Service Learning in the Adult Education Context
From Adult Education
Created by Jennifer Fimbel Fall 2007, Edited by Josh (Will) Chaney Fall 2009
Contents |
THE BASICS
The addition of service-learning into the curriculum of all levels of education will bring forth academically stronger, community-based, forward thinking, civic minded individuals who will be less likely to fall into the “risk” taking traps.
What is service-learning and how is it different? Although the definition of service-learning varies from institution to institution, the ideology remains constant.
Service-learning is not the same as community service. Community service “refers to service that a person performs for the benefit of his or her local community. Community service can refer to projects that members of certain youth organizations (such as the Boy Scouts) and some high school students perform. It also refers to an alternative sentencing technique in a justice system. And at times groups of people will commit to perform service to the community as a gesture to the larger community.” In this case, for elementary and high school students, “this type of service performed is at times similar to that performed by people convicted of crimes. It can also entail other types of service. For example, a Boy Scout may undertake improvement projects – such as repairing a structure.
When this form of Community Service is used, it is often a requirement of a youth organization – the Scouting organization would require it in order for a Scout to advance to the next rank. For high school students, it is often a requirement for a student to advance to the next grade level or graduate from high school to perform a certain number of hours of service.”2 Service-learning is similar, yet different. It is “a method of teaching, learning and reflecting that combines academic classroom curriculum with meaningful community service. As a teaching methodology, it falls under the category of experiential education.”2
“Service-learning is one of the tightest forms of experiential learning and community service opportunities. However, it can be distinguished in the following ways: Connection to Curriculum – Integrating learning into a service project is key to successful service learning. Academic ties should be clear and build upon existing disciplinary skills. Youth voice – Beyond being actively engaged in the project itself, learners have the opportunity to select, design, implement and evaluate their service activity. Reflection – Structured opportunities are created to think, talk, and write about the service experience. The balance of reflection and action allows a learner to be constantly aware of the impact of their work.
Partners in the community – Partnerships with community agencies are used to identify genuine needs, provide mentorship, and contribute assets towards completing a project. In a successful partnership, both sides will give to and benefit from the project.”2
“Experiential education is the process of actively engaging learners in an authentic experience that will have benefits and consequences. Learners make discoveries and experiment with knowledge themselves instead of hearing or reading about the experiences of others. They also reflect on their experiences, thus developing new skills, new attitudes, and new theories or ways of thinking" (Kraft & Sakofs, 1988).
John Dewey (1938) was an early promoter of the idea of learning through direct experience, by action and reflection. This type of learning differs from much traditional education in that teachers first immerse students in action and then ask them to reflect on the experience. In traditional classrooms, instructors begin by setting knowledge (including analysis and synthesis) before their learners. They hope their learners will later find ways to apply the knowledge in action. Despite the efforts of many would-be reformers, recent reports by researchers such as Goodlad (1984) and Sizer (1984) suggest that most teaching, particularly at the high school level, still involves the teacher as purveyor of knowledge and the student as passive recipient of it.”2
Service-learning, community service and experiential learning are not one and the same, however, each becomes an integral part of an educational process with potentially huge profits in the behaviors of our future generations.
HISTORY OF SERVICE LEARNING
Service learning is not a new concept in educational circles. Our good friend, John Dewey was an advocate of service learning and experiential learning at the turn of the 20th century and he wasn’t the first proponent. The school of thought is that learners would study their academics more thoroughly if applied to real world issues. It was also felt that they would be better members of their society if service-learning were incorporated into their schooling.
Although not an entirely new idea, implementing service learning into the school systems did not take hold until the early 1970’s. Politics, unavoidable in the educational system, have brought the focus of needed reform in our schools. Set into motion is the trend of linking community involvement and academics via service learning projects. Through legislation we now have the National and Community Service Act of 1990, the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993, and the Citizen Service Act of 2002.
The National and Community Service Act oversees several of the programs that receive federal funding. These include Americorps Grants, Learn and Serve America, the National Civilian Community Corps, and the Points of Light Foundation. The Domestic Volunteer Service Act is in charge of the VISTA program and the Senior Corps.4 As the funding for these two Acts ended in 1996, President Bush introduced the Citizen Service Act in 2002 to strengthen our service programs and to ensure continued support for our local communities and these programs.
There have been a number of programs available to students over the years that incorporate service with learning. The federal work-study programs were one such program, although successful as “earn to learn” monies, the program didn’t have the necessary structure to qualify as service-learning. Many colleges did not place the students in community based service-learning positions. During the last few decades, the trend in public schools has been one of providing service learning opportunities (not requirements) into their curriculum. From a study completed in 1984, only 9 percent of all high schools offered service-learning programs. In 1996 it was found that 49 percent of students in grades 6-12 participated in community service and that 56 percent of these students reported that this community service was linked to their academics.3 It is this type of atmosphere that has led the political arena to consider the Acts of 1990, 1993 and 2002.
The drawback to service-learning programs lies in the manner in which the projects are funded. Only 10 percent of schools receiving support for their service-learning programs actually received money through the federal government program Learn and Serve, the program that was instituted for just that purpose. Most funding comes from contributions from corporations, businesses and grants.3
Each of the federal outreach programs reaches a different audience to ensure that all community needs can be met.
Americorps provides opportunities for youth 17-21 year olds. Educational, public safety and/or environmental needs are addressed for the community depending on their needs. Stipends are available for some student projects through Americorps.
