“Poner en práctica” (Put into Practice): Impacts of Service-Learning for University Students in the Dominican Republic (Los impactos del aprendizaje de servicio para estudiantes universitarios en la República Dominicana)

Abstract

This mixed-methods research charts the student impact, with special attention to the effects on civic attitudes and skills, of a service-learning (SL) project implemented as part of a noncredit-bearing course at a private university in the Dominican Republic. The context of the study is situated within an understanding of SL in Latin America and the Caribbean, and it serves to offer a counterpoint to studies that center on International Service Learning or Global Service Learning in the Dominican Republic given that these approaches traditionally focus on U.S.-based college students engaged in SL abroad. The main goal of the study is to evaluate changes in the civic attitudes and skills of the university students as well as to gain a better understanding of the impact of SL coursework for Dominican students engaged in a local SL project. The quantitative portion of the study included a pre- and postcourse survey (a Spanish translation of the Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire). The qualitative element consisted of semistructured interviews with individual students.