Title: Conflict Service-Learning as a Way Forward: University Students Supporting and Advocating for Immigrant Youth in Japan
Pages: 2-34
Author(s): Kelly J. King
This article is open access and licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license.
Abstract:
Service-learning (SL) is an experiential pedagogical approach that engages students in meaningful community service while promoting learning through ongoing cycles of reading, action, reflection, and dialogue with peers. This study draws on an Action Research (AR) framework to explore how students actively engaged with an SL course offered by the author at a small faculty of a national university in western Japan. Through a content analysis of students’ reflective journals, the study examines the processes by which students navigated interactions with local minority youth and educational settings, reflected critically on inequities in immigrant education, and developed strategies for advocacy. Findings suggest that sustained engagement in SL fosters not only reflection but also active, context-sensitive approaches to supporting immigrant children, highlighting the pedagogical value of experiential learning in higher education.
サービス・ラーニング（Service-Learning, SL）は、学生が地域社会において意義ある奉仕活動に参加しつつ、読書、実践、自己省察、仲間との対話を継続的に行うことで学びを深める体験的教育手法である。本研究は、アクション・リサーチ（Action Research, AR）の枠組みに基づき、西日本の国立大学の小規模学部で筆者が開講したSL科目における学生の主体的な学びの過程を明らかにすることを目的とする。学生による省察的ジャーナルの内容分析を通して、学生が地域のマイノリティの若者や教育現場との関わりをどのように経験し、教育上の不平等についてどのように批判的に省察し、支援やアドボカシーの方法を構築していったかを検討した。その結果、SLへの継続的な参加は、単なる省察にとどまらず、移民の子どもたちを支援するための文脈に応じた主体的な学習行動を促すことが示唆され、大学における体験的学習の教育的意義が確認された。
Please cite this article as follows:
King, K.J. (2025). Conflict Service-Learning as a Way Forward: University Students Supporting and Advocating for Immigrant Youth in Japan. In: J. Salazar, G. Benthien & E. A. Marzin (Eds.), Intercultural Communication & Global Issues in Language Education 2024 Conference Peer-Reviewed Proceedings. Japan Association for Language Teaching (JALT). pp. 2-34. Retrieved from: https://icle.jalt.org/mod/page/view.php?id=177