Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Esta investigación intenta entender mejor qué tipos de aprendizaje ocurren cuando los estudiantes toman parte en un programa de aprendizaje basado en el voluntariado internacional. Una meta es demostrar que las cinco C’s de ACTFL (comunicación, cultura, conexiones, comparaciones, y comunidades) son parte del aprendizaje percibido por los estudiantes después de haber participado en un programa de aprendizaje basado en el voluntariado en el extranjero. Otra meta es ofrecer un ejemplo de un programa que utiliza los métodos de auto-reflexión y auto-análisis recomendados en los estudios críticos del voluntariado y cómo estos métodos empujan a los estudiantes a alcanzar las cinco C’s de ACTFL, para que otros profesores tengan un modelo para crear sus propios programas de aprendizaje basado en el voluntariado internacional.

The purpose of this study was to explore college students' intellectual development through their service-learning experience. This study also took into consideration the characteristics of student groups and the way in which they transformed intellectually through their service-learning experience. To examine these questions, twelve upper-division college students who had completed a service-learning course were interviewed, in order to capture the dynamics of their service-learning experiences, their perceptions of their intellectual development, and their values and priorities as college students in detail. From the interviews, five major themes related to college students' intellectual development emerged. Three of the themes focused on the interpersonal capacities and complexities of intellectual development, and two were related to the complexity and challenges of unstructured problems related to service-learning and college students' intellectual growth. In addition, by analyzing the themes and the characteristics of student groups together, I coined new terms to capture the intellectual transformation of modern-day college students who participate in service-learning. The findings of this study will add to the understanding of college students' intellectual development through service-learning, as well as how students transformed through the experience, and provide opportunities for future research to investigate specific groups of college students in this and other collegiate settings.

ABSTRACT There is a growing body of research that demonstrates the relationship between identity development, the development of citizenship, and the pedagogy of service learning (Eyler & Giles, 1999; Jones & Hill, 2001, 2003; Rhoad, 1997; Youniss &Yates, 1997). While a review of the effects of community service on elementary and high school participants in the USA provide some indication that participating in service-learning programmes is beneficial to young people, Alt & Medrich (1994) state that there is still relatively little clear, systematic evidence demonstrating the connection between community service and particular affective and educational objectives. It is of concern in the light of the Further Education and Training (FET) Life Orientation (LO) Curriculum’s call for citizenship education (Department of Education, 2003), that no research on ‘community service’ work done by high school learners in South Africa can be located. The studies that link a service- learning or community work pedagogy to the development of empathy have primarily been conducted with college students (Burnett, Hamel, & Long, (2004); Giles, & Eyler, (1993); Jones & Hill (2003); Pratt, (2001); Rhoad, (1997)). Although there is some research with adolescents (Hamilton & Fenzel, (1988); Leming, (2001); Middleton, & Kelly (1996); Yates. & Youniss, (1996), it has primarily focused on social and identity development in community service settings and not specifically on empathy. However Hatcher’s (1994) research with adolescents and college students provides indications that empathy is developmental and can be elicited by environmental intervention and that some aspects of empathy can be taught to adolescents if a developmental shift is caught. Key words: empathy, service learning, community work, identity, citizenship

Thesis advisor: Gustavo Morello / Increasingly, Universities and Community Organizations are engaging in dynamic partnerships built on ideals of reciprocity and mutual benefit. When initiating such partnerships, organizations face the difficult task of merging distinct organizational cultures and missions; integrating different missions and organizational processes without overtaking them. This merging of organizational ideologies generates a “partnership culture” that exists outside of the individual organizations; the successful creation and maintenance of which can lead to eventual partnership success and longevity. Past research typically views these partnerships as relationships at the organizational level, between university A and organization B. However, little consideration is given to the ways in which individuals within the organizations actively create and maintain these partnerships through their personal relationships. I argue that the creation and maintenance of successful inter-organizational partnerships between universities and their community partner organizations (CPOs) hinges on the formal and informal processes between individuals as representatives of their organization. Using an in-depth qualitative methodology, grounded in concern for community voice and agency, this paper highlights university-community partnerships in the context of service-based programs at a medium-sized, faith-based university in New England (Northeast College). Through interviews with university program directors and CPO directors and volunteer coordinators responsible for these partnerships, I investigate the processes of establishing relationships and mechanisms for continued success and partnership longevity. This study shows that the formation and identification of a “partnership culture” based on perceived mission alignment, trust, respect, and mutual investment has led to the cultivation of long-standing partnerships between Northeast College and its CPOs. Additionally, through the development of personal relationships built on open communication and viewing each party as “co-educators,” it presents specific mechanisms that contribute to the successful cultivation of such a culture. By specifically highlighting the perspectives of the CPOs, this study seeks to contribute directly to the growing concern in the area for community impact, and the development of CPO agency and feedback in the partnership creation process. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

The proliferation and pervasiveness of new media and technologies in many U.S. young people’s daily life has reshaped their civic life experiences. Civic learning is now not only happening in offline environments but also online spaces. However, there is little research on the potential of new media for civic education. This study investigates young people’ learning experiences in new media civic education (NMCE) programs. The major research questions for this study are: How does new media civic education facilitate youth to address social issues? How can new media civic education foster youth civic identity? This study uses a qualitative collective-case study method to investigate two civic programs that integrated new media productions and address social issues: one program prepared students to learn about sustainability issues and to produce a series of virtual talk shows about sustainability issues in Second Life (a simulated world digital platform); the other program facilitated students’ production of radio stories about homeless youth. Findings from this study reveal that NMCE can help students navigate in a new media mediated world to learn about social issues, produce digital stories to raise awareness about these issues, and mobilize their interests for civic causes. In addition, students can develop authentic voices about social issues, exercise civic agency and reach out to real world audiences across the world to facilitate social change. Both cases in this study demonstrated a mix of success and failure in facilitating civic learning and civic identity development. Results from this study suggest NMCE programs adopt three distinct pedagogies: (1) pedagogies that embrace students’ cultural experiences to develop youth voices on social issues (e.g. the pedagogy of collegiality); (2) ones that facilitate examination of their emotions in manipulating what they perceive about social issues and the other (e.g. a pedagogy of discomfort); and (3) pedagogies that encourage mentorship and peer teaching/learning about digital production skills (e.g. studio mentorship model). Furthermore, it is necessary to consider not only the expression of youth voices, but also how these voices will be heard, what kinds of conversations might be sparked based on these digital works, and how students would respond to them. Thus, creating spaces of participation where students can meet people with diverse perspectives and have dialogues with them around social issues discussed in their digital productions is important for NMCE to prepare democratic citizens.

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