Community Involvement Programmes

Rationale

Introduction

The Community Involvement Programme (CIP) is a mainstay of the curriculum across all levels, with the objective of building social cohesion and civic responsibility.

Community involvement is not confined to helping welfare institutions. Schools are given the autonomy to select appropriate activities for their pupils in the different levels. They can 'adopt' community projects and facilities, e.g. parks or even a section of a park.

Support is necessary from parents and the community at large so that values and precepts imbibed in schools are reinforced outside and not undermined. The media and grassroots organisations also play major roles in achieving this.

Whole-School Approach

The Community Involvement Programme should be conducted on a whole-school approach which encourages participation by all in the school community. This will help teachers and pupils to gain ownership of projects which schools have put their names to.

Trust

Pupils should also be entrusted with the recording of involvement and activities undertaken. Each pupil should keep his own logbook and make entries in it. This is to help sensitise students to what they have done, in time cultivating the right attitude towards community work and civic participation. Teachers need only record once, at the end of the year - that the pupil has fulfilled at least six hours of community involvement a year.

Service Learning

What is Service-Learning?

Service-Learning is an educational method that involves students in challenging tasks that meet genuine community needs and requires the application of knowledge, skills and systematic reflection on the experience. It is

• A learning and teaching approach to developing youth through the experience of serving real community needs
• Employs reflection to draw out and reinforce learning points
• Is premised on experiential learning as the foundation for intellectual, moral, and civic growth
  
• Service and learning goals are equally important as each enhances the other
  
  
  • experience provides real contexts for students to apply what they have learnt
  • fosters connections between students and the community and a sense of caring for others

Characteristics of Service Learning

• Meeting real needs
• Identifying learning outcomes
• Preparing students for service
• Structuring the reflection process

Service-Learning Singapore

The National Youth Council (NYC) is the national co-ordinating body for youth affairs in Singapore. NYC aims to develop a vibrant, highly-connected and self-sustaining youth sector so as to nurture World-Ready Youth - youth with the values, outlook and skills to thrive and succeed in a global environment and yet maintain strong ties to their families, community and nation.

One of the ways in which NYC supports the development of youths and youth organisations is to source for, promote and support the use of appropriate youth development tools. Service-Learning is one such tool which NYC has promulgated in the youth sector since 2000.

Service-Learning Resources

Do you need information about S-L? Or tips to carry out S-L projects?
NYC has a collection of S-L books, manuals, games and video tapes which are available for loan.

Funding for Service-Learning (S-L) Projects

Are you using the S-L approach in community projects and looking for funding support?  
NYC’s Young ChangeMaker Grant (YCM) and Youth Development Fund (YDF) provide seed money for the implementation of meaningful S-L projects that benefits the community and develop youths simultaneously.

Service-Learning Training

Looking for suitable training providers to conduct training workshops or camps for youths (or staff)?
We can connect you to trainers with proven track record in training youths and adults in Service-Learning application.  

Service-Learning Training Grant

The Youth Leadership Development Grant (YLDG) provides training subsidy for youths being trained in service-learning application, leadership development, and community project management. The YLDG will be open to secondary schools, institutes of higher learning, youth organisations, voluntary welfare organisations, ethnic and faith-based organisations, from 1 April 2007.

For more information and enquiries on the above, please contact us at…
National Youth Council
Resource Development Section
Tel: 68399181 / 183 / 184
http://www.nyc.gov.sg/sl/

The Service-Learning Centre

THE SERVICE-LEARNING CENTRE (tS-LC) brings together experienced service-learning practitioners and youth development specialists to concentrate their efforts on full-time provision of service-learning expertise for civic education, community bonding, and active citizenship.

For more information, please visit us at  http://www.service-learning.com.sg