Service-learning
Service-learning is an educational approach that uses community service to meet both classroom learning objectives and societal needs.
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.
[19] 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.
[8] Academically, there is evidence of improved understanding of classroom studies, the application of theory, critical thinking and analysis.
"[40]: 26 Advocates of service-learning argue that this can help students learn to appreciate their shared humanity[40]: 31 and more effectively serve a broader array of people.
[42]: 5 Students may supply specific skills they possess to benefit the organization,[43]: 49 and can be a source of new ideas, energy, and enthusiasm.
[41]: 36 Service-learning may motivate individuals to become better citizens of their communities by cultivating civic and social responsibility,[8]: 12 and through the development of personal relationships.
[40]: 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.
[14]: 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.
[41] And the small number of hours students are required to spend volunteering can cause problems for community organizations and their clients.
[62] 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.”[63]
