VOLUME 28 ISSUE 2

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The International Journal of

Learning in
Higher Education
__________________________________________________________________________

Music and Interculturality

Service-Learning Project in University Contexts

SARA DOMÍNGUEZ-LLORIA, SARA FERNÁNDEZ-AGUAYO, RUT MARTÍNEZ LÓPEZ DE CASTRO, AND SUSANA BLANCO-NOVOA

THELEARNER.COM
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EDITOR
Bill Cope, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA
Mary Kalantzis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

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 Music and Interculturality:
Service-Learning Project in University Contexts
Sara Domínguez-Lloria,1 Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Sara Fernández-Aguayo, Universidad de Vigo, Spain
Rut Martínez López de Castro, Universidad de Vigo, Spain

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Susana Blanco-Novoa, Universidad de Vigo, Spain

Abstract: Service-learning, as an educational proposal in the university field, supposes an experience of improvement
in learning. Music is undoubtedly a universal tool of social nature that facilitates the implementation of this type of
educational innovation experience, helping students learn to be professionally competent while being useful to others.
This article describes the experience and evaluation of service-learning carried out in the Faculty of Education
Sciences of Santiago de Compostela with students in degrees and primary schools with a mention of music. The
educational proposal was implemented in the hospital-classroom of the Clinical Hospital of Santiago de Compostela
and local libraries. The purpose of implementing the service-learning project in subjects was to significantly improve
learning and motivation through community service, using, as central axes, the preparation of a musical show and its
corresponding teaching materials where the thematic axes the preparation of a musical show and its corresponding
teaching materials interculturality. The purpose of working on this theme with students of children and primary school
educational levels or degrees was to provide teachers with resources through music and art. The results were found
satisfactory for students, concluding that this type of teaching practice improves both the quality of teaching and the
durability and compression of learning.

Keywords: Interculturality, Teaching Materials, Service-Learning, Educational Innovation,

Musical Education, Teacher Training

Introduction

T he importance of implementing the service-learning project as an innovation

methodology lies fundamentally in its use as an axis for improvement in the learning and
training of future professionals in primary and early childhood education. The project is
also significant to connect with teaching in a real context and obtain basic skills, promoting
autonomy, social interaction, and development of transversal values.
Interculturality is undoubtedly the current reality of our society, where knowledge and
standardization are essential. The use of didactic materials that use music as a backbone element
is immensely helpful to improve students’ understandings and enhance the implementation of
meaningful learning. The objective of this work is to present a music-based service-learning
experience to university students and evaluate how this type of practice helps in acquiring
competencies. We have chosen this methodology as it promotes the development of transversal
competencies and skills, both general and specific, in students. The service-learning
methodology also achieves a more significant consolidation of the content of music as a subject
and a greater understanding of the concept of interculturality.
Theoretical Framework
Currently, we are experiencing a continuous demand for the adaptation of higher education due
to numerous and important changes that are occurring in society, highlighting the importance of
innovation’s role in these processes. For university students, education policies emphasize that

1
Corresponding Author: Sara Domínguez-Lloria, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Facultad de Ciencias de la
Educación Avda Xoán XXIII S/N, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain. email: saradominguez.lloria@usc.es

The International Journal of Learning in Higher Education

Volume 28, Issue 2, 2021, https://thelearner.com
© Common Ground Research Networks, Sara Domínguez-Lloria,
Sara Fernández-Aguayo, Rut Martínez López de Castro, Susana Blanco-Novoa,
All Rights Reserved. Permissions: cgscholar.com/cg_support
ISSN: 2327-7955 (Print), ISSN: 2327-8749 (Online)
https://doi.org/10.18848/2327-7955/CGP/v28i02/15-26 (Article)
THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

the training they receive in faculties must prepare them for the labor market; however, it must
also serve the objective of promoting personal development and democracy in society. At each
level, Europe’s higher education institutions face unique challenges in the development of
service-learning (Millican et al. 2019).
Numerous investigations affirm that competent learning approaches facilitate the development
of students’ professional and personal capacities (López Ruiz 2011). Universities are interested in

