We Are All Teachers: Modeling Democratic Engagement in Faculty Development

Abstract

As service-learning and community engagement (SLCE) have become increasingly legitimized in higher education as scholarly pedagogical practice, resources to support faculty in learning about and undertaking this engaged work have grown. As Zlotkowski (2015) points out in his framing essay for the SLCE Future Directions Project (FDP), the movement now has "program and course models, disciplinary presentations and publications, research findings, definitions of scholarship, and principles of good practice," all of which continue to be developed and refined (p. 83). Faculty development around SLCE should not happen solely within the confines of an academic institution. Offering ways for faculty to connect out in the community, to meet with community organizations in community settings, and to engage in dialogue about community issues helps individuals from campus and community come together on equal footing and build upon one another's strengths, thus laying the groundwork for significant and sustainable democratic partnerships.