Action Research to Enrich Learning from Conflict to Collaboration: Bridging the First-Year Students and the NGOs Agencies in Service Learning Program

The purpose of this study was to diagnosing and solving problem through the process of conflict resolution and getting the NGOs agencies involved in a service-learning program for first-year students. The action research method was applied to extensively investigate the challenges of participants and the experiences of problems resolution. A total of 119 first-year students participated in this study, including 107 male and 12 female students. The results indicated that the challenge and conflicts faced by students in the beginning of this program is poor cooperation with service organizations and need to enhance communication skills, multicultural literacy, and social participation ability that for preparing service. The enhancement of integrating the relevant concepts into the curriculum and communication with students and agents of service to resolve the conflicts ensured that the later process proceeded smoothly. The NGOs agencies have got more involved in this program. Through creative guidance and reflection, the students have shown improvement of communication and interpersonal abilities that related with conflict resolution and understanding the significance of social practice. The findings of this action research provided insights and recommendations that can serve as a reference for relevant educators and community agents who are required to build partnerships for service-learning and resolve the conflicts that all participants involved.