The Rewards of Service-Learning

By Linda Chisholm
This article was printed in Abroad View Fall 2005

Dear Student,

As you consider a study abroad program, you’ll want to investigate locations and program design. You’ll want to educate yourself about the various features so you make the best possible choice. That you are reading ABROAD VIEW is a sign that you will not be one who goes on a particular program just because your friends are doing it. Like choosing a college or a roommate, the right match is everything.

You should know that the most frequent complaint of those who have studied abroad in traditional programs (going from a classroom “here” to a classroom “there”) is that they have little real contact with the local people. They go to classes at an overseas university, they see the sights, they make friends with other international students, but their contact with local people tends to be brief and superficial.

Not so for those who have been part of service-learning programs! A recent study prepared for the Ford Foundation (Service-Learning Across Cultures: Promise and Achievement, edited by Humphrey Tonkin, IPSL Press, 2004) reports that students who took part in substantive volunteer service as part of their study abroad programs were deeply engaged in their host cultures and emerged with an appreciation of the complexities of the culture. Moreover, for many students the relationships developed through service-learning have proved long-lasting and have had a profound influence on their subsequent life choices.

Why is this so? First, through service and study, students see a wide spectrum of their host society, while studying and living at a university, they are introduced to the elite of that society. Their volunteer service is generally among the poor and needy. If they are in a homestay, it is often with a middle class family, adding another dimension to their perspective. If they are giving direct human care, such as at a school, hospital, or orphanage, they are meeting both staff and clients who enjoy their company and appreciate their help. Friendships spring up as they work together. Unlike many university classes, which are based on lectures, the service situation fosters asking questions and exchanging ideas. It creates a condition for the rapid acquisition of language skills. Observing people in action gives relevance and immediacy—sometimes reinforcing, sometimes challenging—to what is learned about the culture in the classroom.

But, buyer beware! Service-learning has become so very popular with students going abroad that service is often advertised as part of a study abroad program, but in reality it can be short, superficial, and poorly planned. Don’t be hesitant about asking lots of questions about a program. You know the old adage: the more you put into something, the more you get out of it. This is true for study abroad in general and for service-learning in particular. Ask who determines the project, how you are placed in service, how long before you begin the service, if you will be working alone or in a large group, for how many hours a week and how many weeks you will be engaged in service, and if the service is integrated into the academic work or is an optional extra-curricular activity. If it is integrated, you will have a different—and enriching—educational experience. The fragmentation and compartmentalization of knowledge—which you experience as disciplines and departments—breaks down as you test the applicability of what you have learned, and are learning, to situations you are seeing in your service.

Further, you will be confronted with challenges testing your own ability to work cooperatively with those whose lives are probably very different from yours. As you interact, learning when to lead and when to follow; as you realize that their assumptions, values, and realities are not yours; as you find your place and contribute to the well-being of others; as you get to know them and they you, you will find yourself defining and redefining your own values and beliefs. As you get to know how others manage their lives, you will reexamine the meaning of yours. You will be developing new skills and perhaps uncovering new talents and, as have so many service-learning students before you, you may find yourself rethinking your career plans and other life choices.

And, as important, you will know that you have gone on study abroad not only to take but to give as well. You will have been more than an academic tourist. You will have been an active participant, not just an observer, and while you cannot alone make lasting change in a brief semester or year abroad, you will have made a contribution to bettering the lives of others. Whether you choose a developed or developing country, there are needs everywhere that are being addressed, and you can be part of that.

As you prepare for study abroad, set your sights high. For some of you, this will be the only opportunity you have to live in another country. For others, it will be an early step in a lifetime of international work and living. Do your homework with respect to the wonderful opportunity before you, so that when you return you can say that your education abroad was rich, rewarding, and life-transforming.

Bon Voyage!

Linda Chisholm is co-founder of The International Partnership for Service-Learning and Leadership (www.ipsl.org). She is editor of Visions of Service and author of Charting a Hero’s Journey and Understanding the Education—and through it the Culture—in Education Abroad.