ABSTRACT
Community based service-learning (CBSL) has proliferated in the education sector as high schools and universities recognize the value of work experience for key student learning outcomes. The young people enrolling in these programmes often have memorable experiences and these programmes often have considerable personal impact. Increasingly however, Australian higher education institutions are designing and promoting these experiences without questioning server-served and giver-receiver relationships underpinning CBSL. Challenging these binaries that reinforce neo-colonialism, Kate Lloyd, Laura Hammersley, and Rebecca Bilous reflect on their experiences running CBSL for students offering examples of respectful and reciprocal approaches for teachers and students. Significantly, the learning also is informed by perspectives of the development organizations that receive them adding a key viewpoint often missing in CBSL assessment and monitoring. Guiding the teacher and student learning, the authors foreground three interconnected themes: bringing different voices and perspectives; developing reciprocal relationships and embedding reflective practice.
