Academic Service-Learning at St. John’s University is generally
defined as an academic program that involves students in some form
of required community service and uses that activity as a means of
understanding course concepts.
In this conceptualization, community is interpreted to include
not just neighborhoods but any group or institution with an
organized project goal where profit is not the over-all mission but
rather, where social justice and working towards the common good
are the major goals or purpose of the venture. That is, any
student community service placement and/or project can be
considered Academic Service-Learning provided that the student is
not directly involved in a profit making activity.
In addition, Academic Service-Learning requires five validating
factors:
- The community service must be included as part of an academic
course offering.
- The community service must meet a real and existing need.
- The student does not receive any financial reward for
performing the service.
- There must be reciprocity between the service site and the
student where it is clearly understood that the student
becomes one of the beneficiaries of the actions performed. Thus,
students must be afforded the experiential learning opportunity to
practice, perform and/or observe theories and practical
applications of the course content and/or of their
discipline.
- Some form of organized academic service-learning reflection
must be included in the course. Reflection is the mechanism
that encourages students to link their service experience with
course content, as well as the importance of service to others and
the importance of individual participation in the democratic
process.
This definition can be further understood through the
examination of the standard for Pure Service-Learning, one
of the six models for Academic Service-Learning described
by Heffernan and Cone (2001).
The fundamentals of the Pure Academic Service-Learning
model are:
- Students are sent into the community to serve;
- Students are prepared for active, responsible service;
- This type of service is not lodged in any one discipline.
Thus, it can be observed that Academic Service-Learning is not a
“program but rather an instructional strategy, a philosophy, and a
process” (Bhaerman, Cordell and Gomez, 1998, p. 1).