From Classroom to Community: Service-Learning and the Sustainable Development Goals

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is crucial for equipping individuals with the competences needed to address the pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges of our time. Despite the recognized potential of service-learning in cultivating competences that can promote sustainable development, there is a lack of empirical research exploring the development of these competences among students. Hence, this study examined the effectiveness of service-learning as a pedagogical approach to ESD in fostering essential competences among students. The research involved 43 groups of students, who engaged in addressing various sustainable development issues through service-learning. A thematic analysis of students' written reflections revealed the development of six key competences: systems thinking, anticipatory, normative, strategic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal competences. These competences were nurtured through real-world engagement that enabled students to understand complex, interconnected sustainable development issues, anticipate future challenges, set ethical and practical goals, plan and implement strategic solutions, collaborate effectively, and display resilience amid challenges. The findings show the transformative potential of service-learning in aligning education with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and preparing students to contribute meaningfully to sustainable development by addressing community issues, creating impactful initiatives, and promoting personal and social transformation.