Abstract

In the past decade, service-learning, which integrates the academic curriculum with community service, has become popular in the field of K-12 education, including in Latin America. The focus of service-learning has been primarily on students gaining new personal insights and developing a sense of social responsibility toward surrounding communities. However, within this limited context, the idea that community social planning can be linked with service-learning has been mostly overlooked. Based on experiences in Colombia and Ecuador, the authors of this theoretical analysis examine how service-learning can become an integral facet of community development. In this sense, the authors discuss how service-learning can be used as a means of social planning to improve communities. Specifically, these insights can be instrumental in developing service-learning programs that provide students with the knowledge and skills to plan pertinent social interventions and become effective social activists.