A Methodology for Exploring, Documenting, and Improving Humanitarian Service Learning in the University

<i>Published in the Journal of Humanitarian Engineering.</i><i><br></i><b>Abstract</b>Through the use of service learning in higher education, universities hope to both provide real benefit to the partnering community and allow students to develop a greater understanding of course curriculum, their discipline, and their personal positioning within society. Through these educational activities, service learning seeks to engage students in critical thinking processes while simultaneously achieving a greater sense of civic and social responsibility through targeted participation in meaningful community service activities. However, in practice, service learning can take a variety of forms predicated on technical, cultural, societal, and political constraints. Thus, while some work shows positive effects on students’ attitudes, social behaviour, and academic performance, less research has demonstrated long-term community impact. Nor has much research shown that participation in service learning has a long-term impact on students' ethical perspectives and frameworks, and whether those ethical frames carry on to their professional careers. Moreover, as institutions partner with such humanitarian service groups as Engineers Without Borders USA, we know considerably less about the institutional cultures and climates that are developed through such partnerships and how sustainable they are, given those inherent technical, political and cultural limitations. As a first step towards these goals, this paper proposes a methodology for investigating the impacts of service learning activities on both the students and communities involved.<br>

本研究发表于《人道主义工程学报》（Journal of Humanitarian Engineering）。
**摘要**：在高等教育中引入服务学习（service learning）模式后，高校既期望能为合作社区带来切实福祉，也希望帮助学生深化对课程体系、自身专业领域以及个人社会定位的理解。通过此类教育活动，服务学习旨在引导学生参与批判性思考过程，同时通过有针对性地参与富有意义的社区服务活动，培养学生更强的公民与社会责任意识。但在实际落地过程中，服务学习的形式会因技术、文化、社会与政治层面的限制而呈现多样化形态。因此，尽管已有研究表明服务学习对学生的态度、社会行为与学业表现具有积极影响，但能够证实其对社区产生长期影响的研究却较为匮乏。同时，鲜有研究能够证实参与服务学习会对学生的伦理观念与框架体系产生长期影响，也无从知晓这些伦理框架是否会延续至学生的职业生涯当中。此外，当高校与美国无国界工程师（Engineers Without Borders USA）这类人道主义服务组织开展合作时，考虑到上述固有的技术、政治与文化限制，我们对这类合作所催生的机构文化与氛围，以及其可持续性的了解仍极为有限。作为实现上述目标的第一步，本文提出了一套研究方法，用以探究服务学习活动对参与其中的学生与社区所产生的影响。