While the purpose of K-12 education is largely to train students for college and career, free education in a democratic society has another purpose: to prepare citizens to rule themselves. In this article, Anderson and Gurnee explain how place-based learning equips students to be active citizens in their communities. In this model, school localize…

Through its signature initiative, Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP), the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) is promoting a vision for learning that begins in school: Starting in School . . . Rigorous and rich curriculum focused on the essential learning outcomes; comprehensive, individualized, and…

Describes the aims, benefits, and challenges of service-learning programs in public schools. (PKP)

Teenagers enjoy being involved in community service; all we have to do is ask and provide the opportunity. The 101st Congress passed the National and Community Service Act of 1990, which will fund programs enabling students from kindergarten through college to serve their communities. A sidebar lists national resources for service-learning in…

Research shows that many students lack civic engagement, civic literacy, and the disposition toward becoming responsible citizens. Teachers must convey the meaning of citizenship and its context, rights, and responsibilities. Project Citizen, Outward Bound, and service learning programs can help students learn democratic participation behaviors.…

Describes a hypothetical elementary school that is centered on social studies and social action, focusing on three practices at such a school: democratic education, education for social justice, and community service learning. Challenges to social action in U.S. schools include teachers' time limitations, curriculum standards, and emphasis on…

The difference between charity and change provides an important conceptual distinction for those analyzing service-learning curricula and learning objectives. In the moral domain, service-learning activities tend toward giving or caring; in the political domain, such activities can embrace either civic duty or social reconstruction; in the…

In November 1990, President Bush signed into law the National and Community Service Act. This article briefly reviews three arguments for the role of service in an educational program (to stimulate learning and social development, to reform society and preserve democracy, and to halt separation of youth from the wider society). (36 references)…

This brief discusses how service learning can help teacher candidates meet National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education standards. It examines how the Division of Teacher Education at the University of Idaho is refocusing its teacher certification program to reflect national standards and place P-12 students at the center of…

The nation's educational system mirrors the dynamics of our marketplace democracy, recasting parents as self-interested consumers. Jane Addams' philosophy of education (enhancing people's productive capacities to benefit the commonweal) has been revived in Public Achievement, a work-centered, civic-earning program in St.Paul, Minnesota, that helps…

Young people's growing commitment to contribute voluntarily to larger issues through service is well documented. National service is not a single federal program, but a national purpose beginning with service learning in school and linked with community-based youth development organizations and higher education. Resources are listed. (Contaians 27…

Students must understand the "head" as well as the "heart" part of volunteering and service portion of their civic education--why they should be a part of their community, why they should act for the common good, and how participating in their community dovetails with participation in the democratic process. There are many…

Describes an experimental course at an urban school that focuses on experiences of service work outside the school as well as involvement in the political and social structure within the school. Suggests ways that schools can design a curriculum that reflects on social activity as an element of community life. (MJP)

Provides a brief history of character education and categorizes current efforts. Recommends combining civic participation programs with character education in an attempt to provide consistency, depth, and support. Notes that civic participation programs teach a recognized set of values, use interactive teaching strategies, and promote critical…

Maintains that community service-learning, the integration of service with academic skills and content, can positively enhance students' future involvement in the social and political life of their communities. Discusses the historical roots of service in social studies education and analyzes the empirical evidence on student outcomes. (MJP)