ABSTRACT
Faculty become interested and involved in service learning and community engagement for many reasons, and this range of motivations has been an important area of study over the last 20 years. The concept of motivation arises from the field of psychology and human development and refers broadly to the reasons that individuals take actions toward particular goals. This chapter begins with a presentation of perspectives related to motivation generally and provides an overview of dimensions of professional growth such as learning, agency, professional relationships, and commitments, that might enrich future research. It provides an agenda for future research on faculty motivation for service learning and community engagement. Service learning is considered one key expression of community engagement. Social science theory on professional growth has only recently begun to be tapped in research on faculty motivation for service learning and community engagement.
