Students‟ reflections on the attainment of competencies in a community service-learning module in human movement science

Experiential Learning in Kinesiology

“…Thematic analyses indicated that students valued the service learning experience as relevant and preparatory for their future professional roles; gained experience in working with socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial diverse populations that differed from their own backgrounds; and formed meaningful and emotionally rewarding relationships with clients. These findings are similar to those found by Coetzee et al (2011), where recreation students reported attaining competencies that supported their personal and professional development. Some of these attained competencies included ability to communicate, planning and organizing, creativity, group dynamics, learning to work in a group, interpersonal skills, gaining knowledge to work with diverse populations, and working under pressure.…”

“…In this study, the authors conducted a phenomenological qualitative study of structured and unstructured written reflections from 64 third-year undergraduate students and in-person interviews to determine students’ perceived gain of competencies after participating in a community service learning course as part of the Human Movement Science program. This study found that students attained communication, management, creativity, group dynamic and people skills, competencies that are critical for the implementation of health promotion programs (Coetzee et al, 2011).…”

“…In the past decade, an increasing number of articles have described various experiential and service learning programs (Hendricks & Miranda, 2003; Peterson, Judge, & Pierce, 2012; Watson, Hueglin, Crandall, & Einsenman, 2002) and recommended the use of such programs (Bishop & Driver, 2007; Cutforth, 2000; Johnson, Elliot, Jessica, & Julian, 2010), indicating a growing interest in this approach to teaching within kinesiology curricula. However, only one study has evaluated service learning from the student perspective within the discipline of physical education (Coetzee, Bloemhoff, & Naude, 2011). In this study, the authors conducted a phenomenological qualitative study of structured and unstructured written reflections from 64 third-year undergraduate students and in-person interviews to determine students’ perceived gain of competencies after participating in a community service learning course as part of the Human Movement Science program.…”

The delivery of recreation programs: Students gain entry level management skills through service learning

“…A literature search of the primary journals in recreation and leisure studies revealed fewer than two dozen articles that included the key words of both service learning and recreation education or recreation. Examples include reports on various types of community-based projects: (Cucina & McCormack, 2001;Hendricks & Miranda, 2003;Moorman & Arellano-Unruh, 2002;Mumford & Kane, 2006;Ostiguy & Hopp, 1995;Petersen, Judge, & Pierce, 2012;Riley, 2006;Smith, 2003); articles about the use of journals and the reflection process (Baccarro, 2003;Coetzee et al, 2011;Cooke & Kemeny, 2014;Olsen & Burk, 2014); the use of students as peer advisors (Stringer & Kowalski, 2003); and two which seemed to focus more on the process and outcomes of service learning (Ruan, Edginton, Chin, & Mok, 2014;Williams & Lankford, 1999).…”

“…Based on the available literature in recreation, there appears to be a limited amount of research connecting service-learning to specific competencies and skills regarded as necessary in the field of recreation (Coetzee et al, 2011;Olsen & Burk, 2014) and neither of those is tied to a Zimmerman, J.M., Dupree, J., & Hodges, J.S. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, Vol. 14, No.…”