Where's the Research in Global Service-Learning? A Four-Part Series

September 4, 2012

We know more about global service-learning all the time, although sometimes it feels like the field is growing so quickly that it’s hard to know what has already been systematically investigated, what methods have worked well, and what remains entirely unexplored. To be certain, much remains unknown, but several researchers have been assembling data and conducting rigorous analysis of global service-learning theory, community outcomes, and student outcomes for many years. A previous post, What DO we know about global service-learning? points to Richard Kiely’s seminal work on the role of critical reflective practice in transformational learning. In addition to highlighting Kiely’s longitudinal study, that post also referenced the foundational work of many others.

This four-part series further represents accumulated GSL research contributions in short form, by sharing the current research of four individuals co-hosting the Pre-Conference on Global Service-Learning at the International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement. They are co-presenting with Kiely, who is currently Director of Cornell University’s Center for Community Engaged Learning and Research. The co-presenters and their blog entry titles are listed below. Each of the entries includes the previous studies and other scholars that these writers found highly influential, providing additional entry points to the growing community of global service-learning research: