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STEP Category: Service-Learning and Community Service ; STEP Presentation of my two-week service learning trip to Puerto Rico. ; The Ohio State University Second-year Transformational Experience Program (STEP) ; Academic Major: Political Science

In this study, we explored the knowledge and perceptions of service-learning held by a diverse group of international teachers. Through focus group interviews, we found that the majority of participants desired to implement service-learning in their countries, and they supported the idea of mandatory service-learning. Findings also highlight an interesting correlation with teachers from autocratic types of government systems opposing mandatory service-learning.

In the context of higher education, service-learning has been adopted for various dimensions of sustainability education across disciplines including environmental studies (Helicke 2014), engineering (Seay et al 2016), entrepreneurship (Niehm et al 2015), nursing (Dalmida 2016), clinical studies (Petersen et al 2015), psychology (Bringle et al 2016), and political sciences (Benjamin-Alvarado, 2015). It has been described as a philosophy, pedagogy, and programme (Jacoby 2015), conceptualised as a form of experiential education based on 'reciprocal learning' (Sigmon, 1979) where the 'head, hands and heart' can become integrated (Sipos et al 2008). Here, both the learner offering service and the recipient of that service are considered equally important, and both are mutually changed or transformed in some way (a relationship signified by the use of a hyphen between service and learning, ibid). Such reciprocity, however, distinguishes service-learning from volunteering and community service (which typically tend to prioritise the recipient of the service learner's efforts), as well as field and internship education (which typically tend to prioritise the learner) (Sigmon, 1994).

Service learning is a powerful pedagogical tool using community or public service experiences to enhance traditional course content's meaning and impact. This approach is valuable for two interrelated reasons: 1) it provides a form of practical experience enhancing learning in all potential curriculum areas and 2) the community service experience can reinforce civic and moral values desirable in society from serving others (Zlotkowski, 1996a, 1996b). This paper presents a brief description of service learning and describes a unique application of this pedagogy at a military service academy. A special offering senior capstone course involving engineering systems design and program management, where the final project (a small satellite) is actually placed in orbit, is used as a vehicle for service learning. Also experience-based insights into improving service learning implementation are presented with suggestions and demonstrations for making this approach part of the curriculum.

Educational support is a fundamental dimension in the growth and development of individuals and groups. Teaching through care for the relations, climate and educational style constitutes a way to create personal and social itineraries enriched with experiential nuances in the planning of projects from methodological approaches such as Service-Learning (SL).In particular, the educational style of SL and the supporter attitude are able to grant the pedagogical role of every experience to learners. Besides, this leadership cannot be forged without the participation of all the stakeholders. As a result, in this work, a study of educational support as a process, focusing on the democratic and pro-social leadership of the educators as well as on the pedagogical role and leadership of the learners is presented. Moreover, SL is shown here an educational proposal that allows to "learn while a service is done to the community". Finally, some orientations for the educational role in SL projects are offered.Thus, the youth (or any other stakeholder) is considered as a subject with rights and responsibilities; participants of a learning process with practical relevance where they can make significant contributions to the community while consolidating their own personal and collective history.

Although academic organizations typically cite "teaching, research, and service" as their primary missions, the service component is often weighted less-heavily in the faculty promotion and tenure process compared with teaching and research. This is unfortunate for publically-funded colleges and universities, since in many disciplines community service can be more beneficial and visible to taxpayers, legislators, parents, and other constituency groups than academic scholarship will ever be. One goal for higher education that should be taken very seriously is the development of students who learn the value of being productive members of their communities by contributing pro bono expertise to those with a need, but without the expertise or resources necessary to accomplish the task(s) on their own. In an effort to enhance their images, many modern organizations reward employees for such community service. Since the public at large has increasingly come to perceive higher education - particularly faculty members - in a negative light, service-learning is arguably one of the best methods for addressing this problematic image. One very promising area for service-learning activity is through marketing research class projects. This manuscript first provides an overview of service-learning including a conceptual framework, and then supports that introduction with an example.

