Expanding the Concept of Service-Learning: Korean Long-term International Volunteers' Experience

service-learning;long-term international voluntary service;learning;service;370.115

사범대학 협동과정 글로벌교육협력전공 ;

University:서울대학교 대학원

关键词: service-learning;    long-term international voluntary service;    learning;    service;    370.115;   

Others  :  http://s-space.snu.ac.kr/bitstream/10371/137804/1/000000145891.pdf

美国|英语

来源: Seoul National University Open Repository

【 摘 要 】

one that is related to how to become a volunteer while the another part deals with how to survive in an unfamiliar setting. Firstly, participants learned various things that were needed to establish their identity as a volunteer and carry out assigned tasks. There were two sides: ;;seeing a forest’ and ;;seeing trees’. ;;Seeing a forest’ involved volunteers understanding the field they work and being equipped with general knowledge and mindset needed to serve their role. Participants developed their identity as a volunteer, learned about ideal attitudes and acquired basic knowledge in the preparatory training. ;;Trees’ stand for the specific abilities that are necessary for performing the given tasks, such as technical skills and local language skills. Secondly, learning to live a life on duty station was another important area of ;;service for learning’. Learing to ;;survive in an unfamiliar setting’ consisted of two parts. One part was learning for adjusting to a new environment. To adjust successfully, volunteers first had to learn about the country where they were located. In the preparatory training, they were given a brief overview of the country, and they acquired practical information from ex-volunteers. And during adaptation period, volunteers learned essential skills to live in their stations such as how to use public transportation and how to shop at a local market. The other part was learning for a safe and healthy life. Since safety and health were very important for the volunteers’ survival and well-being, volunteers were instructed on how to maintain their health during the training, including first aid and treatment of common illnesses. They also learned how to cope with stress, and what they can do in an emergency situation.On the other hand, there was ;;learning through service’, that occurred in the life reorganized around service, without clear intention of organizers and participants of volunteering programs. Unlike ;;learning for service’, intervention and support to promote volunteers’ learning were not provided by the sending agencies. The outcomes of ;;learning through service’ fell under three areas: ;;self’, ;;relationship’, and ;;world view’. The first area of learning was ;;self’. Participants found new aspects of themselves during the service. While living and working in a foreign land with new people, they discovered unfamiliar sides of themselves that are weak and incompetent. They came to know more about who they were. The second area of learning was ;;relationship’. Some participants realized that relationship was really important. They suffered from problems caused by relationship, and it was hard for them. But from this experience, they were able to know better how to get along with people who have different values from them. The last area was ;;world view’. There were various changes in participants’ knowledge, opinions and perspectives on the world. The outcomes of learning related to world view contained various types: changed views, in-depth understanding, questions and concerns that are hard to deal with, and a critical eye on certain issues. Subjects mentioned in the interviews included the country of service, its people and culture, international development, short-term and long-term international voluntary service, career plan, plan for the future, and religious faith. The findings of this research show that service and learning have a reciprocal relationship. In ;;learning for service’, learning played a role in meeting the needs for doing service well, while in ;;learning through service’, service was a source or material of learning. In the timeline, ;;learning for service’ took place intensively before and right after the departure. It went on after volunteers had begun their work, but not as intensively as before. ;;Learning through service’ occurred after volunteers had arrived in the country of service, and continued even after they return. This research utlizes three figurations in order to understand learning that is related to service. Firstly, picking represents acquiring information, knowledge and skills, as if a person picks flowers and fruit while walking in the forest. Volunteers, as learners, sought and absorbed knowledge and skills useful for their service in various ways. Secondly, crafting represents arranging and producing ideas, opinions, knowledge and questions, like a person who makes a product with her/his own hands. Unlike picking, learners create their own version instead of absorbing something that already exists. The outcomes of crafting included newly established opinions and changed thoughts. Orienteering originally refers to an outdoor sport of navigating in unfamiliar terrain, using a map and compass. We can picture a person who walks in the forest for fun, making her/his own path rather than following a fixed route. The person travels from one point to another making decisions based on what s/he knows, and the scenery changes depending on the route s/he makes. Likewise, personality, future plan and values of learners changed as they made decisions during service. While crafting means that learners form their thoughts on something outside themselves, orienteering is closely related to learners themselves and entails emotion. These three figurations of learning can be used as a lens to understand a new concept of service-learning which is learning that occurs in a relationship with service.