Building bridges to the world: Utilizing service learning during the senior year to develop participatory citizenship

The senior year of high school has the potential to be a bridge between childhood and adulthood, but senior courses are not vastly different than courses offered to freshman who are barely into their teenage years. A service learning component that is embedded throughout the senior year provides students with the space to think critically and then act, thus engaging in participatory citizenship. Teachers should, however, scaffold students’ movement toward community participation by establishing a service-learning framework that combines critical reflection with classroom community.