A longitudinal study involving undergraduates in a business statistics course found evidence for a model which suggests that students involved in service learning projects experience an increase in their perception of the course material's usefulness and therefore improved attitudes toward the course. (EV)

Responses to the Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire indicated that students doing service-learning showed increases in their plans for future civic action, assessments of their own interpersonal, problem-solving, and leadership skills, and agreement with items emphasizing society factors that affect individual outcomes (social justice). They…

Explores the transformative potential of service-learning through the lens of a particular context: a course held inside a prison. Addresses questions such as how service-learning is "done," the fragile nature of power and how to approach it, how context impacts the educational process, and the transformative possibilities of a "liberatory"…

Describes how the theory and practice of situated learning provide a model for examining the learning claims of service learning and for research into its effectiveness. While service learning emphasizes the nature of service and students' engagement with communities outside school, situated learning focuses on the nature of the learning in…

Data from 50 daily reflection journals of college students participating in service learning were used to draw a descriptive map of the social-psychological stages that occur during service learning. Textual analysis revealed that students progress through three identifiable stages of development: shock, normalization, and engagement. (EV)

Describes a campus-based model of service learning in the unique environments of university art galleries. Preservice teachers served as facilitators with visiting schoolchildren to explore feelings about and interpretations of various works of art; preservice teachers benefited from the experience and had changed views of art, teachers, and…

Describes a partnership between the Jane Addams School for Democracy in Minnesota and two institutions of higher education to address the problems of rapid student turnover in service learning. Promising strategies have two dimensions: to the extent possible lower academic and financial barriers to students' participation, and foster a community…

Modified the service learning aspect of a sociology class to encourage more students of color to participate. Students of color were more likely to choose the service learning option when the incentive was higher and there was more latitude in the site choice. Discusses factors that affect the service learning experience adversely in courses that…

Reviews literature on cognitive outcomes of service learning with an emphasis on how convincing the results are to faculty. Explores how self-report measures produce the most consistent positive findings yet are one of the least persuasive measures; other measures based in the cognitive sciences, such as problem-solving protocols, show promise but…

This multi-site study of candidates in programs in the National Service Learning in Teacher Education Partnership measured gains in participants' teaching efficacy, commitment to teaching, service ethic of teaching, and acceptance of diversity, as well as their intent to personally engage in community service and use service learning in their own…

Discusses the development and implementation of an academic service learning course designed to explore partnership possibilities between a university, religious organizations, and neighborhood coalitions in West Philadelphia. Course goals were twofold: for students to activate partnerships with community members and congregation participants to…

Approaching reflection from the perspective of a teachable skill set implies that research may inform how to help students reflect. Employing a framework of making connections often used in reading comprehension, this study aimed to characterize how making connections between the service-learning experience (SLE) and prior experiences in similar…

We analyze a multi-campus collaboration in a Food Stamp Enrollment Campaign to demonstrate that a well-managed public benefits campaign, associated with broader advocacy-based community partnerships, can result in positive outcomes for the community that include measurable benefits for clients, data needed to make policy and administrative…

A significant number of community service-learning projects in higher education involve the teaching or tutoring of immigrants in English. As in related service-learning scholarship, these projects are commonly informed by perspectives on cultural difference, social justice, and power relations in U.S. society. Yet while faculty pair their…

Explores "service" as a continuum from charity to social change, and describes implications for service-learning in higher education. Based on a review of alternative theories, a student survey (n=83), and interviews with five practitioners, argues that there exist related but distinct community service models (charity, project, social change),…