Curriculum and Community with Research, Action and Service (CCBALwRAS), a Pedagogical Shift for Social Change

Abstract

The article presents the replicable model of Curriculum and Community Based Academic Learning with Research, Action and Service (CCBALwRAS) through a framework of ‘2 Cs’, the ‘curriculum’ and the ‘community’. It puts forth a support strategy for participatory community-based interventions by formally inducting higher education institutions (HEIs) to achieve long-term sustainable, workable solutions for local communities. The study is based on a multi-stakeholder partnership, facilitated through partnerships between the HEI, committed faculty–student participation and civil society, executed between 2015 and 2020. The article draws from the execution and actual field experience of the partnership, along with qualitative data from the evaluation and assessment of the programme delivered. Given that the model developed is based on the experiences of a private fee-dependent HEI in a metro city, the study does not take into consideration infrastructural and resource constraints of other HEIs. The article focuses on the role of HEIs as fulfilling dual responsibilities of knowledge creation and dissemination while addressing socioeconomic, developmental and environmental needs within their immediate communities. The resultant pedagogical shift and the model proposed is an effective solution for equity, capacity building and civic-mindedness, which will nurture socially aware and critically conscious global citizens.