There is strong evidence that all students can gain significant learning benefit when their courses include opportunities for engagement with real-world problems, beyond the walls of their higher education institution (HEI). Internationally, cross-disciplinary discussions are increasing around the value of student learning that involves community…

This study sought to expand the extant literature regarding the effectiveness of a higher education service-learning project designed to increase students' civic and socially responsive knowledge and intentions. A class with a semester long service-learning component was administered a pre- and post-test assessment using multi-item scales to…

This paper reports on the first two semesters of an ongoing longitudinal study exploring how 22 pre-service teachers' involvement with change-oriented service-learning impacted their thinking about citizenship and civic education. Drawing upon Westheimer and Kahne's (2004) notions of citizenship, we analyzed three data sources: pre- and…

This article examines the growing body of literature on service learning as a pedagogical tool within political science. It also reports the results of a service learning experiment used in a course on State and Local Politics. Students completed service learning projects that combined community service, attendance at local political meetings…

This study investigates the claim that a community-based learning experience of short duration in a first-year general education seminar can result in valid and measurable civic learning outcomes. Through the use of a mixed methods design, this study probes two essential outcomes of civic learning advanced by Saltmarsh (2005), the acquisition of…

Prompted by a concern regarding the large numbers of unsupervised children playing on the streets of Dublin in the 1920s and 1930s, the Civics Institute of Ireland (referred to subsequently as the Civics Institute) established 10 playgrounds where children aged between four and 14 years could play after school hours and during school holidays.…

Describes the current interest and activity in community service and the undergraduate educational experience. Argues that recognition by faculty, administrators, and agency officials is necessary to ensure that community service projects successfully combine service with learning. Offers recommendations for implementing a program that cultivates…