to Build Relationships in International Service Learning

When class, language, and cultural differences abound between community residents and universities, it is particularly important for service-learning coordinators to take a step back from ‘‘helping’ ’ and work toward ‘‘understanding’ ’ through community-based research. Through an in-depth discussion of the evolution of this project and our successes and failures doing service learning for the past six years in rural Nicaragua, we argue that research is an essential component of any international service–learning partnership not only for much needed assessment purposes but also for its relationship building potential both inside and outside of the host community