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1 – 10 of 32Higher education has to develop personal and professional competences of students and to improve their knowledge and skills as well as their sense of civic engagement and…
Abstract
Higher education has to develop personal and professional competences of students and to improve their knowledge and skills as well as their sense of civic engagement and understanding of cultural and social issue. Moreover, higher education research suggests that the use of technology, e-learning and online course can provide a powerful learning experience for students (Volman, 2005). Thus, e-service-learning (E-SL), “…an electronic form of experiential education and incorporates electronically supported service learning” (Malvey, Hamby, & Fottler, 2006, p. 187) could be a teaching and learning methodology to reach these goals. Indeed:
it is delivered online and uses the Internet and state of the art technologies that permit students, faculty, and community partners to collaborate at a distance in an organized, focused, experiential service-learning activity, which simultaneously promotes civic responsibility and meets community needs. (Malvey et al., 2006, p. 187)
it is delivered online and uses the Internet and state of the art technologies that permit students, faculty, and community partners to collaborate at a distance in an organized, focused, experiential service-learning activity, which simultaneously promotes civic responsibility and meets community needs. (Malvey et al., 2006, p. 187)
Starting from a theoretical analysis of the evolution of E-SL, this chapter describes a case study of the use of E-SL in English Language Teaching (ELT) education and reveals the effects that it produces on the development of digital skills, teaching abilities and professional identity of pre-service teachers.
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Audrey F. Falk, Martina Jordaan, Sameerah T. Saeed, Madasu Bhaskara Rao and Nour El Houda Chaoui
This program evaluation aimed to investigate the benefits and challenges of an international, intercultural, e-community-engagement experience involving youth and higher education…
Abstract
Purpose
This program evaluation aimed to investigate the benefits and challenges of an international, intercultural, e-community-engagement experience involving youth and higher education students. The authors sought to understand the meaning that participants would make of an international, intercultural, e-community-engagement experience.
Design/methodology/approach
The program evaluation component of this project was qualitative, participatory and action-oriented. It was composed of online reflection sessions with small, international groups of higher education students from Iraq, India, Morocco, South Africa and the USA immediately following each of five interactive exchange sessions with youth from South Africa. It also included one culminating reflection session to which all of the higher education student participants were invited and a written questionnaire that was completed by the youth participants at the conclusion of the project. The reflection sessions were recorded and transcribed. Transcripts and survey data were reviewed for emergent themes.
Findings
Cultural exposure emerged as the primary theme with participants valuing the opportunity to learn about different cultures and to connect with individuals from across the globe.
Research limitations/implications
This program evaluation was not designed as a generalizable study. This pilot initiative provides evidence of the potential value and importance of international, intercultural e-community-engagement experiences for youth and higher education students.
Practical implications
The potential value of technology to build exchange opportunities for young people is immense and largely untapped. International, intercultural e-community-engagement initiatives can be made available to students globally with relatively limited resources. A highly structured and focused plan provides clarity about expectations and requirements for students. A high level of commitment is required by all participants, including the faculty coordinators.
Social implications
Although the project was brief, exposure to numerous countries and cultures allowed participants to challenge their assumptions about different peoples and places in the world. The potential benefits for greater compassion and understanding of communities and cultures in an international context are high.
Originality/value
This program evaluation contributes to and extends the literature on the possibilities and challenges of international e-community-engagement; it demonstrates the potential for e-community-engagement across multiple countries to broaden students' exposure to and interest in global perspectives.
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Connie Snyder Mick and James M. Frabutt
Within tertiary education, service-learning can offer deeply engaging and transformational experiences for students, broadening their consideration of a host of social justice…
Abstract
Within tertiary education, service-learning can offer deeply engaging and transformational experiences for students, broadening their consideration of a host of social justice issues of our time, including diversity and inclusion. This chapter describes how service-learning interfaces with two areas in particular, both of which have wide-ranging public health implications and are generally misrepresented in public media: poverty and mental health. Representative studies are highlighted and case examples are presented in each domain, concluding with recommendations for future research. The authors argue that service-learning courses addressing social justice issues such as poverty and mental health can lead to deep learning in students if they are sequenced to include both direct service-learning that concretizes the issue and community-based research that highlights the public policy challenges and implications of addressing that issue systemically.
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Katharina Resch, Andrea Hoyer-Neuhold and Ilse Schrittesser
This study aims to examine how lecturers in European higher education institutions perceive the service-learning approach as a teaching concept and feel prepared for its…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine how lecturers in European higher education institutions perceive the service-learning approach as a teaching concept and feel prepared for its implementation after a short-term training. Service-learning connects theory and practice by allowing students to participate in a service that meets community needs, reflect on this experience and gain an enhanced sense of civic engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
The evaluation study drew on data from four focus group discussions with n = 21 lecturers from five European countries following a Winter School on service-learning in 2020. The qualitative data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Findings
The findings indicate four themes of preparedness: (1) overall conceptions of service-learning, (2) continuum of preparedness for service-learning, (3) influential factors for preparedness and (d) transfer to home universities. The participants viewed themselves as multipliers for service-learning in their home universities; however, they were skeptical about being able to fully implement the service-learning approach after only one training and without a community of practice with lecturers with similar experiences in their home universities.
Originality/value
This study complements previous studies by adding a cross-national perspective of higher education lecturers. It underlines the importance of continuing training in didactics of university lecturers and a support network for the implementation of complex teaching concepts in higher education.
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Natalia Garcia Cervantes and Karen Hinojosa Hinojosa
The purpose of this article is the discussion of a service-learning experience in architecture pedagogy, based on two core courses at a private university in Mexico. The aim is to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is the discussion of a service-learning experience in architecture pedagogy, based on two core courses at a private university in Mexico. The aim is to identify learning opportunities, challenges and implications arising from engaging with inhabitants of an informal urban settlement with limited digital resources in La Campana-Altamira in Monterrey, Mexico.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology selected is a case study approach, chosen for its effectiveness in architectural pedagogy to create knowledge through exposure to a particular phenomenon, as well as highlight positive teaching practices to facilitate replicability. Case-study methodology was also beneficial in this case because its openness and flexibility allowed for research of a variety of phenomena simultaneously, in this case, both the effects in the informal settlement community and in the academic one.
Findings
Findings revealed that opportunities outweigh challenges, and meaningful service and learning are possible in an online context, even when the service aspects take longer than the course length if there are long-term relationships between communities and institutions.
Originality/value
The value of the article lies in the need for flexible and sensitive approaches that put communities in the center, a critical path to identifying and understanding their needs and improving their contexts. This holds especially true given the rapid pace of worldwide urbanization and the ubiquity of informal urban settlements. Implementing service-learning approaches in informal settings using online tools, while sanitary restrictions are in place shows that meaningful experiences can be achieved, even when courses are short and resources are limited.
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