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Service-learning

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A Service Learning Project at Butam organized by MaxPac Travel for Catholic Junior College students. January 15, 2009. Tay Yong Seng.

Service-learning is an educational approach that uses community service to meet both classroom learning objectives and societal needs. It has been used with students of all grades and stages. Projects based in communities are designed to apply classroom learning to create positive change in the community and often involve community organisations.[1]

Service learning combines experiential learning and community service.[2]

Definitions

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According to Andrew Furco, service-learning "occurs when there is a balance between learning goals and service outcomes."[3] Other authors, including the National Youth Leadership Council, emphasize the same balance.[4][5] Robert Sigmon conceives the variety of service-learning projects found on college campuses in terms of variations in that balance: i.e. whether learning goals or service goals are primary, secondary, of equal importance, or completely separate.[6]

The student is also expected to learn by acting in the world and reflecting on the results of their action[7][8]. As a process of learning, this has long-established theoretical and empirical bases. According to Barbara Jacoby, therefore, service-learning "is based on the work of researchers and theorists on learning, including John Dewey, Jean Piaget, Kurt Lewin, Donald Schon, and David Kolb, who believe that people learn through combinations of action and reflection."[9] Related areas of academic practice, such as Action Research and Reflective Practice, emphasize the relationship between learner and community, or researcher and researched,[10][11] with a view to creating change beyond the school, rather than only creating knowledge.

History

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The term "service-learning" originated in and spread from the US[12] and is often discussed in the context of American colleges and schools. Much of its history is therefore American.

In American education

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In one early account, in the late 1960s federal monies were used for a service-learning internship model by the Southern Regional Education Board. By 1979 the same author claimed "service learning" was being used to describe a number of different volunteer actions and experiential education programs.[13] From 1995 to 1997, 458 universities received grants from the Corporation for National Service under the Learn and Serve Higher Education scheme (see Learn and Serve America), helping create 3,000 new service-learning courses with an average of more than 60 students per course.[7] In 1992, Maryland and the District of Columbia adopted statewide service-learning requirements for high school graduation.[14][15] In 2014 The National Center for Learning and Civic Engagement surveyed all states for their service-learning policies.[16] However, while service-learning was well-established in American higher education institutions by 2008, it was to be found in less than 30% of K–12 schools according to Furco and Root.[17]

Applications & contexts

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There are several documented models of service-learning, such as the Comprehensive Action Plan for Service Learning.[18] There are variants that focus on particular elements or purposes, such as "critical service learning" which emphasizes political and social power relations in marginalized communities.[19][20] Recent attention has been paid to online service-learning or eService-Learning.[21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]

Service-learning has been used in multiple academic and community contexts. For example, it has been used in and by native American and other potentially marginalized communities.[30][31][32] And it has been used within academic specialisms, such as history,[33] sociology,[34] language-learning,[35] and engineering.[36]

Main article: Service-learning in engineering education

Benefits

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The benefits of service-learning for the participating student are better-documented than the benefits to the communities in which the service occurs.[37]

Students' development

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Students have reported developing personal leadership skills,[38] skills in working with others, including greater interaction with faculty[7]: 45–52 , and the development of more meaning and purpose in study.[7] Academically, there is evidence of improved understanding of classroom studies, the application of theory, critical thinking and analysis.[37] Other personal growth outcomes may include self-knowledge, spiritual growth, the reward of helping others, career benefits including careers in service, and changes in personal efficacy[7]: 35–39 

Experience in communities may result in experience of different cultures. In one survey of service-learning students, "57 percent reported that they had frequent chances to work with people from ethnic groups other than their own."[39]: 26  Advocates of service-learning argue that this can help students learn to appreciate their shared humanity[39]: 31  and more effectively serve a broader array of people.[39]: 177–178 