The National Service Training Program (NSTP) is a civic education and defense preparedness program for students instituted by the Philippine government byvirtue of Republic Act 9163, otherwise known as the NSTP Act of 2001. One ofthe aims of NSTP is to inculcate civic consciousness among Filipino youth throughthis program. However, as widely observed, not all students who completed NSTPhave imbibed such aim. The quality of program implementation could be a potentialfactor which includes service learning exposure and how this is translated tostudents' sense of civic consciousness. Hence, this qualitative study aimed toanalyze the service learning exposure of NSTP students in the first semester,academic year 2018-2019 enrolled in a private university. Anchored on Dewey andFreire's service-learning theory, service learning is a form of experientialeducation, deeply rooted in cognitive and developmental psychology, pragmaticphilosophy, and democratic theory. Using a case study design, eight participantswere purposively sampled and interviewed in a focus group. Consequently,interview data were transcribed and analyzed accordingly using Seidel's (1998)model. Findings show that participants described their service learning exposure assomething that is practical, essential, fulfilling, and a spiritual calling. Based onthese themes, implications for civic consciousness were drawn. These identifiedthemes imply that service learning exposure seems to awaken one's awareness,sensitivity, and consciousness of the needs of others; thereby seeking out for waysto do something to contribute for the common good. This underpins the crucial roleof NSTP program towards nation building. It is recommended that furtherenrichment of implementation be done to ensure sufficient service learningexposure identified to help raise the level of civic consciousness.

The demands on successfully teaching intervention skills in macro (community) environments are numerous and extend beyond the confines of any one academic discipline. In particular, when considering community, the compounding of the multiple factors of social economics, diversity, social policy, history and political agendas requires an integrative approach. This mixed-methods retrospective article analyses the use of service-learning in an advanced Master of Social Work community practice course. Special attention is given to the construction of academic and community experience that facilitates learning integration and understanding of the ways in which factors compound on community wellbeing. Specifically this project involved students in efforts constructed to address violence directed by and against inner-city youth in a mid-sized northeastern city in the United States that is beset with gang violence and has led its state in per capita murders for four of the past five years. Recommendations and lessons learned presented in this article are directed at exploring a construction of service-learning that could address integrative learning in community intervention courses. Keywords: Service-learning, teaching, macro practice, violence

International volunteering and experiential learning programs provide important opportunities for personal and academic growth for students, universities and communities, however, they also have the potential of reinforcing neocolonial frameworks of power and privilege. Furthermore, these programs occur more and more in an academic context where short-term experiences are promoted, and long-term programs abandoned in the wake of neoliberal university policies. This paper is a reflection on the politics, possibilities and challenges of starting a new experiential learning endeavor through the Service Learning Program at St. Francis Xavier (StFX) University from a critical standpoint by exploring tensions and power dynamics of such programs whilst working from a decolonizing and solidarity-based pedagogy of development.

Background: Research on service-learning with English Language Learners has blossomed over the last two decades, but the literature is not well known outside the field of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). This is unfortunate in a world where issues related to globalization and immigration are common in public discourses. Purpose: This literature review is intended to provide readers with a succinct overview of an area of growing importance. Methodology/Approach: Using a previously published bibliography of the field, supplemented by searches of ERIC, MLA, and WorldCAT databases and Google Scholar, a meta-analysis of the literature was conducted. Results and representative reports are summarized for higher education settings, from language institutes and two-year colleges to graduate teacher education courses. Findings/Conclusions: The findings show service-learning leads to small but significant gains in second language teaching and learning, and has positive impacts on the communities in which English Language learners and teachers serve. Implications: The findings can inform the work of professionals in higher education and the community in the design and assessment of programs for linguistically and culturally diverse learners, as well as political and ideological discussions of multiculturalism and multilingualism.

