ABSTRACT

Service learning, an often-cited pedagogical approach in social work education, may be one strategy to assuage student anxiety about research course work and create continuity in siloed course content. The present study sought to provide an understanding of the impact of a service-learning project embedded in a first-year, graduate-level research course. Nineteen students conducted structured interviews with individuals who were incarcerated for drug-related offenses in a rural jail. Students provided written reflections on their experiences, which were subsequently analyzed using an open-coding method. Ten codes emerged from the data that revealed three major themes: the experience, beyond the structured interview, and gratitude and growth. Student reflections demonstrated a consideration of research methodology with a vulnerable population. Moreover, they demonstrated critical thinking on the intersection of mental illness, substance use, and criminal justice in rural communities and an increased awareness of the intersection of research, practice, and policy. The study provides evidence of the multifaceted utility of service learning and its potential to affect student learning beyond the substantive content of a given course.

摘要

服务学习是社会工作教育中经常被引用的教学方法，可能是缓解学生对研究课程工作的焦虑并在孤立的课程内容中创造连续性的一种策略。本研究旨在提供对嵌入在第一年研究生水平研究课程中的服务学习项目的影响的理解。19 名学生对因毒品相关罪行被关押在农村监狱的个人进行了结构化访谈。学生们对他们的经历进行了书面反思，随后使用开放编码方法对其进行了分析。数据中出现了十个代码，揭示了三个主要主题：体验、超越结构化面试、感恩和成长。学生的反思表明了对弱势群体研究方法的考虑。此外，他们展示了对农村社区精神疾病、药物使用和刑事司法交叉点的批判性思维，并提高了对研究、实践和政策交叉点的认识。该研究提供了服务学习的多方面效用的证据，以及它在给定课程的实质性内容之外影响学生学习的潜力。