Educating for Empathy

Service Learning in Public Policy Education

Service learning presents an experiential learning opportunity, particularly for students at higher education institutions. At the same time, it allows the university to engage communities and apply its considerable resources addressing community needs. This book, Educating for Empathy: Service Learning in Public Policy Education, will introduce readers to the concept of service learning and how it can be applied to higher education. While service learning has been recognized as a useful pedagogical tool that can enhance students' learning experience, the application and practice of service learning in Singapore has been limited.

The book will also provide a broad overview of service learning in the context of a service learning initiative that was conducted by the author under Nanyang Technological University (NTU)'s Public Policy & Global Affairs Programme, as well as the author's experience as NTU's inaugural Community Research Fellow. It will cover the policy, pedagogical, and socio-political aspects of service learning and include insights from students and stakeholders. In doing so, it aims to provide valuable insights into the role of service learning as a driver of civic education and grassroots volunteerism. The book will also provide both education and policy professionals a greater understanding of how their work can intersect, and provide students with a highly rewarding learning experience.

Contents:

• Acknowledgements

• Foreword

• List of Contributors

• Introduction:

  • Service Learning and Public Policy Education (J J Woo)

• Theory and Concept:

  • NTU's Approaches in Local Community Engagement (Toh Kian Lam)
  • Service Learning: A Survey of the Literature (Kai Xiang Kwa)
  • Grassroots Volunteerism in Singapore: A Survey of the Literature (George Wong Boon Keng)
  • Examining the Role of MPs, Grassroot Organisations, and Volunteers in MPS from a Political and Policy Perspective (Michelle Chew)
  • Top–Down or Bottom–Up? Critiquing State Policy Implementation in Singapore (Chong Jing Yee)

• Faith:

  • Beyond the Naked Eye (Lee Zhe Feng)
  • This is Why We Need MPS (Candelyn Pong)
  • One Singapore, One Heart (Benjamin Ang)
  • Recurrent Themes in a Cosmopolitan State (Elango Gopalan)
  • On the Nature of the MPS (Anonymous)

• Hope:

  • The Value of Hope (Grace Fu)
  • Singapore Grassroots and the 'Business of Hope' (R Kumaran)
  • My Experience During Meet-The-People Sessions at Hong Kah North GRC (Natalie Loh Siew Ling)
  • Descent and Dissent: My Time at Kembangan–Chai Chee MPS (Tay Chu Yi)
  • Meritocracy and the Marginalised (Nicolette Wong Shu Yi)

• Love:

  • Perspective from a Mayor: Service Learning through Volunteerism and Community Service (Mayor Low Yen Ling)
  • A Twist of Fate: Reflections on Grassroots Involvement (Victoria Cahyani Tanggono)
  • Heart, Hands, and Hope: What Six Weeks in MPS Have Shown Me About Its Motivations, Mechanisms, and Meaning to a Community (Lum Hui Teng Cheryl)
  • Six Weeks in Pioneer: Service Learning Revitalised (Anderton Goh)
  • MPS: Singapore's Strive Towards Being a Welfare State (Josephine Sonia Shagar)
  • 'How May I Help You This Evening?' A Reflection from Meeting the People (Tew Weicong)
  • Employing Service Learning in Public Policy Education: An Instructor's Perspective (J J Woo)

• Epilogue

Readership: Students, educational professionals and industry professionals interested in the field of service learning and public policy education.
Key Features:

• Provides an in-depth understanding of service learning in university education, by focusing on its application in Singapore's Nanyang Technological University
• Includes the insights of participants in the initiative, such as students, instructors, and grassroots advisers
• Features contributions from key policy makers such as Minister Desmond Lee, Minister Grace Fu, and Mayor Low Yen Ling