This report illustrates how community service learning can be used as a vehicle for achieving the goals of education and youth development and, concurrently, how it is highly consistent with the goals of systemic educational reform, particularly in rural schools and communities. Part 1 covers the definition of service learning as a method of teaching and learning; the need for service learning, including a brief historical overview and rationale; the different types of service learning; examples of service learning curricula for elementary and secondary students; the nature of service learning instruction, including the concept of reflection and the issue of assessment; barriers to integrating service learning into curriculum and instruction; and the purported benefits and proven results of service learning. This section also addresses special concerns of rural schools and communities and provides examples of rural service learning initiatives. The second section addresses the convergence of service learning and educational reform and covers definitions of systemic educational reform; linkages between service learning and Goals 2000: Educate America Act and other legislative initiatives; relationship of service learning and school-to-work transition as reform strategies; views of educators regarding the relationship of service learning and systemic reform; descriptions of state-level approaches to service learning in Colorado, Maryland, and Delaware; relationship of service learning to teaching standards and teacher education; and a teacher's insights into how a school's culture can be transformed to include service learning. Appendices include implementation strategies for integrating service learning into curriculum and instruction; a list of resource guides, organizations related to service learning and the National Service-Learning Cooperative Partners; and a description of the K-12 Clearinghouse on Service-Learning. Contains 85 references. (LP)