Educating for Democracy Through Service-Learning Engagement: Service-Learning Habitus Among University Faculty, Students, and Community Partners

• In Event: Service-Learning for Democracy, Engagement, and Success

Abstract

We developed research and evaluation tools for scholarly analysis of data on community engaged research and service-learning at our university then piloted them with students, faculty, and community partners. This study results from the pilot. We examined perspectives on service-learning and relevant experiences of students, faculty, and community partners.
Conceptualized through our previously developed SLH2 (Service-Learning Habitus & Heterotopia) model, we conducted semi-structured interviews which provided “unique and important knowledge about the social world” of the participants (Hesse-Biber & Leavy, 2011, p. 94). Through several iterative steps of data analysis we identified the themes and uncovered new knowledge in terms of the potential of service-learning to effectively educate teachers and subsequently their students in meaningful ways.

Authors

• Virginia M. Jagla, National-Louis University

• Antonina Lukenchuk, National-Louis University

• Todd Alan Price, National Louis University

• Kate Zilla, National Louis University