“I want them to feel heard. I want their voices to be agents of change”: Exploring a Community-Engaged Partnership Focused on Critical Service-Learning

Abstract

This study explored the successes and informative challenges of a partnership forged between an elementary school, a university, and a nonprofit educational agency. The purpose of the partnership was to research the implementation of a yearlong critical service-learning framework in third and fifth grades. Teachers were engaged in a series of professional development sessions and workshops to learn how to enact My VOICE, a pedagogical approach that leverages student voices to develop a community-based service project that addresses a student-identified social issue. Using qualitative approaches, we systematically gathered teachers’ perspectives and recorded the apparent strengths and weaknesses of the partnership. We posit suggestions for strengthening the partnership and highlight the benefits of critical pedagogies that can be impactful for all children.

Keywords

• service learning
• partnership
• student voice
• professional development
• in-service teacher learning