‘Some people don't deserve help’: service learning in Serbia

Dull, Laura J.

doi:10.1080/14675980802700771

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Psychology education has incorporated TSL; for instance, teaching in schools in South Africa (Naudé, 2015). However, there is only one reported study analyzing the role and benefits of service-learning teaching in a post-conflict scenario, for both citizenship and intercultural education in Serbia (Dull, 2009). Consequently, there is a need for research on training future psychology professionals who can recognize their role as peacebuilding facilitators in post-conflict contexts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Impact of a Transformative Service-Learning Experience in a Post-conflict Setting

2020

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In the context of the 2016 Peace Agreement signed between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejército del Pueblo), several challenges for society and academia have emerged: (1) overcoming the gap between the rural and urban settings, which has been one of the roots of the Colombian armed conflict, and (2) training psychologists and transforming traditional educational practices, which have not been designed to fulfill community needs in a post-conflict setting. One of the strategies from academia to overcome these difficulties is to create alliances with rural communities where students learn key competences to foster a horizontal approach while actively working with the community. In the region of Caquetá, Colombia, two Territorial Spaces for Training and Reincorporation (ETCR) were created in order to provide a space for former guerrilla members' reintegration to civil society. In the ETCR Héctor Ramírez, 27 students and two faculty participated in a service-learning project (2 weeks in December 2018 and two in June 2019) where they engaged in local daily practices and social projects based on the community's prioritized needs. The aim of this study was to analyze the learning process of undergraduate psychology students in this community psychology service-learning project in the context of peacebuilding in Colombia. This study is grounded in a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach and data collected include reflective narratives and video diaries by students before and during the course, and two focus groups after the experience. Findings suggest that students who participated in the experience are in the process of developing cultural humility, through affective understandings and the consolidation of communities of practice that include the former guerrilla members and their knowledges. Preparing psychologists to lead peacebuilding and reconciliation processes is of importance to the field because the professional competencies gained in this context surpass the professional practice as they become part of the students' abilities as citizens. The social impact is twofold: the students learn to create partnerships where purposes are co-constructed and trust-based, while the community takes the lead of their processes creating alliances with an academia that recognizes their knowledge and practices.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social Impact of a Transformative Service-Learning Experience in a Post-conflict Setting

2020

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“…Along the same lines, many students expressed that the course nurtured their social responsibility [Values Thinking] through building their confidence to engaging with diverse stakeholders to achieve common goals [Collaboration]. Similarly, Dull’s (2009, p. 56) study evaluating a SL project for youth in Serbia revealed that their project increased students’ “awareness of their power to act in the community.” Eberly and Gal’s (2007, p. 81) assessment of a SL course in Israel, observed that Arab girls engaged in SL in Jewish settings “expressed a new sense of connection to the state and a sense of the importance of their contributions, as well as a feeling of being accepted by the greater society and positive feelings about their contributions to it.” Sahar and Kaunert (2021) argue that student confidence and social responsibility is crucial to the future of Afghanistan; as such, it is imperative for higher education to provide more values-based practices to create a generation “bound by values of citizenship.” In sum, this study suggests that SL courses that incorporate sustainability competencies of action-oriented, collaboration and values thinking have a vital role to play supporting stabilization efforts in Afghanistan and possibly other conflict-affected countries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A few limited studies have demonstrated outcomes of SL approaches in conflict-affected contexts. Dull (2009), Eberly and Gal (2007) and Trigos-Carrillo et al (2020) documented SL experiences that encouraged social change among students as they encountered many needs of the complicated societies in which they live. Notably, Trigos-Carrillo et al (2020) recognized the potential for SL to create respectful student–community interactions that are based on cultural humility and informed by diverse stakeholders with common sustainability goals.…”

Section: Sustainability and Tourism Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of service learning on tourism students’ sustainability competencies in conflict-affected Bamyan, Afghanistan

Franklin

Halvorson

Brown

2023

IJSHE

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Purpose This paper aims to investigate the impacts of service learning (SL) on teaching sustainability competencies in an undergraduate tourism program at Bamyan University, Afghanistan. This study reports on tourism students’ experiences in the SL course which taught five key sustainability competencies (collaboration, values thinking, action-oriented, systems thinking and integrated problem-solving). Design/methodology/approach This paper assessed students’ perceptions of their sustainability competencies gained during the implementation of the course in 2016 and 2017 through focus groups, reflective essays and participant observation. Findings The results demonstrate how the SL experience led students to self-discovery, strong conceptualizations of sustainability and working relationships with community stakeholders. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to assess the impacts of a SL course in Afghanistan. The analysis provides valuable information for developing effective higher education programs, relationships of trust between students and community stakeholders and the empowerment of students to contribute to local solutions which serve a role in stabilization efforts in conflict-affected contexts.

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“…language variations, accents, diverse cultural practices and values) in many communities. This enhances mutual intercultural understanding (Dull, 2009), enables all parties to appreciate cultural diversity (Mitton-Kükner, Nelson, & Desrochers, 2010) and strengthen intercultural awareness while engaged in intercultural interaction. African refugees relocating to the United States experience communication and cross-cultural challenges, particularly feeling socially rejected and isolated, and emotionally negative, along with www.ccsenet.org/elt English Language Teaching Vol.…”

Section: Theoretical Considerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

One Stone, Two Birds: Maximizing Service Learning Outcomes through TESOL Practicum

Ping¹

2014

ELT

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This paper examines a good practice for service learning that has been implemented for years in TESOL Internship, a professional unit for students doing Master of Arts (MA) in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) at a major university in Australia. The author has investigated and identified three key features of a good practice in service learning, including critical reflection, community engagement and intercultural communication, which are evidenced in student service learning in various English language centres in Great Western Sydney. Data are collected from student reports, supervising teachers' reports and comments, weekly workshop discussions and emails. Using constructivist grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), the author conducts thematic analysis to code the data, categorizes them into key themes for critical analysis. The results show that during their practicum period TESOL student teachers critically reflect on their observation experience and participate in curriculum-relevant and extra-curriculum activities, particularly their own teaching practices drawing on relevant TESOL theories and communicating with their peers and mentors. Furthermore they come to understand local communities better as they are actively engaged in interacting with members of local communities. Finally their intercultural awareness is enhanced through regular and active intercultural communication with people of diverse language and cultural backgrounds. Opportunities and challenges for good service learning practices are also discussed.

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‘Some people don't deserve help’: service learning in Serbia

Cited by 7 publications

References 8 publications

Social Impact of a Transformative Service-Learning Experience in a Post-conflict Setting

Social Impact of a Transformative Service-Learning Experience in a Post-conflict Setting

Impacts of service learning on tourism students’ sustainability competencies in conflict-affected Bamyan, Afghanistan

One Stone, Two Birds: Maximizing Service Learning Outcomes through TESOL Practicum

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