Participation in a community service programme has a positive effect on high school volunteers' empathy.
Year: 2008
Type: dissertation
Abstract: ABSTRACT \nThere is a growing body of research that demonstrates the relationship between identity \ndevelopment, the development of citizenship, and the pedagogy of service learning (Eyler & \nGiles, 1999; Jones & Hill, 2001, 2003; Rhoad, 1997; Youniss &Yates, 1997). While a review of \nthe effects of community service on elementary and high school participants in the USA provide \nsome indication that participating in service-learning programmes is beneficial to young people, \nAlt & Medrich (1994) state that there is still relatively little clear, systematic evidence \ndemonstrating the connection between community service and particular affective and \neducational objectives. \nIt is of concern in the light of the Further Education and Training (FET) Life Orientation (LO) \nCurriculum’s call for citizenship education (Department of Education, 2003), that no research on \n‘community service’ work done by high school learners in South Africa can be located. The \nstudies that link a service- learning or community work pedagogy to the development of \nempathy have primarily been conducted with college students (Burnett, Hamel, & Long, (2004); \nGiles, & Eyler, (1993); Jones & Hill (2003); Pratt, (2001); Rhoad, (1997)). Although there is \nsome research with adolescents (Hamilton & Fenzel, (1988); Leming, (2001); Middleton, & Kelly \n(1996); Yates. & Youniss, (1996), it has primarily focused on social and identity development in \ncommunity service settings and not specifically on empathy. \nHowever Hatcher’s (1994) research with adolescents and college students provides indications \nthat empathy is developmental and can be elicited by environmental intervention and that some \naspects of empathy can be taught to adolescents if a developmental shift is caught. \nKey words: empathy, service learning, community work, identity, citizenship
Author: Heather Barclay
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W100633406