Conference Agenda

This work presents a reflective account of two service-learning (SL) experiences developed at the University of Granada, Spain, on the campuses of Melilla (African continent) and Granada (European continent), as a part of government-funded INCLUSO Project (Hooli et al., 2025). The aim is to explore how SL projects can be designed to strengthen students’ democratic competences, understood as a combination of social values, attitudes, skills, and knowledge (Council of Europe, 2016).

The participants were pre-service English as Foreign Language (EFL) teachers (8 in Melilla and 41 in Granada) enrolled in a Primary Education degree. Both initiatives were part of English Didactics courses, in which students delivered EFL classes to adult migrants, recently arrived asylum seekers. The initiatives were grounded in participatory, group-based, and playful learning approaches, aimed at enhancing authentic communication and creating a stress-free learning environment.

The two initiatives were intentionally designed with different structures and contexts. In Melilla, the 10-week project involved weekly visits to the TSCI (Temporary Stay Centre for Immigrants; Government of Spain), situating learning within the migrants’ living environment. This model emphasized immersion, proximity, and sustained contact with the everyday realities of vulnerable groups, creating greater opportunities for future teachers to engage pedagogically while developing social and cultural awareness, as well as sensitivity to learners’ needs.

In contrast, in Granada the 8-week initiative brought migrants into the university classroom. This approach prioritized the creation of an inclusive space where migrants could participate in shared learning activities and strengthened sense of belonging in new society and community. Due to the larger group size, pre-service teachers alternated in leading sessions, allowing them to both facilitate and participate. This design fostered more horizontal and dialogic relationships, emphasizing mutual exchange, empathy, responsibility, and openness. It also supported relationship-building and integration, and reinforced the symbolic value of accessing the university environment.

In both experiences, reflective practices were integrated through weekly journals encouraging critical thinking, self-awareness, and deeper engagement with the experience.

Drawing on these initiatives, this work proposes several design recommendations for SL projects aimed at fostering democratic competences: prioritizing smaller groups to enhance interaction; incorporating playful, interactive and dynamic group activities; promoting reciprocal roles; ensuring authentic contact with community realities; and embedding structured reflection alongside opportunities for spontaneous dialogue.