Date of Award

5-2026

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Departmental Honors

Department

Applied Sciences, Technology, and Education

Abstract

Community is a vital part of non-formal education. A sense of, longing for, and responsibility towards community draws individuals to participate in local services and classes. Community has been shown to have positive impacts on learning, self efficacy, and health.

Many of the techniques used in education mirror techniques used in building community—such as the use of small group discussions and cultural sensitivity—but with distinct differences in mindset. Most educational approaches see the acquisition and use of knowledge as the key purpose of the program and evaluate participants on an individual basis. This approach makes sense for programs meant to prove competency in a particular skill or arena of knowledge, but falls short when it comes to the development of lasting relationships.

This project examines the practical application of community building techniques in non-formal education. The lesson plans developed through this project focus on parenting and nutrition and are designed for an audience of young or soon-to-be parents, but the principles used to build the curriculum are not specific to the lessons or the audience and may be easily applied to other topics or audiences within the context of non-formal education.

Key principles for building community can be broken into two main categories. These are mindset and structure.

Mindset refers to the individual beliefs of the person organizing and orchestrating the community event. Effective community builders will view participants as equal contributors, value relationships over results, and invite both successes and failure.

Structure refers to the overall techniques used to build community. The most general of these strategies include emphasizing welcomes and goodbyes, using both small and large group discussions, focusing on shared values, and designing spaces to support belonging.

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Faculty Mentor

Stacy Bevan

Departmental Honors Advisor

Joseph Furse