A study examining the characteristics of students engaged in service learning and the association between service learning participation and student performance involved 699 college students in an American government course over three semesters. Females and lower-income students were more likely to be service learning participants, and service…

The use of experiential approaches to teach social welfare policy suggests that such methods may increase undergraduate social work students' knowledge of and skill in working on social and economic justice issues. This article compares 2 such methods using qualitative and quantitative approaches. The first teaches social welfare policy as a…

In order to improve post-discharge outcomes for children, it has been proposed that residential treatment centers place a greater emphasis on engaging families and building on strengths of the youths in treatment. This review presents the theoretical and empirical support for several promising strategies for engaging families, such as behavioral…

As community colleges embrace learning-centered practices, student affairs professionals have an opportunity to recommit to building and maintaining partnerships with their academic colleagues. This chapter explores the development, nature, and culture of learning-centered partnerships between academic and student affairs professionals, identifies…

This essay explores Eastern Washington University's East Central Neighborhood Partnership Center project, which utilized coordinated community service-learning classes and internships to create a neighborhood revitalization plan in partnership with a neighborhood council and community-based organizations. The author explores the ways in which the…

This article describes an approach and an innovative technology used at California Lutheran University that responds to the problematic relationship between preservice teacher service-learning projects and assessment, evaluation, and reporting. This innovative technology, The ProfPort Webfolio System, enables teacher educators to positively…

By addressing race and class through the stories we tell about service-learning in the classroom and in our scholarship, I argue that we can more effectively negotiate the divide between the university and the community and work toward social change. (Contains 13 notes.)

This paper presents the case of a service-learning art experience in an after-school housing development program. Beginning with a dialogue concerning peace and how it can become part of their world, children and pre-service teachers explored and connected the idea of peace through symbols, metaphor and idealism in works of art. A critical and…

Colleges are increasingly interested in ways to better engage students in their academic careers. This article reports 20 college students' experiences as mentors for at-risk fourth-graders through a mentoring program called The Learning Connection (TLC), run by the Community Services Office at Moravian College. The study describes students'…

Preservice teacher education candidates reveal personal and professional benefits of participating in a service-learning project. University students actively engaged in connecting content knowledge and pedagogy with authentic experiences in K-12 classrooms. Reflections revealed a service learning component had an impact on participants' sense of…

Students must understand the "head" as well as the "heart" part of volunteering and service portion of their civic education--why they should be a part of their community, why they should act for the common good, and how participating in their community dovetails with participation in the democratic process. There are many…

This article explores the effects of the integration of diversity, service learning, and professional development school partnerships in preparing preservice teachers to understand and address discriminatory practices in school settings. Background information, challenges, and successes of this professional development school partnership between a…

Learning communities continue to be at the heart of teaching and learning today. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of the impact of the Freshman Academy/Learning Community program on student progress at a historically Black university. The authors also looked at the extent to which students engaged in their learning as a result of…

The service learning instructional methodology integrates community service with academic instruction and seeks to address local needs and develop students academic skills, sense of civic responsibility, and commitment to the community. The following elements are important for effectively organizing a community college service learning program:…

This digest addresses the decline in the willingness of U.S. youth to participate in service to the community or nation and suggests service learning as a possible remedy for the decline. There are long-term benefits of service learning: (1) helping to build community support for education; (2) facilitating a closer bond between school, community,…