Georgetown University: School of Foreign Service in Qatar

What is Service Learning and Community-Based Learning?

"Service Learning" can be defined as an educational paradigm that merges academic learning with the needs of the broader community, with the aim of subliminally enshrining in its audience, the rights and responsibilities of national and global citizenship.

Service learning includes a combination of the following four characteristics, namely:

• Academic learning of disciplinary course content
  
• Relevant service that enhances academic learning
  
• Critical reflection through personal, experience-based and analytical writing and discussion
  
• Deliberate civic education

In addition to facilitating cognitive learning and the development of civic awareness for students and faculty alike, service learning helps students develop an understanding of the world as an interdependent system and increases global awareness and concern.

What does it mean for SFS-Qatar?

Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service is built on an ethos of merging academic curriculum with practical experiences, with the view of shaping leaders with strong social foundations. Ever since its inception, Georgetown has been committed to this philosophy by encouraging our students to give back to the community. Georgetown has been the first among the five universities in Qatar to include "service learning", internationally and nationally, as a regular  feature in the academic calendar.

In addition to organising international service trips, the School of Foreign Service in Qatar is presently working on a model for Community-Based Learning, the aim of which is to develop stronger partnerships with social organisations, locally, and build systems to allow our students to develop key organisational and research skills and experiences, which they bring back into the classrooms.

Previous Projects

Renovating the Born Free Art School in India – 2006
This was the first international service trip, where sixteen students worked with the Born Free Art School in Bangalore, India. During their time there, the students made bricks, painted walls and built art portfolios for the students. They also learned about the role of education and the means for improving its access to marginalized sections of society.

The Labour Equations - 2007
This was the first local service learning exercise and was held in January 2007. The aim of the project was to study the various social, economic, political and legal variables that contribute to the labour supply of Qatar and the Middle East. The students participated in film screenings and lectures. In addition, a delegation attended a labour grievance meeting with the aim of understanding the complexities of labour migration. Furthermore, SFSQ hosted 17 labourers for a meeting on campus, which provided the students with an opportunity to personally meet record the stories of these individuals from their movement from home-countries to their eventual return.

Building a house in Ghor Safi, Jordan - 2007
The second international service trip to Jordan, demonstrated our commitment to the Arab region. During this trip, ten students worked with Habitat for Humanity Jordan, and spent a week in the town of Ghor Safi to build a house. In addition, the students learnt about civil society and politics in Jordan by meeting several stakeholders in both these fields.

Palestinian and Iraqi Refugees in Jordan - 2007
The aim of this international learning trip was to identify the problems faced by refugees from Iraq and Palestine, in addition to understanding the role that Jordan played in providing security and aid to refugees from these regions. The students visited two refugee camps - the Baqaa’ and Gaza Camp and learned about the role that was played by the Jordanian Women’s Union and United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), respectively.

The Benefits of Service Learning and Community-Based Learning

For our students:

• aids learning and builds theoretical knowledge and practical skills
• promotes an international awareness, and an understanding of other cultures
• encourages research practices and international social action
• produces models for ethical leadership encourages positive citizenship and community participation enriches political thought, by analyzing different stakeholders and their circumstances, and their relation to polity
• provides an opportunity for students to critically analyze and question international problems and their solutions

For partnering institutions:

• Forges relationships and partnerships with institutions in developing countries
• Improves the quality of teaching practices, especially cross-cultural communications
• Establishes valid research and documenting opportunities
• Provides increased benefits to study marginalized countries and peoples

For the community:

• Tangible infrastructural development for the international target community
• Intangible benefits through the research and documentation of social problems in the area
• Tangible benefits through the development of programs catering to local community members

Future Projects

The process of service learning in Georgetown SFS-Q intends to run parallel to the academic learning track. To provide our students with a clearer understanding of the dynamics of social policy and development, we intend to diversify our programmes in the near future. During 2008 and onwards, we would be building inroads into Africa with the aim of introducing our students to the Millennium Development Goals. Furthermore, we would be conducting a Disaster Management Course in partnership with the International Red Cross and Crescent Society which is a vital tool for students interested in working in the development arena and the United Nations. Additionally, we hope to introduce our students to the United Nations structures by training them in policy research and writing, in addition to potentially involving them in the United Nations General Assembly and the Commission on Sustainable Development.

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