The International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement (IJRSLCE)
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Engaging Communities in Nursing Education
Get PDFThis article highlights the efforts of a nursing program at a faith-based university to implement community engagement learning experiences in an undergraduate curriculum with the aim of preparing nurses to contribute to reducing health disparities, value cross-cultural efficacy, and develop a commitment to serving diverse populations. Students participated in community engagement learning experiences over five semesters in the same community organization, which was either a church, school, or other organization that served diverse populations. Both survey and focus groups were used to determine community partner, student, and faculty perceptions of community engagement learning experiences over the five semesters. Implications of evaluation data were used to revise both the structure and process of community engagement strategies. Revisions included strengthening orientation strategies; offering additional support for students in establishing relationships in their community organization; providing guidelines for communication between students, faculty, and community partners; and creating a plan for faculty oversight of student experiences
Civic Activity and Well-Being Among First-Year College Students
Get PDFInstitutions of higher education face the challenge of fostering academic success and well-being among students at a time when depression and substance abuse are on the rise within undergraduate populations. Evidence suggests that service-learning and community service promote undergraduate well-being in relation to substance use and psychological health. The study discussed in this article examined the association between civic activity and several aspects of well-being as it relates specifically to young adults during the first year of college. Results suggest that engaging in civic activities during the high school years or during the first year of college may serve to promote different aspects of well-being among first-year undergraduate students
An Overlooked Lens: Applying Structuration Theory, Actor-Network Theory, and Theories of Space to Service-Learning
Get PDFAlthough service-learning is clearly a social phenomenon involving interactions between people in social environments, little scholarly attention has been given to the ways in which sociological theories illuminate how service-learning is enacted and sustained in schools. This conceptual article takes a fresh (and perhaps overdue) look at academic service-learning (both K-12 and higher education) through three sociological lenses: Anthony Giddens’ structuration theory, Bruno Latour’s actor-network theory, and Henri Lefebvre’s theories on the production of space. The article describes each theory as it relates to the understanding, initiation, implementation, institutionalization, and study of service-learning. The theories highlight important aspects of academic service-learning, including areas that other theories have missed such as how service-learning actors must exploit enabling aspects of school structures and spaces to overcome constraints, the importance of non-human agents in service-learning programs, and challenges service-learning advocates face in reconfiguring school spaces for service-learning. The author also describes and examines limits of each theory as well as implications for research and practice
Meeting Students Where They Are: Introducing Service-Learning with Digital Media to Increase Self-Efficacy for Future Community Engagement
Get PDFThis study evaluated the efficacy of using digital media to introduce service-learning to undergraduate and graduate students. Students, faculty, and community engagement staff created two videos that introduced students to either a one-time or a semester-long service-learning assignment. Service-learning courses were matched for degree level, and then half of the classes viewed a video when the service-learning project was assigned. The authors hypothesized that students who viewed digital media would have higher self-efficacy for community engagement and a more positive service-learning experience than students who did not view the digital media. Results from the Community Service Self-Efficacy Scale and responses to questions about the service-learning experiences confirmed our hypotheses. Students who viewed the digital media had higher self-efficacy for engaging in their service-learning experiences initially, and these students also described a more engaged service-learning experience compared to students who did not view the digital media
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Students’ Emotional Experiences in Direct Versus Indirect Academic Service-Learning Courses
Get PDFResearch in psychology has emphasized the important role emotions play in learning (Pekrun, 1992). The purpose of the study highlighted in this article was to compare the emotional experiences of college students enrolled in direct academic service-learning (AS-L) courses with those of students enrolled in indirect AS-L courses. Eighteen college students participated in individual interviews, discussing positive and negative emotions resulting from their AS-L experiences. Students who engaged in direct AS-L reported significant emotional responses to interactions with people at their AS-L site. Students who engaged in indirect AS-L courses emphasized their emotional responses to working with peers and community partners. Participants in direct service-learning classes made very few references to the emotional aspects of discussions, assignments, or other activities that occurred in class, while college students in indirect service-learning classes more frequently reported emotional responses to the coursework
Is Service-Learning Worth It?: A Mixed-Methods Study of Faculty’s Service-Learning Experiences
Get PDFService-learning benefits students, communities, institutions of higher learning, and faculty. Most studies have focused on the impact of service-learning on students; however, there is a dearth of mixed-methods research examining faculty use of service-learning. Using a two-phase, exploratory, mixed-methods design, the purpose of this study was to understand the factors that influenced 24 faculty fellows’ engagement with service-learning. The qualitative component examined four faculty’s in-depth experiences with service-learning to understand the meaning they assigned to those experiences and to identify key themes that affected engagement. The quantitative phase of the study explored the extent to which 20 additional faculty fellows’ service-learning experiences matched those of the four faculty fellows involved in the qualitative phase. Rigorous qualitative analysis revealed five themes: educational transformation for faculty and students, personal transformation for faculty and students, emotional investment, tenure concerns, and time commitments. Descriptive statistical analyses revealed that 90% of respondents agreed that implementing service-learning made them better and more meaningful teachers and challengers of traditional modes of education, and caused them to evaluate what it meant to be a good teacher. Eighty-five percent of faculty agreed that service-learning provides students with “real world” application and that they were learning alongside students. There were some differences among faculty with regard to emotional investment, tenure concerns, and time commitment. Service-learning is one of the most valuable tools faculty can use to create an active, engaged learning environment. Overall, faculty believed that service-learning was worth the effort
