Teaching During War in Ukraine: Service-Learning as a Tool for Facilitating Student Learning and Engagement During Times of Uncertainty and Crisis

Abstract

As the past 3 years have illustrated, crisis and uncertainty are part of the fabric of our lives. In our roles as management educators, the importance of helping our students develop skills to navigate these challenges has never been greater. In this interview article, we talk with Dean Sophia Opatska, the Founding Dean of the Business School and Vice-Rector for Strategic Development of Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, Ukraine. Dean Opatska reflects upon navigating the initial trauma of war by expeditiously redesigning her international business course to incorporate a service-learning project for the first time. She shares about her aim of creating desperately needed stability, focus, contribution, and connection for her students during the early days, weeks, and months of the war in Ukraine. We consider Dean Opatska’s reflections and contextualize them in terms of examples drawn from the extant literature of other faculty who have used service-learning in times of crisis and uncertainty. We offer suggestions for future research and comments regarding the importance of creating connection, facilitating open lines of communication, and remaining flexible when using service-learning during a time of crisis. Finally, we conclude with a call for management educators to move beyond awareness toward a place of preparedness, togetherness, and action.