The impacts of mandatory service on students in service-learning classes

2016 ◽  
Vol 156 (3) ◽  
pp. 305-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolyn Dienhart ◽  
Geoffrey Maruyama ◽  
Mark Snyder ◽  
Andrew Furco ◽  
Monica Siems McKay ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Mandatory Service

How Participation Affects University Students’ Perspectives Toward Mandatory Service-Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 105382592094888
Author(s):  
Stephen C. F. Chan ◽  
Grace Ngai ◽  
Cindy H. Y. Lam ◽  
Kam-Por Kwan
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
University Students ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Initial Resistance ◽  
Mandatory Service ◽  
Academic Year

Background: Educators have divided and often strongly held views on whether service-learning should be required of all students. However, studies examining students’ view on mandatory service-learning are limited in the literature. Purpose: This article contrasts and examines students’ views toward a service-learning requirement at a Hong Kong university before and after attending a mandatory service-learning course, and any resulting changes. Methodology/Approach: This is a retrospective qualitative study using semistructured interviews. Participants were 49 students who completed a service-learning course in the 2013–2014 academic year. They were selected according to the nature of their performance in their completed course. Findings/Conclusions: Results show that students’ perspectives toward service-learning are not static but rather change dramatically as a result of their experiences. Most students, even those who recalled being initially negative or resigned, reported positive views toward service-learning after completing the course. Implications: Students’ initial resistance alone is not a reason for making service-learning optional. Some students have a negative view due to a lack of information or misinformation. Making it compulsory gives these students an opportunity to decide for themselves based on true experience, which, if implemented effectively, has the potential of nurturing initially hostile or inert students into more civic-minded citizens.

scholarly journals Impact of Mandatory Service-Learning Course on Civic Attitudes and Skills: Case Study in Ecuador

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-38
Author(s):  
Díaz Freire Karla ◽  
Ramia Cárdenas Nascira ◽  
Garlock Laura
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Civic Attitudes ◽  
Mandatory Service

scholarly journals “This course is like paying to volunteer” or is it? Effects of a Mandatory Service-Learning Course on Teacher Candidates

2016 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 597-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Sokal ◽  
Vern Barrett ◽  
Allan Appel ◽  
Anneke Funk ◽  
Mykaila Radawetz
Keyword(s):  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Teacher Preparation Programs ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Significant Growth ◽  
Civic Attitudes ◽  
Mandatory Service

One hundred teacher candidates enrolled in a mandatory course on service learning were surveyed pre- and post-course to determine their civic attitudes and willingness to take the service learning course. Quantitative analysis indicated significant growth in civic attitudes in all students, and this growth was not differentially affected by the students’ willingness to take the course. Qualitative data were analyzed to determine the underpinnings for students’ perceptions, and recommendations about the wisdom of making such courses mandatory in teacher preparation programs are provided.

Mandatory service learning at university: Do less-inclined students learn from it?

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen CF Chan ◽  
Grace Ngai ◽  
Kam-por Kwan
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Survey Results ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Mandatory Service ◽  
Experience Survey ◽  
The University

At many universities, there is a growing realization that the university owes a social responsibility to the community. Society invests in its citizens through the university, and the university empowers its students to realize their potential, both as competent professionals and as responsible citizens. This requires the cultivation of attributes such as social awareness, ethical leadership, and social responsibility, which are generally recognized as being difficult to teach in a classroom setting. Service learning is a form of active learning that integrates meaningful service to the community with academic study and reflective learning. In service learning, the learning goals of the students are as important as the benefits of the service that is rendered to the community; in addition, the two are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Research has shown that service learning contributes positively to the attainment of many of the aforementioned desired graduate attributes for university students. However, there is much controversy about whether service learning should be mandated. There is a need to examine whether and to what extent students’ learning and development from completing a mandatory service learning subject are influenced by their initial inclination. Data described in this article were collected from 756 students via an online post-experience survey. Results show that students’ total learning experience from service learning had a much stronger impact on their learning and development than their initial inclination or even interest in the subject.

