In Search of Transformative 21st Century Pedagogy

Research has shown service-learning to be an effective pedagogy producing student gains in cognitive and affective domains; however, discrepancies in theoretical foundations and definitions of service-learning cause critics to also note its potentially damaging impact on students, communities, and societies. This chapter calls for the implementation of critical service-learning, a pedagogy that enlightens, empowers, and transforms communities, by explaining important elements and exposing existing tensions in our current education system. It also specifically details the learning that the pedagogy promotes, explaining how that learning takes place with young children. Because few studies have provided substantive data on the employment of critical service-learning in elementary schools, the chapter concludes with an analysis of existing research of critical service-learning projects, presenting case studies and implications for putting theory into practice so that more educators can integrate critical service-learning into the elementary curriculum.