MODELING, MENTORING, AND PEDAGOGY: Cultivating Public Scholars

This chapter discusses how the public good is reinforced through intentionally training and socializing graduate students to practice community-engaged scholarship. It provides guidance to graduate preparation programs, students, and faculty on how to cultivate space to foster the important student-faculty relationships. Drawing on the diverse experiences and the student-faculty-adviser relationships, the chapter describes, through reflective conversations, how community-engaged scholars are cultivated through modeling, mentoring, and inclusive pedagogy. It encourages the continued use of faculty and student narratives about their experience participating in community-engaged scholarship as it can lead to a deeper understanding of the need for preparation for graduate students toward community-engaged work by creating an ongoing dialogue. Establishing a good rapport with community partners, assigning service-learning sites, and providing on going service to students often comes in addition to the traditional expectations of faculty. Graduate student scholars become conduits for change between communities and universities, reinforcing the role of higher education as a public good.