Prof. María Nieves Tapia
Director CLAYSS
Centro Latinoamericano de Aprendizaje-Servicio Solidario
Latin American educational system has a strong tradition of service, even if service-learning pedagogy is only beginning to grow in the region.
'Solidaridad' is a key word to understand this service tradition. Even if 'solidarity' may sound unfamiliar and difficult to use in English, it means a lot in Latin American culture. 'Solidaridad' means helping others in an organized and effective way, means working together for the common cause, means standing as a group or as a Nation to defend your rights, to face natural disasters or economic crisis, and to do it hand in hand. It is a word strongly related with the concept of 'fraternity' ('hermandad': brotherhood/sisterhood, meaning you recognize the human kind as a family, and you act in consequence). 'Solidaridad' is one of the values Latin Americans cherish more, and it is the common flag of all the new and old volonteer organizations in our emerging Civic Societies.
'Solidaridad' may be applied in very different contexts: you can talk of 'solidaridad' among workers of an Union, make 'a call to solidarity' asking for blood donnors or social volonteers, or call for 'solidaridad latinoamericana' to face IMF demands.
'Solidaridad' is easily translated to Portuguese ('Solidariedade'), to Italian ('Solidarietà'), and to French ('Solidarité'), not only from a literal point of view, but also in its cultural meaning. We think that English translations such as 'care', 'compassion', or other related words are not expressing the cultural background of 'solidaridad'. So, in this text we are not going to try to translate the word 'solidaridad' and the adjective 'solidario' (masc.) or 'solidaria' (fem.) when it is used by Latin American Schools or Universities doing service-learning.
There is a long tradition of 'solidaridad' in Latin American schools. 'Campaigns' to gather food, clothes or toys for needed people, 'adopting' a Rural or very poor School are normal activities even in schools not that affluent. Travel to rural locations to serve during the winter reccess is frequent not only for private religious schools, but also for many public 'laity' schools.
Based on this tradition of service, during the '80s, but specially in the '90s, a growing number of South American Schools began to develop more sophisticated projects, that may be defined as service-learning even if the school does not call it that way.
For example, 'Rede Pitágoras' is a network of Brazilian Schools promoting youth participation and leadership. The Rede Pitagoras Teacher's Guide 'Tempo de Servir' (Time to Serve) does not mention once the expression 'service-learning project', but explains step-by-step how to develop one[21].
Three Latin American countries have mandatory Service-learning in Schools. Costa Rica students are required to perform community service hours in their last year of secondary school, and Venezuela has just passed a new Educational Law requiring a minimum of 60 hours of service to be performed by Secondary students. Santo Domingo is also requiring service hours to graduate in high school.
Other countries have introduced curricular reforms promoting 'community projects' or 'social intervention projects', but leaving the final choice to the Schools or the federal states.
Argentina Schools and Universities had been practicing Service Learning -even if most of them did not know it was called liked that- years before the Federal Ministry of Education began to talk about it. But when Ministry did begin in 1997, service-learning became an extraordinary visible movement.
The 1997 Federal Curriculum proposed for students in the Social Studies or Natural Sciences oriented schools to develop a 'Research and social intervention project' in the last year of 'Polimodal' (10-12 grades). Province of Santa Fe already had in the curriculum a mandatory course of 'Service Project' in the last year of secondary school (since 1986), and other provinces have now open the possibility of 'institutional curricular spaces' to do service-learning projects.
'School and Community' grew to be a National Program of the National Ministry of Education in year 2000. Ministries of Education of all the 24 States adopted 'Escuela y Comunidad' Service-learning Program and appointed officers in local charge. Following the National Educational reform and its 'Common Basic Contents', Province of Buenos Aires has stablished for Human and Social Studies oriented High School ('Polimodal') a curricular course of 'Reaserch and Social Intervention'. Other provinces are doing the same as they implement 'Polimodal' as pilot project in a reduced number of schools.
In 2000 it was created the Presidential Award 'Escuelas Solidarias': President De la Rua himself gave the Award to the principals and students of the best 10 projects.[22] Between 200-2001, 4.400 schools (around 12 per cent of all the educational institutions of the country) presented 6,160 service experiences. An estimated number of 375,500 student were participating in those projects.In two years, 'Escuela y Comunidad' gave service-learning training to 19,788 teachers and principals. Five 'International Seminars on School and Community' were held in Buenos Aires from 1997 to 2001. The Acts of these Seminars and the training materials developed by School and Community are still available at Argentina Ministry of Education website, www.eyc.me.gov.ar
Even if the National Ministry closed the 'School and Community Program' in 2002, schools go on with their projects. They work to get the money they need, they look for local support, and in general they do extraordinary things with very little money or no money at all.
Buenos Aires City Secretary of Education is currently running a program called 'Escuelas Solidarias': more than a hundred service projects were presented to the City 2002 Award for 'Escuelas Solidarias'.
Chile Ministry of Education is promoting service-learning since 2000. 'Liceo para Todos', a Program attending the schools with the highest vulnerability from the academic and socio-economic points of view, has funded 120 schools service-learning projects. 'Proyecto Montegrande', another National Program assisting a group of 50 'Anticipation Schools' (selected and funded because of their innovative institutional projects) is also promoting service-learning and offering teacher training. Uruguay will begin in October a pilot Service-learning Program organized by Centro Nacional del Voluntariado with CLAYSS assitance, supported by the National Ministry of Education and funded by the Kellogg Foundation.
Uruguay began in October 2002 a pilot service-learning program, organized by Centro Nacional del Voluntariado with CLAYSS technical assistence, the support of the National Ministry of Education and funded by Kellogg Foundation. The Programa directed to primary schools in Montevideo and the rest of the country. The fast development of civic society in Uruguay, and the curriculum reforms of the 80s and 90s are opening the possibility of a fast developement of service-learning in the country.
In Brasil, 'Comunidade Solidária' Federal Program promotes since 1996 University students social service, specially en the fields of health, education, poor and isolated communities. Another Federal Program, 'Faça Parte' promotes students social engagement in high schools. Youth service is also promoted by schools networks like Rede Pitágoras- and NGOs , like 'Gincana da Ciudadanía' -a contest among schools developed 'Instituto Pró-Ação pela Cidadania Jovem' in Rio de Janeiro (1999-2000) and Santos (2001-2002)-.
Mexico and Costa Rica Universities have been pioneers in introducing mandatory service-learning activities for their students. In the last years, Service-learning in Universities is also growing in South America.
Usually found under the 'Extension Department', in most of the cases service-learning is a volontary activity performed by a reduced number of students. Taking into account that University students are already a selected minority in South America (even in Argentina, where Public Universities are free and have no special requirement for entrance, only 12 per cent of young people attend to University), University projects does not envolved massive quantities of young people.
But what they lack in massivity, they have in quality of the social impact. The scientifical and technological knowledge envolved in University service-learning projects make the impact in community life very significant.
University students provide building design, technical solutions, health and education services, and many more. Just to give a few examples: students of Law School at Belgrano University are required to provide free legal advice in the Centers of Legal Assistance the University have in poor areas of Buenos Aires. Agronomic students in Costa Rica help little producers to introduce new agro-industrial technologies. Students affiliated to 'Opción Colombia', an NGO with centers in 26 Universities, do a 'Semester Experience', going to poor communities far from their residence for 4 to 6 months to do a social work related to their studies, and recognized by the University.[23]