Service-Learning Australia

Around Australia, students increasingly need to meet specific curriculum outcomes.  Many community agencies understand the importance of linking service activities to the curriculum, and larger agencies have developed programs that start to do this.  However the school and the community partner are experts in their own area and need to take time to understand each other’s perspective.

The school needs to provide answers to these questions from community organisations:

• What is good quality service-learning?
• What are the benefits of service-learning for the community?
• How can service help students achieve academic outcomes?
• What is student direction and why is it important?
• What is reflection and intellectual enquiry and why is it important?

The school needs to ask the community organisation these questions:

• What is your mission statement?
• Have you had much experience in working with student volunteers?
• Are you able to provide students with authentic service-learning experiences?
• How could the organization help prepare students for their service?
• How much responsibility can students have for planning and implementing the program?
• Are there any training needs or risks associated with the service activity?
• What restrictions might there be connected to this program?
  

Certainly the easiest place to start developing a service-learning program is with a community partner with whom you have existing links or a community organisation within a few minutes walking distance from your school.

To find community partners who might be prepared and able to work with your students, contact your Local Council, the Community Centre, Neighbourhood Centre, or local Volunteer Centre.  The local Council has not only programs that they coordinate (e.g. Meals on Wheels, the Library, Pet Refuges etc.) but also many resources that could assist students in developing their programs. 

This document prepared by Maitland Council in New South Wales, outlines the way in which the Council are prepared to work with students doing service-learning: the resources they could offer and forums they would be prepared to conduct.  Your council has similar resources.

To get your students starting to think about community issues, there are three very good Australian web sites that list “causes” (e.g. Aged Care, Environment, Homeless Services), the community organizations that work in these areas and their web sites.  The web sites of these community organisations often contain excellent information on the issues hey address.

The organisations are:

• Pro Bono Australia.
• Australian Charities Fund.
• CAF Australia.