Factors Influencing Faculty Members' Motivation in Integrating Service-Learning into Their Syllabi

This paper covers a presentation sharing the results of a study which was conducted in 2006-2007 for a dissertation titled "Factors Influencing Faculty Members' Motivation in Integrating Service-Learning into Their Syllabi." Four research questions were addressed in this study. 1) Which are the factors which motivate faculty to integrate service-learning into their courses? 2) Are student learning outcomes a significant motivator to faculty for including service-learning in their courses? 3) Can prior knowledge and research in service-learning be communicated to the studied faculty in such a way to engage their participation? 4) What characterizes faculty who have incorporated service-learning into their courses? Analysis of the data revealed that there is considerable interest in service-learning as a teaching pedagogy among the faculty members who were surveyed. However, the approach to institutionalizing a service-learning initiative must be carefully planned and formulated before it is presented to the faculty and should be viewed as another teaching tool to be utilized rather than a mandatory program. (author)