom (community partnerships, organizational alone (Hirschinger-Blank & Markowitz, transformation, and problem solving) align 2006). with the goals of violence prevention (particularly terrorism) (Murray, 2005). To Community Policing and Homeland Se- these ends, law enforcement agencies con- curity tinue to participate in youth engagement As discussed by Lewis (2004), ser- programs rooted in the traditional commu- vice-learning pedagogy moves toward a nity policing model (Subhas & Chandra, goal of community empowerment through 2004; Anderson, Sabatelli, & Trachtenberg, community partnerships and emphasis on 2007; Bustad & Andrews, 2017). In re- social justice, rather than charitable volun- sponse to school violence, however, youth teerism. Although not intended to provide a also increasingly engage with police agen- thorough analysis, a short review of com- cies through School Resource Officers munity policing as policing practice is pro- (Coon & Travis, 2012). The service- vided here to contextualize the service- learning project described herein was de- learning project presented herein. The mod- vised as an opportunity for students in a el of community policing (alternatively homeland security course who envision a known as community problem solving) was career in law enforcement to experience introduced in the 1980s as an alternative to engagement with community youth, as well the earlier

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