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engaging their resources to develop effective citizens among their students. Furthermore, they aim to
address the complex needs of communities through the application of knowledge and implement a
creative partnership between university students and the community, which points at the service-
learning process that strives to help students (Bringle and Hatcher 1996).
According to several studies, the importance of the change in higher education is evident since
universities must do a dialogue directly with society in such a way that higher education can respond
to the challenges it poses (Rodicio García 2010). However, the implementation of innovation
processes in the classroom should aim to overcome the difficulties of the teaching-learning process
(Zabalza Beraza 2012). The other mission is to assume social responsibility; this is in addition to
those objectives that are presupposed for university training, such as education and research, to
generate citizens who are aware of the society in which they live in such a way that they are able to
have critical judgment and solve problems that arise (Pulido San Román 2008). The findings of
numerous research studies reveal that active participation in service-learning projects improves, in a
very obvious way, the acquisition of learning in a significant way with long-lasting effects (Furco
2011; Liesa Orús 2009; Tedesco and Tapia 2008; Keen and Hall 2008).
Among other advantages, Francisco Amat and Moliner (2010) count the increase in
students’ civic and professional skills after their participation in a service-learning experience as
well as the development of greater self-esteem, personal skills, social responsibility, and
significant growth in satisfaction at a personal level (De la Cerda, Martín García, and Puig
Rovira 2008; Hernández 2010). Service-learning substantially modifies the professional and
personal development of students, teachers, and educational institutions while significantly
impacting the environment where the service is carried out (García et al. 2014). The
implementation of service-learning projects allows the inclusion of students in learning
environments so that they can provide community service through the content of the curriculum
and training objectives of their specialty while connecting experiential learning in
contextualized and real situations (Dumont, Instance, and Benavides 2010). Another of the
notable issues of this type of innovative methodology relates to the change in the role played by
students who become creators of knowledge instead of receivers and replicators. It promotes the
idea that learning is not only obtained for oneself but also to cultivate values, break prejudices,
and question the experiences not lived (Furco 2011).
The inclusion of these methodologies in university students’ training projects also encourages
the creation of synergies between different institutions, causing integration and enrichment that
impacts both the students participating in the service-learning experience and the citizens involved
(Gezuraga Amundarain 2014). Service-learning brings students, teachers, and the community
together—all becoming teaching resources and problem-solvers. It enhances academic and real-
world learning, instills in students a sense of civic commitment and responsibility, and works toward
achieving a positive social change within society (Aramburuzabala, McIlrath, and Opazo 2019).
Music as a pedagogical tool has a crucial potential to connect volitional, sensory, and intellectual
faculties. Its value varies according to the intervention of emotional, physiological, cultural, or
technical factors (Pliego de Andrés 2000). If the participation in innovation projects, such as service-
learning, is effective, as we have seen in different investigations, the combination of this method with
the use of artistic tools makes a significant impact on a personal sphere, fundamentally with regard to
self-esteem, feeling of well-being, and social issues, such as group membership and identity profile
(Carrillo Aguilera, Viladot Vallverdú, and Pérez-Moreno 2017).

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 DOMÍNGUEZ-LLORIA ET AL.: MUSIC AND INTERCULTURALITY

Contextualization
This service-learning project for teaching interculturality through music was carried out in the
first semester of the 2019/20 academic year during the school and non-school periods. The
performances were held in the Ames City Hall Library, a town bordering Santiago de
Compostela with 31,793 inhabitants, and in the “hospital-classroom” of the Clinical Hospital of

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Santiago de Compostela, the capital of the Galician Autonomous Region, on December 12 and
19, 2020. Regarding the population profile of the participants, the average age of the students
was 23 years. All of them studied at the Faculty of Educational Sciences and belonged to the
Santiago de Compostela campus. Among them, 60 percent were women, and 40 percent were
men. Furthermore, 60 percent were studying for a master’s degree in primary education with the
inclusion of music education, and 40 percent pursued a degree in early childhood education at
the University of Santiago de Compostela. Regarding the specialty, of the twenty-nine
participants, eighteen were degree students who studied “Processes and Projects in Music
Education,” and eleven were degree students who studied early childhood education along with
the optional subject “Development of Musical Perception and Expression.”
The service-learning project on interculturality was attended by ten of these students.
Participation in the service-learning project was proposed as a voluntary activity, with 100
percent of the students enrolled in it. The assistants to the representation in the library of the
City Council of Ames were twelve boys and girls among sixteen adults. The participants of the
hospital-classroom of the Clinical Hospital of Santiago de Compostela were seventeen boys and
girls of variable age and admission characteristics between 3 and 15 years.
The patients presented traumatic, psychiatric, oncological, and neurological pathologies. In
no case could activities involving movement or body expression be scheduled, given the
participants’ characteristics. In the choice of the collaborating entity, the hospital-classroom of
the Clinical Hospital of Santiago de Compostela, it was intended that university students be in a
totally decontextualized place from the usual places associated with school practice. This forced
the students to do an exhaustive contextualization exercise when preparing activities and the
project scheduled to be carried out in this specific center.

