By Pam Siebert, Vice President of Community Impact and Evaluation

Borrowing this blog’s title from a talk by Dr. Joel Westheimer to a German service-learning conference, it sometimes seems like service-learning could save our world when I hear myself and others talking about all of the amazing things that young people accomplish and learn through this approach. Advocates sometimes refer to the entire list of astonishing outcomes that have been documented. But it’s important to note that those outcomes are across many studies– no one program or class experience perfectly manifests the entire list(!).

Still, how can we, as researchers and practitioners, ensure that our learning opportunities unleash the power of young people to ‘change the world’?

At NYLC, we recently held an in-depth conversation with our research partners, Dr. Ross VeLure Roholt of the University of Minnesota, and Dr. Matthew C. MacWilliams, MacWilliams Sanders Communications and Principal Investigator for NYLC’s research project SLICE, where our focus is the civic aspect of service-learning. 

We started with some definitions, asking whether “civic skills and engagement” is the same as “democratic skills and engagement.”  We agreed that what really matters is active participation so that young people experience democratic citizenship and not merely learn about it.

Beyond the narrow (but important!) role of voting for our elected representatives, we are seeking to engage youth in governing their own lives and communities at all levels. As Dr. MacWilliams said, “civic participation [means that] people’s voices are heard. And they’re reflected in the way that government operates.”

With world issues taking center stage and questions about youth support for democracy in the U.S. fluctuating, how can service-learning be used to facilitate young people’s roles as participatory citizens?

Thinking of service-learning as a method for teaching civic engagement has always been part of the equation at NYLC, along with the content areas targeted. As Dr. Sue Root stated in Service-Learning by Design (2017), “…[t]he aim of service-learning is to help students become informed participants in the public problem-solving processes required of democratic citizens. …. Service-learning is one approach to participatory citizenship education [that uses] team projects to identify, analyze, and resolve public problems .…” (You can access Service-Learning by Design by searching for it in our Resource Library!)

Dr. VeLure Roholt suggests we start with, “What’s the everyday lived experience for young people? How do you create the everyday lived experience of a democratic practice? The end of service-learning provides a way of living a life that is embedded in community care and democratic practice (referencing authors Youniss and Yates). I think both civics and democracy are talking about giving to the whole, not just promoting the self.” He went on to point out that larger issues show through in very minute forms of personal practice. Learning to listen to, and understand the perspectives of, people in your class is a form of democratic practice. 

We also discovered that there is power in naming the practices being used. As Dr. MacWilliams pointed out, studies- including his own, show that “youth are disillusioned by ‘politics.’ So I think what’s really key is naming it and also focusing on the deliberative processes. …  Why are we deliberating? Because we want to hear everyone’s voices? Part of Democracy is about listening to other people and coming up with solutions based on that.” We agreed that ‘good’ citizens who are prepared and motivated to step up and participate do not result automatically through the service process, but rather through intention and attention to specific aspects.

So what should change or be highlighted in our service-learning practice to meet this goal? Based on our aggregate knowledge, we identified strategies to lean into:

• Provide support and education to adults to engender trust and facilitation of active youth voice and leadership. This applies both to adults supporting service-learning, such as teachers and afterschool staff, but adults in general to understand the capacity of youth to be valuable contributors now.
• Encourage and provide tools to youth in exploring root causes before jumping to a solution is key, and one of the reasons that we often say that “Service-Learning is a process, not a project.” IPARD is the democratic problem-solving model used in service-learning, so it’s important to experience the full cycle.
• Ensure that multiple perspectives are considered. Having a diverse group is one way to do this, but the knowledge of this essential element (and K12 standards) can result in more creative ways, such as intentionally seeking out conflicting views to understand where they’re coming from.
• Gather and evaluate information to develop their own stance. Youth are bombarded with information, especially from social media, that includes misinformation and disinformation. They need to know how to recognize sources and biases.
• Emphasize collective action and “deliberative democracy,” that is, working with a group to consider options, make decisions, and take action together. This is one of the reasons that NYLC defines service-learning as taking part in a group activity, whether with an entire class or a small group of young people. While there can be value in individual experiences, learning to work with others can only be learned by practicing it.
• And, finally, youth must “know what they know.” Naming and pointing to democratic practices and connecting them to their importance in our American democracy is critical.

Connecting service-learning’s civic goals more specifically with democratic practice is both natural and intuitive and at the same time requires intentional practice.  We invite you to join in this ongoing research and practice conversation through two upcoming opportunities. We want to hear from you!

• [Virtual] Voices of Change Panel: Service-Learning and Civic Engagement, March 12, 11-12:30 a.m. CST. Register here!
• [In-Person] Workshop at the National Service-Learning Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota on Friday, March 28th: “Democratic Practices for Transformative Service-Learning.” Explore the agenda here!