CHAPTER 2: Service-Learning as an Intellectual Movement: The Need for an “Academic Home” and Critique for the Community Engagement Movement

There is no one thing called service-learning. This is, in one respect, an obvious point. Yet, in such an acknowledgement lies a paradigm shift for how we think about and engage in service-learning in higher education. Specifically, I want to suggest that we must shift our thinking from service-learning as a social movement to an intellectual movement. The former model attempts to transform higher education, the latter to embrace it. Such an embrace should not be viewed as the abrogation of the transformational power of community engagement. It should instead be viewed as the most effective means by which to support its success.