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SERVICE LEARNING IN REFLECTION
Service learning in reflection
Annadine Vlok
Cape Peninsula University of Technology
Authors Note
This discussion paper is part of pre-reading for a Doctoral in Design
Correspondence regarding this article should be addressed to Annadine Vlok, Fashion
Department, CPUT, PO Box 652, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa.
Contact: [email protected]
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Abstract
Over the past decade, service learning has emerge as an essential part of higher
education across the globe and the implementation of service learning as a form of
experiential training has had a great impact on education. The importance of service learning
is reflected in countries across the globe, such as the Learn and Serve America project when,
in 1990, the American government made grants available to integrate community service
with curricula through service learning. This grant fosters, amongst other, collaboration
between institutions of higher education to meet immediate community needs. This
discussion paper deliberate the role of service learning in South Africa with a specific focus
on Universities of Technologies. At the 2010 South African Society for Cooperative
Education (SASCE) conference, the development of the youth was foremost in most of the
discussions and presentations. When the development of youth and the theories for
successful youth development merge, the importance of service learning through community
and practical projects, emerge. This discussion will reflect on the current projects within
Universities of Technologies, and indicate whether these projects are monitored and reflected
on effectively. Service learning can only be fully successful within higher education if
student can reflect and place their learning. Theorists John Dewey and David Kolb both
agreed that service learning should incorporate both individual participation and the
engagement in reflective thinking. Only in this way, a student will develop a greater
understanding of himself and the content he is engaging.
Keywords: Service learning, reflective thinking, WIL
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Service learning in reflection
Introduction Situation
Globalization has given newfangled focus and meaning to higher education in today’s
world (Pink, 2005). The rapid changes in socio-economical, technological and information
sectors of society has prompt recent challenges to higher education institutions to deliver
suitable and appropriate answer to an essential such as learning opportunities to all. These
learning opportunities do not include students alone, but cut across the bigger community as
well. The circulation of knowledge to a local community is considered the most effective
means of developing and uplifting a community (Jones, 2006). The sharing of knowledge
can increase local empowerment and contribute to the assurance of improved levels of life
quality.
According to Arredondo & De la Garza (2006), the ”improvement of local capacities
at less privileged communities means to promote individual and collective self-managed
skills” they also highlighted the fact that self-esteem would facilitate the needed conditions to
assure accepted standards on health, nutrition, productivity, family and community
integration, and sound environmental indicators. This is also relevant within South Africa
and the requirements of community engagement within the South African environment are
embedded into various educational policies (CHE, 2006). Therefore, the Founding
Document (2001) of the Higher education Quality Committee (HEQC) in South Africa
identified knowledge based community service as one of the three areas, along with teaching
and learning, and research, which are needed for accreditation and quality assurance in higher
education (CHE,2006). The inclusion of service learning has therefore channelled higher
education within South Africa on a new path.
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References to Relevant Literature
Over the past decade, service learning has emerge as an essential part of higher
education cross the globe and the implementation of service learning as a form of experiential
training has had a great impact on education. The importance of service learning is reflected
in countries across the globe. According to the web site Learn and Serve America, in 1990
the American congress passed, and President Bush signed the National and Community
Service Act of 1990. According to this legislation, authorized grants would be paid to
schools to support service learning and demonstration grants for national service programs to
youth corps, nonprofits, and colleges and universities. This grant fosters, amongst other,
collaboration between institutions of higher education to meet immediate community needs
(US Gov).
Julie, Daniels & Khanyile (2007) stated that there is an emerging global movement of
universities, which strive towards greater community engagement. At the end of 2000, the
Department of Education in South African commissioned an education service organization
with the task of developing a policy framework for community service in higher education.
During the same year, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) instructed for the
development of a discussion document on the role of community service in higher education
(Lazarus, 2000). Five years prior to the South Africa initiative, a consortium of California
organizations sponsored a conference entitled “The Education of the New California
workforce.” The discussions at this conference were aimed at discovering new insights into
what will be needed in a new educational system (Deruosi & Sherwood, 1997). The
discussions highlighted that Community Service programs have multiple goals which
includes amongst others:
• The enhancement of student learning by joining theory with experience and putting
thought with action.
