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Goldberg et al. (2009) Service learning.pdf (1.5 MB)

Reflections on Service-Learning, Critical Thinking, and Cultural Competence

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journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-18, 04:04 authored by Lynette GoldbergLynette Goldberg, Coufal, KL
In today's increasingly multicultural society, students need to be prepared for the work world they will encounter. Well-developed critical thinking skills appear essential to needed cultural competence. With its focus on community involvement, deep reflection and civic engagement, the possibility that Service-Learning (SL) could improve students' critical thinking abilities, and thus contribute to students' intellectual development and cultural competence, was explored. The critical thinking abilities of a group of 4th and 5th year university students were measured before and after 12 weeks of community-based experiences. The 4th year students were involved in an integrated SL course. The 5th year students had completed the SL course the previous year. There was a significant difference between the two groups with the 5th year students better able to think critically, particularly in deducing conclusions and evaluating arguments. Both quantitative and qualitative data from the two groups revealed a non-linear developmental trajectory of skills that provide insights for professionals in higher education.

History

Publication title

Journal of College Teaching and Learning

Volume

6

Issue

6

Pagination

39-50

ISSN

1544-0389

Department/School

Wicking Dementia Research Education Centre

Publisher

Clute Institute for Academic Research

Place of publication

United States

Rights statement

Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Health education and promotion

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