Loan deferment and forgiveness programs, first developed at the Harvard Law School, are appearing at a variety of institutions. These schools are helping alumni who choose public interest careers to pay off educational loans. Public interest careers include working for schools, hospitals, the government, arts organizations, etc. (MLW)

Two professional education associations provide leadership by clarifying directions for scholarly inquiry at their annual meeting. The research agenda covers teaching, assessment, collaborative learning/student learning, critical thinking, liberal education/general education, and voluntary service. (Author/MLW)

This study surveys directors of organized university programs designed to assist public officials and two groups of practitioners--state government officials and local government managers. The study examines the extent to which these practitioner groups use these university services and their judgment of the quality as compared with services from…

Discusses use of volunteers to augment local government services such as libraries, parks, paralegal aid, elderly care, data processing. Outlines requirements of successful programs and steps toward initiating volunteer programs. Presents case studies of volunteer programs in two Maryland communities and 41 examples of how local governments can…

This study includes the voices of elementary teachers, primarily women, in the historical narrative of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. Hopefully, this inclusion will encourage educators, and social studies educators in particular, to use personal accounts and narratives in the study of historical events. Also this study…

High school students who are involved in community service work are more likely to continue such community service after graduation. Highlights of a study using data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, Second Follow-up (1992) and Third Follow-up (1994), include the following: (1) in 1994, 43 percent of 1992 high school seniors…

The theory of perspective transformation was used as a framework for a study of volunteerism among older adults, examining whether volunteering in community organizations in late adulthood brings about transformation in meaning structures in later life development, and if and how it affects aging at both the individual and societal levels. Two…

Scholars of higher education have long recognized that existing reward systems and structures in academic communities do not weight faculty professional service as they do teaching and research. This paper examines how four colleges and universities with exemplary programs for assessing service as scholarship implemented these policies within…

The public service research program at the University of California, Davis, a model linking university resources with those of public agencies in the interest of public service, is described. Collaborative research is seen as an effective form of public service, profitable to both university and government. (MLW)

Presents the methods and results of a nine-month study of wave characteristics and beach erosion conducted by students from East Hampton (New York) High School. Applications of the data to community planning and recommendations for teachers who wish to facilitate similar projects are offered. (WB)

McClung has written several articles on the legal aspects of minimal competency testing. In this article he states that Getz and Glass ("High School Journal," January, 1979) seriously distorted his earlier works. He attempts to set the facts straight regarding avoiding litigation by practicing preventive law. (KC)

The National Commission for Manpower Policy assesses the effectiveness of public service employment (PSE) programs. Reports on numbers of jobs created, types of PSE workers, and the amount and effects of job displacement caused by the policy of "fiscal substitution" in local jurisdictions. Recommendations include strengthening PSE…

Outlines planning strategies and reports findings from an interview program comprising the second phase of Project INISS, which investigates information needs and services in local authority social service departments. Data gathered are organized under three headings: the context of information needs, organizational communication, and information…

Community service learning has evolved as a vehicle to strengthen students' learning, reconnect them with their communities, and counter the learning/living imbalance in our society. Teachers use service learning to challenge and motivate students, gain insight into youngsters' learning processes, and improve their own relationships with students.…

Discusses the importance and history of volunteerism in America in the context of President Clinton's 1997 Volunteer Summit for America's Future, which promoted the spirit of community service. A sidebar discusses reasons to volunteer. Another sidebar presents the story of elementary school students who participated in a multifaceted community…