Table 1: Population Profile of the Participants in the Service-Learning Project

Student Participants in the Service-Learning Project Averages and Percentages
Age 23
Men 40%
Women 60%
Early Childhood Education Degree 40%
Primary Education Degree 60%
Source: Domínguez-Lloria et al.

Objectives and Competencies

The competencies and objectives worked out during the workshops are as detailed in Table 2.

Table 2: Relationship between Objectives and Skills

Skills Type Skills Objectives
S53. To develop and evaluate curriculum content through appropriate
teaching resources and foster the corresponding skills in students
S54. To understand the principles that contribute to cultural, personal, To implement
and social training from arts curricular content in
Specific
S55. To become acquainted with the school curriculum of artistic the didactic area of
education in its plastic, audiovisual, and musical aspects musical expression
S56. To acquire resources to promote participation throughout life in
musical and plastic activities inside and outside the school

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Skills Type Skills Objectives

G2. To design, plan, and evaluate teaching and learning processes,
both individually and in collaboration with other teachers and
professionals at the center
G5. To encourage coexistence in and out of the classroom to solve To design and
discipline problems and contribute to the peaceful resolution of implement service-
General
conflicts; to stimulate and value effort, perseverance, and personal learning projects for

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discipline in students future teachers
G11. To become acquainted with and apply information and
communication technologies in classrooms; to discern audiovisual
information that contributes to learning, civic training, and cultural wealth
B4. To facilitate students to transmit information, ideas, problems, and
To promote student
solutions to a specialized and non-specialized audience
Basic autonomy in problem-
B5. To help students develop learning skills necessary to undertake
solving
further studies with a high degree of autonomy
C1. To acquire instrumental knowledge of foreign languages To promote
C2. To acquire instrumental knowledge of the Galician language multidisciplinary work
Cross
C3. To acquire instrumental knowledge of information and related to the content
communication technologies from other areas
Source: Domínguez-Lloria

Methodology
The methodological techniques used for the development of the service-learning project were
active and participatory. They were mainly based on the design and elaboration of an interactive
musical show with interculturality as its theme, corresponding guide, and didactic materials. For
achieving specific, basic, general, and transversal competencies, different activities common to
both subjects were developed with the goal to accomplish the performance of a show through a
service-learning project.

Activities

For the development of the activity, a musical show was prepared, a didactic guide for teachers
was designed, original music for the show was composed, and didactic materials whose central
theme was interculturality were elaborated. The two representations consisted of the design and
development of a shadow theater through a music script created and composed by students. The
activities were designed to be carried out through a session of fifty minutes. During this show, a
variety of didactic musical activities—for the promotion of interculturality—were carried out
with children and adults attending the show.
It was essential that the sessions were carried out in a dynamic way by continuously
varying the activity. Since the characteristics presented by the participants could favor
dispersion, trying to make the design playful was necessary at all times. With regard to the
group of the hospital-classroom, the guidelines offered by those responsible were considered for
the design of the show and materials. As no group of students was to be isolated, different age
ranges were considered. Secondly, the activities that required body expression were not to be
carried out due to the difficulty of moving IVs, plasters, and other elements, fearing that they
could hinder the students’ participation in the activity. The other restriction imposed was related
to the use of elements from outside due to hygiene and sterilization issues.

