Like most Americans, young people today yearn to play more active roles in community life. According to a recent study, there are two roadblocks to effective citizen empowerment: lack of knowledge and training that could help people connect with each other, and a dimmed belief that individuals can make a difference. In an effort to address these…

Service-learning is a pedagogy that combines community service with academic instruction, focusing on critical, reflective thinking and civic responsibility. This guide is designed to foster the development of service-learning programs at community colleges and presents experiences, ideas, and lessons learned from existing programs. First, reasons…

This paper discusses Kentucky School Reform and its impact on higher education; how Alice Lloyd College engages with teaching practitioners to address their needs through service learning and service leadership development; and potential applications of the program in other institutions. The paper recommends that future service learning ventures:…

Prepared to help faculty implement service learning at Minnesota's Century Community and Technical College, this manual reviews service learning and provides strategies for developing components. The first part defines service learning, providing text from the National and Community Service Trust Act of 1993. Next, sample service learning projects…

Defining service learning as the formal integration of public service into student instruction and learning, this guide provides teachers with ideas for narrowing the gap between what students do in school and what they will do after they leave school. The example activities, derived from actual projects, demonstrate the nearly limitless range of…

This article presents samples of imaginative programs that meld the fundamentals of the service learning methodology with individual learning and behavioral goals at the middle school level. The paper is divided into: (1) "What Do We Mean by Service Learning?"; (2) "The Fit between Service Learning and the Developmental Needs of Young…

This publication describes community development programs at law schools around the country, highlighting creative and innovative programs, encouraging the expansion of existing programs, and advancing the development of new programs. An introductory section reviews the three major law school approaches to community development: clinic programs,…

In 1996, 49% of students in grades 6-12 participated in community service: 26% participated in community service on a regular basis, and 23% participated once or twice during the school year. Students in grades 6-12 were more likely to participate in community service if an adult in their household also did so: 32% of students living in a…

Arizona's Serve-America Project is a K-12 community service program funded by the National and Community Service Act of 1990. Through formal school/community agency and youth organization/community agency partnerships, the project is designed to: (1) encourage school-age and out-of-school youth to volunteer their services; (2) increase the number…

The intensive group process inherent in alternative break service trips offers a unique opportunity to foster transformative learning in undergraduate students. This exploratory study focuses on a two-year project in which graduate students who were professionally educated in group work led undergraduate students in national and international…

Service-learning has the power to transform K-12 and higher education and local communities. This paper details three suppositions about service-learning and community action based on experiences working with K-12 and higher education: (1) service-learning works best when it covers an overarching theme, (2) multiple models for working with K-12…

This qualitative study was conducted to answer two questions concerning service learning in youth populations: Do teens understand their roles in the process of service learning? How do teens perceive service opportunities within their communities or organizations? The intent was to investigate these issues in order to provide depth to the…

This article describes a course in the City and Regional Planning program at the Ohio State University. Its overarching goal was to offer service-learning by providing students with an opportunity to apply what they learned in the classroom by meeting community needs following Hurricane Katrina and to reflect on their experiences through…

Presently, service learning is utilized as a tool for learning about something other than service, such as: gaining civic dispositions, learning subject matter, practicing inquiry techniques, or questioning inequality. What might happen if, instead, an exploration of service itself grounded classroom studies and field work, fostering explicit…

The Youth Leadership Development Program was established in July 1969 to aid Appalachian communities in encouraging young people in the region to remain in Appalachia, to help build the future, and to become a new generation of leaders. During the summer of 1970, Appalachian Regional Commission assistance enabled more than 500 Appalachian young…