In this article, the authors address the challenges facing democracy in the U.S., including restrictions on voting rights, declines in the rule of law, disputed elections, and the non-peaceful transfer of power. They assess the historic failure on the part of K-12 education systems and university leadership preparation programs to prepare students…

This paper shares a participatory action research study conducted by a team of researchers at a university laboratory school in collaboration with three classroom teachers and 60 preschoolers. The team engaged in this research in order to examine the ways in which school personnel could generate more authentic community service experiences with,…

Urban and metropolitan areas face unique challenges in serving the multifaceted needs of their communities, but also have advantages that create some of the world's greatest universities. Three scholars opened the 2017 CUMU [Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities] Annual Conference with "Voices from the Field." Each spoke to…

Young people say that participation in civic youth work provides a rich experience. From the official perspective, learning is the focus, and most programs call themselves a form of experiential education. Young people do learn something from these initiatives but not always in ways experiential education theory suggests. Data from a study of the…

Adult volunteers who work as experiential educators in Public Achievement (PA) told us about their experiences, and we contrasted these with the stated aims of Public Achievement, young peoples' experiences, and what it is like to be an adult volunteer. PA coaches reflected that there was a significant disjuncture between the official aims of PA…

Education is the foundation of democracy. As such it must work for all young people. Yet far too often young people disengage from learning and do not reach their full, human potential. Community schools--places where partners come together to offer a range of supports and opportunities for children, youth, families, and communities before,…

C. Wright Mills Middle School uses a project-based curriculum and service learning to prepare students for participatory democracy. Two challenges are to develop academic skills through experiential education and to avoid indoctrination. (SK)

Describes a model of Team-Based Community Work being developed at Colgate University and relates it to service-learning. Emphasizes the importance of sustained reflective dialogue, a focus on problem solving, team work, partnering with difference, and training with basic skills of organizing and community building in a service-learning project.…

The intent of a liberal arts education is to expose students to a broad array of ideas and subject matter. Its perceived weakness involves the possible lack of preparedness for the workplace; a liberal arts education is deliberately not vocational. To bridge that divide colleges and universities, in cooperation with industry, non-profits, and the…

Service learning helps students develop skills such as creative problem solving, effective communication, decision making, and information synthesis. A recent report found that service-learning participants scored significantly higher on measures of personal and social responsibility, acceptance of cultural diversity, and service leadership.…

As interest in service-learning increases, there is a concomitant need for a theoretical base for it. Reviews aspects of John Dewey's educational and social philosophy relevant to the development service-learning theory, including learning from experience, reflective thinking, citizenship, community, and democracy. A series of key questions for…

Asserts that the participation of citizens in the U.S. Census is vital because the quality of the census is increased and in turn allows for the accurate depiction of U.S. society and allocation of resources. Believes that service learning enables students to learn about and participate in the U.S. Census. (CMK)

This volume discusses the ways in which teacher preparation programs around the country are actively embracing civic education from the belief that teacher education is inherently tied to both the preparation of civil servants and the work of preparing citizens. In the field of education, specifically the work of preparing teachers, there has been…

Describes an experimental course at an urban school that focuses on experiences of service work outside the school as well as involvement in the political and social structure within the school. Suggests ways that schools can design a curriculum that reflects on social activity as an element of community life. (MJP)

Service-learning is a teaching method that engages young people in community problem-solving as part of their education, both in school and out-of-school settings. Service-learning has the potential to be a powerful experiential education practices because it not only fosters effective learning, also prepares the next generation for democratic…