Quality in Interfaith Service-Learning

If you want to have a lasting impact in the lives of young people and the community, it’s important to pay attention to quality, working to improve what you do over time.
 
In 2008, the National Youth Leadership Council and RMC Research Corporation completed an extensive review and field consensus-building process to identify standards of quality for service-learning. Though these standards do not directly address interfaith or faith-based work, they offer a starting point for reflection on what quality looks like.

Eight Quality Standards for Interfaith Service-Learning

Here are the eight quality standards, adapted to integrate the emphases of Inspired to Serve.

Youth Voice

Effective interfaith service-learning provides youth with a strong voice in planning, implementing, and evaluating service-learning experiences, with guidance from adults. This strong youth voice not only ensures that the experiences will be meaningful and relevant for them, but it also teaches them leadership, planning, decision-making, and civic engagement skills that will last a lifetime. See more on youth voice in this tool kit . . .

Meaningful Service

Effective interfaith service-learning is purposeful, connected, relevant, and useful. It engages participants in activities that are age- and ability-appropriate, personally relevant, interesting, and engaging, and the outcomes of the service are visible, attainable, and valuable to both the youth and those being served. See more on meaningful service in this tool kit . . .

Link to Curriculum

Effective interfaith service-learning is intentionally and specifically designed to tie to the educational and developmental goals of the sponsoring organization or network. These goals should be clearly articulated, and activities reviewed in light of these goals. In an interfaith context, these goals would include a focus on interfaith relations and and competencies, and asset-building goals. See more on links to curriculum in this tool kit . . .

Reflection

Effective interfaith service-learning incorporates multiple challenging and engaging reflection activities that prompt deep thinking and analysis about oneself, one’s relationship to society, one’s faith identity, and complex community challenges. Reflection involves a variety of verbal, written, artistic, and nonverbal activities during and after service experiences, including interfaith dialogue and storytelling. See more on reflection in this tool kit . . .

Diversity

Effective interfaith service-learning promotes understanding of diversity and mutual respect among all participants, including both those offering and receiving service. It helps participants identify and analyze different points of view, overcome stereotypes, and value diverse backgrounds and perspectives. It seeks to include a wide range of youth offering service to others. Interfaith service-learning particularly attends to religious diversity. See more on religious diversity in this tool kit . . .

Partnerships

Effective interfaith service-learning forms partnerships with youth, religious institutions, families, community members, community-based organizations, and others that are collaborative, mutually beneficial, and address community priorities. Partners see each other as resources and collaborate to establish a shared vision, set goals, and implement plans. See more on partnerships in this tool kit . . .

Progress Monitoring

Effective interfaith service-learning engages participants in an ongoing process to assess the quality of implementation and progress toward meeting specified learning, service, and growth goals. It uses evidence from multiple sources for continuous improvement and sustainability. See more on progress monitoring in this tool kit . . .

Duration and Intensity

For interfaith service-learning to have a real and lasting impact, it needs to have sufficient duration and intensity to complete all the core components—investigate, prepare, act, reflect, demonstrate and celebrate, and sustain. Only then are all the elements in place to address identified community priorities and achieve the learning outcomes. This typically takes concentrated blocks of time across several weeks or months.

Using these Standards

Whether you are just getting started or you’ve been doing this for a while, being intentional in addressing each of these standards will help you grow and strengthen your efforts. As with any process, your goal ought not to be perfection, but steady progress and continual improvement. Here are some suggestions:

  • Talk in your leadership team about these standards. Tell stories about when you’ve experienced interfaith service-learning in which different standards were being met. What was different about those experiences?
  • Download the fact sheet, Indicators of Quality in Interfaith Service-Learning. It proposes implications of the quality standards for interfaith service-learning. Use it to reflect on your previous interfaith service-learning experience and to plan for future opportunities.
  • Keep the quality standards handy as you’re setting goals and planning your interfaith service-learning opportunities. Review your plans in light of the standards. Are there things you can do to increase alignment with one or more of the standards?

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