Cultivating Equity in Service-Learning Pedagogy by Centering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Students

• In Event: Decentering Whiteness and Recentering Equity in Critical Service-Learning

Abstract

This paper centers BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) students’ experiences in service-learning courses at a predominantly White college. Researchers conducted eight semi-structured interviews using qualitative case study methods and analyzed the data through a critical conscious framework. Data illuminated tensions in predominantly White spaces, perils and promises of preparation, and relationality with community partners demonstrating how Whiteness is often centered unintentionally. Based on the data collected, the authors suggest recommendations for implementing pedagogy that addresses the lived experiences of BIPOC students in service-learning courses.

Author

• Marilee Coles-Ritchie, Westminster College