Ginger’s metaphorical collage provides insight regarding her sense of community and the role of collage in the stages of service-learning. Family was at the forefront of her reflections, and more specifically, families taking action together. What of the other students? What about the group
all together? Throughout the study, predominantly within the Final Portfolio Project, collage likewise made visible the other levels of community that were important to the students. Considering the relationships between the stages and the evidence exhibited through collage, I found illuminated aspects of sense of community.
Throughout the project, students had opportunities to consider the concepts of community at its multiple levels. Within this study, at least nine levels of community emerged from the students’ reflective artmaking service-learning experience. In order of most correlated to least, the levels include:
1) Self within community
2) External/Internal community: Town
3) Internal community (as an internal team of students) 4) Family, home, and/or close friends
5) Faith, and/or church 6) External community: State 7) External community: Country 8) External community: World 9) School
Placing their personal identity at the top of the list exhibits the importance of the topic. Although the structure of the study emphasized the construction of the student’s personal interpretation of their sense of community, the students had choices regarding what to include as important to them, or what to not share because it was “too personal,” as one student had said. The subsequent levels were important to them in the order listed above. Although each level was not mutually exclusive, clearly sense of self was their starting point.
However, this aligns to the theoretical construction that inspired the methodology, the constructivist design that raises one’s sense of self above all other senses, as a means of deciphering the world in which the student lives. I expect that implementing a different theoretical framework and restructuring the starting point would yield a different set of results. For example, beginning from a Christian worldview paradigm would place Faith, and/or Church at the start. Therefore, I recommend that conducting this study from a different theoretical framework would contribute to the analysis of these results. Cross-referencing the most beneficial and affective methods for developing the students’ sense of community between the differing paradigms would provide clearer insight into the findings than the findings that this study provides.
The students’ development of sense of community was represented throughout each stage of service-learning. Each level of community (except for external/internal community: town) was most evident at stage 4, reflecting and forming abstract concepts. This demonstrates that the highly emphasized reflective methodology was consistent throughout each stage.
External/internal community at the town level was most evident during teamwork and teambuilding, a component of service-learning that occurred throughout. For example, Solomon observed, “Being in groups is an important part of our community because we can interact with other people and make new friends.” This is consistent with the findings in the previous chapters, where teamwork and teambuilding was significantly evidenced in this service-learning project according to a capacities-based analysis. The most correlated capacity in this relationship was Embodying, expressed predominantly through journaling within the Final Portfolio.
Conclusions to this set of findings suggest that this study most effectively cultivated a greater sense of self and teamwork in the students’ development of sense of community. This
conclusion is congruent with a self-focused theoretical framework and methodological procedures. Students considered their personal sense of self as well as the sense of self of the group as a whole, others within their group, or teambuilding. Consequently, data regarding community at the remaining levels were marginally present. The intention of this practice was to start with self, and then subsequently observe what/who the students naturally determined as their community. For example, I did not actively facilitate discussions at the level of faith, and/ or church level as the starting point because of the constructivist design. Instead, I was interested in determining how the students would refer to this level without my promptings. It was intentionally not the focus of this study and therefore received less attention. Consistent with Dewey’s (1938) constructivist design, I facilitated discussions regarding personal values and sense of self.
One complication with this design is the authenticity of the data and findings. Facilitating a focus elsewhere would yield results according to that focus. It was self- determining. Other results may occur, but based on my findings, I would expect them to be marginally present. One method of circumventing this outcome would be balancing the focus upon each level of community equally, from the starting point and throughout.
For example, considering only the constructivist explanation for the substantial representation of teamwork within the findings does not explain the full story. I observed that the students valued teamwork beyond self-focused investigation, but also, if not more so, for the enhancement and support of others. The students maintained Christian values of service for the good of others as self-sacrificing as opposed to self-promoting. Thomas explained in my interview with him, “Worshiping the Lord inspires me to help my community, because, if I did not believe in the Lord, I would not care about the community. I would only care about myself.
