The construction of the professional identity in university arts students via service-learning projects

This article investigates the representations of first year arts undergraduates emerging from a series of service-learning projects designed for groups at risk of social exclusion. A rubric was used in the design and assessment of the projects. Applying the presuppositions of Grounded Theory, two researchers carried out a qualitative analysis of the changes in the conception and justification of the projects that occurred during the academic year. The results highlighted three fundamental achievements made by the students: a) the understanding that art is an indispensable element in personal development and in social progress; b) the beginning of the process of construction of a professional identity in the field of the arts; and c) a reinforcement of the metacognitive dimension of learning. This last aspect increased the students' awareness and commitment to their projects, and was a determining factor in the quality of their final products.