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Thursday, 26 May 2011

What is the value of service learning?

Intrinsic value for the individual student

The Review of Course Structures report Education for Tomorrow's World states, "the primary aim of [service learning] activities is to develop ethical awareness and civic responsibility through practical insights into specific social justice issues." In addition there will often be educational benefits, formal or informal, for the individual student.

Reputational value for the Guild

The UWA Student Guild has a proud history of fostering community service work, and this valuable form of social outreach deserves to be more widely recognised. By ensuring that volunteering activities are professionally supported and formally regulated, and linked to formal service learning where appropriate, the Guild can anticipate that its work in the wider community is better appreciated.

Professional value for the teacher

Service learning is not only an effective way of engaging students in the classroom but also a legitimate scholarly pursuit, an educational philosophy worthy of research, and a valuable professional means of connecting academic staff with an important sector of the external community.

Strategic value for the institution

There are obvious benefits for this University in creating links into the wider community (local, national, international) through the work of students and staff with service organisations. Internationally there is an increasing focus on the importance of service learning in higher education, as reflected in ranking systems such as the one published annually by the U.S. News & World Report , which includes a category based on service-learning programs. High on this "best in service learning" list are several institutions that also figure in the Jiao Tong top 25 world-class universities, e.g. Stanford, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin-Madison.

How does UWA measure levels of engagement in service learning?

According to the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement (AUSSE), the level of UWA student participation in community-based projects as part of their studies has traditionally been low but is starting to increase. However, because of the significant benefits than can occur through service learning, UWA would like to accelerate this trend.

What can I do to support service learning at UWA?

The University would like you to consider incorporating a service learning component into one or more of your units, either as a core requirement or as an option. The service learning component may comprise a group project (as for example in the unit Engineering and Social Justice) or an individual placement (as in some of the Arts Practicum work, where third-sector community benefit organisations are the hosts).

What is the background to service learning at UWA?

The report that led to the development of New Courses 2012 at The University of Western Australia recommended that students be given greater opportunities for "engagement with the wider community through a structured unpaid service learning experience with a not-for-profit organisation".

  • On advice from a Service Learning Working Party established as part of the New Courses implementation process, the University then resolved:
  • to lift significantly the number of undergraduate students who participate voluntarily in community service activities;
  • to ensure-by working in close partnership with the Student Guild-that these activities are professionally supported and formally regulated;
  • to develop an appropriately simple way of defining and recording a student's community service experience, with a view to recognising it on the academic transcript; and
  • to encourage staff to integrate service learning opportunities within the curriculum, by publicising examples of good practice.

What is service learning?

The term "service learning" sometimes characterises a broad array of community engagement experiences that may range from casual volunteering to some formal internship programs.

But in most educational contexts it is distinguished from "community service" in general. Community service can occur through various activities that are usually undertaken with not-for- profit organisations whose primary purpose is public benefit.

Service learning creates an explicit link between community service and a particular learning environment. At its best it is embedded within courses or parts of courses. It combines community service with educational processes and objectives so that the service is beneficial to both the recipient and the provider. It integrates participation in a real-world service experience with guided curriculum-embedded reflection on the civic ethos of that experience.

How does service learning differ from volunteering?

While curriculum-embedded service learning may be an ideal educational experience, service learning can also (but doesn't always) occur informally through extra-curricular or co-curricular opportunities for students to participate voluntarily in activities with a community benefit focus.

These volunteering opportunities are often available through student-led initiatives dedicated to civic engagement and advocacy.

At UWA many such opportunities are being managed by the Student Guild in association with Volunteering WA - and also in association with Student Services, which is developing Career Hub software as a web-based system for placement information, sign-up and record-keeping.

How does it differ from internships, professional practicum and work placements?

Internships, professional practicum and work placements can have great practical value in introducing students to environments outside the university. They can simultaneously enhance educational experiences and improve employment prospects.

Those workplace-integrated arrangements do not necessarily involve service learning. But they may sometimes do so, especially if the external organisation that hosts the student is part of the "third sector" - i.e. a not-for-profit organisation with community benefit as its main purpose; and if the work done in the external organisation is linked to a process of guided curriculum-embedded reflection on the social values implicit in that experience.

"Taking part in a unit that involved Service Learning was a whole new experience. The skills I learnt in that unit have subsequently been applied to every single project I've been involved with since. There are no other skills I've gained from UWA that have been applied in such a wide range of areas."

Peter Adam

Engineering student and Guild Vice-President 2011

"My involvement in community music initiatives organised through UWA Music has reinforced my love for music and its capacity to educate, heal and inspire."

Sarah Wells

Recent graduate in Music

"My involvement with Service Learning at UWA has firmly embedded a passion for community outreach and involvement. I experienced the power of working with like-minded peers to create positive change in our community."

Hayden Teo

Recent graduate in Law/Business and former President of Students in Free Enterprise (UWA), a non-profit organisation assisting local communities through entrepreneurial and educational projects

"The opportunity to use the skills learned in my Bachelor degree and to apply them in Jigalong for the benefit of the community was an enriching learning experience - the most rewarding and eye-opening I've ever had in my life."

Shannon Hoult

Sport Science, Exercise and Health student

"My practicum with the Coalition for Asylum Seekers, Refugees and Detainees provided first-hand experience of work in an NGO environment and deepened my engagement with important social justice issues in the community. I look forward to building on the skills that the practicum has taught me, as well as the networks and partnerships I have developed."

Prue Campbell

Arts/Law graduate studying for Honours in Political Science

How can I find out more about service learning @ UWA?

Reports from the Service Learning Working Party are available in the staff section of the New Courses website: www.newcourses2012.uwa.edu.au/staff

For further information about this Working Party's activities, contact its chair: Winthrop Professor Ian Reid, extension 2470 or [email protected]

For advice on developing your unit or course, contact the Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL): www.catl.uwa.edu.au/

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