De‐Platonizing and Democratizing Education as the Bases of Service Learning

Harkavy, Ira; Benson, Lee

doi:10.1002/tl.7302

Cited by 41 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Both are rooted in educational and social principles developed by John Dewey (1916; see also Harkavy & Benson, 1998) and Jane Addams (1938; see also Harkavy & Puckett, 1994;Wallace, 2000), forged in contemporary community service learning initiatives, and led by organizations like the National Society for Experiential Education and Campus Compact. 5 Indicative of the current strength of propelling forces, some observers have gone so far as to argue that today's research universities will not survive unless they increase their connections to local communities and relate…”

Section: Forces Moving Higher Education Toward Civic Engagementmentioning

confidence: 98%

Democracy, Civic Participation, and the University: A Comparative Study of Civic Engagement on Five Campuses

Ostrander

2004

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

172

117

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This research is a comparative study of civic engagement on five campuses. Based on site visits, interviews on campuses and in host communities, document analysis, and literature reviews, four key findings emerged: (a) shifting and varying emphases in main components of engagement; (b) local factors that facilitate and present barriers to engagement; (c) intellectual rationales and projects to drive new knowledge, involve faculty, and institutionalize and sustain engagement; and (d) new organizational structures to link the campus and community and share power and resources. The argument is made for a dynamic and developmental framework that acknowledges multiplicity and flow. The article concludes with an initial mapping of changing relationships between local factors and civic-engagement program emphases and an articulation of three main current theories of engagement that a developmental framework would take into account.

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Section: Forces Moving Higher Education Toward Civic Engagementmentioning

confidence: 98%

Democracy, Civic Participation, and the University: A Comparative Study of Civic Engagement on Five Campuses

Ostrander

2004

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly

172

117

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…These scholars, primarily American, looked to the Americangrown tradition of pragmatism, particularly the work of John Dewey, during a time in which there was a revival of interest in Dewey scholarship in the United States overall (Dickstein, 1999;Ryan, 1995). As Harkavy and Benson (1998) described, "it can be fairly said: In the beginning there was Dewey" (p. 11). The field's focus on Dewey has been unwavering -and uncritical -ever since.…”

Section: The Desire For Theorymentioning

confidence: 94%

Practical Beauty and the Legacy of Pragmatism: Generating Theory for Community-Engaged Scholarship

Sandy

2011

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In this paper I consider how Hans-Georg Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics can complement the pragmatic theory that has informed the field of service-learning, and with its emphasis on community and respect for others, can offer an orientation to further the work of service-learning and community engagement in a mutually satisfying way for scholars, practitioners, and community partners. In keeping with Gadamer's contention that mythological thinking has its rightful place alongside analytical thinking, I provide an interpretation of the myth of Hermes for emancipatory education practice, and then invite readers to consider some implications of philosophical hermeneutics through traditional philosophical exposition. I posit there is much to be gained by framing community engagement as a civic art or practical beauty with a distinct epistemological foundation that values conversation, participation, and openended, collective processes to work for the common good. This orientation would require us to reconsider the purposes and reorient the values of this field of educational practice.

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“…Harkavy and Benson (1998) describe service-learning as an attempt to ''de-Platonize'' education and emphasize that the work of twentiethcentury pragmatic education reformer John Dewey is the true origin of this pedagogy. They wrote, ''It can be fairly said: In the beginning there was Dewey' ' (1998: 11).…”

Section: Defining Private and Public In Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 98%

Tracing the Liberal Arts Traditions in Support of Service-learning and Public-engaged Scholarship in the Humanities

Sandy

2013

Humanity & Society

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Disciplines in the humanities have been slow to adopt service-learning and public-engaged scholarship overall, and scholars opposed to it often refer to the private goals of higher education, including private contemplation shielded from market and political forces, and furthering knowledge for its own sake in their respective academic disciplines. However, some scholars have embraced the public-engaged scholarship worldview, although they maintain it in conflict with the goals of humanities disciplines. Alternatively, other humanities scholars center the civic, ethical, and public purposes of their work. The author outlines the historical origins of the two main academic paradigms in higher education, the “orators” and the “philosophers” that led to these distinctions. The more “public,” humanities-based orientation, the orators, evolved first, and it offers its own justification for the humanities in support of public-engaged scholarship. The author proposes additional exploration of this tradition, particularly its understanding of knowledge for ethical and civic action through the “new humanities,” which can serve as a theoretical foundation for the humanities in the ways that humanistic sociology became that site of practice for engaged sociologists. Concepts, such as participation, beauty, and practical wisdom, can help develop an authentically humanities-based approach to engagement.

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De‐Platonizing and Democratizing Education as the Bases of Service Learning

Abstract: Theoretical bases of academic service learning are discussed, with special attention given to John Dewey's contributions. Service learning is conceptualized as an effort to de‐Platonize and democratize American higher education.

Cited by 41 publications

References 13 publications

Democracy, Civic Participation, and the University: A Comparative Study of Civic Engagement on Five Campuses

Democracy, Civic Participation, and the University: A Comparative Study of Civic Engagement on Five Campuses

Practical Beauty and the Legacy of Pragmatism: Generating Theory for Community-Engaged Scholarship

Tracing the Liberal Arts Traditions in Support of Service-learning and Public-engaged Scholarship in the Humanities

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