Nicole Webster Ph.D.

Research Areas:

Civic Engagement / Social Change / Service Learning
Positive Youth Development
Minority and At-Risk Youth

Research Focus / Projects:

My research focuses on understanding the impact of service learning experiences on youth and young adults in school and community-based settings. My emphasis is on service learning and outreach as an intervention tool for minority youth in marginalized low-income communities.

Professional Associations:

• International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IARSLCE)
• American Educational Research Association (AERA)- www.aera.net
• Minoritites in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS)- www.manrrs.org
• Caribbean Studies Assocation (CSA) - http://www.caribbeanstudiesassociation.org

Honors / Awards:

William Henson Diversity Award.  College of Agricultural Sciences.  (2011).

John Glenn Service-Learning Scholar. The John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy at The Ohio State University recognizes twenty-five scholars whose scholarship efforts contribute to advancing the understanding of or adoption of service-learning, with specific emphasis on K-12 education. (2007).

Emerging Scholar. A research based project funded by Brandeis University’s Center for Youth and Communities (CYC), CIRCLE, and the International Center for Research on Civic Engagement and Service-Learning (ICR-CESL) at the University of California, Berkeley that recognized and provided support and encouragement for a new generation of diverse service-learning researchers. (2007).

Emerging Scholar Award, Honored at the 6th Annual International Conference in Service Learning Research (November 2006).

Joan Luerssen Faculty / Horace T. Woodward Faculty Enhancement Fund in the College of Agricultural Sciences, recipient; Monetary Award of $2000 to support professional development. (2005).

Selected Publications:

Webster, N. & Ward, S.  (in press).  Pathways for Youth Mentoring:  Merging Communities of Practice.  Journal of Community Positive Practice.  

Webster, N., Ganpat, W. & Chester, C.  (in review).  Towards a model of promoting youth development in the Caribbean through agriculture investment.  Vulnerable Children & Youth Studies. 

Webster, N.S., & Ganpat, W. (2012, in press).  Career Perceptions and Caribbean Secondary Youth.  Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension.

Webster, N. & Arends, J.  (2012).  Perspective Transformation and International Service-Learning: An Insider’s Look Through Stephanie’s Story.  Journal of College and Character, 13(2), available online at http://journals.naspa.org/jcc/vol13/iss2/6

Webster, N. & Martin, C.  (2011).  A Method for Improving the Educationof Latino Students in Charter Schools.  In Stewart & Webster (eds.).  Cultural tension and dynamics in service learning.  Information Age Publishing. Greensboro, NC.

Webster, N. & Ganpat, W. (2011).  Constructing meaning of education and development for urban youth in the Caribbean.   Commissioned paper for the St. Vincent and Grenadine Ministry of Education.

Prins, E. & Webster, N.  (2010). Student identities and the tourist gaze in international service-learning:  A university project in Belize.  Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement 14(1), pp. 5-32. 

Ganpat, W. & Webster, N. (2010). An agricultural apprenticeship program for youth in Trinidad, West Indies: Can it meet the Caribbean’s urgent need for younger farmers?  Journal of Youth Development, Bridging Research & Practice, 5(1), pp. 43-53.

Dunlap, M. & Webster, N. (2009). Enhancing Inter-Cultural Competence through Civic Engagement. Civic Engagement in Higher Education/Creating Opportunities for College Students to Learn about and Practice Civic Engagement (pp. 140-153). Bolton, MA: Anker Publishing Company.

Webster, N. (2007). Enriching School Connection and Learning in African American Urban Youth: The Impact of a Service-Learning Feasibility Project in Inner City Philadelphia. In S. Gelmon & S. Billig (Eds.), From Passion to Objectivity: International and Cross-Disciplinary Perspectives on Service-Learning Research, Advances in Service Learning Research.

Webster, N. (2005). Racial socialization and youth activism. In Sherrod, L., Flanagan, C. A., & Kassimir, R. (Eds.). Youth Activism: An International Encyclopedia. (pp. 520-521). Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing.

Aronson, K. R, Webster, N. S., Parker, J., Reason, R., Ingram, P., Mitchell, K. (2005). Developing Plans for a Randomized Control Trial to Evaluate a Conceptual Model of Service-Learning. In J. Callahan, S. Root, S. Billig (Eds.), Improving Service-Learning Practice: Research on Models to Enhance Impacts, Advances in Service Learning Research (pp. 82-91). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Books and book chapters:

Stewart, T. & Webster, N. (Eds.). (2011). Cultural Tensions and Dynamics in Service Learning. Information Age Publishing.

Stewart, T. & Webster, N. (Eds.) (2010). Problematizing the Culture of Service Learning. Information Age Publishing.

Current International Research Projects:

South Africa-- research with the Limpopo Department of Agriculture and the University of Limpopo and the University of Venda on rural youth invovlement in agriculture

Trinidad-- research project with the University of West Indies on youth development and agriculture engagement