Higher education has been called upon to prepare its graduates to be civically engaged community members. Since the 1980s, faculty have taken up this call. Service learning is a common strategy that educators have adopted to stimulate civic engagement in students. In this study, service learning students and nonservice learning students from eight…

In 2006 the Learn and Serve America program of the Corporation for National and Community Service awarded a three-year grant to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Selected through a national competition, thirteen colleges participated in AACC's "Community Colleges Broadening Horizons through Service Learning" grant project.…

The use of service learning in community colleges has increased as research continues to link participation in service learning with a growing list of student benefits. One possible benefit of service learning participation is the fostering of greater civic awareness and commitment in students. Most of the limited research on service learning's…

Designed to investigate the impact of service-learning on developmental-level students' success and retention, this study reports the results of pre-and postcourse surveys with service-learning and nonservice-learning sections of developmental courses at Miami-Dade College. Knowledge gained, course pass rates, and both in-class and…

Outside work can complement what goes on in the classroom in ways that benefit both the community and students. Of course, AQ readers may have heard of tendentious programs and faculty ideologues, who channel student enthusiasm into partisan activism. Still, statistical survey analysis presented here by Mary Prentice suggests that participation in…

Community colleges educate students from both oppressed and marginalized groups, yet there is almost no literature on community colleges and issues of social justice. Student participation in service learning has been tentatively linked to development of a social justice lens. In this study, I analyze community college students' post-course civic…

This digest discusses service learning programs on community college campuses. Service learning integrates community service with academic instruction as it focuses on critical, reflective thinking and civic responsibility. Projects can range from brief, one-time-only experiences to a student commitment of 15 or more hours during a semester.…

In the fall of 2000, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) received a three-year grant from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to create and enhance service learning initiatives at community colleges across the country. Service learning combines community service with academic instruction, focusing on…

In 1994 and again in 1997, AACC selected groups of institutions, known as Horizons colleges, to work together in collaborative mentoring relationships to build campus-based service-learning programs. While the number of service learning programs has grown significantly, not all of those programs are sustained by colleges for the long term. This…

This research brief discusses how to integrate service learning into institutional culture, climate, and expectations so that it can be sustained. According to studies in the 1990s, the use of service learning in community colleges increased almost 50% in just a few years. While the number of these programs has grown significantly, not all are…

The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) conducted a survey in 2003 to gauge the level of service learning involvement in community colleges across the nation. Service learning combines classroom instruction with community service, focusing on critical, reflective thinking as well as personal and civic responsibility. Service learning…

Introduces the concept of service learning, defines it in contrast to volunteerism or internships, describes how the program ties in with the academics of the classroom, and addresses the benefits service learning provides to students, faculty, and community agencies. Delineates the flexibility and creativity of such programs, and expands upon…