Information for Faculty and Advisors

Educational Philosophy

IPSL international service-learning™ programs unite academic study for credit with substantive volunteer service, creating a powerful dynamic between direct cultural exposure and academic learning. Interaction with the community teaches students how the culture functions. Time in the classroom teaches them why it functions as it does. By testing theory with practice, IPSL students find their learning takes on greater depth and meaning.

IPSL believes that the joining of study and service:

• is a powerful means of learning
• addresses human needs that would otherwise remain unmet
• promotes intercultural/international literacy and civic engagement
• advances the personal growth of students as members of the community
• gives expression to the obligation of public and community service by educated people
• sets academic institutions in constructive, reciprocal relationships with the community

Benefits of IPSL Programs

• Integrated study abroad experience
  Each program-studies, service, living, and excursions-is designed to give students a complex and varied experience of the culture while making their learning immediate and relevant, and therefore more meaningful.

   

• Full cultural immersion
  IPSL students are not just academic tourists. They are immersed in several levels of the society, and contribute to the host culture through their service. For example, a student might attend an elite university; live with a middle-class family; and work with destitute street children.

   

• Real cultural understanding
  Through the combination of classroom theory and practical experience serving in a social agency and living in the community, IPSL students develop a broad knowledge of the forces that shape the culture; an intimate understanding of its peoples, customs, and traditions; and deep insight into the complex social issues and realities of the society.

   

• Making a difference to people in need
  Whether their service helps improve health or education, assists in community development, or alleviates suffering, IPSL students' service addresses human needs which would otherwise go unmet, and is valued by the community.

   

• Meaningful growth and personal insight
  IPSL students develop skills, discover talents, and gain meaningful personal insight about who they are, what they are capable of, and what they want to do with their lives. IPSL students often say their program experience stays with them for many years, helping to shape their values, aspirations, and career paths. Many develop a life-long commitment to service and continue to serve others in their own communities and aborad.

Publications

IPSL publications that have been particularly useful to students and study abroad advisors include:

• How to Serve & Learn Abroad Effectively: Students Tell Students
  A lively and readable book that helps students to choose a study abroad and/or volunteer program that is right for them and then give and get the most through their volunteer service at home or abroad. It is also useful to those who advise, orient, and re-enter study abroad students.

• Charting a Hero’s Journey
  Based on the work of Joseph Campbell and using excerpts from the journals of such people as Jane Addams, Langston Hughes, Octavio Paz, Samuel Johnson, Mary Kingsley, and Kathleen Norris, Charting a Hero's Journey is a guide to the writing of a journal for college students engaged in study abroad, off-campus study, and/or service-learning. Now in its second printing, Charting a Hero’s Journey is used in IPSL programs and by educators across the country.

• Understanding the Education—And Through It the Culture—in Education Abroad Based on the premise that an educational system both reflects and shapes a culture, this short book is a guide for students going abroad to study, leading them step-by-step through an in-depth investigation of the university they attend overseas and higher education in their host country. Useful for study abroad advisors as well.

Academic Course Syllabi

Please contact us should you require specific, detailed course syllabi as well as partner faculty CVs. We can also provide an Academic Credit Equivalency Form for you or the student's use.