Universities in Nigeria are established to perform three functions- teaching, research and community service. In spite of the establishment of several government and private-owned universities in Nigeria, most of these tertiary institutions have been criticised for not meeting the objectives of their establishment. This is because gaps between the gown and the town exist to the extent that the functionality of the education provided and the relevance of the certificates awarded to the society are being questioned. However, service learning was one of the ways used to bridge the gaps between the universities and communities in some of the developed and developing countries. This study therefore examined the extent to which lecturers incorporate service learning into teaching learning process. The study adopted mixed research design. Three research questions were posed for the study. Validated Service learning Structure Interview Schedule (r= 0.826) was administered to One hundred and fifty lecturers selected from three Universities in Southwest, Nigeria using multi stage sampling technique. The data collected was analysed using descriptive statistic and content analysis. The results and implications of the findings were discussed while recommendations were also made. Article DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2018.42.466476 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-commercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.

Although various critical pedagogies long insisted upon the classroom's political dimensions, much related service-learning scholarship peculiarly insists that political engagement requires students step beyond classrooms to external settings where the "real world" of politics supposedly takes place. Building upon an increasing trend among service-learning scholars to examine ways such curricula affects internal classroom power dynamics, this paper recounts experiences of a college composition class in which students were given the authority to direct pedagogy and instruction of younger student writing partners. Though not conclusive, the research suggests that the older students exercised a more collegial, democratic teaching style with their younger peers than what they themselves experienced as students in their own traditional classroom settings.

The New River is influenced by a variety of pressures ranging from economic development and attendant environmental impacts, to changing community expectations and choices, to infrastructure investments by local government. Coordinating local action to improve sustainability of the river is complex, with many stakeholders, conflicting priorities, and systems-level impacts that are poorly understood. Local universities can contribute to this challenge through community-based service learning (CBSL). CBSL involves exposing students to structured, real-life problem solving opportunities working with community stakeholders to develop and apply solutions in the real world. This presentation describes a series of CBSL experiences employed in graduate and undergraduate sustainable building and infrastructure courses at Virginia Tech over a three-year period. Experiences included facility assessment and designing and building a new feline housing area at the Radford Animal Shelter along the river, followed by a comprehensive Sustainable Riverfront Development Plan for the City of Radford including the entire riverfront. Current efforts involve designing and building new environmentally friendly access points for recreational access to the river in Bisset Park. Partners include the City of Radford, Radford University, local businesses, and others. The presentation includes outcomes, impacts, and lessons learned for others interested in this approach.

The integration of research and community service learning (also referred to as service learning or service-learning in this volume) opens up opportunities for contributing to the much discussed transformation of higher education in South Africa, through which institutions of higher education are urged to become more democratic, more responsive to community challenges, and conducive to partnership-building with a wide variety of stakeholders. The twofold premise of this introductory article is the following: service learning as a pedagogy is strengthened through scholarly inquiry and, secondly, the South African research agenda can be advanced through the philosophy and epistemology of service learning that promotes collaborative, open systems of knowledge production. The aim of the article is to establish why and how the above should and could be achieved, placing the other contributions to this issue of Acta Academica Supplementum within the framework of a more inclusive service learning research agenda for South Africa.

This article analyzes the rhetorical strategies of the community service-learning movement in Canada, offering a description of the movement that is accessible to both Canadian and international readers who are familiar with service-learning. The article first provides a general comparison of the context, features and progress of the Canadian community service-learning (CSL) movement in light of the American service-learning movement. It then it analyzes the unique messages and features of the Canadian movement using social movement theory and rhetorical theory as a frame. It concludes with recommendations regarding the rhetorical strategies and organizational structures that are likely to be ethical and effective in forwarding the CSL initiative in Canada and adapting it to the unique cultural, social and political contexts of its higher education system. These insights are offered from the perspective of a Canadian faculty member from the discipline of rhetorical studies who teaches, researches, and leads in the movement both nationally and locally. KEYWORDSservice-learning; social movements; higher education; institutionalization; community partnerships