A Long-Lasting Innovation in Social Work Practice Education Through Service-Learning in a Virtual Environment Established During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences from Slovakia

The chapter presents an example of social work practice education within the “Ears to the Soul” program based on service-learning principles. This program was established during the COVID-19 pandemic in virtual space and continued over the following academic years. Originally, the Ears to the Soul program was created in response to the pandemic; its primary goal was to help overcome people’s feelings of loneliness by creating student-client contacts and providing regular telephone support. This chapter analyses the context of the program development, describes the program itself and an evaluation of the learning and service dimensions of the program. The final chapter summarizes the limits of the Ears to the Soul program and recommendations for social work practice education in the future based on these experiences. The assessment of the program has shown that it can meaningfully meet the needs of students, social work schools, and beneficiaries, and it has considerable potential as a model of social work practice education.