How do service learning and self-directed learning connect and what are the implications for early adolescent students? The authors explore both the service learning and self-directed learning literature and research to discover the connections between the two approaches and concepts. This essay reviews existing frameworks for self-directed…

The University of Georgia is the birthplace of higher education in America. Chartered by the State in 1785, UGA became the nation's first state university. Despite being known for its academic and athletic prestige, tension between the university and the Athens community has existed since its inception. This qualitative study aimed to understand…

The aim of the research is to determine the contribution of the use of the service-learning (SL) approach in social studies courses to the students' development. The participants of this research, which was carried out using qualitative research methodology, are 15 students and two social studies teachers who participated in SL projects within the…

The development of student civic engagement has featured in Indian educational policies for decades as a critical goal of schooling. However, the narrowness of the prescribed K-12 curricula, and the intense focus on competitive exams, do not support such an outcome. To overcome this problem, ABC School in India decided to pilot service-learning in…

This research recounts a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) project aimed at facilitating students' empathic development while also offering ways to identify and assess students' written expressions of empathy. I ground this work in an exploration of the many processes labelled as empathy and the reasons for including empathy as a course…

This study reports on the feasibility and acceptability of a social justice infused service-learning (S-L) program to promote Black adolescent mental health and educational equity. We convened a community advisory board to help adapt and pilot test, via open trial mixed method design, an evidence-based service-learning program for Black middle…

Service learning has been established as a promising method of teaching and learning that engages youth as change agents in their schools and communities. But service learning has not been widely implemented or studied in rural K-12 schools. This study explores the case of a service learning curriculum, the Working Together Project (WTP), in a…

Purpose: To explore undergraduate students' experiences leading and facilitating an out-of-school-time (OST) physical activity program for middle school girls. Method: Five female undergraduate students (N = 4 Black or African American) participated in semistructured individual interviews and submitted weekly reflections during their time leading…

Diminishing civic vitality has been reported in numerous societies, irrespective of democratic maturity. Mandatory community service initiatives in schools have garnered attention as a strategy for fostering long-term civic engagement. However, methodological challenges such as selection bias and observation timing have led to inconsistent…

During an educational technology class in the spring of 2021, preservice teachers worked at an inclusive, state accredited private school as part of a required service-learning component. Preservice teacher candidates worked with middle and high school students, many of whom were identified with a disability, preferably referred to as an…

This study looked into the experience of a group of elementary school students as well as their parents from Hong Kong, in a service-learning programme that aimed at facilitating the social-emotional development among gifted students. A total of 51 students and 72 parents participated in the focus group interview three months after the…

The purpose of this study was to explore how teacherpractitioners in a Canadian middle school perceive students' experiences of well-being in student-led service learning projects (SLPs). Through semistructured interviews, we explored five school practitioners' accounts of how SLPs contributed to student relating and functioning in a well-being…

Purpose: This study aims to illustrate Mitchell's (2008) theory of critical service-learning within elementary and middle school classrooms, looking specifically at classroom events, in which community partners visit classrooms to discuss student-selected social issues. Design/methodology/approach: Data from teacher interviews, classroom…

From the beginning, Sheridan, an independent K-8 progressive school founded in Washington, D.C., in 1927, has had a fierce commitment to both equity and diversity. In keeping with Principle 7 of the "The 11 Principles of Character Framework" (Character.org, 2018), which relates to fostering students' self-motivation, Sheridan educators…

The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) to develop a service-learning-based module training artificial intelligence (AI) subject (SLBM-TAIS); and (2) to evaluate the effect of SLBM-TAIS on preservice teachers' (PSTs') practical knowledge and motivation, as well as primary school students' attitude towards AI in China. Participants of this study…