Who is Winning in Service-Learning? Teachers Serving Communities for Positive Youth Development

Abstract

Building on Lerner's positive youth development framework and using a qualitative approach, our research focuses on a case study of the six Romanian finalist projects of the Regional Service-Learning Award, a joint effort of Latin American Center for Service-Learning (CLAYSS) and several organizations from Central and Eastern Europe. Most of the studies on Service-learning have been focusing on students’ outcomes, neglecting the important role of teachers and school administration, leaving room for the need to understand teachers and administrators' perspective on coordinating service-learning projects in order to sustain the continuation of high quality projects, according to the eight key-components of effective service-learning projects: meaningful service, link to curriculum, reflection, diversity, youth voice, partnership, progress monitoring, duration and intensity. Six interviews with the middle-school teachers coordinating the service-learning projects have been conducted to identify students' contribution and benefits in terms of positive youth development, the teacher’s profile involved in service-learning projects, and their influence on school success, providing case studies as a valuable resource for higher education.

Keywords: Clayss, middle-school, positive youth development, regional service-learning award, service-learning

Introduction

Service-learning (SL) has been defined by Bringle and Hatcher (1995) as:

A course-based, credit-bearing educational experience that allows students to (a) participate in an organised service activity that meets identified community needs and (b) reflect on the service activity in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility. (p. 122)

Ehrlich (1996) refers to SL as a pedagogy linking community service to academic study, for the benefit of both. A win-win situation, where each of the two dimensions supports and strengthens the other. Students apply their theoretical knowledge in real-life settings, while addressing community needs and reflecting on the whole experience, developing personal values, character strengths, a sense of community and social responsibility. SL offers teachers an important pedagogical tool based on experiential learning, perfectly suitable for enabling students to participate in all stages of the SL projects, under their careful guidance and supervision.

Regina and Ferrara (2017) stress upon the three basic requirements of a SL project, namely:

A solidarity service developed within a community of place, identity, or interest, with real needs addressed,

The active involvement of students in all areas of designing, planning, implementing, and evaluating the project, and

The link between contents and service. Many agree that SL without reflection is futile. Felten and Clayton (2011, p. 78) envision a conceptual framework of SL based on academic contents, relevant service, and critical reflection, usually developed in a partnership between faculty, students, and community members, facilitating civic awareness, personal growth, and academic learning.

The philosophy behind SL has been evolving in time, from charity-based religious beliefs, to profane civic engagement or altruistic millennial social justice (Shek et al., 2021). In charity-based SL projects, the focus is on community needs and adequate service combined with academic learning and development. In the civic awareness and engagement model, students are directed towards assessing the needs of the community, identifying, and developing partnerships with community members and jointly solving community problems. The social justice approach strives to empower students to understand the sources of inequality and injustice, to conceptualize social mechanisms and to identify personal and community meaningful actions able to transform the world we live in.

SL has been embraced by universities on all continents and many international associations (like EASHLE - European Association of Service-Learning in Higher Education, IARSLCE - International Association of Research on Service Learning and Civic Engagement, CLAYSS –Centro Latinoamericano de Aprendizaje y Servicio Solidario or Talloires Network) that encourage the use of this innovative pedagogy in credit-bearing courses from a wide range of disciplines.

Research methods

Online interviews with the 6 semi-finalist teachers coordinating the SL projects were conducted via Zoom and registered for the purpose of research. The interviews lasted on average 55 minutes. We have employed a structured interview guide: focusing on the presentation of the school and the nominated project, stages of project preparation and student involvement, SL benefits for teachers, students and community, perceived obstacles in the implementation of the projects, and recommendations for other teachers embarking on the SL adventure.

All six interviewees were full-time teachers in the schools where the projects were implemented. Five of them were female and one male, with ages ranging from 37 to 55. Subjects taught by the teachers included 5 gymnasium classes: civics, English, history, sociology, psychology, and one primary school.

Data analysis was based on the 6-phase iterative thematic analysis procedure following the guidelines delineated by Braun and Clarke (2006). We started by familiarizing ourselves with the data, then generating the initial codes, searching for themes and reviewing them, defining themes, and last, writing up the report.