Infusing aging competencies: Lessons from BSW students following service-learning assignment with older adult

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 52-68
Author(s):  
Natalie D Cawood ◽  
Rebecca J Garrison
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Instructional Technique ◽  
Aging Populations ◽  
Students Attitudes ◽  
Mandatory Service ◽  
Work Education

This study examined the extent to which a mandatory service-learning experience impacted Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) students’ attitudes and interest in working in gerontological social work and identified factors that influence a student’s desire to work with aging populations. Using a convenience sample of 51 BSW students, participants either conducted a structured life review or a friendly visitor assignment with an older adult. Participants were a diverse group of primarily female students, ranging in age from 20-57 years old. Pre- and post-survey results suggest that intergenerational service-learning in social work can be a valuable instructional technique, helping students to maintain or increase interest in working with elder populations, alleviating concerns of working in gerontological settings, and giving insights into both the challenges and rewards of this field of work.Keywords aging/gerontology; practice learning; service learning; experiential teaching methods; social work education

scholarly journals (158) Gardening Made Easy—Teaching Organic Gardening at a Land-grant University

HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 1031E-1032
Author(s):  
Carl Motsenbocker ◽  
Sandra Allain
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Small Individual ◽  
Plant Materials ◽  
Farmers Market ◽  
Service Projects ◽  
Garden Plot ◽  
Mandatory Service ◽  
Community Projects ◽  
Organic Gardening

An organic gardening class was developed to provide nonhorticulture students an opportunity to become acquainted with horticultural science and the basics of gardening organically. The course was developed as a 3-hour (1 hour lecture, 2 hours lab), two-credit course taught in the fall semester using an organic gardening textbook. A major component of the lab is the development and maintenance of a small individual garden plot during the semester. Students grow their own plant materials, plant, fertilize, and monitor pests, and harvest at the end of the semester. The organic gardening class was taught for 7 years and evolved into having a mandatory service-learning component that supports service projects in the local community. Projects included working with the local farmers' market, supporting school projects such as growing plants, school grounds beautification, gardening, or mulching, and gleaning product from research and garden plots for the local food bank. The poster will provide information on the class syllabus and materials, record of service projects, and reflections of the students during and at the end of the class.

scholarly journals Motivations and Perceptions of Student Service Participation

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily Johnson ◽  
Amanda Reinke
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Community Service ◽  
Community Involvement ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Voluntary Service ◽  
Liberal Arts University ◽  
Student Service ◽  
Mandatory Service ◽  
Student Motivations

Researchers studying higher education frequently associated community service with liberal arts education. Most research on service participation among college students predominantly studies mandatory service-learning programs. Several studies gathered survey data to analyze opinions and feelings towards volunteering from students at universities with a service-learning component and found that students who participate feel more connected to and engaged in their community. Georgia College & State University (Georgia College or GC), a public liberal arts university, also claims community service is an integral part of their mission because it broadens students’ perspectives and forms engaged citizens. However, there is little data examining student motivations and perceptions of their voluntary service experiences as part of their education at liberal arts institutions. This research project addresses this gap using two methods: (a) participant observation during service events and (b) semi-structured interviewing with both students engaged in voluntary service activities as well as employees who observe student service involvement. Preliminary findings display a wide array of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for student service participation, and interview data relates service to the liberal arts mission as a method of expanding perspectives of students. These results support literature that says students benefit from service participation by both honing their skills and spurring their passion about community involvement. The findings herein add to the literature by exploring motivators for voluntary service participation.

Amen, Awareness and Action: Catholic Service-Learning and Critical Consciousness

2009 ◽  
Vol os-52 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-44
Author(s):  
Trae Stewart
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Social Change ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Liberation Theology ◽  
Critical Consciousness ◽  
Social Awareness ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Catholic High School ◽  
Mandatory Service

The current study examines the meaning that students enrolled in a diverse, urban Catholic high school made of their four-year participation in a mandatory service-learning program. Framed by liberation theology and Paulo Freire's typology of critical consciousness, inquiries look specifically at whether students understood their participation and experiences simply as religiously charitable obligations, or as learning experiences for the development of their social awareness and future civic engagement for social change.

Students Involvement in Multilingual and Multicultural Community Services

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 77-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying-Chiao Tsao
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Cultural Competence ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Community Services ◽  
Cultural Humility ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Multicultural Community ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Teaching Learning

Promoting cultural competence in serving diverse clients has become critically important across disciplines. Yet, progress has been limited in raising awareness and sensitivity. Tervalon and Murray-Garcia (1998) believed that cultural competence can only be truly achieved through critical self-assessment, recognition of limits, and ongoing acquisition of knowledge (known as “cultural humility”). Teaching cultural humility, and the value associated with it remains a challenging task for many educators. Challenges inherent in such instruction stem from lack of resources/known strategies as well as learner and instructor readiness. Kirk (2007) further indicates that providing feedback on one's integrity could be threatening. In current study, both traditional classroom-based teaching pedagogy and hands-on community engagement were reviewed. To bridge a gap between academic teaching/learning and real world situations, the author proposed service learning as a means to teach cultural humility and empower students with confidence in serving clients from culturally/linguistically diverse backgrounds. To provide a class of 51 students with multicultural and multilingual community service experience, the author partnered with the Tzu-Chi Foundation (an international nonprofit organization). In this article, the results, strengths, and limitations of this service learning project are discussed.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document