Hearing the Community: What community-based learning volunteers need to do to support the communities they serve
Mia Friedlander
Volunteers are the saviors to the communities they work in. Why wouldn’t they be, they have the means and skills to save others, especially because they have an upper-class background that shows them the best version of society. Right? The worst thing a volunteer could do is attempt to save a community. A savior-based mindset does not allow for the service in community-service to take place. Service is providing help or assistance to others, and saving is the act of rescuing or keeping someone safe. Having a mindset that is service-based produces a very different outcome than a mindset that is savior-based. A savior-based mindset can come from many different places and push service-learners to try and “fix” the community to make it like their own. Service learners are often affected by their socio-economic differences from those in the communities in which they work, which can cause a mindset to be adopted where they believe they know what is best for the community, even more so than the community members. Service learners need to listen to communities without putting their privilege and biases on community members, which typically leads to strong relationships that can create impactful change on the youth in the communities.
Community-based learning or service-learning is a pedagogy that educators practice to give students real world experience. Christine Cress is a leading scholar in the field of community-based learning and a professor of educational leadership, policy, and community-based learning at the University of Oregon. She has published over 70 works analyzing the cultural, cognitive, pedagogical, and evolutionary aspects of service-learning. Cress defines service-learning classes as classes that require students engage with communities through volunteering (7). This engagement is core to the education that students gain from taking this type of course. Integrating volunteering into the core curriculum helps deepen students understanding of the world and the ways they interact with different groups of people (Cress 9). Interactions with people of different backgrounds broadens perspectives and can help volunteers learn to listen to those who have different lives, values, and cultures. The volunteering that community-based learners engage in can be a positive experience for both volunteers and the community members. However, volunteers can turn the relationship between students and the community negative if they allow their biases to get ahead of them.
Students in community-based learning classes can hold biases that come from their backgrounds, which leads to stereotyping and a savior mindset. Christopher Curtis received his Ph.D. in Social Service from Tulane University and continues to research race/ethnicity and its effects with civic engagement. Curtis explains how those in community-based learning classes typically come from upper class backgrounds (94). People raised in these areas can afford college and afford taking the time to volunteer. In the case of community-based learners, the interaction between the volunteer’s upper-class background and the less affluent community members can lead to biases. Pierrette Hondgeaneu-Sotelo and Sally Raskoff researched the effects of implicit biases that volunteers hold towards communities. Both Hondganeu-Sotelo and Raskoff work in the Department of Sociology at the University of Southern California and hold Ph.D.s in Sociology. They found that students from upper class backgrounds use their past experiences to formulate their own assumptions about the community they are working in (250). Hondagneu-Sotelo defined this as using an “individualistic view”, where students put their own experiences onto the community (250). This can lead to increased stereotyping and beliefs that the community is not functional because it does not look or function like the affluent community where the student resides. When this occurs, the students may attempt to fix the community they are volunteering in based on their own beliefs. This actually limits the help that can occur as the functionality of their community may work for those living there, and the community members may need different things than what the volunteer thinks.
When students develop a savior and individualistic mindset they may try “fix” a community by utilizing their own ideas without the community’s assistance, which can prevent needed actions from being taken. Many communities who bring in volunteers are under resourced and have families that are typically of a lower socio-economic status. Rachel Shah studied community perceptions of service learners and is a professor of community-based learning classes at the University of Nebraska. Shah found that communities feel like volunteers sometimes attempt to fix the lives of those in lower socio-economic areas (42). Trying to fix the lives of those in communities prevents volunteers from listening to the community members actual needs. Emily Morse explains the reasoning behind volunteers’ savior perspective. Emily Morse holds a Ph.D. from the University of Richmond, who completed her dissertation on the way volunteering can harm a community. In Morse’s research, she found that volunteering can often lead to an inferiority mindset where the volunteer feels that the community members are less knowledgeable because of their lower income backgrounds (6). Thinking a community is not able to solve their own problems because of the volunteer’s narrow perspective prevents listening and needed actions being taken. The lack of communication that this mindset produces, affects the positive impacts volunteering can have. Countering these ideas in the volunteer’s mindset is important and is done through broadening perspectives.