Community development

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Service-learning contributes to the presence of more volunteers, which enables community organizations to do more[40]: 35–36  and to serve more clients.[41]: 5  Students may supply specific skills they possess to benefit the organization,[42]: 49  and can be a source of new ideas, energy, and enthusiasm.[43]: 33  Through partnering with a college or university, a community organization can gain access to new knowledge and opportunities to connect with other organizations that have partnered with the same school.[40]: 36 

Service-learning may motivate individuals to become better citizens of their communities by cultivating civic and social responsibility,[7]: 12  and through the development of personal relationships.[39]: 56  A service-learning experience may be the catalyst in the life of a student to dive into the complexities of the social issues they have encountered and to seek to develop innovative solutions.[44]

Critiques

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Service-learning has been the subject of debate throughout its history. It has been criticized for not generating useful skills, nor meaningful cultural or community knowledge[20], nor doing much for the community itself,[20][45] and instead mostly inculcating communitarian political ideologies in students[46] and focusing on the student's "good deeds”.[45] Without deeper critical reflection the effect may be to maintain, rather than subvert, systems of community oppression.[20] "Critical service-learning" claims to address some of these issues (see Applications & Contexts, above).

It has also been described as "a utopian vision".[13]: 11  University policies that mandate service learning have been criticized as the imposition of intellectual conformity by means of identifying specific types of civic engagement as worthy community service and thus prescribing social and political perspectives, contrary to the ideal of the university as a site for the pursuit of truth through the free exchange of ideas.[47]

The relationship between community and academy is an area of general critique. Communication with faculty is often inconsistent, so community organizations do not always understand their roles and the roles of the faculty in students' service projects.[42]: 55–56  Some organizations' representatives have stated that faculty assigned students projects that were not allowed in their organization.[40] And the small number of hours students are required to spend volunteering can cause problems for community organizations and their clients.[40][42] Even research about service-learning is mostly done by scholars rather than community locals and organizations.[45]

Factors in effectiveness

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Research into service-learning claims to have identified a number of factors that determine its effectiveness. These include:

  • placement "quality" (level of student challenge, responsibility, activity and sense of positive involvement and instructor/supervisor feedback)[7]
  • team dynamics[48][39]
  • placement and program duration (long enough to have a developmental impact)[49][50][51]
  • quality of student reflection, often as activity (e.g. brainstorming) and/or in written form(e.g. journaling)[39][44][52]

Notable people

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Alexander Astin, founding director of the Cooperative Institutional Research Program and the Higher Education Research Institute, formed a Theory of Involvement which explains how student involvement in co-curricular activities positively affects college outcomes.[53] Through a 1998 study of college seniors, Astin demonstrated that service greatly improves critical thinking skills.[54]

Nadinne I. Cruz: works as an independent consultant.[55] She gained enthusiasm for the cause of service learning through her work in the Philippines.[56] Now, she is an advocate of service learning who argues that only a small portion of skills needed to address life's problems can be learned through traditional academia. Other skills, such as courage, forgiveness, and stewarding the earth, must be learned elsewhere. Therefore, she recommends service learning and community engagement, which “offer learning with and from wise people, who teach by example.”[57]

Andrew Furco: Associate Vice President for Public Engagement at the University of Minnesota and a professor.[58] Furco has contributed a variety of literature to service learning, including two books: Service-Learning: The Essence of the Pedagogy and Service-Learning Through a Multidisciplinary Lens, which he co-authored with S. Billig.[59] He gives five reasons engagement programs differ from engaged universities: “Engagement differs from outreach… is at the heart of the university’s identity… focuses on partnerships… is with, not to, for, or in communities… is about institutional transformation.”[60]

