Is Service-Learning the Kind Face of the Neo-Liberal University?

Mary-Beth Raddon
, Barbara A. Harrison

Abstract

The emergence of service-learning pedagogies in Canada has received a variety of critical responses. Some regard service-learning as a public relations effort of universities and colleges; others see it as a countermovement to academic corporatization; still others consider it part of a wider cultural project to produce self-responsible and socially responsible, enterprising citizens. In this article, we argue that each type of response rests on a different critique of the neo-liberal context of post-secondary education; these critiques, in turn, stem from different conceptions of neo-liberalism: as policy, ideology, or governance (Larner, 2000). Rather than attempt to resolve contradictions among these conceptualizations, we address them as a framework for understanding divergent responses to service-learning. We illustrate the framework with the example of a high-enrolment undergraduate course, and we call for future research and educative engagement with the politics of post-secondary service-learning that is informed by a multi-faceted analysis of neo-liberalism.

 

Metrics

Metrics Loading ...

Published

2015-08-31



Section

Articles



License

Copyright in the article is vested with the Author under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.

Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).


How to Cite

Raddon, M.-B., & Harrison, B. A. (2015). Is Service-Learning the Kind Face of the Neo-Liberal University?. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 45(2), 134–153. https://doi.org/10.47678/cjhe.v45i2.184393