A study based on data from 1,500 students at 20 colleges and universities found that students who combined community service and academic study (service learning) differed from those who did not, in their target attitudes, skills, values, and understanding of social issues. Participation in service learning had an impact on these outcomes over the…

A study investigated the effects of service-learning projects conducted by 255 student teachers and designed in cooperation with their cooperating teachers. Drawing on survey and case-study data, it was found that classroom-based service-learning projects, if structured carefully, can contribute to student-teacher empowerment and enhanced…

One college's multisemester community service learning project involves upper-level accounting-information students in field research, grant writing, and problem solving for nonprofit organizations. A professional organization provides the funding needed to perform this service for nonprofit organizations across the state. The approach may be…

Discusses what has been learned about building school/community partnerships through the "Health Professions Schools in Service to the Nation Program," a national demonstration program of service-learning in health-professions education. Issues include: the challenge of distinguishing service learning from clinical experience; community attitudes…

Describes an effort to institutionalize service learning within the academic departments of the University of Utah. A community service center at the university, through its faculty advisory committee, developed campus-wide support for incorporating service learning into the core offerings of 14 academic units. Models developed by the academic…

Describes origins and activities of the Central American Program for Undergraduate Scholarships at the University of Louisville (Kentucky), funded by the United States Information Agency to host talented, financially needy students for upper-division study. The university has been aided by internationalization of the economy, increased immigration…

Describes the nature and extent of Arizona State University's public service, policy research, and outreach programs, noting efforts to make university policy research findings available to the public, the trend toward broad-based multidisciplinary research, and the involvement of significant numbers of students and faculty. The need for better…

Reviews the broad social, economic, and political trends that are reshaping higher education, and introduces the two-issue series of American Behavioral Scientist (Volume 42, Issues 5-6) dedicated to analyzing innovative institutional and pedagogical endeavors and considering their potential for reshaping traditional practices. (DSK)

Presents Bobby Roberts, director of the Central Arkansas Library System (CALS), and describes some of the changes he has made since 1989: raising public library tax rates, doubling the book budget, library automation, new and renovated buildings, adult public programming, library cooperation, and fund raising. Discusses politics and the…

Proposes a role for experiential learning in the training of political-science doctoral students. Argues that most political science programs assume that students have mastered liberal democratic norms and do not need training for non-academic employment. Bases its arguments for experiential learning on the Maryland Graduate Public Service…

Higher education seems to be traveling along four change paths, each of which represents a way for the outreach function to add value to institutional capacity and identity. Theses paths are identified and compared with regard to specific outcome sought, primary means used, resource allocations, and (4) changes made in the faculty reward system.…

Video is a powerful tool, and it can be used to motivate student achievement and learning. One of the greatest advantages in getting students to work with digital media is that they can retake and re-edit a project until they are satisfied with it. Students become very occupied in applying what they have learned by producing mini-documentaries,…

Searching for ways to help students feel more connected to one another and to the school community as a whole, a junior high school implemented the social house approach. Social houses divide students into multiple social units, rather than into separate academic entities. Each unit has its own identity and theme.The different groups mix during…

This guide was designed to help teenagers become involved in fun, alcohol-free activities. It provides youth with ideas on how to influence and change the factors that encourage teenage drinking. The guide has four purposes: (1) raise public awareness of the underage drinking crisis; (2) change community norms that encourage underage drinking; (3)…

Underage drinking is a serious national problem--alcohol-related injuries are a leading cause of death and injury among young people in the United States today. This guide is designed to help individuals who wish to be involved in a national effort to prevent underage drinking. It includes materials and messages that can be reproduced, as well as…