Publication Date
1998
Abstract
This paper presents the evaluation process undertaken by a community service-learning and mentorship program. This program (called "The Giving SEED", or Students for Education, Empowerment, and Development) links college students with immigrant, refugee, and minority youth in an effort to help develop a multi-cultural model of mentoring while building community. A total of eighty-four youth in six different community organizations benefited from the mentoring of nearly thirty undergraduate college students during the evaluation period covered in this paper (January to June 1998). The evaluation process undertaken by SEED was built into all aspects of program activities and occurred at various venues including: meetings, community locations, and at a youth conference. The evaluation information was gleaned from a number of sources. Results of the evaluation revealed that students were very appreciative of the learning experiences resulting from their involvement in the service-learning courses. Students acknowledged that the SEED program provided them with the ability to reach out to the community and to practice the mentoring skills they acquired in class. The students also noted how learning at SEED became a two-way process, in that everyone involved learned from the activities. The mentoring relationship also created a special bond between youth and students. The evaluation also revealed student appreciation for the informal class structure and reflective pedagogy. Finally, the evaluation revealed that the mentoring and community activities begun during the Spring semester of 1998 should be followed up to sustain the momentum generated by this experience.
Pages
33