Service-Learning Australia

In service-learning, students learn while providing a service, and this learning needs to be intentional.  Therefore, it is essential that students take the time to understand the community they are serving, to identify the “talents” within that community and to recognize and appreciate what they will learn from interactions. Students need to ask themselves, for example “What are the talents of the group of people I am serving?  What are their treasures?  What are their traditions, cultures, beliefs? What can I learn from them?”  A collaborative partnership is formed and students learn to respect the diversity of the group being served (two of the quality standards for service-learning).  Therefore, students involved in service-learning do not have the common “missionary” attitude of doing service “to” or “for”, but rather have the attitude of doing service “with”. 
 
Students also need to be prepared for their work with the service recipients: they need to understand their roles, have the skills and information required and be sensitive to the people with whom they will be working.  As in Stage 1 (Investigation), students may need to continue to reflect on some of their own values and attitudes and some of the stereotypes they believe.

High School Example: Students doing Food Technology.

This example shows how a traditional volunteering/community service program where students provide “comfort to the aged” changes into a service-learning program where students identify the “talents and treasures” of the elderly, research their backgrounds, respect their diversity and value what can be learnt from them.

Before service-learning:
High School students learning Food Technology traditionally prepared a morning tea for residents of an aged care facility.

As service-learning:
High School students learning Food Technology interviewed residents at a local aged care facility about the diet they had when they were young, methods of preparation, hygiene, their understanding of a healthy diet, etc. They wrote down the residents’ favourite recipes and produced a cook book, which the aged care facility sold and used the money to buy “extras” for the residents.  The students then made some of the recipes for the residents and enjoyed morning tea with them.