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ERIC Number: EJ1214494
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1066-5684
EISSN: N/A
Transformative and Transformed: Examining the Critical Potential of Service Learner Positional Identities
Brewster, Kendra R.
Equity & Excellence in Education, v51 n3-4 p347-361 2018
Critical service learning requires that students grapple with power even as they negotiate with discourses that frame service as transformative for others, without the reciprocal effect of service learners being transformed. To highlight microprocesses in power, this article uses figured worlds to explore the positional identities of service learners based on how participants viewed their experience, perceived the service site, and understood others' structural and biographical contexts. Three positional identities emerged from this inquiry: (1) "service learner as role model," (2) "service learner as future professional," and (3) "service learner as beneficiary." Each successive positional identity demonstrated more critical and relational content. Positional identities that emphasized the service learner as a transformative agent featured more acriticality and less relationality than those that positioned the service learner as having been transformed. However, neither position explicitly addressed race, class, or other dimensions used to distribute power. This article illustrates the value that examining small moments of positioning might offer service learners and instructors as a reference point for their own criticality.
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A