Service-Learning in Business Schools: A Case Study in an Intermediate Accounting Course

Abstract Universities cannot afford to remain shores of affluence, self-importance and horticultural beauty at the edge of island seas of squalor, violence and despair. Emphasizing service has the potential to enrich learning and renew communities, but will also give new dignity to the scholarship of service. Ernest Boyer(1994) In this article, the authors provide guidance regarding implementation of service-learning projects as an active learning strategy in business courses. Their experience in the use of service-learning assignments in an intermediate accounting course revealed 5 steps necessary for a successful service-learning platform: developing institutional and individual conviction for the value of community service, developing alliances with the community agencies, establishing the pedagogical legitimacy of service-learning, motivating the faculty and students about the benefits of service-learning, and selecting appropriate assignments. Their results indicate that service-learning assignments fit the scope of business courses while helping to promote the goals of relevant management education.

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