Service-Learning for Remedial Reading and Writing Students

In 2008, Queensborough Community College incorporated service learning into 15 remedial reading and writing courses. To determine its impact, statistical analyses were performed, and they demonstrated significantly (a) higher GPAs, (b) improved rates of retention, and (c) the completion of more college credits among service learning participants. In addition, an ANOVA revealed insights into the individual service-learning projects. It was determined that the most effective programs (a) directly connected the service-learning activity to the course curriculum, (b) provided multiple experiences performing tasks, and (c) placed students in community-based organizations appropriate for their level of literacy.     

美国研究型大学服务性学习的基本模式

在20世纪80年代兴起的高等教育改革运动中，美国高等学校把培养创新人才确立为大学教育的培养目标。为了实现这一培养目标，美国大学十分重视服务性学习在培养创新人才的过程中的意义和作用，并采取多种模式，开展服务性学习活动，如一次性和短期服务性学习、连续的课外服务性学习、课程中的服务性学习、集中的服务性学习等。     

Justice-Learning: Service-Learning as Justice-Oriented Education

“Justice-learning” lies at the intersection of service-learning and social justice education. Specifically, I argue for a distinctive form of community-based learning (“antifoundational service-learning”) that fosters a justice-oriented framework (“anti-anti-social justice”) that makes possible the questioning and disruption of unexamined and all too often oppressive binaries of how we view the struggle toward equity in education. The linkage of service-learning and social justice education in this manner offers a “weak overcoming” that strengthens experiential learning toward justice while avoiding the dilution and radicalization faced by both movements. I, thus, trace the linkages between service-learning and social justice education; explicate the potential of antifoundational service-learning as a form of anti-anti-social justice; and draw out the potential and implication of this linkage for both service-learning and social justice education.     

The Value-Added Nature of Service-Learning

This research explores the benefits of service-learning among a group of Midwestern college students. Students enrolled in a section of a Juvenile Delinquency course served as volunteers at a juvenile detention facility and were studied using a pre-test/post-test survey design. This pilot project also included a comparison group of students in a section of the course which did not involve service-learning. The study compared service-learning to non-service-learning students in terms of attitudes regarding juvenile delinquency, punishment, and attributions of criminal behavior. We also examined any possible effects of service-learning on student academic skills, career goals, and comfort level with delinquents. Overall, we found that the service-learning project was a valuable educational tool having a positive impact on a number of student outcomes. We discuss the implications of these findings for service-learning research and practice.     

Analyzing a service-learning experience using a social justice lens

This mixed methods study explores a service-learning experience embedded in a social foundations course in a teacher education program. The authors differentiate learning outcomes for social justice and charity service-learning, and utilize this framework to examine whether the service-learning experience fosters a social justice perspective. The findings demonstrate that while the experience did foster social justice perspectives for some students, the data also reflect evidence of learning outcomes that align with charity service-learning.     

Service-Learning Projects in an Undergraduate Gerontology Course: A Six-Stage Model and Application

Service-learning opportunities are prominent on many college campuses. The process of designing and implementing service-learning experiences, especially for students of gerontology, however, has rarely been addressed. The current article briefly reviews the background and utility of service-learning in gerontology courses, describes our service-learning project, outlines a general six-stage model for developing service-learning projects in gerontology courses, and describes our process of integrating the service-learning project into an introductory gerontology course. Finally, we demonstrate that in conjunction with the promotion of evaluative practices, service-learning in the gerontology classroom presents a promising practice for creating healthier communities.     

BENEFITS OF INTERGENERATIONAL SERVICE-LEARNING TO HUMAN SERVICES MAJORS

The study discussed in this article examined the benefits of service-learning using both (a) pre- and postcourse questionnaire data and (b) answers to open-ended questions from 214 students across four semesters of an undergraduate adult development and aging class. Of these 214 students, 117 (55%) opted for service-learning. Although service-learning in this course did not seem to have an effect on questionnaire scales assessing personal social values, civic attitudes, or academic achievement, data from the open-ended questions revealed numerous benefits associated with service-learning. Advantages of service-learning included improving understanding of course concepts, dispelling myths about aging, and reinforcing career choices. The main disadvantage mentioned by students was the time commitment involved in participating in service-learning. Students believed they learned more in a course based on service-learning than in a traditional lecture-based course. Thus, when appropriately used this instructional method is an effective means of engaging students in the learning process, reducing myths about aging, and introducing students to careers in gerontology services.     

Graduate Social Work Students' Attitudes Toward Service-Learning

Service-learning attitudes among graduate social work students enrolled in a course on human diversity and oppression are presented. A survey was administered at the beginning and at the end of the semester to students enrolled in the course, which was taught using a service-learning approach. Among the results were believing that service-learning aided in meeting learning goals and higher overall satisfaction with the service-learning experience. This article expands the literature on service-learning in social work education and promotes the use of this experiential method in social work diversity curricula.     

