Josep Puig Rovira, a Professor of Education Theory at the Universitat de Barcelona, gave a talk in the UIC Barcelona Faculty of Education titled “Civic Engagement and Academic Instruction Through Service Learning” as part of the monthly Edu_aldia meeting.
Service learning, the subject of the professor’s talk, is an educational approach that combines the learning process and community service into one well-structured project in which participants learn by working on the real needs of the community in order to improve it. According to Dr. Puig Rovira, one of the strengths of this approach is that it “gives meaning to knowledge by addressing problems for the benefit of everyone”.
He said, “Higher education should prepare young people to become active citizens, not simply successful professionals”. He also stated that trainers, teachers, educators and higher education professionals “aspire to a university that cares for the needs of the society in which it is rooted”.
Dr. Puig Rovira teaches subjects in the Degree in Education and the Master’s Degree in Education of Citizenship and Values at the Universitat de Barcelona. He is also involved in designing material for values-based education for primary and secondary schools.
