Service-Learning Australia

Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice

In April 2008, the National Youth Leadership Council in the U.S.A. released the K-12 Service-Learning Standards for Quality Practice. These state that good quality service-learning is: meaningful, links to the curriculum, is of sufficient duration and intensity, includes cognitively challenging reflection activities, incorporates student direction, develops collaborative partnerships, promotes respect for diversity, includes progress monitoring.

Service-learning Australia has developed two templates - “Towards Service-learning” and “Developing Good Quality Service-Learning” to help Australian teachers design service-learning in line with these new standards. These are also in the Getting Started Section of this Module. If you are looking at this Module because you are planning a service-learning activity, it would be helpful to have either or both of these planning documents beside you.

The following is copyright of Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, 2008. Copying for nonprofit educational purposes is permitted.

Meaningful Service

Standard.
Service-learning actively engages participants in meaningful and personally relevant service activities.

Indicators.
Service-learning:

Experiences are appropriate to the ages of participants and to their developmental abilities.
Addresses issues that are personally relevant to the participants.
Provides participants with interesting and engaging service activities.
Encourages participants to understand their service experiences in the context of the underlying societal issues being addressed.
Leads to attainable and visible outcomes that are valued by those being served.

Sample supporting research.

Link to Curriculum

Standard.
Service-learning is intentionally used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards.

Indicators.
Service-learning:

Has clearly articulated learning goals.
Is explicitly aligned with the academic and/or programmatic curriculum.
Helps participants learn how to transfer knowledge and skills from one setting to another.
That takes place in schools is formally recognized in school policies and in student records.

Sample supporting research.

Duration and Intensity

Standard.
Service-learning has sufficient duration and intensity to address community needs and meet specified outcomes.

Indicators.
Service-learning:

Experiences include the processes of investigation of community needs, preparation for service, action, reflection, demonstration of learning and impacts, and celebration.
Is conducted during concentrated blocks of time across a period of several weeks or months.
Provides enough time to address identified community needs and achieve learning outcomes.

Sample supporting research.

Cogitatively-Challenging Reflection

Standard.
Service-learning incorporates multiple challenging reflection activities that are ongoing and that prompt deep thinking and analysis about oneself and one’s relationship to society.

Indicators.
Service-learning reflection:

Includes a variety of verbal, written, artistic, and nonverbal activities to demonstrate understanding and changes in participants’ knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes.
Occurs before, during, and after the service experience.
Prompts participants to think deeply about complex community problems and alternative solutions.
Encourages participants to examine their preconceptions and assumptions in order to explore and understand their roles and responsibilities as citizens.
Encourages participants to examine a variety of social and civic issues related to their service-learning experience to understand connections to public policy and civic life.

Sample supporting research.

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