Benefits of service-learning through community volunteer programmes to pre-university students

I AM intrigued by the article ‘The Problems of Malaysia’s Youth’, and one of the issues highlighted is companies claim fresh graduates are inadequate and universities do not prepare students with the right skills and mindset, and fail to shape well-rounded students.

In the current industrial Revolution 4. 0 era, universities are finding means to respond to questions such as “Are our 21st-century graduates marketable?’, “Are they aware of issues in society and how to resolve such issues?”

There is a growing awareness that in order to respond to changes in society, universities must become more responsive to the community. Thus, implementation of service learning is timely and crucial.

Service-learning is related to Service Learning Malaysia (SULAM) – University for Society, which was introduced by the Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs).

Experiential learning is the focus of SULAM as SULAM is part of a university class and a form of experiential education in which students engage in activities that address human and community needs.

These activities are structured to provide opportunities for students to learn and develop.

Service-learning is a course-based, credit-bearing education experience in which students participate in a structured service learning activity that meets academic and societal demands.

This article shares the inclusion of service-learning via volunteerism for the community in one of the compulsory courses for my pre-university students.

Pre-university students aged 17 to 18 years old normally possess creative change-making ideas as they have heartfelt passion for a variety of social causes, and they want to make a difference.

The inclusion of the volunteering project in the Critical Analysis of Current Issues course of the ASASIpintar UKM Program is to help the students gain a sense of empowerment as they engage in projects designed to result in change of attitude, information sharing and involvement in an important social cause.

Youths are typically passionate about social issues and want to contribute to society. Thus, educational administrators must support them at every step of the process by promoting volunteer work among the youth.

Administrators and lecturers can help students feel empowered as they engage in planned projects.

Service-learning as a community engagement program was included as part of the Critical Analysis of Current Issues (PNAP0283) course assessment of the ASASIpintar pre-university programme.

The group project on volunteerism was called the Youth-Led Project, and 40 marks were allocated for the course task and assessment.

The marks were distributed into four aspects: overall class project, peer evaluation, individual reflection paper, and group exhibition.

As a class, students discussed and chose one of the significant issues of concern currently faced on the college campus, in the surrounding community, or at a state, national or global level.

Some projects that the students conducted were voluntary work with the Malaysian Federation of the Deaf (MFD), beach cleaning, feeding those in need, and a project with an orphanage.

Students shared their gratitude for being given the chance to contribute to people who are in need. The experience made them appreciate their privileged life more. Involvement in voluntary work instils social responsibility among students.

This may eventually make them volunteer on their own. Students instilled with voluntary work through service learning would have been equipped with knowledge, skills, and values that will enable them to adapt, adjust and initiate service learning within their own capability.

The deep learning and ripple effect involved would transform every student into a better human being. Below is a picture of my students’ community work, ‘Feeding the Homeless’, in collaboration with Dapur Jalanan, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).

Positive effects on the students’ knowledge, social responsibility, and personal development were shown from the service-learning via community volunteer programmes.

Surprisingly, their academic achievement also showed an increase. ASASIpintar UKM is an intensive one-year foundation program for SPM leavers.

There was a worry that the inclusion of service learning might interfere with the students’ focus on their academic.

Students reported that the hours spent for the planning and execution of the project did not really affect the commitment for their studies. Effective time management and good teamwork, enabled them to juggle both responsibilities.

One of the projects initiated by the students was the ‘Education for the Underprivileged Children’ which aimed to tutor the Indigenous children in cooperation with Kelas Kaseh, an educational NGO.

My students organised educational activities such as educational games and sports activities at Kampung Orang Asli, Sungai Buah, Bangi. Below is a picture of the students involved in the community project with the indegenious children.

Voluntary work had a positive effect on character and personal development and helped developed individuals’ skills.

Through engagement in voluntary work, students acquire important abilities and dispositions through the identification, planning and implementation of the action.

The pre-university students developed important skills, including problem solving, conflict resolution and empathy.

Since soft-skills are greatly needed in study and working life, this sort of experiential pedagogy should be encouraged and implemented at all levels of learning.

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Dr Azizah Mohd Zahidi is the Head of ASASIpintar UKM at the Pusat GENIUS@Pintar Negara, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.