Service-learning as a strategy to educate in citizenship

Abstract

Educate to be an active part of citizenship means that everyone has the possibility to be part of public matters and to acquire the civic competencies. Because of this, it is essential to promote the participation of children and teenagers (NNA) in public and community matters, generating a genuine, authentic and committed involvement. Regarding this issue, the Learning Services Projects, happen to be a methodology that promotes and stimulates the participation of the NNA, putting together the learning based on the experience, the curricula and the social commitment, letting them be the protagonists who change and improve their environment. Therefore, an application of the APS Project was made with the objective to analyze the ways and levels of participation of a group of 3rd grade students (12 women and 8 men) of a middle school in the metropolitan area of Queretaro, Mexico. To gather the information we used field observation and a diary to keep a register of every event; we also used an Evaluation Rubric for APS Projects. The results showed that the students participated in a genuine manner, this being a projective participation, because they become responsible agents of the project, making relevant decisions, activities that are the basis for an active citizenship.

Keywords

• Children participation
• School coexistence
• Service learning
• Secondary education
• Education for citizenship
• Active citizenship
• Social engagement