Human Subjects Protection: A Source for Ethical Service-Learning Practice

Human subjects research ethics were developed to ensure responsible conduct when university researchers learn by interacting with community members. As service-learning students also learn by interacting with community members, a similar set of principles may strengthen the ethical practice of service-learning. This article identifies ethical concerns involved when service-learning students enter communities and draws on the Belmont Report and three research methodologies invested in responsible university interaction with underserved populations - decolonial, feminist, and participatory - to offer a set of guidelines for practicing ethical service-learning.