Senior Corps is composed of the Foster Grandparent Program, the Senior Companion Program and RSVP. These are all seniors helping seniors programs where the skills of our senior population are used to the benefit of the community.
Learn and Serve America has community, school based programs for the K-12 students and a program for those at the college level. These programs are truly service-learning projects where the activity is geared through the needs of the community and also fits the needs of the school curriculum.4
THE ROADBLOCKS FOR SERVICE LEARNING
There are all sorts of programs, funding sources, community organizations, student populations and educators who all need and want service-learning programs to exist. Why aren’t they more widespread?
Let’s look at the community organization first. They have needs that have to be fulfilled and an educational project fills the bill nicely. However, they don’t understand the constraints of state mandates in education today; they just have their own mission.
Now look at the motivated teacher next. The teacher thinks outside of the box and wants the students to do the same. Service-learning is the perfect match, however, they have the issues of transportation, liability, getting the school board to understand (and administration), and the constraints of time to get all of the state mandated information to the students, not to mention the expense.
There are many groups that could help, for example, Learn and Serve America. They fit the age requirement and they have some funding. But, how does one put together all of the groups?
Put a different twist on this picture, how about the unmotivated teacher? How do we get them involved and excited about service-learning? What’s in it for them?
These are some of the major drawbacks to having service-learning available in every school setting. Institutions can’t even agree on what service-learning consists of.
Instituting service-learning programs into the educational systems would take communication, planning, fore thought, organization, cooperation, involvement, motivation, excitement and imagination, on all parties involved, including the community (tax payers).
I’ve almost forgotten the most integral part of this process, the learners. The learners have to have a say in what their service-learning project is going to be or entail, if they don’t, they lose two important parts to the overall success of the program; ownership and empowerment.
With all of these roadblocks, why would someone like me be a proponent of service-learning curriculum becoming a part of the education for all learners? Although most of the research is limited, it is very recent (1995 – 2004). The benefits of service-learning far outweigh any negative feedback from participants, educators, administrators, community organizations and the community at large.
In a society, where only 37% of adults believe that our children will make a difference in the world, where 67% of adults are sure that today’s children have few values and morals and view teens as disrespectful, undisciplined and that only 20% of our younger generation feel that they are appreciated by the community1, any program that is tried, is bound to have huge obstacles to overcome, service-learning programs are no exception.
Service-learning programs have faced hard resistance over the years as skeptics criticize what they feel should be taught at home. With today’s crisis in our country’s educational system, where children and adults alike can’t read a basic primer, high school drop out rates are climbing and absenteeism is at an all time high, its no wonder that something new faces a dilemma. Many feel that in this state of affairs, the schools should spend more time preparing for the basics in Math, English, Science and Composition, certainly not on service-learning, especially mandatory service learning. Some question the academic value of service-learning. Others say the safety of our children is at hand when we expose our youth to the horrors of homelessness, domestic violence, and hunger (service-learning projects), not to mention the costs, liability and transportation issues when the projects are off of school grounds.
Explaining the difference between a mandatory service-learning project, a mandatory community service and an unconstitutional “involuntary servitude” is a simple matter of education. As defined earlier, service-learning has an educational component that community service and involuntary servitude do not. Service-learning also gives ownership and empowerment to the participants, benefits not just the agency involved with “cheap” labor, but for the community and the students as well.
SIDE BENEFITS OF SERVICE LEARNING
What hasn’t been discussed much in any of the research, are the side benefits that would naturally come from service-learning projects. One part of a successful service-learning project is a reflection component, such as class discussion and journal keeping, therefore, several additional skills emerge; communication – written and oral; time management skills- to balance the classroom work, reflection aspect and regular homework and studying considerations, not to mention those students who have extra-curricular activities such as organized sports, clubs and jobs. Social and interpersonal skills are mentioned in some research, so relationships are built and strengthened through service-learning projects. Would these be bad things to add to a resume?
Benefits of service learning may help in areas outside the academic world. The experiences gained through service learning can help individuals build character. For example, confidence can develop from volunteering when the volunteer has to learn to make decisions on their own. Another benefit is increased self-reflection (Ethridge 2009). Service learning can increase resposibility of civic awareness (Smith, 2005). Service learning can also improve citizenship and leadership which ultimately lead to personal development (Lewis, 2002).
Our society may not become rich with the addition of service-learning projects into our educational process, but we will be enriched.
FOOT NOTES
- 1 www.answers.com
- 2 Service Learning and Community Service in K-12 Public Schools, National Center for Educations Statistics, September 1999, US Dept. Of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement
- 3 Corporation for National & Community Service, http://www.nationalservice.org
- 4 Benefits of Service Learning, www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Benefits of Service Learning, Retrieved on November 22, 2007 from [1]
Corporation for National & Community Service, Retrieved on November 22, 2007 from [2]
Service Learning and Community Service in K-12 Public Schools, National Center for Educations Statistics, September 1999, US Dept. Of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement
Information Retrieved on November 26, 2007 from [3]
Lewis, M. 2002. Educational Gerontology, 28: pp. 655-667. Retrieved October 23, 2009 from EBSCO.[4]
Smith,Cecil M. 2005. Does Service-learning Promote Adult Development? Theoretical Perspectives and Directions for Research, pp.1. Retrieved November 2, 2009. [[5]]
Ethridge, E.A. 2009. Teaching and Teacher Education, 25: pp. 400-408. Retrieved November 2, 2009. [4]
