Service-learning effects on student civic engagement and community - A case study from India

2021 ◽  
pp. 174619792110413
Author(s):  
Siamack Zahedi ◽  
Rhea Jaffer ◽  
Camille L Bryant ◽  
Kala Bada
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Educational Policies ◽  
Learning Effects ◽  
School Classroom ◽  
K 12

The development of student civic engagement has featured in Indian educational policies for decades as a critical goal of schooling. However, the narrowness of the prescribed K-12 curricula, and the intense focus on competitive exams, do not support such an outcome. To overcome this problem, ABC School in India decided to pilot service-learning in its middle-school classroom. The idea was to assess the effects of such a program on students and the community’s welfare. Analysis of data from surveys, focus groups, and interviews showed that the service-learning project might have supported increased civic engagement in some students while also enhancing the welfare of the community served. No prior peer-reviewed empirical studies have been published on the nature and effects of service-learning at schools in India.

Successful leadership in a rural, high-poverty school: the case of County Line Middle School

2014 ◽  
Vol 52 (4) ◽  
pp. 422-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans W. Klar ◽  
Curtis A. Brewer
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Leadership Practices ◽  
Leadership Strategies ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Principalship ◽  
Successful School

Purpose – In this paper, the authors present a case study of successful school leadership at County Line Middle School. The purpose of the paper is to identify how particular leadership practices and beliefs were adapted to increase student achievement in this rural, high-poverty school in the southeastern USA. Design/methodology/approach – After purposefully selecting this school, the authors adapted interview protocols, questionnaires, and analysis frameworks from the International Successful School Principalship Project to develop a multi-perspective case study of principal leadership practices at the school. Findings – The findings illustrate the practices which led to students at this school, previously the lowest-performing in the district, achieving significantly higher on state standardized tests, getting along “like a family,” and regularly participating in service learning activities and charity events. A particularly interesting finding was how the principal confronted the school's negative self-image and adapted common leadership practices to implement a school-wide reform that suited its unique context. Research limitations/implications – While the findings of the study explicate the specific ways the principal adapted leadership strategies to enhance student learning, this study also highlights the need to understand how principals become familiar with their community's needs, cultures, norms, and values, and exercise leadership in accordance with them. Practical implications – The case offers an example of the need for context-responsive leadership in schools. In particular, it illustrates how this principal enacted leadership strategies that successfully negotiated what Woods (2006) referred to as the changing politics of the rural. To realize this success, the principal utilized his understanding of this low income, rural community to guide his leadership practices. Critically, part of this understanding included the ways the community was connected to and isolated from dominant sub-urban and urban societies, and how to build enthusiasm and capacity through appeals to local values. Originality/value – While it is widely acknowledged that school leaders need to consider their school and community contexts when making leadership decisions, less research has focussed on understanding how this can be achieved. This case provides rich examples of how this was accomplished in a rural, high-poverty middle school.

Media Literacy Facilitation as Service Learning and Public Engagement

2022 ◽  
pp. 499-522
Author(s):  
Christine Olson ◽  
Erica Scharrer
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Written Feedback ◽  
Communication Course ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Practical Constraints

This chapter offers insights from a 15-year partnership between a public university and local K-12 schools to explore how the facilitation of media literacy education (MLE) programs by university students can offer rewarding outcomes for both research and learning. The MLE program that serves as the case study for this chapter takes place at local elementary schools each spring in conjunction with an undergraduate communication course and includes interactive media analysis discussions as well as a culminating creative production activity. Reflections and written feedback from participating graduate, undergraduate, and elementary students emphasize the strengths of this pedagogical model for collaboration and learning while also acknowledging the practical constraints of such a partnership. By detailing the institutional-level support, instructional design, and practical implementation of this MLE program, the chapter enumerates the benefits and challenges of engaged research and service learning for advancing media literacy goals.

scholarly journals Computational Thinking Integration Strategy for the Urban Middle School Classroom

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren Birney ◽  
Denise McNamara
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
New York ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Computational Thinking ◽  
Field Station ◽  
Science Project ◽  
Digital Platform ◽  
School Classroom ◽  
K 12

This article provides an overview of the work pioneered by the consortium of collaborators in the Billion Oyster Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Project (BOP-CCERS). The BOP-CCERS are working to support computational thinking in the New York City public school classrooms by creating curriculum which combines:1. The Field Station Research (Oyster Restoration Stations) and data collection2. The Billion Oyster Project Digital Platform and data input and storage 3. The New York State Science Intermediate Level Learning Standards. 4. The Computer Science Teachers Association K-12 Computer Science StandardsThe integration of computational thinking in the STEM middle school classroom is showcased through the intertwining of these dimensions into a trans-disciplinary learning experience that is rich in both content and practice. Students will be able to explain real-world phenomena found in their own community and design possible solutions through the key components of computational thinking.The Curriculum and Community Enterprise for Restoration Science Project digital platform and curriculum will be the resources that provide the underpinnings of the integration of computational thinking in the STEM middle school classroom. The primary functions of the platform include the collection and housing of the data pertaining to the harbor and its component parts, both abiotic and biotic and the storage of the curriculum for both the classroom and the field stations.

