Educação social e aprendizagem e serviço (ApS)

Service-learning (SL) is a form of experiential education that combines learning objectives with community service. This paper aims to describe a SL experience which took place in a private higher education institution in Portugal. The participants in the study are undergraduate students enrolled in the second year of the Social Education bachelor’s degree programme. The project integrated three curricular units of the 1st semester, of the year 2019/2020: i) Planning, Management and Evaluation of Social Projects; ii) Educational Mediation; iii) Social Psychology. The SL experience also involved a social partner from the local community – CSPSN – where students implemented their project activities. Overall findings based on feedback collected from students, teachers and community partner reveal a positive perspective about this new educational approach, which contributes to promote active student participation and engagement, strengthen the link between theory and practice, and the development of teamwork skills, critical reflection and social commitment towards society.