Navigating the Paradoxes of Neoliberalism: Quiet Subversion in Mentored Service-Learning for the Pre-Health...

Area of Science:

• Pedagogy
• Service-Learning
• Higher Education

Background:

• Neoliberalism in education creates calculative frameworks for pre-health humanities value.
• Service-learning can inadvertently reinforce these frameworks.
• There is a need for pedagogical approaches that counter these effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To move beyond neoliberal paradoxes in service-learning.
• To foster moral imagination and an ethics of care in students and communities.
• To encourage intentional community engagement through self-knowledge.

Main Methods:

• Developing "quiet subversion" methods within service-learning.
• Framing mentored service-learning in unexpected ways.
• Implementing an academically rigorous service-learning intervention.

Main Results:

• Students and practitioners gain understanding of their roles in broader social contexts.
• Intentional and responsive community action is encouraged.
• A framework for ethical and critical service-learning is proposed.

Conclusions:

• Service-learning pedagogy can be intentionally designed to counter neoliberal influences.
• Fostering moral imagination enhances ethical community engagement.
• Rigorous, context-aware service-learning promotes social responsibility.