Realizing a Critical Framework for Service-Learning at an American Public Research University

Abstract

At a time when many public universities are grappling with how to carry out their student development goals tied to diversity, learning outcomes often still take a backseat to the primacy of faculty research. Even within service-learning courses, which have the potential to bridge the divide in privilege between the campus and the surrounding communities, the emphasis is often on the career or service skills that students obtain by “volunteering.” In an effort to recenter the focus of service learning on sociopolitical development, this chapter provides a pedagogical framework which we believe better situates service-learning to meet the consciousness-raising outcomes expected to emerge from this pedagogical approach. Based on existing theoretical frameworks of identity awareness, we provide a structure for faculty and practitioners who want to create purposeful critical service-learning curricula that align with their diversity and community engagement goals. We then briefly discuss the challenges and opportunities present within public research universities to implementing such a model.