Rethinking Service Learning: Reciprocity and Power Dynamics in Community Engagement

Abstract

This article seeks to challenge existing power dynamics both within the service-learning classroom and between the classroom and community by offering a model of an alternative approach to community engagement. The class partnered with a community organization, at their request, to engage their community as the organization worked through a change in focus and identity. Within the classroom, the research project was led, designed, implemented, and ultimately written solely by the students.