That is the base for why I would care about anything besides myself.” Sitting at the kitchen table in his home, he referred to his drawn Self-Portrait of an inventor working “Throughout the night,” which was the title of the piece written above the window in the drawing (Figure 34). Thomas shared, “I like to invent things that bring joy to those in my community. I want to make their lives fuller so that they have more joy.” Thus, his pseudonym refers to the great inventor Thomas Edison for his shared desire to enrich communities with helpful inventions. Student Thomas desired to help others for the sake of the fulfillment of the other, not himself. Figure 34 is below:
Figure 34: Drawn Self-Portrait of Thomas, the inventor
Hanna expressed the importance of her Christian faith in her community through journaling about her Photography Project on her Final Portfolio pages (Figure 35 below). She chose to photograph a plaque in her home with the Bible verse found in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” Above her photo, she explains, “Bible verses always come in handy when witnessing the gospel, which I love to do! This one is great!” Surrounding the photo and text are supporting aesthetic embellishments of birds with the embedded text, “Truth, Strength, Grateful, Blessed, Forever,” further descriptions of her faith. Felt butterflies float nearby, and although I did not ask her about the purpose for their inclusion, I surmise from the
rest of the page that they symbolize how her faith in Christ makes her feel spiritually lighthearted and free. Hanna’s page reflects her spiritual desire to witness the gospel, or share with her external communities the love of Christ and His gospel message. She desires for her communities to know the power and freedom of salvation that she has found in Jesus Christ.
Figure 35: Hanna's Final Portfolio page regarding her Christian faith as part of her community via Photography Project
For each student, teamwork and teambuilding was a religious expression of faith-based convictions. In my interview with Violet, she explained that the motivations for her contribution
to the project were based upon her Christian faith. Sitting in the peacefulness of her home, with classical music playing gently in the background, she pointed to a photo in her portfolio of her family overlooking the city (Figure 36) and continued, “In the Bible, it says to help the weak and those in trouble, widows and those in distress. In certain passages, you see the different things in it. It kind of opens up your eyes. You say ‘Wow, that is really what I should be doing.’ It helps you along the way to learning and to help those in need.” In this case, the photo was symbolic of the family team with whom she was standing, together ready to “help the weak and those in trouble, widows and those in distress.”
Furthermore, allowing more time for a broader survey of the study would prospectively permit a more comprehensive outcome. It would be challenging to accomplish in a short period of time. In this study, a broader survey was not feasible because of the limitations of time. Therefore, I recommend conducting these practices through a broader, all-inclusive paradigm (specifically Christianity) that incorporates all levels equally, beginning at any level as long as the other levels receive the same attention, and within an extended period of time, such as a full semester.
6.4 SUMMARY
By investigating the intersections of service-learning and modes of artmaking, my findings demonstrate this study’s capability to elicit responses regarding students’ perception of community. The enmeshment of learning processes has the capability to familiarize students with their perceived levels of community and to recognize sense of community, especially through collage. Ginger recognized her group’s shared levels of community, as well as her own personal set, through the aesthetically embodying group Poster Project. To continue this practice of observing a community need and preparing to meet that need, she reflected upon her previous civic engagement. Next, as Ginger illustrated metaphorically through collage, she recognized that community service glues families together, “helping families grow closer together by doing things together […] for others in need” as a community. This progression of methodological practices allowed Ginger to express her synthesis of sense of community, as demonstrated by her collage. Thus, it is helpful for practitioners to observe that considering levels of community and collage-making initiated students’ investigation into sense of community.
Practitioners will also find it helpful to recognize that the specific practices of reflective artmaking coupled with service-learning in this study, as described through the analysis of the project life cycle, encouraged students to interpret their experiences. Referring to Greene (1995) once more, “If we can link imagination to our sense of possibility and our ability to respond to other human beings, can we link it to the making of community as well? Can we encourage the ability of young persons to interpret their experiences in a world they come together to name?” (p. 38). As the development of sense of community occurred through the project life cycle, the enmeshed educational processes were documented through multiple modes of artmaking and a capacities-based analysis.
However, practitioners should be aware that “naming the world” ought not to be the intention of the enmeshed learning processes. The outcomes of my study indicate complications with authenticity when the focus is misplaced. When the focus is upon a reductionist view of the world, such as an elevated sense of self over other levels of community, the outcomes are self- determining. Naturally, the outcomes would reflect the emphasized focus of the practitioner, or in my case, the ethnographer. Because the outcomes of data analysis demonstrated a correlation between sense of self and teamwork and teambuilding, I conclude that the constructivist theoretical and methodological design of this study was beneficial, yet misdirected and shortsighted.
If the constructivist design hindered my analysis, how could a Christian faith-based design meet the need for greater insight? Why was the Christian faith so important to the students during their contemplations regarding sense of community? Investigating reciprocity opens a comprehensive discussion regarding the secular dyadic worldview versus the students’ triadic worldview that includes God. Petin’s compelling story introduces the answers to this line
of inquiry in the next chapter. Taking a broader approach to her contributions, I take some artistic license to infuse her reflections from her Box 3D Project, Final Portfolio Project, and final presentation, as well as my observations of the assisted living center service project, her quotes from my interview with her, and my personal observations of her family life. Through her story, I begin to provide methodological insights of the goals and design of the study that would contribute to a more authentic and comprehensive analysis of development of sense of community.