Service-Learning and Faith Formation

Abstract

Although "spiritual growth" is occasionally cited as an outcome of participation in servicelearning events and classes, little research has focused on this particular area. This article describes a qualitative research project that investigated undergraduate students' perceptions of the impact of a short-term international service-learning course on their spiritual lives and faith formation. Applying the insights of Sharon Parks and James Fowler as theorists in the field of faith formation and Janet Eyler and Dwight Giles in the area of service-learning pedagogy, journals, academic papers, and interviews from 38 students were analyzed using a computerassisted qualitative data analysis software program (NVivo). The article includes both psychosocial and biblical-theological interpretation of the data. Faith is defined as the matrix of meaning that human beings construct, negotiate, disassemble, and reconstruct throughout their lives as they seek to make sense of the world, their lives, their relationships with others, and God.