Same Words, Different Worlds: Navigating Semantic Drift in Higher Education’s Outreach and Community Engagement Discourse.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Same Words, Different Worlds: Navigating Semantic Drift in Higher Education’s Outreach and Community Engagement Discourse.
Authors:	Meens, David E.^1,2
Source:	Journal of Higher Education Outreach & Engagement. 2026, Vol. 30 Issue 1, p113-124. 12p.
Subject Terms:	Community involvement, Institutional environment, Concept mapping, Higher education, Linguistic change, Policy analysis
Abstract:	This article examines the challenge of semantic drift in higher education’s community engagement discourse, where terms like "outreach" and "engagement" have expanded beyond their original scholarly definitions and been appropriated by institutional actors for diverse purposes. Drawing upon the relevant literature and the author’s experience as an administrator and practitioner, this analysis demonstrates that scholarly responses emphasizing boundary work to police definitional integrity prove counterproductive to goals of institutionalization and promotion of high-quality practice. The article argues for an alternative approach (strategic adaptation) that maintains scholarly rigor while engaging productively with evolving institutional usage. Operationalized through an outreach and engagement Definitions and Concept Map Tool (DCMT), this pragmatic approach emphasizes semantic differentiation, plural aims, and zones of strategic overlap. The article demonstrates how strategic adaptation enables community engagement scholars to influence emerging policy and practice while preserving analytical precision necessary for meaningful research and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	This article examines the challenge of semantic drift in higher education’s community engagement discourse, where terms like "outreach" and "engagement" have expanded beyond their original scholarly definitions and been appropriated by institutional actors for diverse purposes. Drawing upon the relevant literature and the author’s experience as an administrator and practitioner, this analysis demonstrates that scholarly responses emphasizing boundary work to police definitional integrity prove counterproductive to goals of institutionalization and promotion of high-quality practice. The article argues for an alternative approach (strategic adaptation) that maintains scholarly rigor while engaging productively with evolving institutional usage. Operationalized through an outreach and engagement Definitions and Concept Map Tool (DCMT), this pragmatic approach emphasizes semantic differentiation, plural aims, and zones of strategic overlap. The article demonstrates how strategic adaptation enables community engagement scholars to influence emerging policy and practice while preserving analytical precision necessary for meaningful research and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	15346102