SLS-6b2 Does Compulsory SL Work?

Educators have divided and often strongly-held views on whether service-learning should be required of all students. Some believe that when students having unfavourable views on service-learning are compelled to take service-learning, they may resent it and it is unlikely to lead to positive outcomes.  Even for students favourable to SL, being required to do it may distort their motivation, leading to undesirable outcomes.  On the other hand, some of us believe that many students, not having experienced service-learning first hand, may not have an accurate understanding of what SL really is, and as a consequence, resist it.  When they actually experience it, even if reluctantly, they may become convinced of its benefits.  At least they can make an informed decision based on genuine understanding.  Based on our own experience teaching service-learning, as well as research on the critical factors impacting the students learning outcomes, we believe that whether students benefit from service-learning may depend more on the quality of their learning experience, rather than other pre-existing conditions such as attitude towards SL. However, studies examining students’ view on mandatory service-learning are limited in the literature.   

We hereby conducted out own study to contrast students’ views towards the service-learning requirement before and after attending their mandatory service-learning course, and examine whether and how their views might change as a result of the experience. This is a retrospective qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Participants were 49 students who completed a service-learning course in the 2013/14 academic year. They were selected according to the nature of the course they had completed and their course grade.  We selected 18 (out of a total of 32) SL subjects to ensure a broad coverage of different disciplines, and a wide range of intended beneficiaries of their service projects.  We classify the students in each subject into higher, average and lower performance groups based on their subject grades and randomly select 3 students, one from each group.  Invitations were sent to 198 students, of which 49 finally accepted the invitation and attended the interview.  The participants were assured that their personal information would remain confidential.  

The students’ recollections of their initial views were classified into one of three categories: positive, passive-acceptance and negative.  According to one of the students with an initially “negative” view: “I found SL very worrisome.  I was afraid I might meet some agonising people. I was also worried about the problems or difficulties I might face.”  According to one of those in the “passive-acceptance” category: “I don’t know much about SL.  It is just … an obstacle that I need to clear in order to graduate.”  The students’ post-experience views were similarly classified into one of three categories: positive, ambivalent and negative - corresponding to the three categories of initial views.  

Results show that students’ perspectives towards service-learning are not static but rather, change dramatically as a result of their experiences. Most students, particularly those who recalled a negative or passive acceptance stance in their initial views, reported positive changes in their views towards service-learning after completing the course.  The results clearly indicate a very positive shift in students’ views about service-learning as a result of their SL experience, particularly among those who recall having a passive-acceptance or negative stance initially.  According to a student who had initial passive-acceptance view, a student majoring in Radiography, a high-achiever in a service-learning subject offering health assessment and rehabilitation programmes to the elderly or people with disabilities: “This service turned out to be a pleasant surprise for me: from no expectations to great gains; the whole experience is very positive. The result is good, and I don’t mind doing it again. At the beginning, I thought that it was just a trick played on students; but later, I realised that it had provided students with an opportunity to learn. All the good things and shortcomings I have mentioned about the experience are unforgettable memories in my university life.” 

Some students shared that they were inspired by knowing first-hand how their disciplinary knowledge could contribute to the betterment of the society, and felt that the service-learning experience added meaning to their discipline.  According to one of the students, a high-achiever in a SL subject teaching robotics to university students in Myanmar: “I study Electronic and Information Engineering. … I used to think I have few options after graduation, apart from working in factories on the Mainland.  After taking this SL subject, I realise that I can do a lot of things … Indeed life can become much more convenient because of the things I’ve made.”  

Some students mentioned that the service-learning experience had provided them with an opportunity to understand and help a group of people whom they did not know much about or even were afraid of before. Some reported that the experience had changed their way of viewing the service recipients. According to a high achiever in a subject using textile art and co-design as therapy and empowerment for people recovered from psychological disabilities: “I worried about whether it would be difficult to communicate with them… I was a bit scared… Actually, they are normal people; they fell ill because of emotional problems but now they have recovered. The medication might have caused side effects for some of them. They were unfortunate, but not scary.”

 

Some students pointed to the fact that service-learning challenged them to reflect on their own attitude and provided an opportunity for self-reflection and clarification of personal values.  According to a student majoring in computing and management and a high-achiever in a service-learning subject teaching sciences to the children in Cambodia: 

“It does not impose the values on me but rather, stimulates me to reflect on my own attitudes and values, and to think whether I need to change my values. It has given me new ideas and insights, and more choices … It has been a very stimulating experience indeed.”

A small number of students expressed a negative view towards service-learning after the course – because their actual experience fell short of their expectations. For example, a student who took part in a service-learning subject on engineering for the society and expected to have ample opportunity to meet and interact with the beneficiaries was greatly disappointed with the service experience: “I initially expected that I would have a lot of chances to interact with the clients or the needy, or work at the service location to create a tailor-made product for the clients. But it was not the case. I spent most of my time working on computers at the university.”  

Hence students’ initial resistance alone is not a reason for making service-learning optional. From an educational viewpoint, engaging only students who are already interested in service-learning is like “preaching to the converted”. It is those who are less inclined to participate in service-learning that we should focus on, as they are the ones who may benefit the most from the experience Making service-learning a requirement can be a strong push for the initially inert students to undertake the experience which, if implemented effectively, will nurture them into more civic-minded citizens. The critical question, then, is not about required versus voluntary service but rather, how to design and deliver an effective service-learning course or program that provides a rewarding experience for students and achieves the intended learning outcomes

The results are presented in the paper “How Participation Impacts University Students’ Perspectives towards Mandatory Service-Learning” to appear in the Journal of Experimental Education.