The role of school-community collaboration in enhancing students’ civic engagement

Abstract

This article presents and discusses the results of a systematic review on the role of schools (from primary to adult education) in enhancing students’ civic engagement through collaboration with community. Based on the analysis of 21 selected studies, the authors inductively identified the main educational practices aimed at improving civic engagement. The results show that these practices are aimed primarily at school-age students, and only to a limited extent to adult students, as well as that they mostly involve the ‘local’ more than the ‘global’ community. Albeit derived from studies conducted with different methods and purposes, the results also allow some general considerations on the definition of civic engagament, the effects of educational practices on students’ civic engagement and the factors that facilitate the effectiveness of such practices.