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A Practical Guide to Service LearningSpecial Education Applications

A Practical Guide to Service Learning: Special Education Applications School psychologists and school counselors have the common goal of fostering the growth of well-adjusted citizens who are active members of their community. Service learning is a powerful tool to encourage growth for all students. Yet, students with physical, cognitive, and sensory disabilities often do not partake in service as a learning opportunity; rather, they are the recipients of service. To some extent, this is encouraged as compassion for the less fortunate within the service-learning literature itself. Indeed, students who serve people in unfortunate circumstances report that they feel better about themselves. Enhancing the self-esteem for one group, however, by devaluing another is unacceptable. Avoid Disablism Careful reflection is a critical first step in planning service-learning projects involving people with disabilities to avoid disablism. Disablism refers to a set of assumptions that promote the differential treatment of people because of actual or presumed disabilities (Beirne-Smith, Ittenbach, & Patton, 1998). Service projects must be arranged so that they do not convey a message that people with disabilities are childlike, victims of the disability, need to be repaired, or have a poor quality of life (Gent & Gurecka, 2001). Serving the community is a privilege that is often denied to persons http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Practical Guide to Service LearningSpecial Education Applications

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References (32)

Publisher
Springer US
Copyright
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007
ISBN
978-0-387-46538-8
Pages
75 –87
DOI
10.1007/0-387-46540-5_7
Publisher site
See Chapter on Publisher Site

Abstract

School psychologists and school counselors have the common goal of fostering the growth of well-adjusted citizens who are active members of their community. Service learning is a powerful tool to encourage growth for all students. Yet, students with physical, cognitive, and sensory disabilities often do not partake in service as a learning opportunity; rather, they are the recipients of service. To some extent, this is encouraged as compassion for the less fortunate within the service-learning literature itself. Indeed, students who serve people in unfortunate circumstances report that they feel better about themselves. Enhancing the self-esteem for one group, however, by devaluing another is unacceptable. Avoid Disablism Careful reflection is a critical first step in planning service-learning projects involving people with disabilities to avoid disablism. Disablism refers to a set of assumptions that promote the differential treatment of people because of actual or presumed disabilities (Beirne-Smith, Ittenbach, & Patton, 1998). Service projects must be arranged so that they do not convey a message that people with disabilities are childlike, victims of the disability, need to be repaired, or have a poor quality of life (Gent & Gurecka, 2001). Serving the community is a privilege that is often denied to persons

Published: Jan 1, 2007

Keywords: Service Learning; Behavioral Impairment; Universal Design; Multiple Intelligence; Discipline Referral

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