Are you a non-profit organization or a public institution and have a management problem that you cannot solve on your own? Then become a service learning partner.
In service learning (also known as “learning through engagement”), our students solve problems for local non-profit organizations. As a department, we provide the framework through our parallel courses and the project structure. You can find out more about the process here.
The research project with our community partner DRK Kreisverband Kaiserslautern-Stadt e.V. from the summer semester 2019 serves as an example of a service learning project.
Origin:
The concept of service learning originated in the USA and is anchored in the traditional educational mission of US schools, colleges and universities to educate pupils and students to become responsible citizens as part of so-called “civic education”. Service learning is gradually being implemented in Germany in both schools and universities.
Service learning is translated into German as “learning through engagement” or “learning through responsibility”. In addition to learning and engagement, the third central component is systematic reflection, which links the theoretical content of learning with the practical experience of service.
Procedure:
Students are taught theoretical knowledge by the university, with which they should be able to deal with the specific problems faced by the community partners in practice. This takes place in close connection with the curriculum and over a certain period of time, such as a semester.
Spraul, K. (2009): Service Learning im Rahmen der Speziellen Betriebswirtschaftslehre ''Public & Nonprofit Management'' - Eine Fallstudie, in: ZögU - Zeitschrift für öffentliche und gemeinwirtschaftliche Unternehmen, 32. Jg., H. 2, S. 171-182
