Clemente Australia – Community-embedded, socially supported university education : Enhancing the lives and learning of the socially isolated

Clemente Australia provides opportunities for people who are socially isolated to enhance their self-esteem and self-efficacy; increase their capacity to see new possibilities; engage with a wider array of social and community contacts, networks, and supports; and enhance their interest in learning, leading to enhanced and transformed lives. Clemente Australia is a community-embedded, socially supported university education program (CESSUE), where people experiencing multiple disadvantage are engaged in university education within community agency settings with access to professional welfare support and facilitated access to a diverse range of services. Ongoing research into the impact of CESSUE, exploring students’ hopes, experiences, aspirations, and outcomes, has identified increased student self-esteem and autonomy and their development of attributes needed in working life. This chapter reports on the structures of Clemente Australia and the development and growth of the program over time. It describes research findings related to the key principles of CESSUE and the ongoing research linked to student outcomes. The chapter discusses key principles for the higher education sector globally that can enhance the lives and learning opportunities for the socially isolated through the purposeful collaboration of universities, community agencies corporations, and volunteers across the wider community.