Abstract
Over the past two decades, service-learning has become popular in university education . As such, service-learning subjects are developed at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to help students develop positive personal understanding and self-identity, critical thinking ability, social awareness , and social responsibility . The purpose of this chapter is to examine the perceived changes and benefits from the perspectives of 86 students who had taken a 3-credit service-learning subject entitled “Promotion of Children and Adolescent Development” which provided 40 hours of service for more than 300 underprivileged children in Shanghai . Both quantitative and qualitative findings showed that the students benefited from this 2-semester course. A number of positive perceived changes were recognized, including enhancement of their interpersonal effectiveness, team building, problem-solving ability, and social responsibility . The findings also demonstrate the advantages of having mandatory service-learning subject requirement .
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Shek, D.T.L., Chak, Y.L.Y. (2019). Perceived Changes and Benefits of a Service-Learning Subject for Underprivileged Children in Shanghai: Views of University Students. In: T. L. Shek, D., Ngai, G., C. F. Chan, S. (eds) Service-Learning for Youth Leadership. Quality of Life in Asia, vol 12. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0448-4_3
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