Bringing the Community into the Classroom: Applying the Experiences of Social Work Education to Service-Learning Courses in Sociology

Introducing Asset-Based Models of Social Justice into Service Learning: A Social Work Approach

“…The objectives of service learning are compatible with many aspects of social work, including its long history in community and organization work, its commitment to social justice, its oral tradition, and field practicum as a core pedagogical component (Butterfield & Soska, 2004;Lowe & Reisch, 1998). In practice, however, service learning models often diverge from social work models that embrace strengths and empowerment (De Jong & Berg, 2002;Saleebey, 2009), antioppressive practice (Brown & Mistry, 2005;Larson, 2008), and citizen-driven methods of practice (Kretzman & McKnight, 1995;Murphy & Cunningham, 2003).…”

Students, Universities and Employers: Why We All Win When We Promote Social Justice through SoTL

“…Students reflected on their biases and privileges when they were unwelcomed in the community Students got to see social structure in real life Students gained professional experience as event coordinators Department and university benefited by building bridges in local communities that outlive students (Lewis, 2004) Incorporating feminism in the classroom to move students from knowledge consumers to knowledge producers Dialogic-learning through dialogue Participatory-students share personal experiences Experiential-acknowledges the fact that lived experiences vary and allows students to share diverse experiences Helps students listen for meaning and become better colleagues Useful as a means of including underrepresented students and giving them experience using their voices (Chow et al, 2003) Review of outcomes associated with experiential learning activities Gained work experience Exposure to diverse populations Self-fulfillment from helping others Chance to apply theories and methodology to real world experiences (Mooney & Edwards, 2001) Using historical films to facilitate discussions of race in America Students begin to transition from learners to teachers Faculty learn what aspects of racism stand out to students -and can follow up with relevant lectures (Jakubowski, 2001) Evaluation of a mandatory, interdisciplinary first year seminar with a service-learning component. Using every discipline meant students' activities included-remodeling old theaters, assisting at animal shelters, volunteering at homeless shelters, tutoring juvenile inmates Students learned-public vs. private issues Taking on the role of "other" (seeing the world through different lenses) Autonomy vs. people's capacity to fight for change (Hironimus-Wendt & Lovell-Troy, 1999) Students engaged in COMPREHENSIVE SERVICE LEARNING-two-year curriculum with classes and service -including living among local homeless people, Navajos on a reservation and in impoverished parts of Jamaica SERVICE NO LEARNING students who volunteer but not as part of the comprehensive program NO SERVICE control group Each student took a civic responsibility test before and after the process CSL -had a higher sense of civic duty at wave 1 which grew significantly by wave 2 SNL and NS had significant decreases in sense of civic duty by wave 2 (Myers-Lipton 1998) Fall semester student goals (1) community problem solving (2) program development guided by theories and intersectional perspectives Spring Semester goals (1) learn the nature of organizations (2) learn the role of organizations in promoting community change Students: gained grant writing skills, engaged in evaluation research, created budgets and strategic plans, ran meetings with various stakeholders, tackled ethical dilemmas, engaged the media Faculty became more creative with lesson planning and more productive with scholarship (Lowe & Reisch, 1998) presidents reported that their primary goal was to provide access and enhance opportunities for students to engage in leadership. HBCUs and other minority serving institutions are also more likely to have a community service or service-learning requirement as part of the student learning experience (Commission on Civil Rights, 2010;Patterson, Dunston, & Daniels, 2011).…”

Achieving HBSE Competencies through Service-learning

“…Lundahl and Wicks (2010) document the benefits of volunteerism related to the value of professional skills for agencies and also the importance to individuals and groups who have a life-long commitment to service. Lowe and Reisch (1998) acknowledged that social work programs, for over a century, have developed educational models linking the classroom to community-based learning. These early service-learning models were influenced by the work of John Dewey and Paul Freire which stemmed from an "apprenticeship model of education" (p. 292).…”