跨越边界——社会正义取向的美国高校服务学习隐喻

20世纪末,美国服务学习倡导者试图通过教育改造社会从而实现社会正义的理想。边界教育学为正义取向的服务学习提供了批判性的理论框架和解读视角。在面对由差异和权力构成的社会空间边界中,不同背景、不同群体的大学生通过服务学习实践成为现行边界的挑战者、重构者和超越者。社会正义取向的服务学习给予大学生挑战既有社会身份的机会,引导大学生关注现实中的差异和权力,培养他们的反思批判力和行动能力。     

Silent Partners: Developing a Critical Understanding of Community Partners in Technical Communication Service-Learning Pedagogies

Although many technical communication teachers and programs integrate some form of service-learning pedagogy, there is a dearth of technical communication research on the silent partners of these projects: the community partners. Drawing upon research data from 14 former community partners of professional writing service-learning courses, the authors suggest that understanding community partners’ own self-defined stakes in service-learning projects can challenge hyperpragmatist representations of community partners and aid us in the continued creation, management, and critical evaluation of service-learning pedagogies and curricula.     

Examining Service-Learning Literature in Physical Education Teacher Education: Recommendations for Practice and Research

Service-learning is a teaching strategy designed to provide learners opportunities to transfer theory to practice in an authentic environment while concurrently meeting genuine needs in the community. The reciprocal nature of service-learning differentiates this pedagogy from other learning venues including field experiences, internships, and student teaching. Recently the interest surrounding, as well as the utilization of service-learning, has grown in numerous academic disciplines including physical education teacher education (PETE). PETE research investigating the impact of service-learning in regards to student and community outcomes is also emerging. The purpose of this article is to provide a review of the current PETE service-learning literature. Components of the review include examination of theoretical frameworks, exploration of the impact of service-learning on PETE students and community participants, and recommendations for practice and future research.     

论"服务学习"

服务学习有着将社区服务与学术课程结合起来的课程与教学取向.这一取向历久弥新,成为当今世界最主要的课程改革追求之一.服务学习最主要的特征包括:明确而真实的学习目标、适应真实的社区需要、儿童做决定以及分析性反思.时至今日,服务学习已经历三个历史时期,发展到制度化阶段.服务学习对学生的学术性学习成绩的提高、个性及社会性发展、公民责任感与职业意识的加强均有显著、积极的影响.而服务学习价值的体现,依赖于其高质量和创造性的实施.探讨服务学习对完善我国方兴未艾的"社区服务和社会实践"乃至整个综合实践活动课程具有不可替代的作用.     

Social Involvement: Deconstructing practices relating to the formation of students who work with autistic children in a university service-learning course

Participation in service-learning courses has always been considered a part of the informal education in tertiary education worldwide. Originating from the assumption that service-learning courses increase students’ civic engagement and bridge the gap between knowledge and practice, service-learning courses have gradually acquired the status of compulsory courses at universities. This being as it may be, it would seem that the nature of such courses would benefit from further analysis and discussion regarding their function in knowledge reproduction, and their role in teaching and education. The aim of this article is to examine and analyze a university service-learning course—the National Taiwan University (NTU) Star-Rain course with a commitment to serving children with autism—from a Foucaultian perspective, and reflect on how the process of putting knowledge during a service-learning course into practice comes to constitute the subjectivity of students who work with children who are autistic. We argue that the course under investigation has, in effect, become wholly entangled in the medical system’s treatment of autism in Taiwan. The service-learning process involves knowledge acquisition as well as long-term, detailed, concrete hands-on experience, and shapes, in a very complete way, students’ construction of their subject knowledge of autism.     

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Service-learning is an ideal teaching approach to use in courses on the psychology of aging because it allows experiential education to be actively integrated with classroom instruction. This article describes the results of adding a service-learning option to a lecture course on the psychology of aging. For this course, service-learning took place at local nursing homes, area retirement communities, and the local community center, which houses an activity program for older adults. Each student was required to complete 30 hr community service-learning during the semester, maintain a journal, write a summary paper, join a reflection group, and participate in a group presentation. Students were involved in a wide range of activities, from assisting with a hot lunch program to spending time talking with nursing home residents. Evaluation of the effectiveness of this approach was established by using open-ended student evaluations that were completed at the end of the semester. Data were gathered over 2 years from the portion of the class (approximately one third) each semester) who chose to complete a one-credit service-learning experience. The service-learning component significantly enhanced the course experience for the students, instructor, graduate and undergraduate teaching assistants, and facilities involved. Overall, the majority of students affirmed that their participation in the service-learning project related well to the course, and facility responses to student service-learning participants were overwhelmingly positive.     

