Global Service Learning Research Articles

Decolonizing or Re-Colonizing? Community Members’ Perspectives of Global Service Learning Programs

Decolonizing or Re-Colonizing? Community Members’ Perspectives of Global Service Learning Programs

Answering the Call: The Impact of Global Service-Learning on BSN Graduates.

Global migration significantly impacts demographic patterns in the United States, intensifying the need for nurses to deliver culturally competent healthcare to refugees, immigrants, and migrants. By integrating global service-learning (GSL) into nursing curricula, this study aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of GSL benefits in fostering effective intercultural communication, cultural humility, spiritual growth, and global health knowledge among nursing students. The findings suggest that GSL enhances the educational experience and equips nurses with the skills necessary to address the complex needs of a diverse patient population.

시리아 난민 대상 글로벌 서비스-러닝 참여 대학생들의 학습경험 탐색 연구

Objectives The purpose of this study is to explore the learning experiences and changes of universty students who participated in Global Service-Learning during vacation for Syrian refugees at the refugee center in Turkiye.
 Methods The research participants were seven students who participated in global service-learning. For the study, data were collected from students' reflective journals, reflection logs, and minutes of reflection meetings. The analysis of students' learning experiences and changes involved six stages of thematic analysis: ⑴ Familiarizing with the data, ⑵ Generating codes, ⑶ Identifying themes, ⑷ Reviewing themes, ⑸ Defining themes, and ⑹ Writing the report.
 Results The purposes of this study were to specify variables related to convergence competency, and to analyze the structural relationships among them. The purposes of this study were to specify variables related to convergence competency, and to analyze the structural relationships among them.
 Conclusions This study is meaningful as an example of continuous cooperation by connecting online Service-Learning, which began with the COVID-19 pandemic, to face-to-face Global service-learning, and will be a useful basis for designing Global Service-Learning for refugees.

“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)

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.

Influence of school garden learning approach on academic development of global service-learners

Students need to develop cross-cultural awareness and understanding, which has led educational institutions to create high-impact global programs to enhance their academic learning. Global service-learning, a U.S.-based pedagogy, interconnects service-learning, study abroad, and international education programs. A service-learning program in [Country] was founded on the school garden approach which was conceptualized based on the emphasis by the Food and Agricultural Organization in 2004. NGO1, [State University], and [Country University] adopted school gardens as a feasible approach to fulfill the service-learning curricular objectives and meet NGO1’s goal of solving undernutrition in schools using garden products in school lunches. This study sought to determine the influence of service-learning program activities on alumni’s academic development. Alumni (n = 274) from 2006-2019 completed a self-administered questionnaire through Qualtrics where 94.2% responded. A principal components analysis (PCA) was employed, aligning activities into three components. The first component loaded school gardening, bi-national team projects, arrival orientations, farmer field visits, and school teaching assistance, depicting alumni’s community engagement in reciprocal learning. Component two loaded journaling/logbooks, critical reflections, and presentations, depicting alumni’s reflexive actions resulting in cognitive development through documenting and confronting their assumptions about their service-learning activities. Component three loaded co-curricular, tours and travels, and social parties, portraying alumni’s social life that provided opportunities to learn about distinct cultures. Pre-departure orientations loaded well on [State University] alumni’s PCA which mitigated culture shocks while in [Country]. Alumni could benefit overall from more instructor-led cognitive development activities whereby they could both learn from and question their activities.

