Education & Service-Learning
With the theme ‘Education and Service-Learning’, UCSIA follows the Jesuit tradition by highlighting the importance of young people’s formation and social involvement. The broad Flemish educational field is an explicit target group for UCSIA’s activities.
Support for teachers
Based on the ‘train-the-trainer’ principle, UCSIA supports teachers and the teaching profession in their mission by offering teaching materials, training courses, conferences, lectures, etc.
Service-Learning
UCSIA promotes service-learning as an important pedagogy in Flemish and European (higher) education. Service-learning (SL) is an innovative form of education that links theoretical knowledge to concrete social engagement. Students gain practical experience in social organisations, reflect on it and thus learn to link theory and practice.
The benefits of service-learning
Service-learning enriches students’ learning on an academic, personal and social level. The experience-based component provides motivation and encourages critical thinking and civic engagement.
Unlike internships, the emphasis in service-learning is not only on student learning. The quality of service to the organisation and target group is at least as important. Students learn how to meet the needs of society and how to actively involve local communities and socially vulnerable groups in finding solutions.
They link this community experience to subject content and their personal lives through reflection. In this way, students are encouraged in their personal growth towards becoming responsible and active citizens.
Themes
Flemish Network for Service-Learning in Higher Education
UCSIA is advocating the recognition and promotion of service-learning as an important learning component in Flemish higher education.
For this reason, UCSIA coordinates the Flemish Network for Service-Learning in Higher Education, which brings together Flemish higher education institutions to integrate service-learning into Flemish higher education. Through the exchange of research results and good practices, the network aims to strengthen this new perspective on education in Flanders.
International engagement
Within the landscape of service-learning UCSIA is also building bridges on an international level.
UCSIA played a crucial role in developing a European vision for this teaching pedagogy by organising the European Conference on Service-Learning in Higher Education. During this conference, the European Association on Service-Learning in Higher Education (EASLHE) was founded. UCSIA supports the European association in the further development of a European service-learning network.
European projects
UCSIA is the coordinator van het Erasmus+ project ‘Service-Learning as a pedagogy to promote Inclusion, Diversity and Digital Empowerment’ (SLIDE, 2022-2024) en was partner in het Erasmus+ project ‘Connecting student mobility to community engagement: the UNICORN (UNIversity-COmmunity-LeaRNing) model for international service-learning in higher education’ (UNICORN, 2019-2022).