Project Phases

The project was carried out in the following four phases:

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 DOMÍNGUEZ-LLORIA ET AL.: MUSIC AND INTERCULTURALITY

Phase 1:
▪ Motivation for involvement in the project through reflection, analysis, and
knowledge of service-learning projects
▪ Initial training in service-learning through the ten-hour course “Introduction to
Service-Learning at the University,” offered by the university within the
permanent training program for students

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▪ Presentation to all the students of the two rubrics (design and evaluation of the
project) available on the virtual campus that determines the detailed qualification
in each activity carried out
▪ Explanation of the field diary elaboration process to students
Phase 2:
▪ Diagnosis of the daily reality in the hospital-classroom and the Ames library
▪ Planning and development of the project in the classroom; decisions about the
choice and typology of the show in accordance with the steps mentioned below:
1. Consulting the bibliography appropriate to the type of show—in this case,
using interculturality as the thematic axis
2. Creation of the script with all the points to be addressed
3. Music composition
4. Preparation of teaching materials
5. Test rehearsal
6. Distribution of roles and responsibilities
Phase 3:
▪ Representations and development of activities in the library and the hospital-classroom
▪ Reflection on implementation by all those involved through different methods of
collecting information
▪ Evaluation through a validated questionnaire
Phase 4:
▪ Preparation of the final report
▪ Presentation of the field diary
▪ Transmission of experience
It was essential to establish a work schedule to know the characteristics of the students who
attended the hospital-classroom and detect the needs of the Ames library users. The other vital
issue was to make future teachers aware of the realities that are found in a classroom of these
characteristics and the adaptation of the musical show to the diverse circumstances of the users
of these centers.
Evaluation
For evaluating the experience, certain instruments were used for data collection, the details of
which are given in Table 3.

Table 3: Instruments for Data Collection

Instrument Objective Weighing
Evaluation Rubric Assess the acquisition of specific skills 30%
Project Resolution Rubric Assess the acquisition of basic skills 40%
Students’ Field Diary Assess the acquisition of general and transversal competencies 30%
Record critical incidents that occur in the classroom during the
Observational Record 0
implementation of tasks, which allow control over skill acquisition
Obtain students’ opinion on the impact generated by participation in
Questionnaire 0
a service-learning project in their academic and personal training
Source: Domínguez-Lloria

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THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The applied questionnaire is a validated instrument by Santos Rego and Lorenzo Moledo
(2018) for the final evaluation of the service-learning project. This instrument has seven
blocks of questions, as in the Likert Scale, about the participants’ opinions and the impact
that their participation in a service-learning project generates in students’ academic and
personal training. The questions range from 1 to 5, where 1 indicates the lowest value and 5
the highest on the Likert Scale.

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Results
The main results grouped into analysis categories are detailed below.

Level of Mastery in Competencies

As shown in Table 4, the average score of the students out of 10 is 8.53 in the M1 subject
“Processes and Didactic Projects of Musical Education,” while in the M2 subject “Development
of Musical Perception and Expression,” the average of the obtained scores is 8.83.

Table 4: Average Marks Obtained in Both Subjects

Instruments M1 M2
Evaluation Rubric 8 8.5
Project Resolution Rubric 9 9
Students’ Field Diary 8.6 9
Average Score 8.53 8.83
Source: Domínguez-Lloria

The level of competence acquired by students is remarkably high in the three tests. In
relation to specific competencies, students have a higher level of acquisition of development in
musical perception and expression; although, the difference between the two groups is not very
high. However, in the project rubric that evaluates basic competencies, both groups score with
the highest rank on the scale.
If we consider the marks obtained in the field diary, which measures general and
transversal competencies, we find that M2 students obtain the highest score, but the difference
in their score from the score of M1 students is marginal. If we analyze the data by marks, we
observe M2 students obtaining the averages with the best results. The marks scored by M1
students are always lower than those of M2.

Student Satisfaction

The level of student satisfaction is extremely high (85.6%). In both subjects, the students’
involvement is 100 percent as they participated fully in the project. The teachers’ involvement
in the subject is also very satisfactory (97.6%) in addition to the required adequacy and
coherence in the credits of the subject and the usefulness of learning for their working life. It is
also important to review the exchange of ideas that occurs between colleagues with different
degrees, assessing the different points of view, the effort involved in decision-making,
consensus, and teamwork (Table 5).

