The Role and Application of Reflection in Service-Learning in Promoting Students’ Learning in Higher Education

Abstract

Today, there is a growing belief among researchers and practitioners that reflection promotes students’ learning and development in different ways. Despite this belief, the clear role of service-learning in enhancing learning is still debated. Although it is understood though with less clarity that reflection plays a key role in promoting learning, there is less clarity about the nature, types and practice of reflection in different contexts. There are different views on this subject from various quarters. There is much discussion in the current literature on reflection and its application in the developed world. However, less is known how reflection helps enhance students’ learning in developing world context. The aim of this paper is to review the role and application of reflection in service-learning field in multiple contexts. In this regard, the paper extensively surveys works from different writers about the nature, type, models and application of reflection as a means for promoting learning. On the basis of the review of the current literature, the paper concludes that unlike conventional teaching approaches and irrespective of its contextual application and models used, reflection plays a key role in enabling students to challenge their own beliefs, test their own assumptions, create new knowledge and develop new ideas.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s1p71