Small Grant Research Funded - Project

Introduction:

The Uniservitate-funded small grant project helped Maris Stella College analyse strategies, pedagogies, and assessment metrics in service-learning by drawing insights from stakeholders. We conducted a comprehensive field investigation at three renowned institutes: Christ University, Bengaluru; Bishop Heber College, Tiruchirappalli; and Assam Don Bosco University, Guwahati. The above three institutes that successfully implemented Service-Learning were carefully selected. The study gathered valuable empirical evidence from 1,015 students, 81 faculty members, and 68 administrators. As a capacity-building activity, the Centre for Service-learning has organised a two-day workshop on "Mainstreaming Service-Learning in Institutional Frameworks: Best Practices for Sustainable Integration," facilitated by the faculty and students with a comprehensive Service-Learning policy for Maris Stella College.

The findings revealed strong support for service-learning initiatives, as the faculty accepted it as a pedagogical approach that bridges the gap between academics and practical implementation. They stated that the service-learning projects are helping students to develop various academic skills such as critical thinking, leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. The administrators, on the other hand, valued service-learning as a tool for advancing institutional mission and Catholic identity. Ultimately, the three stakeholders—administrators, faculty and students—shared a few constraints such as faculty workload issues, inadequate funding, transportation and scheduling difficulties.

The project makes a significant contribution to both scholarship and institutional practice by generating one of the few comprehensive stakeholder-based studies on Service-Learning institutionalisation in Indian Christian Higher Education Institutions. A major contribution of the project is its evidence-based framework for SL institutionalisation, built around ten concrete recommendations. It also provides empirically validated insights that can inform future research, policy formulation, and educational practice aimed at promoting holistic education, community engagement, and sustainable social transformation.