Service-learning in national parks: an analysis of student reflections

Service-learning has become an increasingly popular form of experiential education in higher education; the myriad of benefits to students and communities has been well documented in a variety of community settings and academic majors. In spite of this growing body of research, there has been a lack of research on service-learning projects that engage undergraduate students with the natural environment, specifically national parks. There is a paucity of research on the role of service-learning in encouraging students to become active stewards with a sense of ownership and responsibility towards parks. The purpose of this qualitative pilot study was to analyze students’ promptbased written reflection journals to determine if participation in an immersive servicelearning experience in a unit of the National Park Service contributes to students’ feelings of responsibility and engagement with national parks and the environment. Twenty-five undergraduate students from CSU, Chico enrolled in a five-day service-learning experience were given a prompt question daily to reflect upon and write about. Grounded Theory was used as a framework for data analysis, allowing categories to emerge during open coding. In order to relate the categories to existing data on community based servicelearning, Eyler and Giles’ dimensions of citizenship are used as a framework for a discussion. Findings revealed strong evidence for the values, knowledge and efficacy dimensions, supporting existing research that students involved in community based service-learning become more socially aware citizens in their communities. The findings suggest that service-learning experiences in parks encourage undergraduate students to become active stewards with a sense of ownership and responsibility towards the parks. Students involved in service-learning immersed in the national parks became more aware of the complexities and challenges that park staff face balancing recreation with preservation.