Dive In: Transformative Education, Direct Action, and Innovative Media Strategies in an (Inter)Collegiate Partnership to Save a Community Pool

Abstract

This article aims to broaden critical discussions of service-learning and sport for development and community partnerships through attention to transformative education, holistic learning, and collaborative agency. Building on Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy and praxis, this study problematizes traditional service-learning incorporating a dialogical framework that focuses on interdepartmental collaboration and anarchist principles such as self-organization, direct action, and mutual aid. I investigate critical pedagogy in the classroom and action and reflection outside of it through a case study of a partnership between a college swim team, media studies students, and local residents to save a community pool. This paper highlights an innovative media campaign, new media platforms, design choices, and digital media used for capacity building, critical reflection, and social justice. [Article copies available for a fee from The Transformative Studies Institute. E-mail address: journal@transformativestudies.org Website: http://www.transformativestudies.org ©2023 by The Transformative Studies Institute. All rights reserved.]