Background: Previous research has indicated that placing emphasis on communal goals within the field of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education can yield beneficial learning outcomes. However, there remains a relative dearth of investigation into the factors that contribute to the success of STEM education programs…

This article discusses service-learning as a teaching strategy that can enhance and improve learning outcomes for students in developmental education, increase civic engagement, and aid in student persistence and completion.

Background: Despite increased access to higher education in recent decades, first-generation (first-gen) university students continue to face challenges with persistence and completion. Recommended responses by universities include exposing these students to "high-impact" educational practices. Purpose: This article examines the…

This report shares practices from a successful Latinx Studies learning community model at an urban research-intensive university in the Midwestern United States. The learning community model offers a tiered developmental curriculum to support the three different stages of a student's journey, from enrollment to graduation. The three distinct…

More than 1 in 3 undergraduate students transfers from one college or university to another, but many do not go on to graduate. Literature suggests that service-learning pedagogy supports both social and academic integration; therefore, we examined whether transfer students' participation in service-learning courses is related to sense of…

The education system is responsible for the choices and chances provided to the students it serves. Although racial disparities continue to impede some students' chance of success in education, service-learning in the classroom context may be the transformative strategy needed to make institutions of higher education the "great…

This paper discusses the intentions and outcomes of a service-learning course in LIS. Interviews with students who had recently completed the course provided insight into how the course had changed their perspective on their community. The interviews sought students' perspectives on their own empathetic development, sense of community, and…

Students often participate in a myriad of academic support programs offered during the first year of college. This study is an investigation of the effects of participation in multiple high-impact educational practices on academic success outcomes (cumulative GPAs and persistence rates) among 2,028 first-year students. Results suggest that the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to share the research on the use of service-learning pedagogy as a strategy to promote engaged learning that positively impacts resilience. It purports that although often overlooked as a teaching and learning strategy, service-learning offers a viable method for supporting persistence and resiliency in…

Underrepresented students have been identified as being less likely to attain a college degree than their majority counterparts. Service-learning (SL) offers students an opportunity to engage in community work and improve skills that might contribute to their educational success in college. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of SL…

This review of recent literature examines the research on the impact of service-learning on student retention. The theoretical framework of the review draws on both Tinto's model of student attrition and Knowles's theory of adult learning, which together suggest that academic and social integration, active participation and engagement in learning,…

This study explores the role of community service learning (CSL) in promoting undergraduate persistence relative to other experiences students have in college, their entering characteristics, and institutional features. By following the 2009 freshmen cohort at three Midwestern universities over three years, this study finds that students'…

Service learning is one of the most effective teaching methods for engaging and retaining community college students, but it comes with its challenges. For many students, the added requirements of a service learning experience can become one more responsibility in an already too-long list. In addition to being responsible for children, holding…

Using standardized test scores to measure success in schools is a controversial topic in education today. Many feel that test scores are not a valid indicator of success, or are being overused to the detriment of the curriculum. But if not test scores, then what is the alternative? This study examines potential alternatives, or more authentic…

Only about half of all students who enroll in colleges and universities in the United States earn a four-year degree at the institution where they begin their studies, and many postsecondary institutions are seeking ways to increase the graduation rates of their students. Both student characteristics and institutional factors influence a student's…