The primary objectives of the project was to gain a comprehensive understanding of Service-Learning (S-L), educating and readying schools and their community partners for its implementation and integration to the formal education. More specifically, we intend to: • Support schools, teachers, and local engagement partners in understanding what S-L is (and isn't) by learning from successful examples across various fields. This was facilitated by organizing Service-Learning Events and Open Days that promote information exchange, training, and networking. • Promote networking and connections with the local community, and impart knowledge on strategies for creating lasting agency/school partnerships. • Offer comprehensive training to teachers and local engagement partners /NGOs. We helped them conceptualize and prepare for S-L project implementation, assist teachers in identifying needs and developing ideas, and ensure that the idea for S-L projects connected with curricular standards. In the long term, the project's objective was to significantly impact school culture by building new and collaborative relationships between schools and external partners, opening up the schools and the minds of teachers, students, and parents.
The "Understanding Service-Learning (USL) project" was implemented to fully grasp the innovative Service-Learning (S-L) method, merging formal education with practical engagement. The S-L approach interested partners due to its emphasis on knowledge acquisition through practical experiences and external interactions. While the method has many benefits, implementing it as a core part of the school education poses challenges. The project addressed challenges in S-L integration into school curricula, such as time constraints, competency gaps, and insufficient civil-society-school intermediaries, providing training and ideas while fostering community-school connections. The project objectives aimed to tackle these by providing training and/or ideas, and building bridges between schools and their local communities. The project familiarized all relevant stakeholders with S-L, learning from successful implementations, and preparing for its application. It facilitated and cultivated new relationships among schools, communities, teachers, students, and parents, significantly improving the overall understanding of S-L.