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Service Learning as a bridge to promote active citizenshipAntonella Guarino, Cinzia Albanesi, Bruna Zani, Christian CompareUniversity of BolognaBackground. Service Learning (S-L) is a new teaching methodology in Europe. It is described as promoting studentsu2019 learning through active participation in experiences of community service (Folgueiras, et al., 2018; Zani & Guarino, in press). It is coherent with the educational priorities of the EU policy statements, that emphasize u201cactive citizenshipu201d and the development of u201ccivic competencesu201d at all levels of education. Moreover, S-L allows to create collaborative partnerships between university and community organisations, that is between students and social workers.The Council of Europe, in particular, developed the u201cCompetences for Democratic Culture and Intercultural Dialogueu201d project to identify the skills and knowledge that students at different levels of formal education should develop in order to promote democratic, active, and responsible citizenship (Council of Europe, 2016). Among these competences, the openness to cultural otherness and to other beliefs, respect, civic mindedness, responsibility and critical thinking skills are in line with the main characteristics of a S-L initiative that are respect, reciprocity, relevance and reflexivity.Is service learning an effective tool to support the promotion of active citizenship?Methods. Quantitative (survey) and qualitative (reflexive journals/diaries) data were collected from 43 students who attended Service Learning program offered by the Community Psychology Lab of the University of Bologna.Findings. The analysis of the data collected shows that S-L contributes in particular to the development of openness to cultural otherness and to other beliefs, critical skills and empathy, with some variation depending on the different experiences offered within community organizations.Discussion. These results show a preliminary basis to develop community-oriented service learning and to improve the partnership between university and community services.Folgueiras, P., Aramburuzabala, P., Opazo, H., Mugarra, A., & Ruiz, A. (2018). Service-learning: A survey of experiences in Spain. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 1746197918803857.Zani, B. and Guarino, A. (in press) Promoting civic engagement through Service Learning at Bologna University: a case study. In Aramburuzabala, P., MacIlrath, L. & Opazo, H. (Eds.) (in press). Embedding Service-Learning in Higher Education. Developing a Culture of Civic Engagement in Europe. Oxon: Taylor & Francis.
