Need in Deed (NID) is a non-profit organization which has been serving Philadelphia schools since 1987. The organization aims to promote youth engagement in their schools and communities by working with teachers to develop and implement service learning projects in which students can apply academics to real life problems. Until recently, NID staff…

This book describes the program Active Citizenship Today (ACT), a hands-on learning project to make learning come alive for students and integrate student learning with the larger community. This handbook accompanies the student book, "The ACT Field Guide." The book is divided into two sections with six chapters. Section 1, "The Whats and Whys of…

This bulletin presents the key elements of service learning and moves into a discussion of the benefits to be gained from incorporating service learning into a school-to-work system. It discusses the following key elements that are central to service learning programs and that can be expanded when incorporating a service learning component into a…

The burgeoning literature on youth civic engagement points to many different ways in which youth can contribute to the democratic life of communities, institutions, and the larger polity: voting, advocacy, service learning, community-university partnerships, and youth organizing, to name just a few. Hampton, however, represents a case where the…

This document discusses how service learning has developed over the past century in its practices from involvement in volunteerism to active civic engagement. It is so beneficial to both learners and the community that many educators and government leaders believe it should be a required component in the educational career of all students. The…

This paper discusses service learning, arguing that the pedagogy of service learning offers a framework in which students can remember and apply more of what they learn than in traditional content based and faculty centered curriculum. Service learning strategies recognize that we retain 60% of what we do, 80% of what we do with guided reflection,…

The author, who is the President of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC), Florida, argues that the fundamental purpose of MDCC is to preserve democracy. MDCCs open-door policy makes it possible for those who might otherwise be excluded from higher education to gain a college education, which then makes it possible for them to become active,…

The 11 chapters in this book describe successful innovative programs of service learning at the undergraduate level. Emphasis is on how different kinds of institutions, facing different internal and external circumstances, have made service-learning an institutional asset. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction: A New Model of Excellence" (Edward…

This paper describes an innovative interdisciplinary course offered at the University of New Orleans (Louisiana) which involved community members as full-fledged partners with students and university faculty in service-learning-by-doing teams. Each student, with the assistance of a faculty member and a community partner, identified an opportunity…

This study examines the importance of structured reflection in service-learning courses. The study consisted of interviews with 15 faculty and 72 students from three different higher education institutions; interviews were conducted between October 1998 and March 1999. Focus group interviews with faculty gathered information about course design,…

Describes a service learning program with a focus on literacy called the Student Literacy Corps. Describes how urban elementary school children, college students, professors, administrators, and community members worked, shared, and learned together. Includes a sample lesson. (SR)

Asserts that the purpose of the school must be more than a celebration of individual achievement; schools should incorporate opportunities for learning that involve altruism and community participation. Describes a secondary school community service program. (CFR)

Describes the community service learning activities of the University Year for Action (UYA) program of the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) through Friendly House. Student volunteers from UYA and its successor program allowed Friendly House to go back to its settlement house roots in providing services. (SLD)

Outlines connections between community service experiences and preparing young people for participatory citizenship in a democratic society, identifying components of democratic education practices, distinguishing characteristics that promote democratic citizenship education, and describing several community service learning projects. (SLD)

Creates a topology of preservice teachers' responses to community-based service learning within several courses, investigating meanings they made from their community experiences. Data came from interviews and student essays and papers. The article considers the potential value of community- based service learning as an aspect of multicultural…