Abstract

FERRER, Juliana  and  CLEMENZA, Caterina. Student community service in the context of Venezuelan higher education. Revista Venezolana de Gerencia [online]. 2009, vol.14, n.45, pp.110-124. ISSN 1315-9984.

This article analyzes the scope of Student Community Service in the context of Venezuelan higher education. Based on a qualitative investigation, in-depth interviews were carried out with Community Services coordinators belonging to five (5) public and private universities in the Zulia region. The university community evidences diverse interpretations related to fulfillment of the Law, as the described initiatives show, referring to an implicit resistance by the student to development of the programmed initiatives. The results invite reflection on the need to strengthen social action so the student can internalize the values of cooperation, participation and responsibility needed to achieve the objectives of building an ideal of citizenship, recognizing that this will not appear in all contexts in the same way, since it depends on social processes in their multiple expressions, on the particular circumstances existing in each community and on the diversity of relationships among the social actors involved.

Keywords : Community service; participative responsibility; social citizenship; higher education.