Community Engagement
A pedagogical model for teaching social justice in Law Schools
Abstract
This paper explores community engagement as a pedagogical model for teaching social justice in law schools, with a particular focus on Strathmore University in Kenya. Rooted in Catholic social teaching, the university integrates experiential learning into its legal education through service-based learning, community service, and pro bono legal aid. All students at the university, including law students, are required to complete 200 hours of community service. They are further encouraged to participate in the Legal Aid Caravan, one of the many initiatives of the Strathmore Law Clinic, which provides free legal services to marginalised communities. These initiatives enable students to bridge the gap between legal theory and practice while confronting real-world injustices such as land disputes, gender-based violence, and discrimination. The pedagogical model fosters professional skills, including legal research, client care, and leadership, while cultivating moral responsibility, empathy, and a commitment to justice. By engaging with historically underserved populations, students learn to integrate law with moral philosophy, sociology, and economics, thereby deepening their understanding of the rule of law’s contribution to the common good. The article argues that experiential learning through community engagement is vital for shaping ethically conscious lawyers who view law not merely as an instrument, but as a tool for advancing justice and human dignity.
References
James Arthur: Character education in universities. Church, Communication and Culture 9, 2. (2024), 329–344. https://doi.org/10.1080/23753234.2024.2390128
Jaume Aurell: The origins of the university: Questions of identity and historical continuity. Church, Communication and Culture 9, 2. (2024), 137–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/23753234.2024.2396411
John M. Breen – Lee J. Strang: A Light Unseen: The History of Catholic Legal Education in the United States: A Response to Our Colleagues and Critics. Journal of Catholic Legal Studies 59, 1. (2020).
Dan W. Butin: Toward a Theory and Practice of Community Engagement. In: Dan W. Butin: Service-Learning in Theory and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2010. 125–142. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230106154_7
Timothy Casey: Reflective Practice in Legal Education: The stages of reflection. Clinical Law Review 20, (2014), 317–350.
Renae Chesnut – Jennifer Tran-Johnson: Student Leadership: Impact of a Student Leadership Development Program. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education 77, 10. (2013). https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7710225
Rosemary B. Closson – Barbara Mullins Nelson: (2009). Teaching Social Justice through Community Engagement. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning 3, 1. (2009). https://doi.org/10.20429/ijsotl.2009.030110
Juan F. Córdoba-Marentes: (2024). Third Mission and identity in a Catholic university: The Universidad de La Sabana case. Church, Communication and Culture 9, 2. (2024), 244–259. https://doi.org/10.1080/23753234.2024.2405053
Samuel Fongwa – Thierry M. Luescher – Ntimi Mtawa – Jesmael Mataga: Universities, society and development : African perspectives of University community engagement in secondary cities. 2022.
Luis Kusi Frimpong – Stephen Leonard Mensah – Emmanuel Angmor – Shine Francis Gbedemah – Seth Asare Okyere: (2024). Experiential learning as community engagement: Exploring the experiences of undergraduate students in an African university. Societal Impacts 4, (2024), 100064. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socimp.2024.100064
John Haldane: Challenges and Opportunities Surrounding Catholic Education. New Blackfriars 105, 3. (2024), 217–229. https://doi.org/10.1017/nbf.2024.8
Shin Imai: A Counter-pedagogy for Social Justice: Core Skills for Community A Counter-pedagogy for Social Justice: Core Skills for Community Lawyering. Clinical Law Review 9, 1. (2002).
Antoinette Kankindi – Victor Chimbwanda: Legal Education and Its Contemporary Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. Strathmore Law Journal 5, 1 (2021), 145–179. https://doi.org/10.52907/slj.v5i1.143
B. R. Kipruto: Lawyers of the 21st Century: Reforming Legal Education in Kenya. (2021).
Robert R. Kuehn – David A. Santacroce: An Empirical Analysis of Clinical Legal Education at Middle Age. Journal of Legal Education 71, 4. (Summer 2022), 622. Law clinics at African universities. (n.d.).
William M. Treanor: Reflections on a More “Catholic” Catholic Legal Education. Journal of Catholic Legal Studies 58, 1. (2019), 99–104.
Wallace J. Mlyniec: Where to Begin? Training New Teachers in the Art of Clinical Pedagogy. Clinical Law Review 18, 2. (2012), 505–591.
Daniel J. Morrissey: The Catholic Moment in Legal Education. Marquette Law Review 78, 2 (1995), 413.
Rodgers Otieno Odhiambo: Placing Access to Justice at the Centre of Legal Education in Kenya. Africa Nazarene University 1, (2021), 65–98.
Austine Ouma: Future of legal education in Kenya: Integrating Technology Law and Research. Kenya Law Review 9, 1. (2025).
Andrés Peregalli – M. Beatriz Isola et al.: Service Learning pedagogy and the teachings of the Catholic Church. 2021.
Jordi Pujol – José María La Porte: Why universities? Key socio-cultural players in the twenty-first century. Church, Communication and Culture 9, 2. (2024), 131–136. https://doi.org/10.1080/23753234.2024.2406453
Michael Rizzi: Defining Catholic Higher Education in Positive, Not Negative, Terms. Journal of Catholic Education 22, 2. (2019), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.15365/joce.2202012019
Vincent Rougeau: Reforming the Legal Profession Through Faith-Based Service Learning for Law Students: Notre Dame’s “Just Communities” Project. Journal of College & Character 10, 7. (2009). https://doi.org/10.2202/1940-1639.1439
Álvaro Sánchez-Ostiz – José M. Torralba: Intellectual and ethical education of university students through core texts seminars: The case of the Great Books Program at the University of Navarra. Church, Communication and Culture 9, 2. (2024), 345–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/23753234.2024.2388509
Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero: Governance, identity and freedom in Christian-inspired universities. Church, Communication and Culture 9, 2. (2024), 260–276. https://doi.org/10.1080/23753234.2024.2388512
Alfonso Sánchez-Tabernero – José M. Torralba: The University of Navarra’s Catholic-inspired education. International Studies in Catholic Education 10, 1. (2018), 15–29. https://doi.org/10.1080/19422539.2018.1418943
Jane Skalicky – Kristen Warr Pedersen – Jacques van der Meer – Sally Fuglsang – Phillip Dawson – Sarah Stewart: A framework for developing and supporting student leadership in higher education. Studies in Higher Education 45, 1. (2020), 100–116. https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2018.1522624
David I. C. Thomson: Defining Experiential Legal Education. Journal of Experiential Learning 1, (2015). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2497505
