The Student Teaching and Research Services (STARS) program that is in place in a particular elementary school has proven very successful, not only in improving the services that are offered, but also in helping its participants to build their self-esteem. Those who seek a safe haven in the library during breaks make such a significant and visible…

When students use classroom skills to build a wheelchair ramp, or teach their peers CPR, or grow vegetables for a food bank, or create children's books for preschoolers, or research and share local history, or educate the community about healthy living, or build and maintain nature trails, they are engaged in service learning (and are called…

Articles on service-learning champion its potential to create a win-win-win situation for the university, students, and community; however, substantial scholarly attention to pedagogical benefits for students and universities contrasts with limited research assessing community partner perspectives. This study presents findings on nonprofit…

Service-learning researchers and practitioners agree that reflection is the essential link between community experience and academic learning: "reflection is the hyphen in service-learning" (Eyler, 2001, p. 35). The theoretical and pedagogical foundations for service-learning reflection pay scant attention to the emotional content and context of…

"The Complete Guide to Service Learning" is the go-to resource in the fast-growing field of service learning. It is an award-winning treasury of service activities, community service project ideas, quotes, reflections, and resources that can help teachers and youth workers engage young hearts and minds in reaching out and giving back. Author, and…

This study of 14,252 college seniors from 50 institutions representing 25 states and the District of Columbia explored the influences of higher education on eight leadership outcome measures theoretically grounded using the social change model of leadership development. Hierarchical regression models explained between 31% and 40% of the variance…

The purpose of this article is to review a partnership between a teacher education department and a dropout prevention program. The partnership developed from a variety of communities' needs, no less of which was that of reconnecting marginalized youth at a local dropout prevention school with their community through cultural and civic…

In the spring of 2008, 1,847 principals of K-12 public schools, nationwide, responded to a survey on the prevalence of community service and service-learning in their schools. The "National Study of the Prevalence of Community Service and Service-Learning in K-12 Public Schools," sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service and…

Dubbed a "dialogue of life," community immersion in preservice science-teacher education aims at providing a true-to-life and empowering opportunity for prospective science teachers (both elementary and secondary) to become active participants in community life through field and service-learning experiences. It consists of a three-unit…

The Cultural Immersion Projects at Indiana University offer teacher education majors the opportunity to be placed in culturally-diverse settings, where full-time student teaching, required community participation, ongoing reflection, and academic reporting combine to provide experiences that go well beyond the common foci of conventional student…

Service learning is a form of experiential learning designed to engage students, faculty, and community partners in a mutually beneficial experience. Specifically, it "is a credit-bearing, educational experience in which students participate in an organized service activity that meets identified community needs and reflects on the service activity…

This paper describes a service-learning project designed for an upper-level sociology course in Policy and Social Change. The project, Breaking Ground, had two main goals: to change students' perceptions about persons who are homeless and to increase students' sense of efficacy for engaging in social advocacy. Through Breaking Ground, students…

Service-learning pedagogy that supports community involvement values and promotes leadership development offers more effectiveness and efficiency for management educators interested in incorporating real-world learning into their courses than traditional internships and cooperative education (P. C. Godfrey & E. T. Grasso, 2000). In this article,…

Many low-income families are at risk for food insecurity. In addition, with the aging of America, multigenerational families are becoming more prevalent, resulting in excessive strain and burden on the resources of low-income families. Family and consumer sciences educators need to teach their students about factors that contribute to food…

This paper reports on a study conducted in a service-learning protected-areas management class at Colorado State University, Warner College of Natural Resources. The research questions addressed for this paper were "What are the leadership skills needed in today's culture of protected-area management?" and "Can service-learning…