Random samples of Ohio 4-H community club members ages 10-14 (n=504, 25% response) and ages 15-19 (n=504, 27% response) were surveyed. Nearly 100% in both groups are involved in community service. Respondents spent equal amounts of time volunteering through school, out of school, on their own, or through 4-H youth development experiences. (SK)

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

Service learning has focused on elementary-secondary and higher education, but not older adults due to a lack of adult education program experience, resources, or interest. Programs such as Elderhostel, Senior Service Corps, Institutes for Learning in Retirement, and Life Options Centers show how elders can benefit from service learning. (Contains…

A group of 22 4-H members reflected on past service activities; 22 others conducted a service project and reflected immediately. Comparison of these groups and 23 controls showed that immediate reflection increased personal leadership development and perceptions of community contribution. No differences in effective teamwork, self-directed…

Turns to contemporary feminist object-relations theory to understand the efforts of students in a service learning course, to push beyond the usual subject-object, active-passive dualisms that pervade community-based literacy projects, and to compose instead complex representations in which all participants are composed as active, as knowing, and…

The Community Service Scholarship Program at California State-Fresno had to overcome administrative/resource barriers, the clash between service learning and cooperative education goals, and controversy over "pay" for community service. Participating students (n=56) reported improved skills, motivation, and confidence; 89% of…

Points to the promising application of service learning for students in alternative education. Discusses basic steps for incorporating service learning into the curriculum. Offers examples of such projects. (SR)

Excerpts from an Internet debate identify issues and opinions on mandatory community service as a graduation requirement and court-ordered volunteering. The debate ranges over such topics as quality of the service experience, freedom of choice, intended outcomes, and values conflicts. (SK)

Describes service learning projects in high schools in Columbus, Ohio; Columbia, South Carolina; and Williamson County, Tennessee. Discusses the role of the National Service Learning Clearinghouse and chronicles the growth of service learning programs since 1984. (JOW)

Suggests that pragmatism is most usefully seen as a perspective that encourages service learning practitioners to avoid epistemology altogether. Discusses three related commitments of service learning; (1) respect for disciplinary diversity; (2) encouragement of innovative experimentalism; and (3) enthusiasm for progressive thought and action.…

Implementation of service learning in an accounting course yielded five success factors: institutional and individual conviction of its value, alliances with community agencies, intellectual and instructional legitimacy, faculty and student motivation, and appropriate assessments. The service learning component works best when it is optional and…

Describes Linkages, a service learning project incorporated into a school of nursing. Suggests that service contributes to the mission of a university and is a response to real-world problems, issues, interests, and concerns. Identifies benefits for students, universities, and the community. (JOW)

Senior to Senior: Living Lessons is a program created to provide meaningful horticulture therapy activities for community minority elders (60 years of age and older) and senior college students (20 years of age and older) from an Historically Black University. The program's objectives were to promote positive intergenerational relationships and to…

For more than 25 years, educators have developed and institutionalized efforts to help first-year students succeed. This monograph collects case studies from 22 institutions that have created programs and initiatives to support their first-year students. The programs range from encouraging civic engagement and academic achievements to…

While universities can play a major role in advancing research-based community development, academic discourses of rigor, quality and ethics often conflict with the participatory and collaborative approaches required by community development principles. While experienced academics often have difficulty negotiating these issues, they present…