Links in a chain: Institutional integration of service learning

• Amelia Blanton ^[1] ; Bárbara Humphrey
  1. [1] Visitation Academy St. Louis, United States
  2. [2] United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Secretariat of Catholic Education
• Localización: Institutionalization of Service-Learning in Higher Education / coord. por Luis Arocha, Chantal Jouannet Valderrama, 2023, ISBN 978-987-4487-46-9, págs. 148-183
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Inspired by the vision of St. John Henry Newman in The Idea of the University, the authors summarize a “Catholic” approach that emerges from the efforts of Uniservitate toinstitutionalize service-learning as a tool to fulfill Catholic Higher Education’s mission “ofan integral education.”The authors consider a model of peer-to-peer faculty engagement in the Catholic intellectual tradition across disciplines. This model has served faculty for over twenty years, expanded the world view of numerous participants and, for some, deepened their vocationas educators. This model of engagement could be adapted to introduce, or deepen, theuse of service learning by faculty.Beyond faculty engagement, the authors consider the role of administrators who areresponsible for the particular mission of their Catholic college or university. These institutional leaders are charged with the implementation of Newman’s vision for the university,amplified by Ex Corde Ecclesiae, and shaped by the charism, history, and social contextof their institution. These administrators must engage faculty with their strengths, aspirations, and limitations. The authors suggest practical steps administrators can use to integrate service-learning into their institution.Bringing the work of Uniservitate together with Newman’s vision for the university,coupled with the successful engagement and inspiration of faculty and administrators,the authors identify guiding principles to promote the integration of service learning intothe university. They conclude with a call to action – to renew Catholic higher educationthrough service-learning thus generating “agents for social change who critically engagefor a better society according to the social teaching of the Church.”