Research, monitoring and evaluation

Since its beginnings, CLAYSS has led processes to produce knowledge in the service-learning field through research; these research studies account for the latest advances in service-learning, the contributions of the programmes to educational institutions, and how service-learning engages in dialogue with public policy. In turn, there is regular monitoring and evaluation of the programmes, which are necessary tools to analyse the effects of the implementation of the projects on the educational agents: educators and students, educational institutions and the community. From 2020, this has been reinforced thanks to the design of a specific Research, Monitoring and Evaluation area to enhance case studies and experiences. The most significant research works carried out to date are the following:

• Primera investigación cuantitativa sobre aprendizaje-servicio en las escuelas argentinas 
  [First quantitative research on service-learning in schools in Argentina] (CLAYSS-Grant Washington University, St. Louis), 2005. [in Spanish]
   
• Estudio de casos sobre prácticas innovadoras en voluntariado juvenil 
  [case study on innovations in youth voluntary service] (In collaboration with VResearch, Great Britain and ICP, USA), 2008.
   
• Evaluación de los primeros cinco años del Premio a la Educación de PWC
   [Evaluation of the first five years of the PwC Education Award], 2010. [in Spanish]
   
• Evaluación de la institucionalización de las prácticas de aprendizaje-servicio en las escuelas apoyadas por el Programa Creer para Ver,
   [Evaluation of the service-learning institutionalisation in schools supported by the Creer para Ver Programme], 2010. [in Spanish]
   
• Informe de Evaluación "Programa Creer para Ver" CLAYSS-Natura Cosméticos,
  [Evaluation Report "Creer para Ver Programme" CLAYSS-Natura Cosmetics], 2012 [in Spanish]
   
• Informe de Evaluación "Programa Creer para Ver" CLAYSS-Natura Cosméticos,
  [Evaluation Report "Creer para Ver Programme" CLAYSS-Natura Cosmetics], 2013 [in Spanish]
   
• Aprender y transformar la realidad. Informe de Evaluación: Experiencias de Aprendizaje y servicio solidario en las escuelas del Programa Creer para Ver 2014, [Learning and transforming reality. Evaluation report: Service-learning experiences in the schools participating in the "Creer para Ver Programme"], 2014 [in Spanish]

CLAYSS is currently developing two research projects related to the implementation of its support programmes to institutions. 

Research in the Arts Programme: 

CLAYSS has been accompanying the development of service-learning projects regarding arts education since 2017. It is one of CLAYSS's most ambitious research projects, as it is a three-year project that seeks to analyse and investigate specific dimensions of analysis. Therefore, the main objective of the first stage of the research is to study how both fields are connected and enriched: service-learning, on the one hand, and arts education, on the other. It also seeks to analyse the effects of these projects on different dimensions related to educational inclusion and contributions to the school climate. Thanks to an interdisciplinary team and methodological triangulation, the research will shed light on the different views regarding everyday educational issues of all participants (i.e. educators, school authorities and students) in the projects carried out by CLAYSS and the participating institutions. 

Research in the Uruguayan Programme: 

Since 2015, CLAYSS has guided educational institutions to develop their service-learning projects. As a continuation of previous projects in Uruguay, this time, research focuses on analysing the contributions of the projects monitored by CLAYSS in educational institutions, particularly in secondary schools. Secondary schools in Uruguay pose a particular challenge due to the low retention and graduation rates, considerably lower than several countries in the south of Latin America with similar welfare indicators. Based on the premise that service-learning is a strategy to help reverse this situation, the main questions underlying the research revolve around the positive effects that the implementation of these programmes has on different dimensions of school inclusion: student attendance and retention, assessment and improvement in student achievement, and changes in the pedagogical and didactic roles and strategies of the educators and school administrators involved.