대학 글로벌 서비스-러닝에서 협력적 학습코칭 사례

The purpose of this case study was to derive implications for the application of collaborative learning coaching in university Global Service-Learning(GS-L). Data were collected through self-evaluation surveys before and after class, and post-class reflection reports. They are analyzed through paired-sample t-tests and categorization focused on important events. The results are as follows. First, all factors of global community consciousness, multinational consciousness, and civic consciousness were found increased after GS-L activities, and civic consciousness increased statistically significantly. Second, all factors including understanding cultural differences, acceptance of cultural differences, and intention to participate in multi-cultural attitudes increased after the GS-L activity, and intention to participate was found increased statistically significantly. Third, the positive effects of the collaborative learning coaching were found in expanding understanding on other cultures, and increasing interest in global issues as well as participation in problem solving. Difficulties were found in reaching consensus and cooperation among stakeholders participating in GS-L, forming a team that takes into account dynamics within the group, and demonstrating effective leadership. This study is significant in that it proposes an instructor's collaborative learning coaching strategy as an effective teaching method for GS-L. The results of this study are expected to be used as evidence for the implementation of collaborative learning coaching by instructors as an effective learner-centered teaching method in university GS-L activities.

Global Service-Learning Fosters Collaboration, Cultural Humility, and Spiritual Growth among BSN Students.

Nursing practice is evolving to include a more global perspective; therefore, nursing education must transcend the confines of the traditional classroom to prepare students to serve vulnerable populations across the globe. Collaboration, cultural humility, and spiritual growth through reflective practice are three themes identified in the literature as takeaways for students participating in global service-learning experiences. The development and implementation of a course on global service-learning is explored in this article. Biblical examples and anecdotal student comments support the themes identified in the literature.

대학교육에서 글로벌 서비스-러닝 사례연구: 국내외 난민을 중심으로

This is a case study of Global Service-Learning(GS-L) in university with the theme aimed towards refugees. Due to COIVD-19 pandemic restrictions on oversea travel, an alternative GS-L educational program was developed to prepare, implement, and evaluate volunteer activities on the theme of refugees during the 2021 winter vacation. Special lectures by experts and thematic exploration workshops were designed and operated as education for understanding and empathy on refugee, and special lectures and program development workshops for each activity were designed and operated to prepare for volunteer activities. As the refugee relief organization requested Korean and English classes, art therapy, and learning mentoring, students who have taken the related courses were given priority in the selection process. University students conducted foreign language classes and art therapy using non-face-to-face Zoom meetings with overseas refugees, and for domestic refugees, face-to-face learning mentoring service, social media refugee advocacy activities, design production and volunteer activities were conducted. The participant students developed a sense of global citizenship and showed great growth in exploring their own career paths. This study is meaningful in expanding the field of learning experience to the world and presenting new educational possibilities based on the case of face-to-face and non-face-to-face GS-L focusing on the theme of refugees.

Critical Commitments to Partnership in Global Service-Learning

In addition to many global disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, institutions of higher education within the United States were forced to move classes online, and put a pause to many initiatives. Areas that were particularly affected by the pandemic were education abroad and global service-learning (GSL) programs. As GSL programs resume operations with partners around the world, there exists an opportunity to redefine partnerships with the goal of reciprocity at the center (Bartleet et al., 2019; Brown et al., 2016; Grain et al., 2019). In this study, authors conducted interviews with partner organizations in a GSL program at a large, public university in the Midwest. Through this work, the authors developed a set of guiding questions to help GSL scholar-practitioners relaunch their programs with the goal of reciprocal partnerships.

Reflexivity and Relationality in Global Service Learning

This outro is a generative collective conversation between emerging and established scholars in the field of Global Service Learning, at this moment in pandemic time. We met, on zoom, to think expansively about what these pandemic times of rupture have opened up for us in our scholarship and practice. Our orientation was towards reflexivity and relationality. We developed questions to guide our conversation in these two areas, and each of us responded to the questions and to each other. We think together about our own positionalities and ways that we are called to GSL in ways that are explicitly relational. We end by reflection on our own commitments to the field of GSL and why we stay in it knowing the contradictions, the extractive nature of the field, the deep need for decolonization and fraughtness of the space.

