Service learning - antology The Cambridge Handbook of Service Learning and Community Engagement Review
Abstract
This extensive publication focuses on the topics of service learning and community engagement. The concept of service learning is not widely spread in the Czech educational environment yet, except in connection with innovative approaches in education, locally embedded learning, outdoor education, and sustainability issues. The book, consisting of 5 parts and 41 chapters written by a total of 67 authors, aims to comprehensively address the topic of service learning. It presents the historical and philosophical currents upon which the current concept is based, provides examples of best practices and engaged scholarly activities across disciplines, introduces current research and its future prospects, as well as critical voices from various perspectives in this field. The emphasis here is primarily on building long-term inclusive partnerships and community ecosystems that are beneficial to all their components and "living" service learning, which goes beyond the mere completion of tasks and seeks to create space for a transformative experience for all participants.
Even though the book is available only in the English language and primarily reflects the situation in Anglo-Saxon environments, it can be a valuable resource for understanding, exploring, and practicing service learning in our conditions as well. It contributes to the discussion of the possibilities that service learning presents in the educational process, such as effectively linking formal and informal education, developing a range of personal, social, and civic competencies, the meaningful role of schools within local communities, and building relationships between schools and organizations operating within a given community. In the field of tertiary education, the use of service learning principles offers students the opportunity to experience forms of participatory research in practice and also provides one of the ways to practically develop the third role of the university.