This compact, accessibly written text prepares students for their
experience of community-based learning.
It is designed for students to read and reflect on independently or to
foster discussion in class on their motivations and dispositions toward
community engagement and service learning. It prepares students to work
with diverse individuals, groups, and organizations that may be outside
their prior experience. Faculty can use the book as a tool to deepen the
educational experience of the course and enrich community engagement.
This text is a guide to what's involved in community-engaged learning,
from understanding the pervasiveness of social, economic and
environmental problems, to learning about how individuals and
organizations in communities work to overcome them. Students will
discover through a process of reflection how service connects to
personal development and the content of their courses, builds their
ability to engage with people different from themselves, and develops
new life skills, all in the context of working with communities to
overcome systemic injustice.
Critical questions woven into each chapter prompt students to reflect on
ideas and perspectives about social justice, community development, and
their role in fostering them.
The book concludes with case studies of students who have experienced
the transformative power of community-engaged learning. The stories
illustrate common themes inherent in the student experience, including
listening to understand, challenging stereotypes, learning the nature of
their role, and seeing the world through a new lens.
A special feature of this book is the embedded QR codes that provide
access, as students read the text, to online resources, and original and
public videos that explore particular themes or perspectives more
deeply. The authors also include text directed to faculty to provide
ideas about framing their community-engaged course and integrating the
book.
