Autoethnography as a Tool for the Achievement of Deep Learning of University Students in Service-Learning Experiences

Abstract

This exploratory study was carried out within the framework of a pilot learning and service experience in the subject of Qualitative Research Tools in Social Work, where the autoethnographic field journal was used as a tool for the development of deep learning competency in a group of third-year university students undertaking a degree in Social Work and fourth year students undertaking a double degree in Social Education and Social Work in the Social Work, at the University of Deusto. The authors hypothesized that this qualitative research tool could help students develop their ability to critically reflect on their experiences, identify their own strengths and weaknesses in relation to deep learning competency, and establish goals to improve their learning. The service-learning methodology experience proposed for the students involved to participate in a program aimed at the transition to adulthood of young people in situations of vulnerability, where they were required to record in a field journal the emotions, interpretations, and contradictions that the experience of meeting and living with unaccompanied migrant minors using the program could evoke. The results of the qualitative study showed that the autoethnographic field journal was an effective tool for developing deep learning competency in the students participating in the pilot service-learning methodology experience. The results concluded that the autoethnographic field journal could be a valuable tool for promoting reflection, self-awareness, and critical thinking.