The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 41, No. 2 & Volume 42, No. 1 - 13

A Culture of Learning

ence on student learning and personal development (Kenney, Dumont, & Kenney, 2005;
Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Institutional
environments (including many LLCs) that are
perceived by students as inclusive, afﬁrming,
and academically engaging are more likely to
promote student satisfaction and achievement
(Kuh, 2008; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005).

LIVING-LEARNING CENTERS-
WHAT WE KNOW
National Study on Living-Learning Programs
The National Study on Living-Learning Programs began in 2001 with more than 600 participating LLCs. Since that time, scholars have
gained a better understanding of the landscape
of LLCs across the country (Brower & Inkelas,
2010). The variety of programs is expansive,
and a typical LLC would be difﬁcult to characterize, as LLCs vary in administrative structure, thematic focus, and academic emphasis.
Perhaps surprising in light of the push
to integrate in- and out-of-class experiences
are the data indicating that more than 50%
of LLCs fail to include any academic components (Brower & Inkelas, 2010). Without
this, many might argue that some programs
identifying themselves as living-learning communities are not really living-learning communities at all, because academics are an essential
aspect of the deﬁnition of an LLC (Inkelas &
Weisman, 2003; Schroeder, 1994). While there
is evidence to suggest the potential of LLCs to
greatly impact student learning, simply having
an LLC does not guarantee that it will be successful. Certain elements appear to make
an LLC more or less successful in terms of
meeting student learning outcomes (Inkelas &

Weisman, 2003), but it can be difﬁcult to identify those speciﬁc aspects that most inﬂuence
student learning (Andrade, 2007).

Positive Outcomes of Living-Learning
Communities
Although living in traditional residence halls
has numerous advantages for students, research suggests that residing in an LLC has
even greater educational beneﬁts (LaVine
& Mitchell, 2006; Spanierman et al., 2013).
Brower and Inkelas (2010) found that students in LLCs had a smoother transition to
college, were more engaged in critical thinking, and were more apt to support civic engagement and service-learning than were
their peers who did not participate in livinglearning programs. LaVine and Mitchell
(2006) also noted that ﬁrst-year students in a
living-learning community felt they developed
socially and academically and made meaningful connections with faculty. Other researchers have reported the positive impact of LLCs
on students' academic achievement, social development, and general satisfaction with their
university experience (Pasque & Murphy,
2005; Zhao & Kuh, 2004); conﬁdence in critical thinking skills and greater enjoyment of
academically challenging work (Inkelas, Vogt,
Longerbeam, Owen, & Johnson, 2006); and
increased involvement with peer counselors,
residence hall events (Inkelas, Daver, Vogt,
& Leonard, 2007), and student organizations
(Pike, 1999).
There is strong evidence that learning communities positively impact faculty/student interaction as well as active learning, and LLCs
often provide students with a sense of support
(Brower & Inkelas, 2010; Garrett & Zabriskie,

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 41, No. 2 & Volume 42, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 41, No. 2 & Volume 42, No. 1