글로벌 서비스러닝에서 학습자의 경험과 변화 탐색

The purpose of this study is to analyze the service-learning experiences of college students who participated in English subjects applying service-learning and explore the effects. A total of 26 Korean students participated in this study, and assisted Australian university students in learning learn Korean language and culture. Qualitative research methods were used to analyze the data collected from weekly reflection logs, journals submitted at the end of the semester, mid-term/final-term evaluation meeting. According to the findings, students were motivated participate in the service-learning because they wanted to improve English proficiency, communicate with people from other cultures and earn an additional credit. Plus, it was found that students engaged in preparing, implementing, developing strategies, and reflecting. Suggestions were made for future global service learning at higher education settings.

Cultivating Global Citizenship through Higher Education: A Reflection on the Development from Civic to Global Engagement

Due to globalization, society underwent changes towards multiculturalism and vast internationalization of the labor market. Those changes make it necessary to adapt the education of future citizens and equip them with tools to persist in an internationalized and globalized world. Contrary to popular concerns, service and engagement can be connected to the goal of internationalization in higher education. The aim of this theoretical paper is to provide new perspectives on the topic of internationalization in higher education and the development of Global Citizenship. We analyze the existing literature to explore the development and interconnections between different types of engagement, specifically the concepts of Civic Engagement, Service Learning, Global Engagement and Global Service Learning. Subsequently, we discuss the role and relevance of higher education institutions and partnerships in achieving Global Citizenship by equipping students with the cross-cultural competencies they need to be successful in a global society. Finally, we discuss the merit of Global Learning and the role engagement can play in the future of internationalized and engaged education.

Essential Participants: Centering the Experiences of Southern Hosts in Global Service-Learning Pedagogy and Practice

In this paper we are concerned with the ways in which hosts are often excluded from scholarship and programming of global service learning. By global service learning (GSL), we mean a multiplicity of programs that occur facilitating service work for people across borders, generally with volunteers moving from the North to the South. We present findings from a research project conducted in 2014 with 37 host families. We circulated a survey to better understand host experiences of, expectations of, and hopes for GSL. Drawing on these survey results we provide some prompting questions for GSL participants (both students and program designers) to shift focus from student experience to relationship and mutuality. Using global service learning literature, critical disability theory and critical pedagogy through an intersectional lens, we center questions of uneven labor, accessibility, and structures of inequity. Three main themes emerged from our data: mutuality, gendered labor, and preparation. We present several infographic images capturing themes from the study to facilitate discussions with students who are preparing for GSL experiences and for those who are leading and designing programming. Our intention is to provide tools for educators to center the voices, desires, and motivations of Southern hosts in all of their GSL preparations.

Conceptualizing high-impact practices within the frame of agricultural leadership education: A content analysis

The use of high-impact practices in undergraduate leadership courses is a common and effective way of developing students studying agriculture. However, each of the ten high-impact practices (HIPs) recognized by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (Kuh, 2008) are not equally studied or utilized by leadership educators. This study will provide a content analysis of the use of HIPs as a leadership pedagogy in undergraduate education. In the studies analyzed, which were grouped by categories of HIPs, only five of the ten main HIPs were represented. These were undergraduate research, diversity and global learning, internships, service learning, and capstone courses and projects. The analysis revealed each HIP resulted in one or more of Kuh’s (2008) proposed learning outcomes. Based on these findings, the researchers suggest HIPs be used more frequently in agricultural leadership curriculum and call on scholars to study the ten HIPs more closely.

Going global (again): gratitude and service learning in post-pandemic times

ABSTRACT This analysis employs the concept of gratitude to trace key ‘moments’ in students’ global service learning placements. We problematise the uncritical promotion of interculturality as an outcome of such placements. We analyse common narratives of gratitude that emerge from students before, during and after international placements in the Global South. Through focusing on the lifecycle of service learning placement we examine how expressions and recipients of gratitude shift over time, often belying a truly reciprocal exchange assumed to be inherent in service learning. We employ Critical Discourse Analysis to unearth power inequities that emerge from the broader societal relations in which these placements occur. We conclude by looking back to inform how we move forward in a post COVID-19 era in which further punctuation of global inequities will require intensified care to build meaningful and reciprocal service learning activities abroad and at home.

