Spring 2006

Wellbeing and connectedness

Values in action

Keith Wilson proposes that service-learning goes way beyond community service. It could provide one way forward for a society caught in difficult times.

The Federal Government’s ‘Values Education Study’ recommends a set of principles and a framework for improved values education in Australian schools. The study took the form of a qualitative investigation consisting of funded action research across a number of schools, a literature search, research via focus groups and a password-protected online survey to determine parent, teacher and student views on the values the community expects Australian schools to foster. Of the 50 case studies involving 69 schools, only three included service-learning.

Service-learning addresses the lack of connectedness in education and the failure to prepare students for lifelong learning and participation. Service-learning is specifically designed to connect learning with experience and to counteract the artificial division of subject matter that generates ‘inert knowledge’. Service-learning challenges hierarchical pedagogy (being told ‘what to think and do’) by generating discussion about ‘how to think and do’ through reflecting upon the students’ social world and its complexities.

What began as a way to provide young people with a sense of civic and social responsibility, and to support them in their growth and development, has mushroomed into a process and pedagogy that is dramatically changing the dynamic of learning—from static to participatory. Service-learning taps the energy and talent of youth and connects them with peers, family, churches, neighbourhoods and entire communities as equal stakeholders. Schools deliver service-learning experiences, and the success and wellbeing these bring.

Service-learning is a curriculum-based program that integrates classroom instruction with community service activities. The service has clearly stated learning objectives, addressing real community needs in a sustained manner over a period of time. Service-learning projects vary in terms of participating cohort, age of participants and curriculum focus.

An academic based service-learning activity for a middle school science class might involve an environmental study of a local waterway in order to help preserve the natural habitat of animals. Through classroom studies, the students learn about the environment before applying their knowledge on site by posting signs, studying the soil and water, and investigating the impact of industrial development. Having written about their experiences in journals and participated in class discussions about the project and its effects on their lives and the local community, they then might take their findings to the local authorities to seek policy initiatives that generate meaningful actions.

By comparison, Christian service-learning programs delivered by Catholic colleges in the Perth Diocese of Western Australia are more spiritually based.

A spirit of service is encouraged in these colleges given that programs form part of the religious education curriculum and are quite often managed by service-learning coordinators. Having Christian service-learning (CSL) as an integral part of the curriculum allows social responsibility to be practised in the home, the school and in the wider community. Completion of the program can be a prerequisite for graduation from a college. CSL, which advocates ‘Faith in Action’, provides opportunities for the holistic development of every student as they engage in service according to their age and abilities.

Many key community service educators and publications highlight the significant role of reflection in the connection between service and learning. Some suggest that reflection is the hyphen connecting service to learning. While students may be interested in and committed to service-learning activities, their role as an effective citizen requires an ability to analyse problems, apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills, then evaluate the process.

Research into service-learning has found that effective reflection is the key to enhanced quality of service, knowledge acquisition and cognitive development. Reflection allows students to see the link between their individual acts of service and larger societal issues by deepening the learning achieved from service experiences. To those involved in systemic school programs, a lack of spirituality in reflection is seen as a missed opportunity to foster the deeper contemplative practices that lead students to long-term commitments to public service.

One of the best ways in which students nurture the link between head and heart is through community service and those who have a high level of commitment to serving others are heeding a spiritual imperative. Service helps young people experience a sense of purpose in a changing and diverse world through the practice of caring for others and taking responsibility for helping to solve social problems.

Students involved in service-learning are better able to stay in touch with their moral feelings and beliefs. Caring for others helps them recognise and experience the connection between intellectual and moral beliefs, and the reality of acting on those values in a real-life moral situation.

In 2002–2003, an Australian wellbeing and security study found that the decline in the significance of the church and changes in patterns of spirituality raised some important questions. The results showed that those who are actively religious record higher levels of wellbeing in some areas, particularly in terms of having a sense of purpose in life and involvement in caring activities. The authors of the study question whether the decline in religious life in Australia contributes to a loss of the fabric of individual and community wellbeing that has supported us well in times past. They see our society as being caught in difficult times, unable or unwilling to accept established spiritual regimes, searching for something with depth to replace it, yet not sure where to look.

Anyone for a serve of service-learning?

For more information visit www.service-learning.com.au/

Reference

Hughes, P (2004) ‘Insecurity in Australia: Report on the wellbeing and security study’ available via www.anglicare.org.au/

Keith Wilson is a special education teacher in Rockhampton.

The author owns the copyright in this article. For information related to the reuse of this work in any form please contact the publisher denise.quinn@curriculum.edu.au