Service sociology is a critical strategy for teaching and learning in sociology. Even beyond that, service sociology is an imperative for communicating the value of our discipline to our students and other constituents. Using data collected from faculty members in Minnesota colleges and universities, I describe the salience of the sociology…

Fostering a sociological imagination in students is a central goal for most introductory sociology courses and sociology departments generally, yet success is difficult to achieve. This project suggests that using elements of asset-based community development can be used in sociology classrooms to develop a sociological perspective. After…

The authors explore the challenges inherent in traversing the multiple boundaries between sociology and social work, and the academy and the community, by examining a service learning course on hunger and homelessness taught by two sociology professors and two social workers on the staff of a community service organization. The authors draw on…

Discusses research on the effectiveness of service learning. Reviews the work of John Dewey and C. Wright Mills, indicating how their philosophies serve as a springboard to service learning. Presents potential problems with service learning and discusses service learning at Millikin University (Illinois). (CMK)

Focuses on the use of service learning and community-based learning (CBL) discussing six types of CBL in detail: (1) out-of-class activities; (2) volunteering; (3) service add-on; (4) internships; (5) service learning; and (6) service-learning advocacy. Addresses the benefits of service learning and other CBL initiatives. Includes references. (CMK)

Describes a course on social inequality that utilizes service learning. Expounds that the writing intensive focus enables students to reflect on their service learning experience, integrate the experience with course work, and relate the experience to their lives. Finds that service learning fosters the students' sense of empathy and…

Describes a brief, pre-internship, observation assignment that has increased student awareness and provided some of the same benefits as internships. Finds that student reactions and other data support pre-internships as an effective learning tool. Concludes that pre-internships are most beneficial when used in combination with long-term,…

Describes a service learning project in which students addressed the public health problem of rural sanitation in Alabama, which is related to socio-economic status, by researching, designing, and constructing a pit latrine. Focuses on four levels of inquiry and resolution (the social problem, developing and implementing an intervention strategy,…

Investigates undergraduate students' development and sociological learning by comparing two classes of students enrolled in a Race and Ethnic Relations course in which one section utilized service learning and the other was a lecture-discussion course with experiential exercises. Reports that service learning improved student learning in areas…

Maintains that when students learn about social problems they often feel depressed and apathetic about their ability to change these problems in society. Describes the Community Exploration Project that addresses the despair expressed by students and utilizes a student-centered approach where students discover and understand community efforts to…

This article introduces an approach to service learning based on students' collective engagement with a range of community organizations. We explore the particular benefits of this comparative collective community-based (CCC) learning model through a discussion of the "Possibilities for Change in American Communities" program, which was begun by…

Describes an undergraduate sociology course where college students helped develop and teach multicultural lesson plans to high school students in a multiethnic district of Los Angeles (California). Discusses the origin and organization of the project and addresses some of its inherent structural and substantive challenges. (MJP)

Explores how a student service program can be implemented without a large staff and without cost, in large introductory sociology classes as part of an extra-credit project, while augmenting course material as an active learning component. Discusses a class that fits this description at North Dakota State University. (MJP)