Global Service-Learning: A Systematic Review of Principles and Practices

Global service-learning brings students, instructors, and communities together to support learning and community development across borders. In global service-learning, practitioners act at the intersection of two fields: service-learning and international development. Critical scholarship in all service-learning and international development has highlighted the tensions inherent in defining and tracking “success” in community development. In response, service-learning and international development have turned considerable attention to documenting project characteristics, also known as best practices or success factors, that support equitable, sustainable community development. This article presents a systematic synthesis of these fields’ best practices in the context of global service-learning. The authors propose 18 guiding principles for project design to support practitioners in creating and maintaining justice-oriented, stakeholder-driven projects. The authors compare these principles to emerging best practices in global service-learning and assess the contribution of service-learning and international development research to informing the future of the field.

It Starts With a Journey: Global Learning as Holistic, Interdisciplinary Curricular and Co-Curricular Framework at a Liberal Arts College

This article introduces Agnes Scott College’s model for a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach to global (service) learning and leadership in the liberal arts. We outline strategic perspectives and a specific toolkit for developing holistic global learning frameworks and we detail how this approach integrates local community-campus partnerships, fosters interdisciplinary collaboration between the humanities, social sciences, and STEM disciplines, and foregrounds an intentional and inclusive approach that provides access to global learning experiences for traditionally under-represented groups. The authors share their experiences in the co-construction of programs with full participation and inclusion of diverse and diffuse stakeholders.

From "knowing" to "not knowing": Critical global citizenship education for engineering partnerships

This article was part of a larger study that explored community participants’ perspectives in [Municipality, Country] about the long-term global service learning (GSL) partnership with [Name of university] University’s College of Engineering (Author, year). This article explores the question: From the community participants’ perspectives, what are their educational goals for the university engineering students in this partnership? While I intentionally centered this article on the community participants’ perspectives, I also explored areas of alignment and areas of difference between the different stakeholder groups’ perspectives about learning and knowledge. Although global citizenship surfaced in interviews with both community and university participants, the community participant perspectives push farther than the university administrators/ faculty and call for critical global citizenship education (Andreotti, 2006).

The Impact of Cultural Immersion Experience on Identity Transformation Process.

This study focused on understanding the cultural immersion experience of students who participated in Study Abroad Programs (SAP) and Global Service Learning Programs (GSL). The study looked at how the immersion experience impacted the participants’ view of self and others upon re-entry into their local community. Specifically, we applied the perspective transformation theoretical framework to analyze the extent to which participation in cultural immersion programs transforms students’ perceptions of self and others. The analysis of the semi-structured interviews suggested that by engaging in intentional immersion and guided reflections, participants became aware of the need to reevaluate their perspectives, expectations, and assumptions about self and others. We also found that there were differences in the way participants experienced the cultural immersion process and the impact it had on cultural awareness and self-identity.

Global service learning: A unique educational pathway for community engagement and student scholarship development

AbstractIntroductionService learning is an educational tool that can augment classroom learning with experiential practice. The Purdue Kenya Partnership (PKP) has utilized elective service learning activities to aid student development in research, community engagement, and professional writing.ObjectiveThe purpose of this research is to share PKP's experience in strategically engaging student pharmacists in service learning while completing an 8‐week global health advanced pharmacy practice experience in Eldoret, Kenya.MethodsA retrospective review of PKP's service learning activities conducted between 2004 and 2019 was completed. An outcome‐approach logic model was used to evaluate the program using descriptive statistics to capture the scholarly output and impacts.ResultsPKP has established sustainable relationships with five community partners and completed 23 unique service learning projects lead by 69 individual students. A total of $76 510 was awarded for service learning projects between 2008 and 2019. Students translated their service learning activities into 64 professional posters at regional, national, and international meetings as well as 12 manuscripts between 2004 and 2019.ConclusionPKP has impacted student development through their inclusion of service learning activities. It is used as a pathway for research skill development as evidenced by the student posters, grants, and publications as well as developed long‐standing community partner relationships.