Student-Created Curricular and Co-Curricular Pathways Toward Participation in a Diverse Democracy

Abstract

This study explored the ways in which undergraduate students intentionally navigate complex curricular and co-curricular choices in preparation for engaging in a diverse democracy. Our study examined these choices among students at a university that lacks formal structures to facilitate these choices. Four curricular and co-curricular pathways that exemplify particular forms of the student experience across disciplines emerged and are discussed.

Notes

¹A four-person research team determined specific courses and activities that are connected to diverse democracy outcomes. During a series of weekly meetings and additional iterative discussions. Principles of triangulation were utilized for catalytic validity (Lather, 1991).

²The focus groups were conducted by a larger research team, of which we were members.

³The visual summaries include approximations of the average number of curricular and co-curricular activities chosen by the students identified as representative of each pathway.

⁴Living learning communities “are explicit in structuring students' in- and out-of-class experiences to foster a holistic learning experience as students live and learn in the [residential] community” (Pasque & Murphy, 2005, p. 431).