James Kielsmeier: Founded the National Youth Leadership Council, a nonprofit that became the service-learning movement.[61] Kielsmeier posits that service learning involves a change in how schools see young people: from “resource users, recipients, and victims” to “contributors, givers, and leaders.”[62]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Knapp, Timothy D.; Bradley J. Fisher (2010). "The Effectiveness of Service-Learning: It's not always what you think". Journal of Experiential Education. 33 (3): 208–224. doi:10.5193/JEE33.3.208.
  2. ^ Perez, Shivaun (2000). "Assessing Service Learning Using Pragmatic Principles of Education: A Texas Charter School Case Study". Applied Research Projects. Paper 76. Texas State University. Archived from the original on 2020-08-01. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  3. ^ Furco, Andrew (October 2011). "'Service-Learning': A Balanced Approach to Experiential Education" (PDF). The International Journal for Global and Development Education Research: 71–76. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  4. ^ "K–12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice" (PDF). National Youth Leadership Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 11, 2011. Retrieved November 11, 2008.
  5. ^ Jacoby, Barbara (1996). Service-Learning in Higher Education: Concepts and Practices. Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0787902919.
  6. ^ Sigmon, Robert (1997). Linking Service with Learning in Liberal Arts Education (Report). Council of Independent Colleges, Washington, DC. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Eyler, Janet; Giles Jr., Dwight E. (1999). Where's the Learning in Service-Learning (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-0-470-90746-7.
  8. ^ "Service Learning: Reflection in Higher Education Service-Learning". Archived from the original on November 14, 2007. Retrieved November 22, 2013.
  9. ^ Lukenchuk, Antonina; Jagla, Virginia; Eigel, Matthew. "Service-Learning Faculty Manual" (PDF). National Louis University. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 7, 2015. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  10. ^ Eatman, Timothy K.; Ivory, Gaelle; Saltmarsh, John; Middleton, Michael; Wittman, Amanda; Dolgon, Corey (April 2018). "Co-Constructing Knowledge Spheres in the Academy: Developing Frameworks and Tools for Advancing Publicly Engaged Scholarship". Urban Education. 53 (4): 532–561. doi:10.1177/0042085918762590. ISSN 0042-0859. S2CID 150220178.
  11. ^ Powell, Katrina; Takayoshi, Pamela (2003). "Accepting the Roles Created for Us: The Ethics of Reciprocity" (PDF). College Composition and Communication. 54 (3): 394–422. doi:10.2307/3594171. JSTOR 3594171.
  12. ^ Thomson, Ann Marie; Smith-Tolken, Antoinette R.; Naidoo, Anthony V.; Bringle, Robert G. (2011-06-01). "Service Learning and Community Engagement: A Comparison of Three National Contexts". Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations. 22 (2): 214–237. doi:10.1007/s11266-010-9133-9. ISSN 1573-7888.
  13. ^ a b Sigmon, Robert (Spring 1979). "Service-Learning: Three Principles" (PDF). Synergist: 9–11. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  14. ^ "Graduation Requirements". Maryland Department of Education.
  15. ^ "DCPS Community Service Guide 2011–2012" (PDF). District of Columbia Public Schools. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  16. ^ "High School Graduation Requirement or Credit toward Graduation – Service-Learning/Community Service". Education Commission of the States (ECS). January 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2016.
  17. ^ Furco, Andrew; Root, Susan; Furco, Anthony (2010). "Research Demonstrates the Value of Service Learning". The Phi Delta Kappan. 91 (5): 16–20. ISSN 0031-7217. JSTOR 27755635.
  18. ^ Robert, G. Bringle; Julie A. Hatcher (March–April 1996). "Implementing Service Learning in Higher Education" (PDF). Journal of Higher Education. 67 (2). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-18.
  19. ^ Kraft, Richard J. (February 1996). "Service Learning". Education and Urban Society. 28 (2): 131–159. doi:10.1177/0013124596028002001. ISSN 0013-1245. S2CID 143302144.
  20. ^ a b c d Mitchell, Tania (2008). "Traditional vs. critical service-learning: Engaging the literature to differentiate two models". Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 14.2. 14 (2): 50–65.
