Determinants of Success and Risks of Implementing the “Service Learning” Approach in a Project-Oriented Learning Environment

Abstract

The article presents the results of the application of the “Service Learning” pedagogical approach at the Southern Federal University (SFU) in the 2023/24 academic year. The authors have outlined the contours of the development of this educational technology, the idea of which belongs to the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation and the Association of Volunteer Centers. The article summarizes the experience of the structural divisions of the SFU in integrating the pedagogical approach into the educational process. The analysis of real social situations (cases) is of scientific and practical value for the coordinators of Russian universities responsible for introducing “Service Learning” into the educational process of all fields and levels of study. The authors define the criteria for the success of the pedagogical approach, its distinctive features, and also present the prospects for further development of “Service Learning”. The research is exploratory in nature, however, the conclusions obtained seem fruitful for sharing the first experience of implementing the “Service Learning” approach and further theoretical and methodological discussion about the possibilities and limitations of the approach.

Keywords

• “service learning” pedagogical approach
• southern federal university
• higher education
• practice-oriented education
• project-based training