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 DOMÍNGUEZ-LLORIA ET AL.: MUSIC AND INTERCULTURALITY

Table 5: Student Satisfaction with the Experience

Items X
1. Service–Learning Project in General
Useless–Useful 4.6.
Insufficient–Enough 4.4
Inappropriate–Appropriate 4.6

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Tired–Rested 2.8.
Passive–Active 5
Short–Long 3
Messy–Tidy 4.4
Confused–Clear 4
Theoretical–Practical 4.2
Discouraging–Motivating 4.6
Not recommended–Recommended 4.6
2. Project Activities in Relation to the Subject
Hard–Easy 4
Incomprehensible–Understandable 4.2
Inappropriate–Appropriate 4.6
Boring–Interesting 4.5
Not related to matter–Related to matter 4.5
Useless–Useful 4.6
Scarce–Abundant 4
3. The Service Performed
Useless–Useful 4.6
Insufficient–Enough 4.2
Inappropriate–Appropriate 4.6
Unsatisfactory–Satisfactory 4.8
Bad–Good 4.6
Passive–Active 4.8
4. Your Learning
Useless–Useful 4.6
Unsatisfactory–Satisfactory 4.6
Few–Many 4.2
Inapplicable–Applicable 4.6
5. The Teacher’s Involvement
Distant–Close 5
Passive–Active 5
Confused–Clear 4.8
Discouraging–Motivating 4.8
Insufficient–Enough 4.8
6. The Involvement of the Community Partner
Distant–Close 4.6
Passive–Active 4.2
Confused–Clear 4.4
Discouraging–Motivating 4.4
Insufficient–Enough 4.4
7. Your Involvement in the Project
Passive–Active 4.2
Impassive–Enthusiastic 4.4
Unsatisfactory–Satisfactory 4.6
Inconstant–Constant 4.4
Insufficient–Enough 4.6
Inadequate–Adequate 4.4
Difficult–Easy 4.4
Source: Domínguez-Lloria

As we can see, the average of each of the items is relatively high. Secondly, those
responses that were related to the opinion that the experience has been active and
participative and highly satisfactory and highly motivated for the development of learning

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stands out. The item with the lowest assessment indicates that this type of methodology
requires greater involvement and effort, and it can be much more strenuous than studying the
subject in a traditional way. Behavioral and organizational issues can be observed in the
observational record; how time planning and subjects’ schedule worked, how students
worked as a team, and the main problems they confronted when autonomously designing a
project based on the content learned. The results showed that time was highly limited for the

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project and that students often faced difficulties in managing the teamwork and expressing
their point of view in a productive way.

Conclusion
It is critical for students to master skills to achieve personal and professional success and
inculcate social responsibility to establish themselves as committed citizens. We can
affirm, from the conclusions derived from this study, that service-learning methodology
facilitates the acquisition of general, basic, specific, and transversal competencies.
However, evidently, it is important for teachers to have more training when using the
techniques of evaluation to be able to objectively measure the competencies of the
curriculum since degrees may have a direct dependence on interpretations and requirements
that a teacher can make of the rubric.
Numerous authors affirm that it is necessary to measure the effects of service-learning
experiences to assess the long-term impact on the maturity and social responsibility of
university students (Goldberg and Coufal 2009; Driscoll et al. 1996). Incorporating the
service-learning project into assessment tests of subjects implies that students have an interest
in achieving the objectives since these will be reflected in the overall marks of the subject.
Concerning the level of competence, the results have been very high, highlighting that tools
have been used that were not implemented with other work methodologies, so these types of
projects can be applied in other degrees and subjects. We conclude that this type of
methodology is immensely effective in university settings since it favors the connection
between theory and practice, thus motivating students and promoting their autonomy.
In addition, the implementation of themes such as interculturality boosts the acquisition of
transversal competencies and encourages improvement in civic-social attitudes; learning is
acquired in a more significant way when carried out through a playful activity, where both
music and art function as didactic resources, promoting adaptability and creative problem-
solving. Steinkopf Rice and Horn (2014) found that service-learning projects contributed to
lessening the complications of diverse populations, thus improving the students’ understandings
and sensitivities toward various groups in society (Bringle 2017). In reference to conclusions by
teachers, the initial expectations were exceeded and enriched. It was observed that students
acquired all the competencies programmed for different subjects. Consequently, higher levels of
mastery in skills and greater conceptual understandings of different themes of the curriculum
were exhibited in the classroom.
On the other hand, it helped teachers detect errors in scheduling their subjects
fundamentally in organizing matters, timing content, and encouraging creativity in students,
along with the development of numerous didactic materials for infants and children in primary
educational stages. It is also concluded that for teachers, in addition to the treatment of concepts
and procedures in the development of the subject, this work model favors relationships and the
knowledge of students from other perspectives, which undoubtedly enriches and improves the
teaching practice. Therefore, we conclude that this type of innovation method has the potential
to become a stable teaching practice in the classroom.
In the evaluation of student satisfaction, the data established significantly high averages in
responses, and students highlighted the need for their participation in projects of this nature on a
more continuous basis throughout the course. It is concluded that the possibility of collaborating

