Service Learning In Higher Education

The development of Service Learning in the US has been effective and remarkable;the same promotion in Taiwan has also been growing positively.However,Service Learning is still a new concept in China.The purpose of this research aims to explore the development of Service Learning in the US,Taiwan,and China.Four goals are expected to achieve:1.Explore the educational value and outcomes of Service Learning.2.Analyze the external factors contributed to the development of Service Learning.3.Analyze the assessment system that evaluates Service Learning in higher education.4.Analyze the internal factors that cause the development of Service Learning.This research is divided into eight chapters.Chapter 1 is introduction,which includes the purpose of this research,its significance,limitation,and research methodology.The core concept of Service Learning would be defined and clarified in this chapter as well.Chapter 2 is literature review in theoretical aspect.Relevant researches and papers in the States,Taiwan and China would be fully discussed.Chapter 3 is literature review in higher education practices.Relevant researches and papers in the US,Taiwan,and China would be covered.Chapter 4 is literature review in government policies that are related to Service Learning promotion.Chapter 5 encompasses the discussion and evaluation of Service Learning outcomes.Relevant researches on Service Learning outcomes toward students,educational institutions,community,and society will be analyzed.Effective principles of designing Service-Learning activities would be discussed.The strategies for evaluating institutionalization of Service-Learning would be proposed as the criteria for choosing assessment tools in this research.Chapter 6 describes research tools and quantitative research.Andrew Furco’s self-assessment rubric for the institutionalization of Service Learning in higher education would be adopted.Besides descriptive and inferential statistics analysis,five dimensions(including philosophy and mission of Service Learning,faculty support,student support,community participation,and institutional support)and other components would be discussed in this paper.Quartile will be used to analyze the circumstance of Service Learning teaching in five higher educational institutions(Five schools are Minghsin University of Science and Technology,Fu Jen Catholic University,and Providence University in Taiwan;China Youth University of Political Studies and Sun Yat-sen University in China;).Chapter 7 records the detail of standardized open-ended interview in order to examine the internal factors of Service Learning institutionalization.The finalchapter will be conclusion.Through the interview of the five higher educational institutions and the observation of higher education development in Taiwan,China and the US,it is hoped that significant lessons can be learnt in developing Service Learning,providing useful suggestions to the current teaching environment.The research conclusions are as below.First,Award chinese traditional culturethrough Service Learning.Second,Positive development on Service Learning through government policies.Third,Strengthen Service Learning impacts through academic research.Fourth,Fulfill whole-person development in Service Learning through higher education.