Conceptualising a South African theoretical service-learning model: A critical pedagogy of discomfort

Service-learning has been criticized as being an undertheorized practice in higher education. This is particularly problematic when we consider the range of contexts in which service-learning is facilitated. This paper offers a conceptual framework for a South African service-learning experience drawing on Paulo Freire’s construct of ruptura and ideas around critical pedagogy alongside a pedagogy of discomfort. South African contexts are marked by a tumultuous history that bleeds into the present, one fraught with racism, violence, and inequality. Conducting service-learning in South African contexts, therefore, requires a South African theoretical framework to illuminate the blind spots that may develop when borrowing a Western-borne practice. Drawing on theoretical contributions from Freire and Boler, I propose a critical pedagogy of discomfort as a conceptual model to forefront the role of power and emotion in South African service-learning experiences. This is important work to do in order to sensitively and productively provide a responsive frame to construct a service-learning theory that serves contemporary South African contexts.