Education for Critical Citizenship: John Dewey's Contribution to the Pedagogy of Community Service Learning

This essay explores John Dewey's contribution to the pedagogy of community service learning (CSL) and in doing so explores a conception of CSL that focuses on education for critical citizenship. Dewey's writings reveal five specific areas of contribution to service-learning: 1) linking education to experience. 2) democratic community, 3) social service, 4) reflective inquiry, and 5) education for social transformation. Together, these contribution form the basis of a cultural and political critique and reconceptualized pedagogy aimed at the development of democratic values and critical citizenship. (Author)