Service Learning as a Response to Disasters and Social Development: A Philippine Experience

An estimated two to six million people are adversely affected every year by natural disasters in the Philippines. This article explains the roots of service learning and discusses how classrooms are effectively linked to communities by increasing student awareness and capability to respond to crisis situations. To sustain voluntary relief efforts by students, community development has been integrated in courses taught in many schools and universities. A case study of the Ateneo de Manila University's 'Theory and Practice of Social Development' course established in the 1970s for relief and rehabilitation work in flood-prone areas, examines the contents and issues of service learning in the country.