On “Higher Education as a Force for Societal Change in the Twenty-First Century,” by Brenda M. Gourley
Gourley, Brenda M. 2012. “Higher Education as a Force for Societal Change in the Twenty-First Century.” In Higher Education and Civic Engagement, edited by Lorraine McIlrath, Ann Lyons, and Ronaldo Munck, 31–39.
Gourley focuses on the massive changes of the 21st century, and suggests that higher education needs to reorient toward community engagement in order to effectively respond to these changes and prepare generations to make ethical and sustainable decisions, moving forward. Along with the Association for Commonwealth Universities, she argues that community engagement must become a core value of the contemporary university. For Gourley, this can happen on a number of fronts: relating learning and teaching to the larger community, promoting dialogue, and taking on wider responsibilities. She also emphasizes the importance of prioritizing education that is relevant to the immediate locale an institution is situated in. This is relevant to my own work as Gourley makes an impassioned call for a more community-engaged academia predicated on accountability and local context.