This study examines how community partners understand reciprocity and co-education in service-learning. Twenty community partners participated in 30-minute telephone interviews. When asked to define reciprocity, participants identified the importance of communication and maintaining a two-way relationship. With regard to co-education, community…

Community-Based Research (CBR) presents a wide range of benefits in higher education to students, community partners, and universities. Yet on our campus (and many others), CBR remains less common than other high-impact practices (HIPs) such as service learning and undergraduate research due to lack of effective institutionalization. Moreover,…

Research on community impacts from service-learning has been scarce, yet this area is worth exploring in order to understand how and why service-learning can make a difference. The current research sought to validate a conceptual framework (Lau & Snell, 2020), which categorizes the impacts of service-learning on community partner organizations…

Through a collected case study, this research study examines the relationships between college students and community partners in three separate service-learning projects. Although all of the service-learning relationships can be characterized as transactional, the reciprocity within each relationship manifests in different ways based on the…

In order to build connections with the community, the authors of this study undertook a participatory process for developing a comprehensive service-learning initiative within a teacher education program. This case study examines the impact of the service-learning initiative on building social capital for the community and preservice teachers. The…

Community-based learning (CBL) has been linked to improved student civic engagement. However, few studies have evaluated the long-term impact of CBL on student engagement. This study examines students' self-evaluation (N=1,257) of the impact CBL experiences on their civic engagement attitudes and skills at an R1 Liberal Arts institution. The study…

The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of service learning dimensions and service learning partnerships. The study examined three partnerships currently maintained through the Office of Public Service at a four-year educational institution in the southeastern region of the United States. The partnerships were: AuburnServes, a…

The following paper describes a distinctive collaborative service-learning project done in an undergraduate class on web design. In this project, students in a web design class contacted local community non-profit organizations to create websites (collections of web pages) to benefit these organizations. The two phases of creating a website,…

Broadly defined as the combination and/or integration of participation in a community service activity with formal learning and reflection (Clark, 1999; Reising, Allen, & Hall, 2006; Tucker, McCarthy, & Lenk, 1998; Yan & Rodgers, 2006), service-learning activities range from voluntary student organized initiatives to mandatory…

Partnering with a community organization for service-learning is a meaningful approach to higher education curriculum. Service-learning is a pedagogy centered on service, combining structured opportunities that link the course content to critical self-reflection for the acquisition of values and skills that lead to enhanced citizenry in addition…

This article provides an overview of the activities included in a 3-year, multidisciplinary, intergenerational service-learning project conducted as part of a Foundation for Long-Term Care Service Learning: Linking Three Generations grant. Courses from four departments (gerontology, psychology, occupational therapy, and health promotion and…

This paper presents the results of interviews with staff from 64 community organizations regarding their experiences with service-learners. One of the themes that emerged from the interviews focused on concerns related to short-term service-learning commitments that last a semester or less. We explore the challenges presented to community groups…

The Students and Technology in Academia, Research, and Service (STARS) Alliance is a nationally-connected system of regional partnerships among higher education, K-12 schools, industry and the community with a mission to broaden the participation of women, under-represented minorities and persons with disabilities in computing (BPC). Each regional…

In this essay, the authors argue that linking second language learners with communities that need their language skills can result in an empowering experience for students and for the communities with which they work. They describe a college-level service-learning project that was designed to help IMPACT Chicago, a women's self-defense…

There is an emerging body of literature advocating a "critical" approach to community service learning with an explicit social justice aim. A social change orientation, working to redistribute power, and developing authentic relationships are most often cited in the literature as points of departure from traditional service-learning. This…