Understanding Service Learning as a Student-Centered Experiential Learning Activity and Versatile Teaching Strategy

Service-learning (S-L) combines school education with meaningful civic engagement. This project aims to understand its concept and prepare involved partners to implement S-L in their local settings.

Grant Agreement Number: KA210-SH-21-2-15-47959-AS

Funded by: Erasmus+      Duration: 01/03/2022 – 01/06/2023

Challenge

Service-learning has the potential to increase student academic engagement, civic engagement, and social and personal development as it provides a possibility to foster young people’s capacities to create positive change in ways that are equitable and collectively beneficial. S-L is allowing meaningful learning for students through a multidisciplinary approach, it fosters learning from experience, reflective activities, strengthens citizenship and facilitate involvement with the community.

However, whenever a school is introducing new teaching forms, teachers need to be well informed and become part of the process from the very beginning. Only in this way, we can overcome the natural resistance of introducing new teaching forms. Teachers are under a considerable amount of strain, constantly adapting to policy changes and the day-to-day pressures of working in a school. For this reason, when new teaching methods are presented in a school it is important that there is a strong knowledge base to the initiative and that staff can work collaboratively to explore the possibilities together.

Innovation

The ultimate goal of this project is to bring a meaningful change in the education & learning culture, by supporting school professionals, students and the local communities to implement Service-Learning activities. Especially, Service-Learning combines school education with meaningful service in the community. Through this involvement, school can be seen as a place where children not only learn to read, write and do arithmetic but also as a place where they think about society – and how they can shape it.

Action

European Commission’s support for the production of this content does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project Partners