In order to create the best outcome in a volunteering experience, community-based learners (CBL) need to engage in activities both in and outside of the communities they serve as this may broaden their perspectives and create a more impactful experience. Danielle Lake and her co-authors researched outcomes for students who volunteered in community-based learning classes. Lake has a background in researching teaching and learning as well as a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Elon University. Aaron Lowen has a Ph.D. in economics and is a professor at Grand Valley State University, along with Kristin Moretto. Brandon Youker works for the community-service grant evaluation center at Western Michigan University. They found that students who engaged in community-based learning got experience that they would not have gotten inside the classroom (57). This happens when actively engaging with people outside your university. It provides different perspectives and experiences that cannot come from a classroom. In a classroom, even if the teacher requires participation the student still has the security of sitting down and choosing not to speak or be involved in the class. However, in community-based learning students must engage with the community. Cress discusses how the ideas that students take from CBL can then be translated into their future jobs and influence the way in which they make assumptions and hold biases, and before the student enters the career field students can apply their learning back onto the community (14). When students receive the positive effects (understanding, people, and listening skills) from actively and thoughtfully engaging with community members, they are able to increase their ability to positively impact community youth. This all starts when the community-based learner broadens their perspective and begin to recognize their biases.
In order to truly understand the needs and wants of a community, those trying to help a community need to acknowledge their implicit biases. Acknowledging biases can enhance the volunteers ability to truly listen to the community leaders’ vision for their community and work with the community to meet their needs. Hondganeu-Sotelo and Raskoff found that in community-based learning, there is an implicit bias about socio-economic status (251). Status can get in the way of accepting new ideas and understanding people who come from lower income backgrounds, and volunteers tend to hold a higher socio-economic status. Coming from a higher socio-economic background gives people a different view of life than those from a lower socio-economic background. Community-based service learners who come from more affluent backgrounds are at risk of viewing the communities they serve as having less-fulfilling lives and less overall life satisfaction because they have a different environment. This bias can lead to “white knight syndrome” where students think they need to save the people they work with (Hondagneu-Sotelo and Raskoff 251). As previously addressed, the act of trying to save those in communities does not allow for positive impacts from volunteers on community youth. Acknowledging these biases helps students to move past them and challenge the stereotyping they may be doing because students can work to realize when their biases may be at play (Hondagneu-Sotelo and Raskoff 252). Knowing that there is stereotyping, and implicit bias allows the student to move to a mindset that is open to listening to the community.
Once a volunteer is able to hear what the community needs, an effective and impactful relationship between the volunteer and the community is able to develop. Christy Carwile is a Professor of Anthrophony at Warren Wilson College. She has a Ph.D. in Anthropology and studies the effects of religion and culture on community. In her studies with the Lakota Native American tribe, she studied how volunteers could create social justice initiatives for the Lakota youth. Carwile’s research spans many years with the Lakota tribe. In her initial work, she worked with a non-tribe group that provided food to the tribe’s reservation. Carwile found that even though the Lakota tribe was grateful, it did not create true solutions as the community members were not involved in the process and created a power dynamic that didn’t serve the tribe (132). When she began working on the initiative for social justice for the Lakota youth, she ensured the service learners that participated in the program worked with the tribe’s leaders to understand their needs to address their culture in any educational program. The service learners researched the tribe’s history prior to meeting with leaders to ensure they understood the tribe’s background, the impacts of colonization, and the intense desire to ensure their culture lives on in the next generation. In doing so, Carwile and her team were able to create a system that mixed general education with tribal teachings. The volunteers were educated and trained in a system that was a collaboration between the tribe and the volunteers. This made it easier to engage with the youth and their families as it was a system that worked for the community (Carwile 134). This shows the importance of volunteers educating themselves and listening to the community’s needs because it creates good outcomes for those involved. In the end, the Lakota youth ended up feeling like they had a strong education base developed from the open dialogue between the tribe and the community-based learning volunteers.
Youth develop deeper connections with the volunteers, and volunteers are able to have a positive impact on youth when there is open dialogue and listening. Jennifer Renick, Christopher Wegemer, and Stephanie Reich studied volunteering in underserved communities. Jennifer Renick is a professor at the University of Memphis in the Education Department and received a Ph.D. in Human Development from the University of California, Irvine. Christopher Wegemer also received a Ph.D. from Irvine in Education. He is now a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA in sociology and global studies. Finally, Stephanie Reich is a professor of education at Irvine and received her Ph.D. in psychology and human development and now researches child development and social improvement. They found that students in underserved communities form better connections with the college community-based learning volunteers when they feel they are being listened to (Renick et al. 137). Listening to the wants and needs helps the community feel heard and feel like they have a role in their own lives. Jason Edwards researched similar topics. He is a faculty member at the University of Georgia in their Education Department and received a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership. Edwards identified that youth value the perception that they have some control over events and being treated like adults (206). When they have this, they feel listened to and valued. In Shah’s research where high schoolers and college students that were taking community-based learning course collaborated in a student volunteer program, students felt a better connection to the tutors when the tutors gave them actual criticism and trusted in them to be responsible in their lives (Shah 56). This created an environment where youth looked up to the students as leaders and role models that were able to influence the lives of the youth. Having an influential connection between the youth and the volunteers allows the positive impacts that community-based service can provide.
