Chapter 10: Exploring Student Learning in an International Service-Learning Course: Sociocultural and Transformational Experiences in Cambodia

The notable increase in service-learning course offerings has sparked interest among practitioners, faculty, and researchers regarding its effects on students, teachers, and their communities. Some of the findings provide promising results regarding the impact of service-learning on student learning, though empirical research assessing these effects is only beginning to reveal its long term value (Furco & Billig, 2002, p. vii). In fact, critics of service-learning, generally, have pressured those involved in experiential education to demonstrate long-term learning outcomes associated with domestic and global student experiences (Eyler & Giles, 1999). Thus, as educators we must recognize the tremendous potential for service-learning to “reinvigorate the educational process and create curricula that build bridges between classroom learning and the practical responses to urgent social issues” (Grusky, 2000, p. 858). As scholars, we must reveal the ways in which service-learning experiences, either domestic or international, motivate and empower students to go beyond classroom learning to “help shape a citizenry that can weigh decisions wisely and more effectively promote the public good” (Boyer & Hechinger, 1981, p. 60). Combining our talents as scholars and educators, we must consider what the goals of international service-learning should be in the context of higher education.