Same Words, Different Worlds: Navigating Semantic Drift in Higher Education’s Outreach and Community Engagement Discourse.
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| 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] |
| Copyright of Journal of Higher Education Outreach & Engagement is the property of University of Georgia, Office of the Vice President for Public Service & Outreach and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 193444926 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Same Words, Different Worlds: Navigating Semantic Drift in Higher Education’s Outreach and Community Engagement Discourse. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Meens%2C+David+E%2E%22">Meens, David E.</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Higher+Education+Outreach+%26+Engagement%22">Journal of Higher Education Outreach & Engagement</searchLink>. 2026, Vol. 30 Issue 1, p113-124. 12p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Community+involvement%22">Community involvement</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Institutional+environment%22">Institutional environment</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Concept+mapping%22">Concept mapping</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Higher+education%22">Higher education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Linguistic+change%22">Linguistic change</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Policy+analysis%22">Policy analysis</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: 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] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Higher Education Outreach & Engagement is the property of University of Georgia, Office of the Vice President for Public Service & Outreach and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=193444926 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 12 StartPage: 113 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Community involvement Type: general – SubjectFull: Institutional environment Type: general – SubjectFull: Concept mapping Type: general – SubjectFull: Higher education Type: general – SubjectFull: Linguistic change Type: general – SubjectFull: Policy analysis Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Same Words, Different Worlds: Navigating Semantic Drift in Higher Education’s Outreach and Community Engagement Discourse. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Meens, David E. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 01 Text: 2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 15346102 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 30 – Type: issue Value: 1 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of Higher Education Outreach & Engagement Type: main |
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