Examining the impact of community organization strategies on the range of actors experiencing relational fluctuations in community-based learning: Insights from a program in Western Japan.

Abstract: This study examined the strategies of community organizations (CBOs) that accepted community-based learning (CBL) and the interactions among CBL actors, to analyze the influence of the local community context on service-learning experiences in rural Western Japan. The SOFAR (students, community organizations, faculty, campus administrators, and residents) model and ETT (Exploitive, Transactional, and Transformational relationship) model were used to analyze relationships and their changes among actors, and four typologies of CBOs were created based on the form of constituent participation in CBOs, and their objectives.
Findings showed that the relationship between two actors in CBL moved back and forth between transactional and transformational, depending on the social environment and progress of activities. This situation that the relationship between the two actors was repeatedly advancing and retreating was defined as relational fluctuation. This fluctuation in relationships affected each community resident's trust in others and expectations of the CBO, which in turn affected the abilities, attitudes, and values of individual actors.
The form of constituent participation in CBOs determined the number and attributes of residents involved in CBL activities. Socially prescribed participation resulted in broader involvement aligned with organizational objectives, while voluntary participation limited engagement to motivated individuals. This indicates that CBO strategies play an important role in defining the range of residents who may experience relational fluctuation and change their abilities, attitudes, and values due to CBL, as well as the quality of their impact. And the CBO's strategy was likely influenced by the local context in which the CBO was formed.

Narrative: [Research Purpose]
The purpose of this study is to find out how the local context in which Community-Based Learning (CBL) is practiced affects the overall characteristics of the experience gained by both the university and the community. To this end, the study examined the context of local communities in rural western Japan, described by the strategies of community organizations (CBOs) that embrace CBL, and how they affect the transforming relationships of both university and local actors involved in CBL. This was the research question addressed in the study.

[Analytical Framework]
This study uses two conceptual perspectives. First, using the SOFAR (Students, Organizations in the community, Faculty, Administrators on the campus, and Residents) models (Fig.1) and ETT (Exploitive, Transactional, and Transformational relationship) models (Fig.2) as a framework, the overall characteristics of the Service Learning (SL) experience in both university and community can be analyzed. We analyzed CBL in a region in Japan and found relational transformations and fluctuations due to interactions among actors participating in CBL (Akiyoshi et al. 2022). Second, based on how many community residents, who occur such relational transformations (changes and fluctuations in relationships) among other actors, there are, where they live, and what attributes they have, it is possible to assume the extent to which the impact of the experience is widespread in the region. Interaction with other actors occurs only when they engage in CBL, and the participation of citizens in CBL is likely to be defined by the strategies of CBOs that embrace CBL. Specifically, we use an analytical framework that categorizes CBOs into four types according to the form of participation in the CBOs and the CBOs' formation objectives (Table 1).

[Method]
Three CBLs implemented in western Japan were selected and their activities, characteristics of the host CBO, involvement of various actors in the CBL, and their relationships with each other, especially before and after key events that shaped the activities, were organized based on the records of the faculty members in charge.
In addition, the research team including the faculty member in charge visited each CBL host region and interviewed key members of the host CBO about their interactions with other actors during the implementation of the CBL and at key events. In addition, based on interviews with members of the CBOs in which they operate, information was collected on the CBO's formation process, participation structure, organizational objectives, and the functions it provides.
Using these qualitative data based on the records of the teachers in charge and the observation and interview data from the field survey, we first analyzed the interactions and changes in relationships among the actors involved using the SOFAR and ETT models. In addition, we attempted to develop four typologies according to the type of participation in CBOs and the purpose of organization formation.

[Result]
Two findings emerged from the survey. For one, in all three cases, the relationship between the two actors, the university and the community, moved forward from transactional to transformative or backward from transformative to transactional, depending on the social environment surrounding the activity and its progress or stagnation. Thus, the relationship between the two actors was found to be repeatedly moving forward and backward, and this situation is defined in this paper as relational fluctuation. Relational fluctuation also occurred between groups. These shifts and fluctuations in the relationship between the two actors affect the individual actors' trust in other actors, expectations of the potential of CBOs, and so on resulting in changes in their capacities, attitudes, and values.
Two, the number and attributes of the community residents involved in CBL were determined by the form of constituent participation, which was one of the strategies of the CBOs accepting CBL. When constituent participation was socially prescribed, most residents who were conducive to the objectives of the organization's formation were involved in CBL in some way. On the other hand, when constituent participation was voluntary, CBL involvement was limited to those community members who were strongly motivated to achieve the organization's formation objectives. This suggests that the range of community residents whose abilities, attitudes, and values are changed by CBL may be defined by the strategies of the CBOs.

[Discussion]
In rural Japan, traditional CBOs often take a socially prescribed or institutionally mandated form of constituent participation. In recent years, new CBOs have been formed in rural Japan to address community issues. It is presumed that the form of constituent participation differs between those established based on traditional CBOs and those not established on it. This has the potential to affect the number and attributes of residents who interact with university actors (students, faculty, and university administrators) involved in CBL in communities where CBL is practiced, and consequently define the range of residents whose abilities, attitudes, and values may change and the quality of their influence.
In rural Japan, CBL is being promoted at the policy level to help address the challenges created by population decline. Research should be conducted on the increasing number of CBLs to determine how the strategies of host CBOs affect the scope and quality of their contributions to the region. The strategies of host CBOs that have been suggested to influence the scope and quality of local contributions by CBLs are likely to be supported by the context of the community in which the CBOs are formed. The analytical framework of this study, which analyzed host CBO strategies and CBL, is significant as it provides a comparative perspective on the impact of CBL on diverse regions and countries by considering the context of the community in which CBL is practiced.

[key words]
Community-Based Learning, Relational fluctuations, Community organization strategy