An interview with Robert Coles, an author and professor actively long involved with community service, focuses on the importance of public service, the emphasis currently placed on it, college student and faculty participation, participation of non-college youth, incentives for service, related reading for students, and organization of community…

This study identified factors associated with support for service learning (SL) among institutions of higher education. Surveys of SL programs in North Carolina indicated that institutionalization of SL was closely associated with such institutional characteristics as degree of faculty involvement and emphasis on academic goals in SL courses.…

Assesses the extent to which students' attitudes toward international understanding are effected by an intensive two-year service-learning program. Research results generally supported the hypothesis that students who are involved in service learning show larger increases in international understanding than students involved in volunteerism or no…

This idea book comes from projects undertaken by American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) chapters and state and local retired teachers associations around the United States. The projects described range from simple acts performed by one volunteer to elaborate schemes funded by corporations, from involvement in existing programs to the…

Maintains that many educators have recommended that public school students need to develop social action skills and participate in community service programs. Discusses student volunteer participation in community food service programs. Provides recommendations for teachers about developing such programs. (CFR)

Suggestions for service learning projects that have been tested in schools around the state of Washington are presented in this guide. Several specific programs are described along with the rationale of why students should participate in service learning. Suggestions are given on how to develop an ethic of service, maximizing involvement, and…

Discusses the role of middle-school children supported by the community in organizing a project to feed needy children: running the project, and providing an educational activity prior to each meal. Describes academic outcomes of project, such as developing skills in language arts, math, and creative problem solving; and learning about nutrition.…

This paper discusses service learning, arguing that the pedagogy of service learning offers a framework in which students can remember and apply more of what they learn than in traditional content based and faculty centered curriculum. Service learning strategies recognize that we retain 60% of what we do, 80% of what we do with guided reflection,…

The author, who is the President of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC), Florida, argues that the fundamental purpose of MDCC is to preserve democracy. MDCCs open-door policy makes it possible for those who might otherwise be excluded from higher education to gain a college education, which then makes it possible for them to become active,…

Presents 10 ideas for service learning projects designed for elementary schools. Includes having students do local history projects complete with interviews and artifacts, learn about community volunteering, interact with the elderly, care for the environment, recycle materials, and hold canned food drives. (MJP)

Profiles three programs that incorporate service learning into efforts to reduce violence. Extrapolates a set of criteria for developing similar programs. These include meaningful activities, skill-based instruction, recognition of student effort and clear expectations for non-violent behavior. Includes a brief list of teaching resources. (MJP)

Outlines approaches for student evaluation in service learning projects. Maintains that most service learning project participants' goals fall into three broad areas: civic development, academic achievement, and personal or social development. Assessment in these areas can be accomplished through tabulation of service hours, student journals, and…

Maintains that self-esteem is more than simply "feeling good" about oneself. It derives from having experienced meaningful success. A service learning program can accomplish this and avoid the self-preoccupation and narcissism that occasionally accompany self-esteem efforts. Service learning can replace this with empathy and commitment. (MJP)

This report examines the first round of programs funded under the National and Community Service Act of 1990. It is based on aggregate data provided by commission grantees and their subgrantees at the end of the first year of operation and covers commission-funded programs operating between July 1, 1992 and June 30, 1993. Data were available for…

Presents six service learning lesson plans from the Constitutional Rights Foundation. Each lesson plan represents a step in a larger service project. The plans include "Defining and Assessing Your Community"; "Choosing and Researching a Problem"; "Examining Policy"; "Exploring Options"; and "Taking…