The authors describe a social approach to learning in community service learning that extends the contributions of three theoretical bodies of scholarship on learning: social constructionism, critical pedagogy, and community service learning. Building on the assumptions about learning described in each of these areas, engagement, identity, and…

As interest in service-learning increases, there is a concomitant need for a theoretical base for it. Reviews aspects of John Dewey's educational and social philosophy relevant to the development service-learning theory, including learning from experience, reflective thinking, citizenship, community, and democracy. A series of key questions for…

Service-learning is used least often in the fields at the core of the liberal arts and sciences, in part because of the perceived incompatibility between the purposes of a liberal education and the dynamics of service-learning. When we understand better the purposes and values of liberal learning, we will find service-learning a useful pedagogy…

Identifies five specific areas in which John Dewey's writings contribute to service-learning: linking education to experience; democratic community; social service; reflective inquiry; and education for social transformation. Argues that these contributions form the basis of a cultural and political critique and reconceptualized pedagogy aimed at…

Faculty development in the pedagogy of service-learning is essential to the knowledgeable and sustained implementation of combined community service and academic study. A semester-long faculty-development seminar at Eastern Michigan University using small group interaction is described. The program achieved both cognitive and affective gains and a…

Describes service learning as a vehicle for merging current educational reform initiatives, including standards-based education and authentic assessment. Also describes a case study project and a general model for designing and assessing service learning projects. Draws implications from research on service learning, focusing on the K-12 context.…

Research on college students found limited support for Morton's (1995) hypothesis that students have a preference for one distinct type of service orientation (i.e., charity, project, social change). The findings did replicate previous findings that college students prefer the charity paradigm. A measure of integrity was developed and two…

This paper provides an example of how institutional service-learning assessment data can be used to drive organizational change. Furco's (1999) self-assessment rubric for the institutionalization of service-learning in higher education is used in modified form as the instrument through which organizational-level assessments were made. The process…

Results of a survey of 48 college faculty from diverse disciplines and institutions support the hypothesis that faculty feel that both liberal arts and disciplinary learning derive from field study and service-learning, suggesting a shift in faculty attitudes about service-learning from skeptical to affirming. It is proposed that experiential…

Argues that higher education's traditional "closed" communities contrast sharply with democratic progressive ones that are more inclusive, empowering, and diverse. Drawing on feminism and postmodernism, demonstrates why service-learning is well suited to connect relational, experiential, and constructive epistemologies with democratic progressive…

Undergraduates completed the new Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire designed to measure attitudes, skills, and behavioral intentions that might be affected by service learning participation. Factor analyses were used to define six scales. The scales' reliability and validity were found to be adequate. (EV)

This essay advances a way of thinking about assessment that envelops both process and outcome. We assert that learning in community service learning and the assessment thereof might fruitfully be considered in communication with others (the students, constituents from the community, instructors, etc.). Concepts central to a social approach to…

Students from seven institutions of higher education reported their preferences for different paradigms of service at the beginning of their service-learning courses. At the end of the courses, they described the associated service activities in terms of the same paradigms and also completed scales describing their learning outcomes and attitudes…

Describes a community service-learning seminar for college freshmen, focusing on education for empowerment. Notes an inherent dichotomy: students need to learn specific, empowering ways to interact with community members even while confronting uncomfortable issues but remain empowered themselves by how the service-learning course is designed and…

Describes a Hope College (Michigan) undergraduate psychology internship program and how it integrates service and learning. Outlines the personal, professional, and curricular goals of the course and details of the internship program. An important element of the internship is the classroom component, which helps the student integrate academic and…