B.14. Service Learning As A Strategy For Institutional Reflexivity And Student Empowerment

The panel aims to explore Service Learning (SL) as an integrated operational model of intervention, capable of transforming learning spaces – particularly in higher education – into laboratories of democracy, where teaching, research, and the third mission intersect in a virtuous way, generating opportunities for situated learning and civic empowerment for students. In dialogue with other innovative pedagogies – such as project-based learning and cooperative learning – SL redefines the relationship between knowing and acting, fostering co-production of knowledge and the development of civic competencies through collaboration among students, teachers, and civil society organizations.

The panel is structured along two complementary directions.
The first investigates SL as an ecosystem of educational innovation: a formative model that integrates research and teaching, enhances the third mission as a driver of active citizenship, and promotes virtuous partnerships between universities and communities. Contributions in this area will discuss examples of collaborative governance and inclusive teaching strategies capable of ensuring accessibility and equity, overcoming some of the most widespread systemic barriers in higher education.
The second direction explores how SL enables students to enter real learning contexts (situated learning) and consolidate an integrated system of competencies: from disciplinary knowledge to soft skills, enhancing their motivation and active participation.

Within these premises, the panel welcomes theoretical and empirical contributions that directly engage with these two semantic directions, interpreting SL as a strategy for institutional reflexivity, capable of generating social capital and promoting practices that transform learning spaces into ecosystems of innovation oriented toward social inclusion and active citizenship.