It’s important to understand what we are accomplishing when we encourage our students, staff, and faculty to participate in community engagement activities. We need to know how it benefits our communities and the quality of life. We also want to understand how it affects those who are collaborating to effect change.
That’s why we undertake research with questions about the effects of community engagement.
To better understand the concept of civic-mindedness and assess the extent to which students who graduate from IUPUI are civic-minded, we developed the civic-minded graduate (CMG) model.
Pulling from a variety of disciplines, this identifies specific knowledge, skills, and dispositions to determine how students develop civic-mindedness. It also gives educators a framework to use when creating new educational experiences designed to increase community engagement.
The conceptual framework for the CMG represents the integration of identity, educational experiences, and civic experiences, and predicts how likely a person is to engage in civic-minded activities in the future.
Learn more about the CMG rubricThe civic-minded professional (CMP) scale provides a tool for research on professionals who contribute their time, skill, and expertise to others to achieve collective good.
The research project started because we wanted to understand the traits of these professionals in order to create more informed strategies to sustain and enhance this practice. This inquiry led us to define the concept of CMP and operationalize its attributes into a scale that can provide a reliable measure in the right context.
Learn more about the CMP scaleIf you are interested in partnering with us on a community engagement scholarship effort, we’d like to talk to you.
Contact us