Service learning in Britain between the Wars: university students and unemployed camps

Abstract

This article considers the role of university staff and students in organising camps for the unemployed in interwar Britain. These ventures can be understood as showing similarities with nineteenth century social service initiatives like the settlements, and also with contemporary developments in service learning. From the organisers' perspective, they were intended to bridge class divisions, create community and develop new styles of leadership. While these were achieved to some degree, the camp experience also had unintended consequences, in developing new social awareness and sometimes political commitment among middle class youth.