The “gap between what is known from research and what is done in applied practice—is called ‘the science-to-service gap’” say Grassetti et al. (2021: 175); and add that this gap “is further exacerbated by a lack of intentional collaboration between researchers and practitioners”. They assert that “Students will be positioned to make valuable contributions in their future careers if they are trained to think from an implementation science framework, apply data-driven decision-making to practice in the field, and collaborate with community partners.” This notion is deemed equally applicable to work-integrated research higher degrees (WIRHD) focussing on real-world practice-based problems and issues, relevant to workplace settings and similar contexts such as communities.
Service learning (SL), as a form of work-integrated learning, “is a progressive, cooperative pedagogical approach that grounds experience as a primary basis of learning and uses student engagement in community service as a method to develop academic knowledge and skill” say Grassetti et al. (2021: 176). It “may enhance graduate education by challenging students to apply their knowledge to community service where they may further develop practical skills” (p. 175).
“There are many definitions of service-learning” say Machtmes (2009: 156) and various forms or models thereof. One such is “a ‘problem-based service-learning course’ in which students work individually or in teams work with community partners to ‘meet specified community needs’ which ‘provide community situations and problems as service-learning opportunities for students’”. With problem-based service-learning students gain experience by acting as consultants to, for example, a community organization.
The National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, cited by Machtmes (2009: 156), states that all definitions of service-learning have the following components:
Service-learning combines service objectives with learning objectives with the intent that the activity change both the recipient and the provider of the service. This is accomplished by combining service tasks with structured opportunities that link the task to self-reflection, self-discovery, and the acquisition and comprehension of values, skills, and knowledge content.
By acting as consultant to a community, the doctoral candidate could through service-learning undertake research, and in that way bridge the gap between knowledge and real-world realities.
Grassetti, S.N.; Solic, K. & Getz, Z. (2021). Bridging the science-to-service gap: service learning in graduate-level psychology education. Teaching of Psychology, 48(2), 175-181. https://doi.org/10.1177/0098628320971208
Machtmes, K., Johnson, E., Fox, J., Burke, M. S., Harper, J., Arcemont, L., Hebert, L., Tarifa, T., Brooks, R. C., Reynaud, A. L., Deggs, D., Matzke, B., & Aguirre, R. T. (2009). Teaching Qualitative Research Methods through Service-Learning. The Qualitative Report, 14(1), 155-164. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2009.1398
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