Students Leading the "Service-Learning Dance": A Case Study of the Volunteer Ambassador (VA) Scheme in the City-Youth Empowerment Project (CYEP)

Participant(s)

Activity date	31 May 2017
Degree of recognition	International

Description

In the context of service-learning programs among universities worldwide, a change in the role of the college student is being witnessed. Previously confined to the role as a provider of service to recipients in the local community, some service-learning programs around the world are opening opportunities for college students to up-take leadership positions to work within the programs itself – effectively cultivating a “by students, for students” atmosphere within service-learning programs, and bridging communication and decision-making between administrators and student volunteers. Yet, despite increased cases in which its diffusion within the bureaucracies of such programs are evident, there is not much scholarship on such organizational developments and its implications for service-learning practice.

To this end, the following study aims to use the Volunteer Ambassador (VA) scheme in the City-Youth Empowerment Project (CYEP) as a case study to fill the void. More specifically, documentary analyses and in-depth interviews with 10 administrators, 10 present VAs, and 10 past VAs (N = 30) will be thematically analyzed to explore the scheme’s historical development, and to elucidate the opportunities and challenges of developing a platform for promoting student volunteer-administrator relationships for the benefit of the volunteers, service-recipients in the community, and the overall service-learning organization or program.

Research Unit / Event Journal/Book Series