Service-learning as a higher education pedagogy for advancing citizenship, conscientization and civic agency: a capability informed view

Universities are criticised for overemphasising instrumental values. Instrumental values are important but universities risks undermining cultivation of humanity, critical consciousness and civic agency. Service-learning (SL) is practice that moves teaching and learning beyond the focus on technical...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Higher education pedagogies 2020-01, Vol.5 (1), p.110-131
Main Authors: Mtawa, Ntimi N., Nkhoma, Nelson Masanche
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
capability approach
Citizenship
Citizenship Education
Citizenship Responsibility
civic agency
College Faculty
College Role
College Students
Consciousness Raising
critical consciousness
Developing Nations
Foreign Countries
Higher Education
Personal Autonomy
Program Effectiveness
Service Learning
Social Values
Student Attitudes
Student Development
Student Empowerment
Teacher Attitudes
Universities
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Summary:Universities are criticised for overemphasising instrumental values. Instrumental values are important but universities risks undermining cultivation of humanity, critical consciousness and civic agency. Service-learning (SL) is practice that moves teaching and learning beyond the focus on technical skills and instrumental outcomes. Nonetheless, little is known about this role of SL in African and particularly South Africa context. Using a capability approach (CA) as developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum, the article explores the contribution of SL in fostering students' capabilities for citizenship, conscientization and civic agency. The findings indicate that through SL processes and activities, students develop citizenship capabilities of affiliation and narrative imagination, informed vision, social and collective struggle, and local citizenship but often not in the way the university intended. The paper contributes to the understanding of how SL can expand the conception of teaching and learning and fosters critical social values in the global South context.
ISSN:2375-2696
2375-2696
DOI:10.1080/23752696.2020.1788969