CHAPTER 11: A Critical Connection Between Service-Learning and Urban Communities: Using Critical Pedagogy to Frame the Context

Service-learning has been reported as a useful tool for connecting K–12 learners with the broader communities in which they live. Based on its philosophical underpinnings of experiential learning and social change theory, the teaching pedagogy of service-learning gives students an opportunity to make connections and gain a deeper understanding of others. Through hands-on activities, students are able to develop life skills that enhance critical thinking and intellectual competence. In essence, the service-learning experience provides a framework for engagement and learning beyond the classroom walls for the student and the educator.

As noted by Masucci and Renner (2001), “when activated for the purpose of the intellectual and practical apprehension of social injustice [service-learning] can become the foundation for a progressive (and transformative) educational experience” (p. 2). This teaching pedagogy has the ability to assist teachers in making better connections with their students and the communities in which they live, due to the integrated nature of service-learning. More importantly, service-learning has the ability to transform the learning experience for the student and teacher/facilitator by pushing the envelope of learning. If structured in a critical manner, the service-learning experience can help students connect learning to their lives. Essentially, students who have broader and deeper connections with agencies, organizations, and people outside their classes develop an ability to become change agents of their own lives. Through connected classroom–community experiences, students as well as teachers can begin to understand that thoughts and actions have an impact on their individual lives. In this paper, we begin to explore the concepts of service-learning as a conduit for creating change amongst youth in urban educational contexts. We base our argument in the traditions of critical pedagogy and social justice theories. In addition, we shed light on some of the complexities that exists within urban education. In the remainder of the paper, we highlight how service-learning experiences, based on critical pedagogy theory, can be integrated into urban school settings. We conclude with a case study on the implementation of service-learning experiences as a platform for raising the academic performance and levels of social consciousness among urban youth in a freedom school.