Findings

We have organized the results into three categories: SL benefits for teachers (Table 1), for students (Table 2) and for the community. Following the 6C model of Lerner’s et al. PYD (2011), we were able to identify the most valuable information and to code it appropriately. Using a new methodology based on experiential learning challenges teachers. They have to get training first, in order to be able to organize and supervise students in a long-term project. Therefore being able to access the valuable resources of New Horizon Foundation (n.d.) and CLAYSS, local and international organizations, is priceless. In this manner, they benefit from the experience and expertise of people involved in SL for the past two decades. They have access to a network of teachers implementing SL projects and discover new teaching methods and instruments with excellent results. Teachers share their experiences, resources, ideas, and results as best practices. Not only their professional life is enriched, but also personal development arises. Most of the teachers reported personal growth, increased empathy, heightened patience and a deeper understanding of their role and positive impact on students’ life. “You grow not only as a professional, but also as a human being”, as one of the teachers stated. Self-esteem and self-efficacy are also developed. With the increasing workload during the semester, fluctuations of motivation occur, and SL projects become a boost of hope and determination to go through, to remove barriers and motivate not only yourself, but the students as well. This aspect was particularly significant during the pandemic, as some of the interviewees mentioned. Students found a new purpose, a project to fire their imagination and to spurr their creativity, a means of finding a piece of normality in the unpredictable environment. Teachers developed multiple roles, as they became friends, confidents, coaches, counsellors, facilitators, and mentors. A new dimension of the teacher-student relationship was accessed. Teachers encouraged a sense of belonging in students, but also by sharing their experiences with other SL project coordinators, they were able to develop a network of valuable people and resources. With all the Covid-19 regulations and restrictions, school administration support was perceived as even more precious than before. Collaboration with the local authorities gained importance and several times the success of the SL project was dependent on the support of the local counsellors or the maire.

In terms of character strengths, teachers reported hope that things will get better, kindness in the face of diverse adversities, health-related issues and dramatic change in daily routines. Most of them gained perspective, as they had to reflect upon the lessons learned and experiences allowing them to take the bigger picture view. Perseverance was highly exercised, as most teachers faced obstacles and high levels of uncertainty. Gratitude was unanimously emphasized by all six respondents.

Engaging with students in diverse settings allowed teachers to get a better understanding of their personality type, preferences, interests and expectations, core drive and future intentions. A deep care for students’ wellbeing and comfort zone not only in the classroom, but also outside the classroom was nurtured. The pandemic humanized the teachers and even though most interactions moved to the online environment, SL projects were perceived as a breath of fresh air.

Teachers' contribution to school success and community development is reflected in their long-term project continuity. Most of the SL projects submitted to the Regional Service-Learning Award have gained national visibility and have been awarded as well at other national galas, like the Romanian Sustainable Development Fund, and the Public Participation Awards Gala.

These findings are synthesized in the following table:

In terms of benefits for the students, teachers mentioned the whole six categories of PYD. SL projects have a significant impact on students’ communication and problem-solving skills. They learn how to find solutions to problems in real-life settings, in real time, they take the lead when things go tough and team up with colleagues to further the activities of the projects. They learn how to communicate with the authorities, with school administration, and the media. Learn how to conduct group meetings, how to organize an event, how to find sponsors, how to increase awareness and to change attitudes and behaviors. They discover that school can be fun and that knowledge and experience put in context can be extremely valuable. School performance improves and school engagement tends to be higher for students who enroll in SL programs. By pursuing their interests and meeting diverse people from different areas, students can clarify career options and identify role models.

A boost of self-confidence in students was mentioned by all six teachers. Students develop a good sense of who they are, of what they can do under proper guidance, they test their limits and by engaging in new situations, they develop self-efficacy, often challenge their motivation and find determination under stressful or difficult situations. They feel empowered and come to realize that their voice can be heard, that they matter and can make positive changes in their community.

A sense of belonging is built. As students discover teachers in new, complex situations, different from the school setting, they develop a trustful relationship and assume new roles, build teamwork skills and feel the intertwining ties of community networks. Character strengths, such as: love of learning, curiosity and perspective are developed. Students discover zest and thrive to do better. They cultivate social intelligence, and at times, display leadership qualities that in regular school classes would be often overlooked or totally hidden. The positive impact of SL projects spurs their creativity, curiosity and hunger for new results.

Because they acknowledge the injustice and inequalities in community settings, students gain a deeper understanding of community needs. They observe and sometimes experience first-hand discrimination and marginalization, they encounter diverse stereotypes and discuss their underlying mechanisms, develop civic awareness and civic responsibility, crystallize civic attitudes and values, and cultivate prosocial behavior. A feeling of pride emerges, as they identify with their school, with the Impact club and with the larger community, and regional awards are a long-term validation of their efforts and results. Their contribution is acknowledged and awarded. As one of the teachers said: “We are a small community, but every person matters”.

