7 Benefits of Community-Engaged Learning
Community-engaged learning is learning within and alongside communities—AKA one of the most impactful educational approaches.
Combining classroom instruction with meaningful, real-world experiences draws on the expertise of community partners, mutually benefitting learners and the broader community. Closely related to terms like service learning and experiential education, community-based learning provides deeper knowledge, better developed skills in the company of like-minded individuals, and clarifying values.
As a non-profit educational platform dedicated to eliminating gender disparity in financial knowledge, community-engaged learning is our key to making this happen—in-person, online, and hybrid! Here are 7 benefits to learning as a community:
1. Enhanced Learning Experience Through Practical Application
Community-engaged learning offers an immersive environment that goes beyond traditional, static classroom settings.
With financial conditions dynamic and unexpected at times, learning within a community and alongside peers allow learners to discuss and apply theoretical knowledge to real-life situations, making the experience more engaging and memorable.
In the case of increasing financial literacy and acumen, leveraging examples that are happening in real-time creates a solid foundation to layer on tangible and relatable advice. Referencing current events and having the group and instructors weigh in and share their throughts provides a hands-on approach that reinforces the practicality of financial knowledge and its relevance in everyday life.
2. Building Strong Community Connections
Engaging with the community fosters connections between learners and organizations, businesses, and individuals. These connections can lead to valuable networking opportunities, mentorship, and a sense of belonging within the community.
That sense of belonging is extremely valuable for learning and education. According to a LinkedIn workplace learning report, employees who felt like they belonged were 5.2 times more engaged.
Community learning enhanced with social learning (how we learn from others) produces effects such as:
Learners who see that a course has received a high rating are more likely to also participate in that course
Chat forums and engagement spaces can lead to opportunities for mentorship
Individuals who participate less but read message boards still learn through observing discussion between more vocal participants
3. Values Clarification and Decision-Making
Community engagement encourages learners to reflect deeply on their values. Whether asking questions someone may not have realized they had or challenging existing ways of thinking, shared learning sparks discussion that wouldn’t happen in isolation.
Especially with regard to financial decisions, community-engaged learning allows learners to better understand the impact of their choices on the community and how they can put their dollars towards what matters most to them.
It can be easy to get distracted by the "next big thing" and follow trends. However, learning about financial knowledge with a group of like-minded peers can help clarify what's important.
“What I appreciate the most about FFIL is the community they create. I met so many brilliant, values-aligned women who believe that we can change the world through our investments.”
— Devon Krainer, FFIL Alumni
4. Diverse Perspectives and Inclusivity
Community-engaged learning exposes learners to a wide range of perspectives and experiences within their community.
Developing a complex understanding of an issue or idea takes more than just taking in the facts. Usually, it requires considering other people’s positions as well. Our personal beliefs and views can hinder us from understanding different perspectives. When we only interact with people we already know, we may assume that everyone sees the world as we do.
When engaging with different stances in a learning community, there stands to be some exciting, eye-opening discoveries made. Diversity promotes inclusivity and helps learners develop a more comprehensive understanding of financial challenges and solutions that may affect different groups within society.
5. Long-Term Community Benefits
The positive impact of community-engaged learning extends far beyond the classroom. With this type of education often concentrated on initiatives that directly address specific community needs or challenges, it contributes to the well-being of the community and helps to meet unmet needs.
In the example of Movement51, our programs focus on democratizing access to capital and providing all genders equal access to financial knowledge. With that mission in mind, we are powering the full economic participation of women and gender-diverse people in Canada.
Why is that significant? Because if women invested at the same rate as men, there could be more than $3.22 trillion of additional capital to invest globally. Investing in education benefits individuals and also has a ripple effect on families, communities, and economies at large.
By addressing real world needs, learners play their part in bettering society, creating a sense of responsibility and fostering a cycle of community improvement.
Getting more specific: numbers 6 and 7 show how community-engaged learning helps with financial knowledge.
6. Increased Financial Literacy
Community-engaged learners gain both theoretical knowledge and practical financial skills for personal finance. Think: budgeting, investing, managing debt, and more.
A Maru Public Opinion survey found:
Only 1 in 5 (21%) Canadians consider themselves very financially literate
45% believe they are financially literate in their understanding of various financial instruments
Just 15% of people consider themselves financially literate with regard to life insurance, investments, and stocks.
It's important to recognize that everyone begins their financial literacy journey from different points influenced by factors like gender, socioeconomic background, access to resources, cultural and societal influences, biases, and more. Given these diverse starting points, community-engaged learning is invaluable in providing a more comprehensive understanding.
Financial literacy isn’t just about knowing facts and figures; it's about understanding how financial decisions impact individuals and the world at large. Learning alongside peers and from experienced professionals and educators provides context for learners to grasp how these decisions affect themselves and also other individuals and communities.
7. Empowerment and Confidence
As learners become more financially literate, they gain a sense of empowerment and confidence in managing their finances. This newfound self-assurance also extends to other areas of their lives, promoting overall personal growth.
In a survey that asked Canadians to rate their financial knowledge and confidence, the average quiz score was 71%, yet only 41% of survey respondents claimed high confidence in financial matters.
We’ve said it about our mission and impact, and this applies to our approach to education, too: it takes a village.
“With the work M51 is doing to bring women together, it’s building an ecosystem of people with similar interests who would have probably not collided. I’m connecting with people from the bootcamp that I only met today, which is really amazing. We’re all at the same stage, growing together.”
— Naomi Gichungu, FFIL Bootcamp Alumni
Just as becoming financially literate empowers individuals, doing it as a community provides an environment to thrive with confidence. It puts learners in a collaborative setting with peers who also share interest in mastering financial concepts, guided by educators with industry knowledge, experience, and backgrounds. This hands-on, practical learning demystifies technical terms and theories while also expanding personal networks of peers and mentors. It offers valuable insights into financial strategies that positively influence anyone's financial journey.
Humans are social by nature: we rely on cooperation to survive and thrive and need social and emotional connections for learning. Community-engaged learning offers a dynamic, real-world educational approach that enriches our lives as individuals while also contributing to the betterment of society.
The solution to the many issues rooted in economic and social inequality starts with education, so why not go about it together?
Movement51 approaches financial education through our hand-crafted programs led by experienced professionals and educators and in the company of other aspiring investors and founders wanting to learn the same as you. We’ve seen some incredible results along the way:
200+ graduated
$857K+ capital activated
40 cities
88% NPS
80% Increase in Investment Confidence
Explore our current programs today: the Investor Lab, Founder Lab, Bootcamp. We hope to see you in one of our upcoming cohorts!
*Please note that the information provided in this blog is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as investment or financial advice.
