Authorizing students’ lived experiences: Critical service-learning in a rural-serving regional university

While a growing body of research on service-learning stretches back to the late 1990s, very little is focused on rural, four-year university settings. This study seeks to improve student learning of sociological concepts, develop authentic community relationships, and integrate a critical service-learning component that contributes to scholarship related to rural-serving critical service-learning. Specifically, this study investigates ways an undergraduate sociology faculty member at a rural-serving, regional university can integrate critical service-learning practices to enhance the instructor’s pedagogical approach, develop a student's critical consciousness, and create more authentic connections with the community. The study is guided by the following research questions: How do I, as an undergraduate sociology faculty member at a rural-serving, regional university in the Midwest, integrate critical service-learning components to best support students’ development of critical consciousness? How do the forms of class interactions and activities support the development of students' critical consciousness? How do students feel empowered and demonstrate a commitment to working toward social change by the end of the course, if at all? Pedagogical research served as the approach to study the effectiveness of implementing critical service-learning components to improve my students' critical thinking and develop greater critical consciousness. The selected approach allowed me to evaluate and reflect upon the effectiveness of my teaching during the integration of a critical pedagogical approach in the classroom. Grounded in principles of practitioner inquiry, this approach positions the educator as both researcher and learner, using systematic reflection and evidence from classroom practice to inform instructional improvement. By situating the research within a critical framework, the study not only examines student outcomes but also interrogates how teaching practices can challenge inequities and promote transformative learning.