When asked about the benefits for the community, all six teachers have identified both upsides and downsides. Among the most appraised advantages of SL projects, teachers listed: long-term partnerships (with the local maire, other schools, economic agents, or NGOs), decreased school dropout and increased school engagement and performance, continuity of local projects for the community development, advantageous indicators for grant applications for national and European funds for the school and local administration, networking events facilitating the sense of belonging, and increased social capital. Still, not all SL projects ran smoothly. Especially during the pandemic, regulations and restrictions were quite challenging, as students could not meet in person with their teachers and with the beneficiaries, and delays had to be made. The lack of resources was constant, but even more impetuous was the lack of trust in students and in their potential to make a visible change. The teachers often felt the fixed mindset of both the authorities and school management, and relationship with the authorities impeded meeting the objectives of the SL projects. Adjustments and adaptations had to be made, resilience was built. Students were self-selected after a while, and group cohesion started to emerge. Most of the Impact clubs are relying on an average of 20 active students, even though every year they keep attracting new members.

We asked interviewees to give a short recommendation to other teachers who are new to SL methodology and who would consider starting SL projects in their own school. The interviewed teachers suggested (Table 3): having a very good understanding of what SL is, of its advantages and disadvantages, of its potential and formal requirements. Having a very clear reason why and motivation to develop SL projects even though they require massive time and effort, dedication and hard work. Accessing all the knowledge and expertise others have previously developed, in order to escape the multiple pratfalls of SL pedagogy, allows teachers at times to find the necessary hope and courage to pursue their objectives against all odds and to motivate others as well, to be the catalyst of social changes and reduced inequalities. Last, but not least, one teacher mentioned the importance of dedication and calling, as they should never forget that in the centre of the educational act is the child or the adolescent and his/her positive youth development.

Conclusions

As indicated by Lerner et al. (2011), SL projects facilitate positive youth development and especially in disadvantaged communities could become an excellent way of increasing the retention rate of students (Kuh et al., 2005). Combining the advantages of SL as an experiential education method with a focus on the PYD framework, middle-school teachers can empower students to become active citizens, thus helping them grow and flourish. Students gain social, cognitive, academic, and vocational competences, while strengthening their connections to peers, school, family, and community. They learn to care for others and to identify and address the needs of their surrounding community, learn civic responsibility and. They cultivate their self-confidence and self-efficacy, develop an internal sense of self-worth, seek solutions and design social changes, discover their potential, and build character strengths they will benefit from for the rest of their adult lives. SL projects are the pretext for actions that can lead to multiple changes in teachers, students, schools, and communities, but to be effective, SL must be embedded into school strategies and action plans to become viable in the long run and to germinate (Culic & Pavelea, 2022b). A lot needs to be done in terms of policy. Offering incentives for schools to implement SL projects, funding training and scholarship for teachers, and aligning curricular standards to international regulations regarding SL is necessary. Even in the US where SL has a long tradition, funding and project continuation is a continuous struggle. But European funded projects could be a line of interest for middle-school teachers, and the regional SL awards connect educators from neighboring countries.

As the interviewed teachers have suggested, for successful SL projects, a strong partnership with school and public administration is crucial. A lot of effort is put into ensuring the continuity of the projects and most teachers are now recruiting students at the beginning of the school cycle (fifth graders). With the challenges of adolescence “storm and stress” and school pressure, focusing on the positive youth development can help students set personal objectives, envision a more positive future and thrive. We couldn’t agree more with Whitehead and Kitzrow (2010, p. 2) who state that “SL leads to PYD and PYD leads to service”.

Encouraging teachers to participate in the Regional SL awards projects can increase their motivation, facilitate networking and dissemination of best practices, sustaining the continuation of high quality projects, according to the eight key-components of effective service-learning projects (National Youth Council, 2011): meaningful service, link to curriculum, reflection, diversity, youth voice, partnership, progress monitoring, duration and intensity, building up momentum around social changes and validating students’ efforts in contributing to and changing the world. Following the same CLAYSS model, projects can be replicated. Mistakes can be avoided, and mentoring expertise can be used by middle school teachers at the beginning of career or new to the SL methodology and practice.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by CORE - Communication and Social Innovation Research Centre, Babes-Bolyai University, Romania and by the 2021 Babes-Bolyai Development Fund.

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