A set of quality principles is established to guide the development and implementation of service-learning programmes. These principles can serve as guidance for similar programmes.
Purpose
The purpose of this practice is to ensure the quality delivery of service-learning programmes by providing a set of quality principles for the programme team to use during the programme development and implementation stages. The principles cover a wide range of aspects. These include identifying genuine community needs and obtaining a pledge of cooperation from prospective community partners. Some principles are about ensuring that students are adequately prepared for community engagement, for example, providing proper training for them; making efficient arrangements for site visits; and briefing students about the importance of sharing team leadership responsibilities. Other principles concern the learning process, such as, having appropriate reflective tools and templates, and relevant assessment methods; building constructive learning relationships with students, instructors, and partner organisation representatives; combining course related concepts with community services and reflection; and aligning programme objectives and intended learning outcomes. To ensure a high quality of service-learning programme delivery, the programme team should adhere to these quality principles, closely monitor their application to programme implementation, and take corrective actions in cases where departures from these principles are identified.
Outcome
The outcome of employing this practice is to ensure that the programme is implemented in a coherent and reliable manner that successfully achieves the desired outcomes. The practice of establishing a set of guiding quality principles can be applied to both existing and new service-learning programmes, and when adapting existing departmental courses to include service learning.