Our gains, pains, and hopes: Community partners’ perspectives of service-learning in an undergraduate business education
Faculty Advisor
Date
2022
Keywords
service-learning, community partners, undergraduate business education, nonprofit and for-profit organizations
Abstract (summary)
In assessing the impact of service-learning, most studies focus on its effects on students’ learning than community partners and the communities served; leaving largely unanswered, the question of whether service-learning in business education still contributes value to community organizations and the wider society. This study investigates the impact of service-learning on communities through the perspectives of community partners from nonprofit and for-profit organizations in Canadian urban communities. Using semi-structured interviews and qualitative analysis, the authors collected and analyzed data from 30 participants to confirm their perspectives of service-learning in an undergraduate business education. The study found that service-learning offered practical benefits to communities and presented challenges that impacted partners’ experiences of service-learning. The penultimate sections of the paper provide recommendations for the improvement of the pedagogical practices of service-learning and advancement of community organizations. Key recommendations to maximize benefits for community partners include more faculty-community partners’ collaboration and creating networking opportunities for community partners.
Publication Information
Chika-James, T.A., Salem, T. & Oyet, M.C. (2022). Our gains, pains, and hopes: Community partners’ perspectives of service-learning in an undergraduate business education. SAGE Open 12, (1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211069390
Notes
Item Type
Article
Language
English
Rights
Attribution (CC BY)
