Service learning : an example of experiential education in the area of taxation law

At the University of Western Sydney the taxation law unit is called Revenue Law and it is a compulsory unit in the Bachelor of Law (LLB) program. It is considered that only when students have knowledge of the 'building blocks' of taxation are the students able to explore ways of applying that knowledge. Experiential education may be used as part of the exploration. One form of such experiential education is learning through service to others, in a concept commonly know as service learning. This article describes a program that has been introduced at the University of Western Sydney whereby students, having successfully completed Revenue Law, may enrol in an independent study option and are place in community based Tax Help Centres to assist low income earners with their tax return obligations. This program is experimenting with the notion of service learning in a taxation law context. Students are placed in realistic work related environments to assist in deeper learning of subject matter, together with the development of life skills such as oral and written communication. In addition, comment is made on student reflection as a critical and distinguishing feature of service learning.