Abstract
The demands on successfully teaching intervention skills in macro (community) environments are numerous and extend beyond the confines of any one academic discipline. In particular, when considering community, the compounding of the multiple factors of social economics, diversity, social policy, history and political agendas requires an integrative approach. This mixed-methods retrospective article analyses the use of service-learning in an advanced Master of Social Work community practice course. Special attention is given to the construction of academic and community experience that facilitates learning integration and understanding of the ways in which factors compound on community wellbeing. Specifically this project involved students in efforts constructed to address violence directed by and against inner-city youth in a mid-sized northeastern city in the United States that is beset with gang violence and has led its state in per capita murders for four of the past five years. Recommendations and lessons learned presented in this article are directed at exploring a construction of service-learning that could address integrative learning in community intervention courses.
 
 Keywords: Service-learning, teaching, macro practice, violence
Highlights
In many parts of the US, states and cities are wrestling with ways to provide meaningful connections with youths and families that are struggling with the economy and violence in their neighborhoods (Nissen, Merrigan & Kraft 2005)
The third pass through the data bucketed the data into five distinct themes: macro practice as a social justice vehicle; empowerment/
‘The project provided me with an opportunity to become aware of the community and think about how I could do something or practise social work with it.’
Summary
Pedagogical approaches to teaching civic engagement (Underwood et al 2000), social justice (Adams 1997; Astin & Sax 1998), diversity (Boyle-Baise 2002) and macro social work practice (Cooks & Scharrer 2006) through the use of service-learning have shown great promise. The escalating violence and diminishing preventive budgets have resulted in a resurgence of efforts aimed at community building to address violence (Hawkins et al 2000) Such community-building efforts are aimed at youth engagement and empowerment using an asset-based approach (McKnight & Block 2010). Driving this renewed interest is the growing belief in the need for comprehensive strategies to deal with community violence directed at and by adolescents (McCart et al 2007). Community efforts need to be well planned and targeted using proven community capacitybuilding strategies such as public forums and focus groups (Mathie & Cunningham 2008; Nissen, Merrigan & Kraft 2005)
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