Problematizing service-learning : critical reflections for development and action / edited by Trae Stewart, Nicole Webster.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Stewart, Trae, editor.

Webster, Nicole, editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Service learning.

Critical pedagogy.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (383 p.)

Place of Publication:

Charlotte, N.C. : Information Age Pub., c2011.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Interest in and research on civic engagement and service-learning have increased exponentially. In this rapid growth, efforts have been made to institutionalize pedagogies of engagement across both K-12 and higher education. As a result, increased positive attention has been complemented equally by well-founded critiques complicating experiential approaches' claims and questioning if institutional, financial, and philosophical commitment is warranted. A key complaint from these critical voices is the tightly woven, protective insular core in the field of service-learning. This claim is not unfounded, nor necessarily bad. Initial efforts to legitimize service-learning and other forms of community-based education required group cohesion. The concern, however, is that the initial group cohesion has led to groupthink wherein group members have avoided critical analysis and evaluation. This book aims to prevent groupthink within the field of service-learning by allowing for the examination of effective alternatives by new voices who can serve as "critical evaluators" from within the field itself. Myriad perspectives are offered, including empirical, theoretical, practical, and community perspectives. Authors challenge preconceived notions of service-learning, who is benefited by this pedagogy, outcomes of participation and implementation, and most importantly the theoretical, conceptual, and methodological lenses through which service-learning is even considered. The book allows servicelearning's major criticisms to be examined, challenges to be voiced, and research agendas to be laid. This book parallels service-learning's presence and popularity across various disciplines/fields. Chapters are written from broad perspectives and are aimed to inform service-learning researchers and educators, community organizations, and policy makers who consider service-learning as a means to address civic responsibility. Authors expose theoretical and philosophical concerns circulating in the field, and often still occupying spaces on the fringe of discourse, action, and research. The book raises fundamental questions for undergraduate and graduate courses with social justice themes by considering the implications that pedagogies of engagement have on learners and communities.

Contents:

Foreword / Andrew Furco

Preface: Why problematize service-learning and why now? / Trae Stewart and Nicole Webster

Part I. Expanding frameworks

Chapter 1. Creating spaces for service-learning research: Implications for emergent action and civic ingenuity / M. Jayne Fleener, Laura Jewett, Jolanta Smolen, and Russell L. Carson

Chapter 2. Service-learning as an intellectual movement: The need for an "academic home" and critique for the community engagement movement / Dan W. Butin

Chapter 3. Opening up service-learning reflection by turning inward: Developing mindful learners through contemplation / Trae Stewart

Part II. Complexities in situating service-learning

Chapter 4. Virtual adoption of service-learning through controlled discourse / Sharon M. Livingston

Chapter 5. Service-learning: An exportable pedagogy? / Margaret Brabant

Chapter 6. Collegiate service-learning: Perspectives on legal liability / Martin Dupuis, Melody A. Bowdon, and Sarah Schwemin

Part III. Youth development, voices, and perspectives

Chapter 7. Youth development in traditional and transformational service-learning programs / Matthew A. Diemer, Adam M. Voight, and Cyndi Mark

Chapter 8. Who's in charge?: Examining the complex nature of student voice in service-learning projects / Shira Eve Epstein

Chapter 9. Service-learning: A student's perspective and review / Angela Perkey

Part IV. Otherness and inclusiveness

Chapter 10. Service-learning and the culture of ableism / Pamela J. Gent

Chapter 11. A critical connection between service-learning and urban communities: Using critical pedagogy to frame the context / Nicole Webster and Heather Coffey

Chapter 12. Discourse of advocacy: Student learners' critical reflections on working with Spanish-speaking immigrant students / Chiu-Hui (Vivian) Wu and Robert L. Dahlgren

Chapter 13. Service loitering: White pre-service teachers preparing for diversity in an underserved community / Valerie Hill-Jackson and Chance W. Lewis

Part V. Challenges and concluding remarks

Chapter 14. Reflections on scholarship and engaged scholarship: A call to the field / Robin J. Crews

Chapter 15. Service-learning research: Returning to the moral questions / Peter Levine

About the editors

About the contributing authors.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references.

Print version record.

ISBN:

1-61735-211-X