Developing and Implementing a Philosophy for Service Learning at Barker Olivia Smith Coordinator of Service Learning & Languages Teacher Josephine Christofferson Assistant Coordinator Commerce & Service Learning
A bstract This paper explores the development and implementation of a philosophy of service learning. Service learning is an important part of school life at Barker College with every student afforded the opportunity to engage in age-appropriate service activities that look to see positive gains in students’ attitudes toward self, attitudes toward school and learning, civic engagement, social skills, and academic performance. It is the aim of Barker’s Service Learning Program to foster academic success and develop well rounded young people who are active citizens, serving the wider community with respect, integrity and courage and compassion. Connected to the school’s teaching and learning framework, students engage in service learning experiences that is based on three concepts: Respect, Relationship and Return.
Introductio n “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in service of others.” Gandhi Service learning is an experiential education approach that is premised on "reciprocal learning" (Sigmon, 1979, quoted in Furco 1996). As learning flows from service activities, both those who provide service and those who receive it "learn" from their experiences. As demonstrated in a meta-analysis of 62 studies involving 11,837 students participating in service learning programs in the USA by Celio et al., (2011), students achieved significant gains in five outcome areas: attitudes toward self, attitudes toward school and learning, civic engagement, social skills, and academic performance. Service learning is therefore fundamental to education and growth of students during their most formative years. So why do we engage in service learning at Barker? Teaching and learning at Barker College is characterised by our “Thrive Framework of 4 pillars”: Inquiry, Rhetoric, Gratitude and Service. These pillars are underpinned by our values: Commitment, Compassion, Courage, Integrity & Respect. We wanted to create a program of service initiatives for each year group that follows these values and pillars, allowing students to develop a culture of service learning throughout their time at Barker.
Barker Institute Learning in Practice 2022 • 99