  21. ^ Strait & Sauer, Jean & Tim (2023). "Constructing Experiential Learning for Online Courses: The Birth of E-Service A lack of service-learning programs for online courses prompted the creation of e-service to provide experiential learning opportunities". Educause Quarterly: 62–65.
  22. ^ Faulconer, Emily (2021-04-03). "eService-Learning: A Decade of Research in Undergraduate Online Service–learning". American Journal of Distance Education. 35 (2): 100–117. doi:10.1080/08923647.2020.1849941. ISSN 0892-3647. S2CID 230540426.
  23. ^ Waldner, McGorry, & Widener, L, S, M (2010). "Extreme e-service learning (XE-SL): E-service learning in the 100% online course". Journal of Online Learning and Teaching. 6 (4): 839–851.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Doulatabadi, M.; Yusof, S. M. (2016). "Sustained Quality Award Status in Developing Country: A Study on the Dubai Quality Award Recipients". 2016 International Conference on Industrial Engineering, Management Science and Application (ICIMSA). IEEE. pp. 1–5. doi:10.1109/icimsa.2016.7504036. ISBN 978-1-5090-1671-6. S2CID 25518080.
  25. ^ McGorry, Sue Y. (2012-06-23). "No Significant Difference in Service Learninng Online". Online Learning. 16 (4). doi:10.24059/olj.v16i4.218. ISSN 2472-5730.
  26. ^ Bourelle, Tiffany (2014-10-01). "Adapting Service-Learning into the Online Technical Communication Classroom: A Framework and Model". Technical Communication Quarterly. 23 (4): 247–264. doi:10.1080/10572252.2014.941782. ISSN 1057-2252. S2CID 62234740.
  27. ^ Nielsen, Danielle (April 2016). "Facilitating Service Learning in the Online Technical Communication Classroom". Journal of Technical Writing and Communication. 46 (2): 236–256. doi:10.1177/0047281616633600. ISSN 0047-2816. S2CID 111627624.
  28. ^ McWhorter, Rochell; Delello, Julie; Roberts, Paul (2016-01-01). "Giving Back: Exploring Service-Learning in an Online Learning Environment". Education Faculty Publications and Presentations.
  29. ^ Marcus, Valerie Bukas; Atan, Noor Azean; Talib, Rohaya; Latif, Adibah Abdul; Yusof, Sanitah Mohd (2019-10-18). "Promoting Students' Generic Skills with the Integration of e-Service Learning Platform". International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning. 14 (20): 4–17. doi:10.3991/ijet.v14i20.11455. ISSN 1863-0383. S2CID 208107376.
  30. ^ Guffey, John (1997). "Turtle Island Project: Service-Learning in Native Communities". In Erickson, Joseph A.; Anderson, Jeffrey B. (eds.). Learning with the Community: Concepts and Models for Service-Learning in Teacher Education. AAHE's Series on Service-Learning in the Disciplines. Stylus Publishing, LLC. ISBN 9781563770111.
  31. ^ Fletcher, Matthew (2008). American Indian Education: Counternarratives in Racism, Struggle, and the Law. Routledge. ISBN 978-0415957359.
  32. ^ Sykes, Brent E.; Pendley, Joy; Deacon, Zermarie (22 June 2017). "Transformative learning, tribal membership and cultural restoration: A case study of an embedded Native American service-learning project at a research university". Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement. 10: 204–228. doi:10.5130/ijcre.v10i1.5334 – via epress.lib.uts.edu.au.
  33. ^ Straus, Emily E.; Eckenrode, Dawn M. (2014). "Engaging Past and Present: Service-Learning in the College History Classroom". The History Teacher. 47 (2): 253–266. ISSN 0018-2745.
  34. ^ Mooney, Linda A.; Edwards, Bob (2001). "Experiential Learning in Sociology: Service Learning and Other Community-Based Learning Initiatives". Teaching Sociology. 29 (2): 181–194. doi:10.2307/1318716. ISSN 0092-055X.
  35. ^ Tocaimaza-Hatch, C. Cecilia; Walls, Laura C. (2016). "Service-Learning as a Means of Vocabulary Learning for Second Language and Heritage Language Learners of Spanish". Hispania. 99 (4): 650–665. ISSN 0018-2133.
  36. ^ International Journal for Service Learning in Engineering, retrieved 2024-10-03
  37. ^ a b Jacoby, Barbara (2015). Service-learning essentials: questions, answers, and lessons learned. The Jossey-Bass higher and adult education series. Jeffrey Howard. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-94401-1.