SERVICE LEARNING IN REFLECTION
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• Doing these projects to fill unmet needs in the community through direct service,
which is meaningful and necessary.
• This will enable students to help others, give of themselves, and enter into caring
relationships with others.
• This action assists students to see the relevance of the academic subject to the real
world.
• Participation in Service learning projects enhances the self-esteem and self-
confidence of your students.
• These projects help to develop an environment of collegial participation among
students, faculty, and the community.
Over the past years numerous organizations has developed criteria for successful
service learning programs. In 1995, the California State University, Fresno published a paper
setting out their “Model for Enhancing Curriculum” (California State Univ., 1995). Similarly
Howard (2001) and Stacey, Rice and Langer (2001) refer to the same criteria for service
learning. The South African Council of Higher Education (CHE) has also adopted the same
criteria and states these as:
• Relevant and meaningful service with the community;
• Enhancing academic learning;
• Purposeful civic learning (social responsibility); and
• Structures opportunity for reflection.
(Service learning in the Curriculum: A Resource for Higher education, P25)
In view of the short literature review, it is clear that Service learning, as a prescribed
activity, has only emerged into the South African higher education system during the past
years. In the discussion that follows the focus will be on the structures that are in place in
higher education that offers opportune reflection of service learning.
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Discussion of Important Issues
Early theorists such as Dewey (1963) and Kolb (1976; 1984) both agreed that service
learning should incorporate both individual participation and the engagement in reflective
thinking. The engagement in reflective thinking was described as the only way in which
student will develop a greater understanding of himself and the content he is engaging. It is
through reflective enquiry that a student can make the connection between “thought and
action, theory and practice, knowledge and authority, idea and responsibilities” (Saltmarsh,
1996, p. 18). This discussion paper deliberate the role of service learning within the
Universities of Technologies of South Africa with a specific focus on learning outcomes and
the evaluation thereof. The CHE document (Service learning in the Curriculum: A Resource
for Higher education, p. 40, 41) set clear guideline for formulating both the critical cross-field
outcomes, and the specific learning outcomes that is defined in the module descriptors.
At the 2010 South African Society for Cooperative Education (SASCE) conference,
the development of the youth was foremost in most of the discussions and presentations. It is
when the development of youth and the theories for successful youth development merge,
that the importance of service learning through community and practical projects, emerge.
Although Service learning is included in, the new curriculum, there are limited evidence of
the existence of structures of reflection, assessment, and evaluation according to the standards
that is set out in the CHE document. The analysis of fifteen projects that were probed into
shows that current projects are mostly done as an add-on to the current syllabus. For higher
education in South Africa to embrace Service learning as an integral part of the curriculum a
comprehensive implementation of the reflection and assessment activity should be
implemented. Students should engage into a structured reflection process. Possible tools to
implement this process could include the Three-stage model of Toole & Toole (1995).
Through this process student could reflect on their experiences by asking questions such as
SERVICE LEARNING IN REFLECTION
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What?, So What? and What now? (Toole & Toole, 1995). Billig, Root, and Jesse (2005)
established that service-learning methodologies, which featured cognitively challenging
activities and reflection, were linked with students being more likely to value their learning
experience, students also felt more successful, engaged in learning and enjoyed subject
matter, and obtained more community knowledge and more positive community dispositions.
For the successful use of the power of refection so that students can engage in social-
emotional learning a strong and rich social-emotional vocabulary and an ardent storage and
retrieval process for communication should be developed. The ability for students to reflect
on service learning experiences demand a vocabulary that enable them to express themselves,
and describe the complexity of the interaction of thoughts, feelings and behaviours inherent
in human relationships.
Chapter four of the CHE document (Service learning in the Curriculum: A Resource
for Higher education) is allocated to the explanation and guidance on how to successfully
guide reflection and evaluation of Service learning. It is fundamental that these processes are
incorporated into all Service-learning projects in future. The CHE document states that it is
the role of academic staff (i.e. the lecturer of the module) to design the reflection, coach
students during reflection; and monitor reflection and provide feedback (CHE, 2006).
