Rural community development: an experience at the Escuela Argentina de Negocios (Argentine Business School) in Zárate, Buenos Aires

Abstract

This paper describes the implementation and results analysis of a service-learning experience in the rural areas of Zárate, in the province of Buenos Aires, understanding the proposal as transversal to the university’s main missions: teaching, research and outreach. Grounded on a social responsibility perspective, the project combined service-learning criteria and theoretical foundations with the key issue of developing community tourism, thus responding to the specific needs of the participating families. Students, teachers and local agents valued the experience in particular, evidencing personal development, a positive change in the relationship with their peers and with others, and a qualitative and quantitative improvement in their personal and group projects. For Escuela Argentina de Negocios (EAN), the experience led to better working links with other institutions, allowing the school to demonstrate a necessary and innovative opening in its relationship with society and with its educational spaces, and reaching the goal of enabling its young students to develop professional competences such as cooperation, self-management and problem-solving , all linked to sustainable social development.