  38. ^ Alexander W. Astin; Lori J. Vogelgesang; Elaine K. Ikeda; Jennifer A. Yee. "How Service Learning Affects Students". Digital Commons. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  39. ^ a b c d e f Eyler, Janet & Giles, Dwight E. (2007). Where's the Learning in Service-Learning?. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  40. ^ a b c d Sandy, Marie; Holland, Barbara A. (Fall 2006). "Different Worlds and Common Ground: Community Partner Perspectives on Campus-Community Partnerships". Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning. 13 (1): 30–43. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  41. ^ Barrientos, Perla. "Community Service Learning and its Impact on Community Agencies: An Assessment Study" (PDF). www.sfsu.edu. San Francisco State University. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  42. ^ a b c Tryon, Elizabeth; Stoecker, Randy (September 2008). "The Unheard Voices: Community Organizations and Service-Learning". Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement. 12 (3). Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  43. ^ Vernon, Andrea; Ward, Kelly (1999). "Campus and Community Partnerships: Assessing Impacts and Strengthening Connections". Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning. 6 (1). Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  44. ^ a b "Reflection in service-learning classes". Center for Community-Engaged Learning. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  45. ^ a b c Eby, John (1998), Why Service Learning is Bad
  46. ^ Egger, John (2008). "No Service to Learning: 'Service-Learning' Reappraised" (PDF). Academic Questions. 21 (2): 183–194. doi:10.1007/s12129-008-9057-7 (inactive 1 November 2024). S2CID 59038318.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
  47. ^ Carl L. Bankston III (31 May 2016). "Modern Orthodoxies".
  48. ^ Chavez-Yenter, Daniel; Hearld, Kristine Ria; Badham, Amy; Budhwani, Henna (13 November 2015). "Service-Learning in Undergraduate Global Health Education: The Effect of Team Dynamics on Civic Attitudes and Skills". The International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement. 3 (1). doi:10.37333/001c.21578. ISSN 2374-9466.
  49. ^ Eyler, Janet; Giles Jr., Dwight (1997). "The Importance of Program Quality in Service-Learning". In Waterman, Alan S. (ed.). Service-Learning: Applications From the Research. New York: Psychology Press. p. 59.
  50. ^ Astin, Alexander W.; Sax, Linda J. (1998). "How Undergraduates are Affected by Service Participation". Journal of College Student Development: 260.
  51. ^ Mabry, J. Beth (1998). "Pedagogical Variations in Service-Learning and Student Outcomes". Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning: 41.
  52. ^ Robin R. Jones. "Service-Learning Reflection Activities" (PDF). Wartburg College. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 5, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2016.
  53. ^ "Alexander Astin's Theory of Involvement". Student Development Theory. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  54. ^ Eyler, Janet; Giles, Dwight E. Jr. (1999). Where's the Learning in Service-Learning? (1st ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. ISBN 0-7879-4483-1.
  55. ^ Thomas, Melissa. "About Nadinne Cruz". Carleton. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  56. ^ McCaffrey, Meg. "Nadinne Cruz, renowned practitioner and advocate of service learning, to be involved in major Fairfield University initiative". Fairfield University. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  57. ^ "TEDxPioneerValley –Nadinne Cruz – Education on Fire.mov". YouTube. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  58. ^ "Faculty & Instructors". University of Minnesota. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  59. ^ "Andrew Furco". The Taillores Network. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  60. ^ Maynard, Meleah. "Awesomely Urban: A Conversation with Andrew Furco". University of Minnesota Alumni Association. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  61. ^ "Founder". National Youth Leadership Council. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  62. ^ "Service and schools – partnership on purpose: Jim Kielsmeier at TEDxFargo". YouTube. 14 October 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2018.

Further reading

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