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 DOMÍNGUEZ-LLORIA ET AL.: MUSIC AND INTERCULTURALITY

with colleagues from other degrees and mentions had a highly positive value for students. Some
evidence was marked in comments where the importance of integrating theoretical content into
practice and working directly with children was highlighted. This confirms as many studies
affirm that service-learning is a high-impact practice in higher education that significantly
improves the internalization of what has been learned (Lockeman and Pelco 2013).
In general, the students complained that the project did not extend longer or cover a greater

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number of sessions, highlighting that learning had been much more significant and effective in
helping them correct errors, work as a team, and feel that their work could have a direct impact
on society. They further expressed that, in some cases, participating in the service-learning
project had been the most significant experience of their university academic training. All those
involved in the project were highly satisfied with the final result. The students, through
collected evidence, showed a high degree of satisfaction, which helped to conclude that initial
objectives were fully achieved.
On the other hand, it should be noted that students considered that the contents of the
subjects were treated in their entirety through the service-learning experience. They further
observed that their own learning of the subject improved in this way and motivated them to
implement this type of practice in their future teaching work. In the reports prepared by those
responsible for the hospital-classroom and the library, satisfaction from the activity was
highlighted. They signaled that these types of playful activities favored the well-being and
mood of the participants. In these reports, they also commented that the work on topics such
as interculturality was attractive to students and encouraged the acquisition of values. Some
studies affirmed that multicultural competence and the concept of social justice were
strengthened through the participation of university students in service-learning experiences
(Wade 2000; Einfeld and Collins 2008). It is necessary to understand the context in which
service-learning projects take place to conceive, design, and evaluate the processes and thus
guarantee success (Bringle and Clayton 2020).
It is proposed to extend this type of learning through service practices to other faculties
of the University of Santiago de Compostela in the subjects of the same university degree
and also to establish collaborations between different faculties. This will nourish college
students with much broader tools to understand the importance of collaborative learning
and social engagement within the community. If innovation is understood as a change that
introduces novelty and modifies already existing elements to improve and renew them, we
can assure and confirm that service-learning as a methodology can be considered an
innovative strategy that significantly improves learning and experiences, in this case, of
future educational professionals.

Acknowledgement
We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.

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ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr. Sara Domínguez-Lloria: Lecturer, Department of Applied Didactics in the Didactic Area
of Musical Expression, Faculty of Education, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago
de Compostela, Spain

Dr. Sara Fernández-Aguayo: Researcher, Department of Teaching, School Management and

Research Methods, Faculty of Education and Sports Sciences, School Management and
Research Methods, University of Vigo, Pontevedra, Spain

Dr. Rut Martínez-López de Castro: Lecturer, Department of Special Didactics of the Didactic
Area in Plastic Expression, Faculty of Education and Sports Sciences, University of Vigo,
Pontevedra Campus, Spain

Susana Blanco-Novoa: Cello Teacher, String Department, Professional Conservatory of Music

of Vigo, Vigo, Spain

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 Downloaded by Sara Dom?nguez-Lloria on Wed May 12 2021 at 21:25:25 PM CEST
The International Journal of Learning in Higher
Education is one of ten thematically focused journals in
the collection of journals that support The Learner
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The journal offers studies of learning at college and

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As well as articles of a traditional scholarly type, this

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ISSN: 2327-7955