The Canterbury cluster (Queensland) – A pedagogy of service learning
This story is from the Canterbury cluster report in the VEGPSP Report – Stage 1. The full VEGPSPreport is available as a PDF on the Resources page.
Cluster coordinator: Mary‐Anne Davis, St Hilda’s School
Participating schools:
• Canterbury College
• Loganlea State High School
• Marsden State High School
• St Hilda’s School
UAN critical friends: Dr Peta Goldberg, Australian Catholic University, Queensland and Professor Judith Chapman, Australian Catholic University, Victoria
The cross-sectoral Canterbury cluster – two independent and two state secondary schools and their principals, who already shared an interest in conducting ‘a developmental activity related to the new values imperative’ – agreed to pursue the concept of service learning with students in the middle years.
More specifically, it was decided that each school would develop a program comprising:
- professional development for staff on the nature of service learning
- planning for the development and implementation of a specific school-related task that reflected the National Framework and service learning both in the process and the product.
In a context where both narrow and broad definitions of service learning abound, the one the cluster chose to guide its work defined ‘service learning’ as involving:
- service to others integrated into cross-curricular programs
- a learning context where the concept of service is both explicit and implicit
- a two-way learning process – ie explicit reciprocity between the school and the outside community.
Given that two of the four schools in the cluster were somewhat newer to service learning than the other two, this did mean that significant time needed to be spent at the start of the project ‘unpacking’ what this means, and providing professional development and other support for staff who were to be involved.
Early activities initiated in each of the cluster schools involved discussion and ‘creative representation’ as students ‘unpacked’ each of the values in the national set. This took such different forms in the schools as creating wall art to represent the values, graphics representations using the school’s information and communications technologies, development of a whole school community-based values statement and more.
This then provided the basis for cluster schools to generate specific student-led service learning projects for 2006 such as:
- working in aged care centres
- reading programs for people in hospitals
- developing safe travel programs for students going to and from schools
- co-curricular service learning projects
- further environmental projects conducted after appropriate needs analysis
- development of a Student Action Team linked to the Red Cross.
Four observations from the cluster community:
a. The overall confidence of the students grew as they gained an understanding of the needs of the residents of the aged care facility) and they came away feeling a sense of achievement and greater understanding. This then flowed into the conversation and written responses gained after the trip. The students showed compassion about the circumstances the residents lived in and wanted to discuss other ways they could help.
An observation from a staff member not involved with the project was that:
b. Their responses in history have been interesting – their questioning skills have improved and they are more willing to compare and contrast life in the recent past and the present.
Another teacher observed:
c. The students are using the terminology (of values) much more in their responses to unrelated lessons. It was interesting to hear it coming through in the presentation given at assembly that was about Amnesty International. The transfer of knowledge was pleasing.
And a comment from one of the residents at a respite centre:
d. The young girls are so full of life. I have enjoyed hearing about life in the playground at school and through them l feel as though l have come to know their friends. I have also learned all about iPods!
Key messages from the Canterbury cluster to others considering implementing values education:
- It is important that students are actively involved in ‘unpacking’ the language of values, and have ownership of the projects they undertake.
- Ongoing professional development, dialogue, reflection and evaluation are important contributors to the success of values education.
- The commitment and support of the principal is important if values education is to be successfully implemented in schools.