The fifth book published as part of the Uniservitate Collection presents the origins, development and particularities of service-learning on five continents. Towards a Global History of Service-Learning is a compilation by Daniel Giorgetti, featuring works by international experts in this pedagogical practice: María Nieves Tapia, Andrew Furco, Kathleen Maas Weigert, Anthony Vinciguerra, Alba González, Esther Luna González, Carol Ma Hok-Ka and Bibi Bouwman.
“Service-learning is not simply a method to incorporate solid academic knowledge and effective solidarity action. It also produces a long-term impact on those who practice it and community achievements with transformative effects on institutions and society,” says Giorgetti, who holds a PhD in Social Sciences and is a trainer and researcher at CLAYSS. Proof of this effect at the personal and social level is evident in the numerous testimonies from students, educators and members of social organizations shared in the book.
In addition to addressing the human dimension of the experiences underlying service-learning institutionalization processes, the book discusses the various cultural traditions, theoretical frameworks and institutional policies. It explores service-learning in Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania and Africa, describing the milestones that marked the consolidation of this practice and the particular characteristics it adopts according to different cultures and historical contexts. Each chapter mirrors the author’s style and includes a chronological synthesis of each process.
The result is a broad overview that identifies different pathways developed over many years of work in institutions at all levels of education. The processes of community-based education, cooperative studies, civic engagement, voluntary service, active citizenship and socio-educational work are highlighted, depending on the process followed in the observed region. Despite the specificities, common aspects are evident, such as student leadership; the commitment of professors, managers or members of social organizations; the institutionalization processes and the establishment of national or regional service-learning networks.
This new work in the Uniservitate Collection brings together research and analysis on a practice that, despite its centuries-long history, is still considered by many to be an educational innovation.