The fourfold purpose of this study was to determine if student attitudes toward community service, student attitudes toward civic involvement, student attitudes about life skills, and student attitudes toward civic engagement and service learning differed based on enrollment in a course with a service learning component or enrollment in a course…

The future of rural schools is inextricably linked to the future of their surrounding communities, and service learning is a powerful tool for capitalizing on those links. Service learning makes students active participants in service projects that respond to community needs while furthering the academic goals of students. Service learning…

This theme issue of "Service-Learning Network" explores some challenges and rewards of integrating service learning into school and community culture. The lead article, "Integrating Community Service Learning with School Culture" (Sheldon Berman), surveys the integration of community service learning in the culture of school…

This issue paper describes a professor's and a teacher's experiences with Project Connect, an ongoing collaborative service-learning project between preservice teachers at Western Washington University (WWU) and eighth-grade students at Fairhaven Middle School in the Bellingham (Washington) Public School District. The paper explains that for both…

This bulletin focuses on the method that teacher/authors use to connect curriculum with community: service-learning. The bulletin's introduction notes that, although service-learning projects can occur within any subject area, they have a particular suitability for the social studies, given the discipline's focus on the skills, values, and…

This guide describes two initiatives linking the school with the community: school-to-work and service learning. Section 1 provides a history of community education and the opportunity it provides for local citizens and community organizations to become active partners in addressing educational and community concerns. Section 2 describes the…

Teacher preparation for multicultural education centers around learning about cultural diversity, examining relations of power and inequality, and responding affirmatively to sociocultural differences in schools and classrooms. This paper suggests that community-based service learning is an important part of this process. The document explains…

This curriculum unit is part of a larger unit on women's history that allows students to explore the many ways that history has been recorded, including quilting. The unit teaches students how women used quilts as their pens to record issues of their time. Students then connect this to their own lives by expressing contemporary issues through a…

This service-learning handbook is designed as a resource tool to help student teachers as they prepare to become teachers. It provides information regarding varying dimensions of service learning. Part 1 includes information about policies, procedures, and practices related to service learning. It examines: what service learning is, benefits of…

In the fall of 2000, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) received a three-year grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to create and enhance service learning initiatives at community colleges across the country. Service learning combines community service with academic instruction, focusing on…

The purpose of this paper is to examine different facets of trust in the political system or civic realm and how they are correlated to the expected civic or political engagement of young people. The nature and effects of trust in social and political institutions have been studied in adults, distinguishing between various types of trust (in…

Examines feasible outcomes and practical limitations of service learning as an approach for increasing the involvement of students in providing services to older persons. Based on findings from a national demonstration project, types of services students can perform are described and various types of service learning are explored. (Author/JAC)

Compares and contrasts three approaches to community service: charity, service learning, and citizen leader. Advocates using the citizen leader framework because it educates students for leadership and emphasizes reciprocal learning for all involved. Claims that this framework complements the goals of institutions of higher education. (RJM)

Describes the development of service learning in a special school for students with learning, emotional, and behavioral challenges. Discusses the poor self-image that many troubled youth possess and suggest ways to help students refocus on their good qualities through service work. Outlines service partnerships and a service culture. (RJM)

Argues that the current U.S. educational system helps perpetuate some social problems; at the heart of this situation are beliefs held about the role of higher education in the larger society. Proposes that service learning as a powerful tool for colleges, both to address social problems and to strengthen experiential learning, which is central to…