A Perfect Marriage Franciscanism and ServiceLearning

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A Perfect Marriage--Franciscanism and
Service-Learning

• Mary J. Sacavage
• Director of Alvernia College Schuylkill Center
• Doctoral Candidate,
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania

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I would call for the protection and nourishing
of happiness, for extending the opportunity to
pursue happiness to all people, as the core
agenda of transforming leadership. Leaders
working as partners with the dispossessed people
of the world to secure life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happinesshappiness empowered with
transforming purposecould become the greatest
act of united leadership the world has ever
known. Burns, J.M. (2003). Transforming
Leadership
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Interdisciplinary Nature of Change Theories
Organizational Transformation-- Institutionalizat
ion of Service-Learning
Transformative Leadership
Transformation
Transformative Learning
Service-Learning
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Service-Learning

• community service
• linked with
• classroom learning
• through
• critical reflection

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Bonaventure Collation on Knowledge
There are those who wish to know so they may
build up others and this is charity.Knowledge
puffs up but charity builds up. It is necessary,
therefore, to join charity with knowledge so that
a person might have knowledge and charity at the
same time. from Collations on the Seven Gifts of
the Holy Spirit (1267)
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Study Sample

• Eleven AFCU Colleges Universities
• Administrators - 96
• Faculty - 169
• Students - 142
• Community Partners 40
• Total 447

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Issues in Higher Education

Franciscan foundation may remain a constant but
the emphasis on individual values/attributes may
vary Kriss (1984) Brothers (1992)
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(No Transcript)
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Focus of Study

• Organizational and Personal Levels of
  Franciscanism
• Comparison for Administrators/Faculty Students
• Relationship to Use of Service-Learning
• Relationship to selected attributes
• Institutionalization of Service-Learning (Furco
  Score)
• Relationship to Organizational Franciscanism
• Relationship to Age, Size, Location of
  Institution
• Relationship to selected attributes of Faculty
• Identification of Challenges /Improvements
• Identification of Successful Examples

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Franciscan Attributes in Higher Education

• Reverence for the dignity of each individual.
• Service to others in the local and global
  community.
• Hospitality as expressed in an openness to
  all.
• Formation of a caring community.
• Education of the whole person
• mind, body, heart, and
  spirit.
• Gospel centered values.
• Reverence for all creation.

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Franciscan Attributes in Higher Education
(continued)

• Care for the environment.
• Belief in the basic goodness of life as
• demonstrated through the expression of joy
  
• and optimism.
• Franciscan intellectual tradition in
  education.
• Commitment to social justice.
• Sense of responsibility to others.
• Development of moral integrity.

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Comparison of Organizational Personal
Franciscanism
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Furco Score (Institutionalization of
Service-Learning
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Furco Score Organizational Franciscanism
Correlation is significant (P .000) and accounts
for 19 of the variance.
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Challenges/Improvements

• Furco categories/dimensions
• Resources, central office, etc.
• Definitioncommunity engagement/service-learning
• Logistics
• Safety
• Student behavior
• Transportation

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Students Perspective on Service-Learning

• A lot of spiritual and emotional feelings were
  involved with what I was doing, and it played an
  important role in shaping the kind of leader I am
  today.
• I learned how to work with people from all
  walks of life. Through this I feel that I have
  grown as a person and know that I would not have
  experienced these situations elsewhere.
• I think that morals, values, and the message of
  Jesus Christ need to spread more so students
  start considering themselves as servants in life.
  Only then, will they actually enjoy their work
  and learn from it! God will be speaking to them
  instead of their transcripts!

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Community Partners Perspective on
Service-Learning

• Service-learning provides a level of real life
  experience and instills the values and ethics of
  the Franciscan spirit for the student and, if
  coordinated well, contributes to the diversity
  and effectiveness of mission directed
  organizations.
• We are thrilled to have the students and it is
  also very rewarding to not only tell of the need
  in the area, but to have them experience the need
  first hand.
• Overall, working with the students has been
  positive and we need their service.

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Faculty Perspective on Service-Learning

• There must be a true academic emphasis on
  service learning in comparison to
  service/volunteerism (both of which are valuable,
  but not the same as service-learning).
• Encouraging our students to open themselves to
  new learnings in an environment that is different
  from the one they are familiar with from their
  own life.
• ...Always extremely beneficial to me personally
  and hopefully to those I have helped.
• The College mission and the commitment of the
  faculty and staff to service and social justice
  makes the campus well-suited to service
  learningchallenges in moving from "service by
  the hour" to service learning.

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Departmental Examples

• Nursing Department
• Community nursing at center in housing
  development.
• Adult assessment in high schools doing health
  screenings.
• Student run health fairspromotional canvassing,
  screenings, advocacy for lead poisoning
  prevention.

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• Computer Science Department
• Technical consulting with community partners on
  relevant projects.
• Computer networking for non-profit organizations
  including basic training on use and maintenance.
• Physical Education Department
• Cross cultural physical education course with
  multicultural alternative school.

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• Foreign Language Department
• Three week immersion trips that include a service
  component.
• Community Center with a Spanish speaking
  organization.
• Latina feminism class includes a service project
  with a local school district. Presentation to
  high school girls and follow up visit to campus.
• Spanish class partnered with Spanish speaking
  children in foster care to serve as big
  brothers/big sisters.

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• Business Department
• Team service project for local organization.
• Grant writing class partners with local
  organization.
• Communications Department
• Students in public speaking must complete 15
  hours of service with a non-profit organization.
  Students keep a journal and write all speeches
  around that experience.
• Multicultural communicationsoptional component
  completing service with a local community center
  or other multicultural organization.

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• Criminal Justice
• Family Services Agency working with at risk
  youth.
• Court system as bailiffs or in other capacities.
• Education Department
• Classes are held on site at a Foundation in a
  disadvantaged urban area in the inner city.
  Students assist there.

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Interdisciplinary Examples

• Art and Social Work students -- Empty Bowl fund
  raising auction for a soup kitchen. Art students
  made the clay pots and the social work students
  created literature on poverty to be included with
  the pots which were sold.
• Sociology, Nursing, and Spanish majorsSWOT
  analysis for community partner. Collaborative
  project with focus groups bilingual resource
  guide for the elderly in a Latino area of the
  city.
• Sociology, Criminal Justice, and Social
  Workpartnership with three universitiesHUD
  grant to conduct surveys door-to-door on
  neighborhood issues. Presentation to city and
  state officials.

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Core Curricular/Special Course Examples

• Catholic Social Thought classservice, advocacy,
  and education project for two weeks during
  course.
• University Forumsenior seminar based on various
  forums with guest speakers. Students also
  complete 7 hours of related community service
  with a reflection paper.
• Senior Core course20 hours of service coupled
  with the study of Catholic Social Teaching
  including weekly reflections.
• Introduction to Higher Education and
  Collaborative Studies program. Interdisciplinary
  with service-learning component.

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Doceat Christus vos facere

• I have done my part
• may Christ teach you to do yours.
• St. Francis of Assisi

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Andconsider

• How could you integrate service-learning into
  your course offerings?
• What community partnerships or service
  opportunities come to mind?
• What interdisciplinary opportunities do you
  envision?