The Development of Civic Competencies at Secondary Level through Service-Learning Pedagogies

Abstract

Recent years have seen increasing interest in ensuring that students at all levels in the educational system may acquire broader interpersonal and civic competencies beyond the technical and/or discipline-specific knowledge that has traditionally been valued. This article discusses the emergence of secondary level as an appropriate space for such “citizenship” or “civic” education. Hence, the possibility of developing the intellectual and social competencies associated with citizenship or civic-mindedness at that level is explored. This issue is first addressed in general terms; then we present an experiential pedagogy known as Service-Learning (SL), which has been growing in popularity as an effective approach for achieving the learning outcomes (e.g. knowledge, skills, attitudes) that enable participation in a democratic society. Later, two programs based on this methodology which are applicable to this level of education are presented. After analysis and evaluation of these programs, we appraised the suitability of Service-Learning for the development of civic competencies in secondary education students, the citizens and professionals of the XXI century.