According to Toole & Toole (1996) service learning is a form of experimental learning where
students apply their academic knowledge and critical thinking skills to address real
community needs. This process should include the three stages as indicated in Figure 1;
before service learning (analysis), during service learning (critical thinking) and after the
service learning experience (decision making) (Toole & Toole, 1995).
SERVICE LEARNING IN REFLECTION
Figure. 1 Reflection Cycle in Service learni(Toole & Toole 1995)
Implications and recommendation
Although the Council of Higher education has published a
Service Learning in the Curriculum, very little evidence
of Universities of the required reflection and evaluation processes
(2007) confirm this when they stated that although community service and co
education are an integral part of most nursing and medical curricula, the predominante focus
has been on the service itself and the community that benefits from this service.
be numerous reasons for this situation
traditional being seen as a ‘social service’ and the learning process was not
of the focus. Community projects were seen
reflections were mostly left to the individual lecturer to
learning, now formalized in South African Higher educati
SERVICE LEARNING IN REFLECTION
Reflection Cycle in Service learning
Implications and recommendation
Although the Council of Higher education has published a 223-page
Service Learning in the Curriculum, very little evidence were found in the current
ired reflection and evaluation processes. Julie, Daniels & Khanyile
(2007) confirm this when they stated that although community service and co
education are an integral part of most nursing and medical curricula, the predominante focus
on the service itself and the community that benefits from this service.
numerous reasons for this situation. One of these reasons is that service projects have
traditional being seen as a ‘social service’ and the learning process was not
Community projects were seen as an outreach program and student
were mostly left to the individual lecturer to engage either in or not.
South African Higher education programs, will require a
8
page document on
found in the current structures
Julie, Daniels & Khanyile
(2007) confirm this when they stated that although community service and co-operative
education are an integral part of most nursing and medical curricula, the predominante focus
on the service itself and the community that benefits from this service. There could
One of these reasons is that service projects have
traditional being seen as a ‘social service’ and the learning process was not a significant part
as an outreach program and student-learning
in or not. Service
will require a
SERVICE LEARNING IN REFLECTION
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dedicated effort and plan from all higher education institutions to implement. The
implementation will have to incorporate the processes as it is laid out in the formal document
from the Council of Higher Education. It is however only through the exchange of
knowledge and through a well-planned and coordinated effort, that higher educational
institution will be able to contribute to, not only the development and uplifting a community,
but also to ensure a structured learning process takes place at the same time.
SERVICE LEARNING IN REFLECTION
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References
Arredondo, V.A. & De la Garza, M.F. (2006). Higher education, community service and
local development. Paper presented at the CHE-HEQC/JET-CHESP Conference on
Community Engagement in Higher education 3 to 5 September 2006.
Billig, S. H., Root, S. & Jesse, D. (2005). The relationship between quality indicators of
service-learning and student outcomes: Testing professional wisdom. In S. Root, J.
Callahan, & S. H. Billig (Eds.), Advances in service-learning research: Vol. 5.
Improving service-learning practice: Research on models to enhance impacts (97–
115). Greenwich, CT: Information Age.
California State University, Fresno, Service-learning Committee. (1995). A model for
enhancing Curriculum. Manuscript prepared for the University’s Academic Senate.
Deruosi, P. & Sherwood, C.S. (1997). Community service scholarships: combining
cooperative education with service learning. Journal of Cooperative Education,
XXXIII (1), 46-54.
Dewey, J. (1963) Experience and Education. New York: Collier.
Higher education Quality Committee, (2006). Service-Learning in the Curriculum,
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Howard, J. (2001) Service Learning Course Design Workbook. Ann Arbor, MI: University
of Michigan, Edward Ginsberg Centre for Community Service and Learning.
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Kolb, D.A. (1976). Learning Styles Inventory: Technical Manual. Boston, MA: McBer and
Co.
Jones, M. (2006). Artful leadership Awakening the commons of the imagination.
Pianoscapes
http://www.pianoscapes.com/pdfs/webWalkInThePark.pdf
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nursing. Journal for Community and Health Science, 2(1), 48-55.
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Stacey, K., Rice, L.R. & Langer, G. (2001). Academic Service-Learning faculty Fellows’
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