Service-learning is a teaching strategy that combines two well-known educational methods in active pedagogies: experiential learning and community service action (Lucas-Mangas & Martínez-Odria, 2012). It offers students opportunities to learn both in the classroom and in the wider world by implementing actions that benefit society and the student community, resulting in reciprocal benefits between those who provide the service and those who receive it. This convergence of actions allows the student to become an active person capable of solving different social problems in their environment. Service-learning, therefore, involves an educational proposal that combines learning processes and community service in a single well-articulated project in which participants learn to work on the real needs of the environment to improve it (Puig-Rovira et al., 2011)
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Service-learning differs from traditional forms of learning because it brings course content to life by providing students with opportunities to apply their knowledge in real-world settings to benefit other people, communities, or societies. Service-learning also endeavours to instil a sense of civic engagement and responsibility. It is not about adding engagement to learning but rather about integrating engagement within the learning process.
Research indicates that integrating service-learning into primary school curricula can be particularly beneficial, as it allows young students to develop empathy, expand their understanding of social issues and cultivate a lifelong commitment to community involvement.
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Read more about the European context of service-learning in primary school education in our European and national context reports here.
Evidence shows that service-learning is beneficial but access to service-learning in primary schools in Europe remains limited despite some growth in Further Education and in Secondary Education. SLIPS will upscale an existing service-learning programme for secondary level for primary school pupils. Through its training programme it will enable 600 primary school teachers, 150 schools’ principals & governors, 75 schools and 90 policy makers to build capacity in service-learning.
The objectives are:
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Develop a suitable upscaled methodology for delivering service-learning programmes in primary schools;
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Create and put in place the user-friendly online platform to train the primary school teachers;
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Train and develop the capacity of primary school teachers to deliver quality service-learning in primary schools;
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Develop links between schools and civil society in order to better meet community needs;
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Ensure the sustainability of project results by developing the community of practitioners in order to promote the use of the methodology and the importance of service-learning for social inclusion, civic engagement, resilience, prosperity and sustainability.
The training programme in service-learning will lead to increased skills for primary school teachers leading to increased quality in the work, activities and practices of the schools, volunteering organisations and institutions involved. It will introduce new actors to volunteering, civil society and civic engagement. We will build the capacity of primary schools and primary school teachers to work transnationally and address common needs and priorities for children in the EEA. The online platform, service-learning methodology and training activities, as well as policy development work, will enable transformation and change at individual, organisational and sectoral level, leading to improvements, new approaches and upgraded skills in a variety of different formal and nonformal education contexts.