ERIC Number: EJ1341354
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1076-0180
EISSN: EISSN-1994-0219
Critically Engaged Civic Learning: A Comprehensive Restructuring of Service-Learning Approaches
Vincent, Cindy S.; Moore, Sara B.; Lynch, Cynthia; Lefker, Jacob; Awkward, Robert J.
Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, v27 n2 p107-129 Fall 2021
This article contributes to a long-standing conversation about the implementation of service-learning by proposing an updated revision for the 21st century: critically engaged civic learning (CECL). The term service-learning is problematic as it invokes inequitable power dynamics that inherently privilege one group over another, with more privileged groups providing "service" to marginalized groups (Bortolin, 2011). CECL shifts service-learning from a student-centered pedagogy to an equity-based framework that views all constituent stakeholders as invested partners in the co-design, implementation, and evaluation of CECL initiatives and is founded on redistributed power and authority to promote civic learning and social change. CECL is structured by six guiding principles: social justice, power dynamics, community, civic learning objectives, reflexivity, and sustainability. Consequently, we argue that CECL can be seen across four overarching outcomes--increased self-awareness, self-efficacy, and self-empowerment; increased awareness of civic agency; better understanding of community; and workforce preparation--which can be assessed through the CECL Inventory for Social Change (CECL-ISC) (Awkward et al., 2021).
Descriptors: Service Learning, Educational Change, Civics, Program Design, Program Implementation, Program Evaluation, Power Structure, Educational Objectives, Social Justice, Sustainability, Self Efficacy, Empowerment, Reflection, Educational Principles, Community Involvement
Edward Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning, University of Michigan. 1024 Hill Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3310. Tel: 734-647-7402; Fax: 734-647-7464; Web site: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mjcsl
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A