Benefits and Challenges of Service-Learning in Baccalaureate Social Work Programs

Service-learning is a pedagogical approach that integrates students’ classroom instruction with community experience. This article discusses qualitative results from a national survey examining service-learning in Council on Social Work Education–accredited baccalaureate programs. Almost 80% of the 202 program respondents required service-learning. They reported that benefits of incorporating service-learning in the BSW curriculum include assisting students in building community connections, applying theory and skills, socializing to the social work profession, and increasing self-awareness and exposure to diverse populations. Cited challenges include securing agency sites, time, and logistics. Findings support existing research suggesting that service-learning may benefit social work undergraduate education.     

A systematic meta-analysis and meta-synthesis of the impact of service-learning programs on university students’ empathy

Higher education institutions seek not only to prepare students for their chosen profession, but also to develop graduates that are civic minded and make a positive social impact. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on whether participation in service-learning leads to students reporting increased empathy. The study also examines the features within a service-learning placement that contribute to development of empathy. The review followed the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. The authors searched Scopus, ERIC (EBSCOhost), PsycInfo, CINAHL, Web of Science, Medline Complete, Google Scholar and specific service-learning journals not indexed in major databases for studies published before Nov 23, 2020 that met the Bringle and Hatcher (1995) definition of service-learning and measured change in, or development of, empathy. Of 662 records identified, 35 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Overall, across the 14 studies included in the meta-analysis, there was a significant small effect for increase in empathy for those who participated in service-learning compared to those who did not (g = 0.261) and from pre to post service-learning (g = 0.176). Across the 21 qualitative studies, the main feature which appeared to contribute to the development of students’ empathy was direct interactions with the community. This paper provides insight into the efficacy of service-learning as a pedagogy and contributes to our understanding of the educational value of service-learning for universities. We conclude with avenues for future research and implications for practice.     

Potential of service-learning to promote sustainability competencies in pre-service teachers: a case study

This research investigates the potential of service-learning to develop a situated, embodied and critically reflective human agency for sustainability. It employs document analysis to review the intended curriculum and the institutional contexts of national and international cases wherein service-learning is a component of pre-service teacher education. Exploration of intended learning outcomes and project and assessment experiences across three cases reveal the potential of service-learning to develop in pre-service teachers sustainability competencies involving participative action with community partners to achieve agreed-upon outcomes, as well as critically reflective capacities and understanding of how, in their future classrooms, schools and communities, they can serve as adaptive, lifelong learners and agents for social and environmental change. Findings also suggest that explicitly linking service-learning activities, guided by social justice and equity principles, with a (social) sustainability agenda may further validate the utilisation of and investment in service-learning and civic engagement in teacher and higher education settings.     

服务学习课程的设计：基于设计思维的实践框架

通过梳理服务学习课程设计理论和实践的相关文献，分析了我国高校服务学习课程设计的现状。根据现有文献和作者在高校服务学习课程设计中的实践经验，提出了基于设计思维的服务学习课程设计实践框架。从多元主体团队、课程目标、课程设计的过程与步骤、课程设计的技术与工具、课程的价值与产出五个维度论述其在实践中的应用，并在此框架下介绍了一门服务学习课程设计的实践案例。此外，还讨论了服务学习课程设计存在的一些挑战，尤其在评价标准、时间管理、情境限制、伦理风险等方面，须通过整合教学实践和学术研究进一步优化。     

Exploring students’ perceptions of service-learning experiences in an undergraduate web design course

Service-learning is an experiential learning experience where students learn and develop through active participation in community service to meet the needs of a community. This study explored student learning experiences in a service-learning group project and their perceptions of service-learning in an undergraduate web design course. The data showed that the service-learning project helped students learn the course material, feel more connected to the surrounding community, and improve their communication and problem-solving skills for their careers. The participants appreciated the opportunity to work with the service-learning partner and will be likely to look for more opportunities to get involved in the community. Time constraints, group work, working with real clients, and technical limitations were reported as major challenges in the group project.     

Asian Pacific Americans and Critical Race Theory: An Examination of School Racial Climate

We attempt to answer where the social justice is in service-learning by probing what it is, how it looks in the process of being institutionalized at a Jesuit university, and why it is important. We develop themes about institutionalizing service-learning from a social justice perspective. Our themes were developed through an analysis of service-learning research focused on institutionalization and social justice, and a case study of a Jesuit university attempting to institutionalize it, including five faculty action research service-learning projects. From these themes, we share lessons that we learned from this experience.