Ethics of Access: Provocative Impacts of K-12 Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Policy

In K-12 settings, civic engagement curricula and service-learning hold promise for developing the agency and capacity of marginalized youth, their families, and their communities to effectively address self-identified needs. Yet, ethical issues of access around educator preparation, both teacher preparation and counselor preparation, and subsequent student participation exist even where state- level policy dictates civic engagement’s use. In this multi-case study, three engaged scholars/teacher educators share three distinct cases, each focusing on a specific state’s policy positions on civic engagement, including service-learning, in the U.S. K-12 context. Each case is discussed as either a bifurcation (divergence) or dichotomy (contradiction) of policy within the context of teacher preparation/practice. Further, each case’s impact on K-12 students’ potential access to participation in service-learning/community engagement initiatives is outlined. A cross-case analysis revealed that K- 12 service-learning/civic engagement policy exhibits a large degree of disparity within the quintain, which, as defined by Stake (2006), is the complexity across the bounds of multi-case-study research.