Experiential Education Approaches in Nonprofit Management Education:

An Examination of Nonprofit-Focused Master’s Degree Programs Associated with

the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council

Heather CarpenterDissertation Proposal Defense

Robert Donmoyer, PhD, ChairMary McDonald, PhDPaula Krist, PhDRoseanne Mirabella, PhD

BackgroundExperiential education: “a philosophy and methodology in which educators

purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills and clarify values” (Association for Experiential Education, 2010, par. 2).

Examples of experiential education teaching approaches:

• Experiential learning

• Fieldwork or field project

• Work experience

• Service-learning

• Internships

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Background Cont.

Experiential education teaching approaches are used within a variety of academic settings including:

• Nonprofit management education (NME) programs

• NME programs associated with the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC)

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Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC)

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Experiential Education Applied ResearchCommunity Based Consulting

Problem Statement

Research to date: • General NME

• Experiential education used in a single university or on a single approach

• No comprehensive picture of experiential education approaches

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Research Questions1. What types of experiential education approaches are offered within

nonprofit-focused master’s degree programs associated with NACC member centers across the United States?

2. How are these experiential education approaches defined, built, and administered by each nonprofit-focused master’s degree program?

3. What is the program and university setting of each experiential education approach?

4. What types of program and institutional support are provided to the experiential education approach?

5. What are the similarities and differences between experiential education approach descriptions, program setting and support descriptions, as well as institutional setting and support descriptions across Universities?

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Literature Review

• Nonprofit management education• Mirabella and Renz (2001) Nonprofit Outreach Centers

• History and philosophy of experiential education• Approach descriptions in the fields of Engineering, Medicine,

and Social Work

• Driscoll (2006) Carnegie Community Engagement Classification

• The impact of experiential education on students, the university, and the community

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Methodology

A two-phase mixed method exploratory design:• Phase 1: Qualitative interviews • Phase 2: Development, administration, and

analysis of quantitative data• Design was selected because this is an

unexplored area of research

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Phase 1: Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis

Allows for program directors to describe the experiential education approaches in their own terms.

Participants: • 5-10 master’s program administrators

Participant Recruitment and Selection:• E-mail Introduction• E-mail Invitation

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Phase 1: Qualitative Data Collection and Analysis

Interview Procedures and Analysis:• Pilot interviews• Interviews take place either over the phone or in person• Transcribed and coded thematically

Dealing with Potential Limitations:• Different definitions and interpretations of experiential

education approaches• More established experiential education approaches

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Phase 2: Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis

Developing, administering, and analyzing a survey which will aid in confirming or disconfirming the findings and themes that emerged during the qualitative interviews

Participants:• 40 master’s program administrators

Participant Recruitment and Selection:• E-mail invitation

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Phase 2: Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis

Survey Procedures and Analysis:• Pilot Survey• Clean survey data• Descriptive statistics

• Frequencies

• Crosstabs

• Inferential statistics• Correlations

Statistical analysis that explains relationships among the variables

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Phase 2: Quantitative Data Collection and Analysis

Dependent Variables• Experiential education approaches

Independent Variables• Type of master’s degree program• Setting• Support

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Potential Limitations of the Study

• Personal bias• Small sample size may not representative of

NME• Different language to explain experiential

education

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Significance of the Study

• First study of its kind• Potential significance for program directors at

other NME programs• Findings used in future studies

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Questions/Comments

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