Media Literacy Facilitation as Service Learning and Public Engagement

2018 ◽  
pp. 112-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Olson ◽  
Erica Scharrer
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Media Literacy ◽  
Interactive Media ◽  
Media Analysis ◽  
Practical Implementation ◽  
Written Feedback ◽  
Communication Course ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Practical Constraints

This chapter offers insights from a 15-year partnership between a public university and local K-12 schools to explore how the facilitation of media literacy education (MLE) programs by university students can offer rewarding outcomes for both research and learning. The MLE program that serves as the case study for this chapter takes place at local elementary schools each spring in conjunction with an undergraduate communication course and includes interactive media analysis discussions as well as a culminating creative production activity. Reflections and written feedback from participating graduate, undergraduate, and elementary students emphasize the strengths of this pedagogical model for collaboration and learning while also acknowledging the practical constraints of such a partnership. By detailing the institutional-level support, instructional design, and practical implementation of this MLE program, the chapter enumerates the benefits and challenges of engaged research and service learning for advancing media literacy goals.

Exploring Elementary Student Perceptions of Experiential Learning Within Critical Service-Learning

2020 ◽  
pp. 105382592098078
Author(s):  
Sara Gartland
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Third Graders ◽  
Elementary Student ◽  
Third Grade Students ◽  
Student Focus ◽  
K 12

Background: Critical service-learning provides an opportunity for culturally sustaining and experiential learning across a variety of contexts. This study took place alongside a larger study examining the implementation of a year-long community-based critical service-learning initiative at an underresourced elementary school. While the larger study focused on the ways in which the teachers engaged with the framework, this study focuses on the students. Purpose: This study sought to explore third graders’ perceptions of their participation in developing, planning, and implementing a critical service-learning project. Methodology/Approach: Fieldnotes from classroom observations, co-planning and co-teaching sessions, transcripts from student focus groups, and other lesson artifacts were analyzed qualitatively. Findings/Conclusions: A case study of two third-grade students found that amplification of student voice associated with engaging in the critical service-learning fostered a sense of community within the classroom and increased student self-efficacy. Implications: These findings add to the literature on critical service-learning in K–12 public schools while also providing impetus to continue studying student perceptions of experiential learning.

scholarly journals Developing Civic Engagement in Distance Higher Education: A Case Study of Virtual Service-Learning (vSL) Programme in Spain

Open Praxis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan García-Gutierrez ◽  
Marta Ruiz-Corbella ◽  
Araceli Del Pozo Armentia
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Service Learning ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
Practical Aspect ◽  
Digital Competence ◽  
Ethical Competence ◽  
Educación A Distancia ◽  
Practical Development ◽  
The University

Higher Education is demanding the need of a greater connection between its academic offer and the necessary civic engagement of the graduates. This has given Spain the opportunity, for just over a decade, to develop the methodology of service-learning, which combines both the theoretical and practical aspect of university learning with the practical development of solidarity and civic commitment of the students. At the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED, Spain) we have designed an online service-learning proposal, based on the virtual exchange which occurs between the students from the UNED and the University of Porto-Novo (Benin), requiring practical classes of Spanish. The result favours continuing with this virtual service-learning project aimed at the exchange with other universities; strengthening the planning of the training proposal for the development of ethical competence and civic engagement; the design of solidarity service action that enhances global citizenship and intercultural dialogue, consolidates digital competence, etc., all in a virtual educational environment.

A Strengths-Based Multidisciplinary Leadership Team: A Case Study in an Urban Middle School

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 106-122
Author(s):  
Jandel Crutchfield ◽  
Johnoson Crutchfield ◽  
Jennifer Buford
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Staff Development ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Leadership Team ◽  
School Administrator ◽  
Multidisciplinary Teams ◽  
The Social ◽  
K 12

Background:For school leaders challenged with meeting the needs of students, staff, parents, and community members, strengths-based leadership approaches have proven beneficial in accomplishing goals of teacher/staff development, addressing school climate, improving relationships between parents and school, and planning interventions for student success. The purpose of the present study is: (a) to offer a description of a multidisciplinary leadership team that employs a school social worker as a school administrator in a sixth–eighth grade middle school; (b) to identify the social worker's view of the strenghs-based approach and how this influences her administrative role; and (c) to consider whether the social worker’s unique skills are valued by others in the school community, when the social worker is a member of the school’s leadership team.Methods:A case study approach was used in this study.Results:The study identifies key areas in which school leadership can be informed and opportunities for further research on how multidisciplinary teams using strengths-based approaches in intervention could prove beneficial to K–12 educational reform.

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