Academic community-engaged learning and student mental health and wellness : understanding the lived experiences of undergraduate students

The purpose of this study was to illuminate the experiences of undergraduate students who participated in academic community-engaged learning, specifically as those experiences related to student mental health and wellness. Student mental health is a growing priority for higher education institutions, and the number of students who are struggling with mental health concerns is rising. Understanding the nuances of these lived student experiences will help higher education institutions to better understand their role in supporting these students, ultimately maximizing potential positive impacts and mitigating potential negative impacts on student mental health and wellness. Further, these insights are needed in order to create trauma-informed community-engaged learning practices, which are important not just for the student participants but also for the communities with which they engage as well. This study examined the following research questions: 1.What are the lived experiences of undergraduate student participants of community-engaged learning, specifically as they relate to their mental health and wellness?2.How do undergraduate student participants of community-engaged learning make sense of the impact of these pedagogical experiences on their mental health and wellness?The data for this qualitative Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was collected through semi-structured interviews with seven undergraduate students. Analysis resulted in the identification of essential components of the student community-engaged learning experience as it relates to their mental health and wellness and included three main themes: Identity (Head), Belonging (Heart), and Agency (Hands). The participants' experiences highlighted that reflection on identity, and knowledge development around identity, are essential parts of the mental health and wellness experience of community-engaged learning. It is important that these reflection experiences be restorative, give space to explore personal identity-based trauma, and provide opportunities for validation, so that participants are more likely to feel safe to continue exploring new ways of thinking and knowing. Further, the participants' experiences highlighted that developing a sense of belonging is an essential part of the mental health and wellness experience of community-engaged learning. Participants' sense of belonging was facilitated by the practice and reciprocation of vulnerability, empathy, and compassion. Finally, the participants' experiences also highlighted that agency is an essential part of the mental health and wellness experience of community-engaged learning. Participants practiced taking control over their environment and telling their stories, and also struggled with what it means to have impact while ultimately working to understand their sense of purpose. The implications of these findings for community-engaged learning practices at higher education institutions are many, including pedagogical considerations for community-engaged classrooms, campus-wide considerations for the inclusion and support of high impact practices such as community-engaged learning, as well as community partner implications related to partner orientation, training, and support. Ultimately, the findings of this study will lead to a better informed and nuanced, macro-level strategy that higher education institutions can use to impact the state of student mental health and wellness broadly.