How Inquiry-Based Service-Learning May Support Sustainability-Related Meaning-Making

Education for Sustainable Development faces the challenge of enabling learners not only to engage with complex sustainability issues but also to develop independent judgment and engage in societal action. This study examines Inquiry-Based Service-Learning (IBSL) as a combination of Inquiry-Based Learning and Service-Learning and investigates the extent to which this teaching and learning setting provides conditions for sustainability-related meaning-making. Theoretically, the concept of the Communicative Umwelt is adopted and specified for school-based learning processes through four dimensions: Participation, Social Feedback, Real-World Contexts, and Epistemic Practices. Empirically, the study examines a one-year IBSL project involving two 11th-grade classes, in which 50 students developed a sustainably produced and fairly traded chocolate bar. The qualitative exploratory case study is based on group interviews with students, parents, and teachers, which were analyzed using structuring qualitative content analysis. The findings show that all four dimensions can be empirically identified in the project and are closely intertwined in the learning processes. They also provide indications of participant-reported changes in perceptions and more differentiated evaluations of sustainability-related interrelationships, as well as more tentative indications concerning action orientations. IBSL thus emerges as a promising approach for connecting epistemic processes with real-world societal responsibility in education for sustainable development (ESD).