This digest discusses service learning programs on community college campuses. Service learning integrates community service with academic instruction as it focuses on critical, reflective thinking and civic responsibility. Projects can range from brief, one-time-only experiences to a student commitment of 15 or more hours during a semester.…

Service learning, curriculum-linked community service, has proved remarkably effective in igniting students' desire to learn. In 1997, the Wisconsin Partnership in Service Learning was initiated as a cross-disciplinary, cross-institutional endeavor. Supported by a grant from Learn and Serve America, the partnership created a network throughout…

In 1997 the Education Commission of the States (ECS) created the Compact for Learning and Citizenship (CLC), an organization of state and district superintendents working to improve student learning through civic involvement and the use of volunteers. This issue paper provides an overview of service-learning, discussing impact, alignment with…

The connection between service and character is a natural fit in today's schools. An important fact of school reform in recent years has been the push to connect academics to the "real world." But while there is widespread agreement that educating students to become good citizens is crucial, there are differences on how to make that goal…

Describes the pitfalls that schools may encounter in requiring community service for high school graduation. In planning service-learning programs, schools should ask "In service of what?" Schools should first define their ideological, political, and social goals; provide teacher training, and incorporate the program into the curriculum. (LMI)

In this article, the author discusses how some educators are turning to service-learning projects for charitable activities--and helping to foster connections between students and the human beings they aim to serve. The author highlights a program called Kids Can Make a Difference, also known simply as KIDS, as an example of how to turn food…

This article examines the effects of a participatory education program in changing attitudes of high school students in six general areas related to political participation. The results were moderately successful, making gains in increasing student efficacy, decreasing cynicism, getting students involved, and generating positive feeling about the…

This issue paper examines the pros and cons of required community service, discusses policy rationales and options, defines the difference between community service and service-learning, and presents a snapshot of various practices in place nationally. It is designed to enable education policy makers to make more informed decisions about which of…

This compilation includes practical and transferable principles that can be used by service-learning practitioners. The 39 case studies and personal essays in the compilation are organized around critical issues in strengthening long-term institutional and community support for K-12 service-learning programs. Each article describes how the issue…

People working together on community projects benefit both themselves and the community. Quality Circles (Theory Z) is an example of this principle at work in industry. Employees who are involved in the decision-making process turn out a lower-cost, higher-quality product. This concept could prove valuable in small schools if students were…

Service learning, an instructional strategy for educators, has the potential to challenge students in diverse ways. It offers students experiential learning opportunities that are personally engaging, are educationally rigorous, require the direct application of knowledge and critical thinking skills, and transform both the community and the…

The National Student Service-Learning and Community Service Survey was conducted in spring 1999 to determine the percentage of public K-12 schools that incorporate service learning into their course curriculum. Some of the findings of the study are the following: (1) 64 percent of public schools, including 83 percent of high schools, had students…

Describes "Action Learning" programs which intend to broaden the traditional definition of schooling to include community-based experiences. Discusses the implications of this type of model for teacher education--particularly the in-service aspect. (Author/RK)

Uses the example of service learning to examine connections between and definitions of public and private as they are deployed in writing, literacy studies, and the field of English. Argues that, done effectively, service learning fits well into an English Studies that is reconsidering its own boundaries and internal relationships. (RS)

Describes the author's psychology class, in which she required students to do service work with a resident in a nursing home. Reports that students met for a minimum of eight hours with the resident and wrote both a history of the person and a reflection on the project. States that half of the students decided to continue volunteering after the…