Promoting Social Justice through Service Learning

The presentation identifies numerous ways in which social justice is taught to, and experieced by, students in undergraduate and graduate programs in social work. Beginning with the opportunity to enroll in a freshman "Learning Community" on campus, they are exposed to service learning and its relationship to social justice. Students continue their service learning in introductory courses requiring a minumum of 45 hours of service learning which focus on the needs of disadvantaged persons in our society and the social injustice which they experience. Students reflect upon, and document, how their volunteerism contributes to addressing social injustice in our community/world. Many students subsequently enroll in service learning projects which take them to such places as inner-city Philadelphia, rural Mexico, and rural India. In advance of these trips they learn about social justice/injustice and return with a much better appreciation of how their work in these communities address social injustice. Students keep jounals, develop multi-media presentations and engage in dialogues with other students and faculty during the education process. Several models of service learning projects are shared during this presentation.