Learning to neighbor? Service-learning in context

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Service-learning has received a great deal of attention in the management education literature over the past decade, as a method by which students can acquire moral and civic values as well as gain academic knowledge and practice real-world skills. Scholars focus on student and community impact, curricular design, and rationale. However, the educational environment ("context" ) in which service-learning occurs has been given less attention, although experienced educators know that the classroom is hardly a vacuum and that students learn a great deal from the non-curricular aspects of their educational experience. Moral values in particular are conveyed by what is not said. Given this, I argue that the contexts in which service-learning takes place are as important as the activity itself. Three perspectives on context will be described and assessed: the "hidden" curriculum, the educational atmosphere, and the university's orientation towards social responsibility. © 2007 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

Publication Title

Journal of Academic Ethics

Publication Date

2007

Volume

5

Issue

1

First Page

85

Last Page

104

ISSN

1570-1727

DOI

10.1007/s10805-007-9045-5

Keywords

hidden curriculum, management education, moral and civic values, service-learning, university social responsibility

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