Understanding the Context of Community-Based Learning in Kenya: Sociocultural, Diversity, and Linguistic Issues

Abstract

Many African higher education institutions have adopted community-based learning (CBL) to foster highquality learning and civic engagement. In Kenya, neocolonial practices of using Eurocentric community service-learning models have caused tensions and disconnection between CBL theory and university students' experiences in the field. Using hermeneutics as its theoretical and methodological framework, an interpretive study analyzed Kenyan university students' experiences and perspectives on CBL in diverse community and organizational settings. This article reports the study's findings related to students' encounters with unique sociocultural, diversity, and linguistic issues connected to CBL in Kenya, including encounters with the intense realities of HIV/AIDS. Findings and discussion of these issues contribute to a deepened understanding of civic engagement programs in Kenya and offer new perspectives on developing culturally relevant CBL programs.