<p><font color="#33711E"><strong>Day 3 – Plenary Session IV: Permitting Development</strong></font></p>
Queen's Park 1, 10:30 - 12:30
Linking Universities and Community Development: Challenges, Opportunities and Good Practices
Clementina Acedo
International Bureau of Education-UNESCO, Switzerland
Service and experiential learning are challenges and opportunities for higher education reform for they require rethinking of the curriculum and teaching methods and approaches. Based on recent practices from different parts of the world, this paper will highlight several effective modalities for integrating service and experiential learning in the curriculum, including: (1) Compulsory modules to engage students in community-oriented projects and learning. (2) Voluntary action that is linked with learning, which targets problem-solving at the community level. (3) Problem solving-based learning. (4) Specific institutional structures activities dealing with community- and experiential-based learning. (5) Specific teacher education and training strategies focusing on enhancing links between schools and the community and transforming schools into life-long learning centres; and (6) Co-operation and networking in the service of community development via using new technologies and strategies. This paper also addresses difficulties university administrators and faculty encounter in the process of integrating experiential and service-based learning, particularly the problems faced in terms of management and finance. While experiential and service-based learning can be considered as a way to increase university income and autonomy, if not well-implemented it can also result in problems such as mismanagement of time and human resources, lack of focus and student overload. The paper demonstrates that, despite its difficulties, integrating experiential and service-based learning into university curricula may be a sustainable approach for the future.