Mapping civic engagement: A case study of service-learning in Appalachia

Abstract

This study uses social cartography to map student perceptions of a co-curricular service-learning project in an impoverished rural community. As a complement to narrative discourse, mapping provides an opportunity to visualize not only the spatial nature of the educational experience but also, in this case, the benefits of civic engagement. The authors suggest that short-term immersion programs can provide students, regardless of their previous experiences with service, with opportunities to develop dispositions for active citizenship. Their maps, which envision a heterotopic space in two dimensions, examine the relationship between thought and action, specifically between empathy and apathy, and illustrate how what the students brought to the experience, in terms of their motivations and inclinations toward service-learning, as well as what they took away, in terms of their likelihood to participate in future service, ultimately led to individual growth and transformation.

Service-learning: A survey of experiences in Spain

“…Our study also shows that perception of the usefulness of the service was related to expectations of future participation in solidarity activities (Rockenbach et al, 2014; Mann and Casebeer, 2016). Fomenting reflective activities may thus contribute to the awareness of the usefulness of the service and, in this way, to developing the desire to participate in solidarity activities in the future, thereby working towards a form of inclusive citizenship oriented towards social justice.…”

Civics and citizenship education: What have we learned and what does it mean for the future of Australian democracy?

“…While this article is anchored in Australia, similar concerns are being raised across other liberal democracies (e.g. Ridley and Fulop, 2015;Mann and Casebeer, 2016), and governments are scrambling to find solutions to a populace disinterested in the stuff of government. We no longer need to ask: are we seeing a fracturing of the civic sphere?…”

“…For those of us committed to the democratic health of our nations, such trends are concerning on both a local and international level. While this article is anchored in Australia, similar concerns are being raised across other liberal democracies (for example, Mann and Casebeer, 2016;Ridley and Fulop, 2015) and governments are scrambling to find solutions to a populace disinterested in the stuff of government.…”

People and places: social and physical aspects of life experienced by persons with disability after their relocation to community

“…Ekologinis žemėlapis (toliau -EŽ), kaip tyrimo metodas, remiasi Bronfenbrennerio ekologine sistemų teorija ir leidžia daugiapakopę analizę, vizualiai SPECIALUSIS UGDYMAS / SPECIAL EDUCATION 2021 1 (42) atskleisdamas pirmiau aptartus ekologinių sistemų lygmenis. EŽ tinkamas naudoti tiriant žmogaus fizinę ir socialinę aplinką, kurioje šis yra aktyvus, įskaitant socialinius ryšius, kontaktų (santykių) kokybę ir emocinę gerovę (Small ir kt., 2013;Mann ir Casebeer, 2016). Asmens kasdienių socialinių ryšių ir judėjimo trajektorijų tyrimai taikomi siekiant palyginti skirtingą socialinę padėtį turinčių žmonių gyvenimo būdą ir socialinės integracijos lygį.…”