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Community Outreach Roadmap: an emerging area of democracy and legitimacy for the Ecuadorian higher education and the third sector

Abstract:

Participation in community engagement programs is mandatory for Ecuadorian higher education, building on a three-fold strategy of: learning, research and community outreach. However, this strategy is frequently lopsided, giving less significance to the latter. This paper intends to unfold two paradigmatic cases that link applied research and service learning, through a qualitative design of case-study methodology. Its aim is to answer how a roadmap for community outreach that embraces a transformative more inclusive and culturally appropriate development can be. The outcomes suggest that community engagement projects need to work with the communities and not for them, founded on the commitment of all stakeholders: faculty, students, staff, CSO and local governments.