Service-learning: Business School Students Working for the Common Good

Abstract

Although service-learning pedagogy is widely applied internationally, and has been shown to effectively incorporate the experiential element of adult learning, its application to business education in South Africa has been limited to less than a handful of studies. However, it is one of the most effective management development tools reported in the literature. The objective of this study was to evaluate the student learning and community organisation benefits from introducing service-learning into a Master of Business Leadership (MBL) programme in a South African University. Service-learning creates the opportunity for students to apply the theoretical knowledge of their discipline (marketing and operations management in this study) to real (usually Non-profit or Non-Governmental Organizations) workplaces, in this case special-needs schools in various African countries, to the benefit of the needy organisations. In this exploratory, action research case study, teams of MBL students embedded their theoretical learning through practical implementation of a fund-raising project, as well as showed the development of management and leadership competencies. The groups collectively raised South African Rands (ZAR) 1 811 128.57 (after expenses and excluding pledges) for the schools. The business school students reported high levels of personal growth, a strong sense of having developed as socially responsible citizens, an appreciation for practical learning methods and improved subject matter learning.