Learning by listening to the communities creates the positive impacts people want to see when they volunteer. When community-based learning volunteers enter communities with a desire to learn from service, it increases community members’ connection to volunteers (Carwile 130). Having a dialogue between the community and volunteer that includes listening allows for the deeper connections that make volunteering more impactful. Service has a bigger impact when the community members reciprocate the volunteer’s drive with openness. Shah’s research demonstrated that a volunteers who want to learn from their experience and drive to form connections with the community members allows for bigger impacts because both the volunteer and the community grow in positive ways. The positive impact of working with a volunteer that wants to learn about the community they serve is illustrated in Carwile’s work. Carwile identified that the tribe needed assistance that was not provided by the government. But before she created a program, she and her research team sought to learn about the tribe’s needs. In doing so, she and her volunteer team, along with the community leaders, developed a program that met the needs for the community and the community’s desire to continue their culture in their youth. This is a prime example of how understanding the community is vital to CBL; community relations create an environment that supports and grows the community. It also helps the volunteers learn and grow in their personal knowledge and compassion. Another positive impact of having volunteers that listen and understand the community is that it creates an environment in which community members feel valued. This is especially true for younger members of a community. For youth to view a student volunteer in a mentor capacity, there needs to be a positive relationship between the two parties. When this strong bond/relationship is formed between the youth and the community-based learner, the youth positively perceive that input from the volunteer. This enables the community-based learner to encourage the youth and support that young person’s growth. Well-being is important for youth and can have one of the biggest effects on their lives because of its effect on mental and physical health. Therefore, the ability volunteers have to affect youths positively can have impacts on the youths’ lives for years to come.
Overall community-based learning can have a hefty impact on the community and the volunteers themselves. We all have biases and assumptions that drive our perception of others. These biases inhibit the ability to understand different viewpoints. Identifying biases is one of the most important steps a community-based learner can do prior to working in a community. Once biases are identified, the community-based learner can then begin to truly listen to community needs and desires. This listening and understanding is what creates impactful community service. Youth want to be heard and uplifted, not looked down upon. Community-service learners make stronger connections with the youth when they listen to what the community needs. These connections allow the service-learner to become a role model, effectively guide lessons, and even create social justice change.
Works Cited
Carwile, Christey. “Race, Power, and Place: Lakota Lessons from Pine Ridge Reservation.” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, vol. 27, no. 1, 2021, https://doi.org/10.3998/mjcsloa.3239521.0027.106.
Cress, Christine M, et al. “What is Service Learning”. Learning Through Serving: A Student Guidebook for Service-Learning Across the Disciplines. 2005.
Curtis, Christopher. “Facilitating Youth Development Through Service-learning: Social Justice Implications for Underserved Youth.” Education, Citizenship, and Social Justice, vol. 15, no. 2, July 2018, pp. 93-103. Sage Journals, DOI: 10.1177/1746197918789404.
Edwards, Jason. “Building Bridges: Strengthening University–School Relationships Through Service-Learning.” Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, vol. 28, 2, 2024, p. 201-212. https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/jheoe/article/view/3139.
Hondagneu-Sotelo, Pierrette, and Sally Raskoff. “Community Service-Learning: Promises and Problems.” Teaching Sociology, vol. 22, no. 3, 1994, pp. 248-254, JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/1319139. Accessed 31 March 2025.
Lake, Danielle, et al. “What Is the Long-Term, Real-World Value of CBL? Assessing Impact From the Perspective of Former Students.” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, vol. 27, no. 2, Nov. 2021, https://doi.org/10.3998/mjcsloa.3239521.0027.203
Morse, Emily. “The Dark Side of Volunteering: When Helping Might Hurt.” UR Scholarship Repository University of Richmond, 2015, https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/968.
Renick, Jennifer, et al. “Relational Principles for Enacting Social Justice Values in Educational Partnerships.” Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, vol. 28, no. 4, 2024, pp. 131-152. https://openjournals.libs.uga.edu/jheoe/article/view/3104.
Shah, Racheal. “Relationality: Youth Who Collaborate with College Students.” Rewriting Partnerships: Community Perspectives on Community-Based Learning, University Press of Colorado, 2020, pp. 41–66. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv11qdwz2.5. Accessed 25 Mar. 2025.