Discusses the need to develop a comprehensive research agenda to build knowledge about service learning assessment and refine concepts of best practice for assessment, examining: what is known about the subject; principles of good practice for service learning assessment; what knowledge is needed to develop the research agenda; and how this agenda…

Examines the interplay between service learning policy and research, noting their impact on practice. Discusses traditional roles of research in policymaking, describing an alternative approach to understanding policy. Recommends that service learning practitioners and researchers make usable knowledge available to help clarify contested concepts…

Action research is an approach to knowledge generation that can strengthen communities and institutions and is ideally suited to the advancement of academically-based service learning. Presents the history and goals of this approach to service learning, defining current challenges, providing examples from three action research projects responding…

Explores the rationale for establishing a national center for research on service learning, outlining various current issues and challenges in conducting service learning research and describing how the establishment of a national center can raise the standards and visibility of service learning research. Offers several suggestions about how the…

A mobile clinic providing health care services in rural Georgia is also a service learning laboratory for associate degree nursing students. The program enhances partnerships with community agencies, gives students a taste of community health careers, and provides preventive care to underserved rural residents. (SK)

Interviews with field site supervisors of service learning projects resulted in three categories of suggestions for developing service learning collaborations with community organizations: (1) level of site involvement in projects development; (2) common understanding of the conceptual basis of the project; and (3) managerial aspects (supervision,…

Offers examples of proven practices in programming and highlights programs in service learning, alcohol awareness, leadership, diversity education, and community building. The programs chosen for inclusion have clear goals, measurable learning outcomes for both the students who participate and the students who administer them, and were evaluated…

The Leadership Institute for Active Aging, an approach to recruiting and retaining volunteers over 50, provides training focused on community resources, aging, self-worth, and volunteering and internships in community-based organizations involving health and social services. Exit interviews and program evaluations affirmed that the leadership…

Discusses the growing service-learning movement at colleges and universities, which combines community service with classroom study. Describes Campus Compact, a coalition of over 800 schools which promotes community service; the tradition of community service at historically black colleges and universities; and benefits to students of service…

Introduces the Web-based, interactive group journal as a potent, highly efficient, and research-based alternative to traditional, privately-kept journals. Describes this journaling alternative in detail as it has been used in the last four semesters of an undergraduate service learning course, and presents instructor and student assessments of…

Discusses the concept of permeability as knowledge flow into and out of the classroom and applies it to three college courses taught by the author at Plymouth State College (New Hampshire). Experiential knowledge comes into the classroom through interviews, guest speakers, and panel presentations, and flows out through service-learning students…

The experiences of college students participating in Reading Buddies, a service learning project that involves helping elementary students with reading, are described. Techniques for integrating service learning into classes are presented. (SK)

Offers three strategies for overcoming the challenges of advancing and institutionalizing service learning at research universities. The strategies address making service learning integral to faculty research, the university mission, and the disciplines. (EV)

4-H Youth for Community Action (4-HYCA) is an after-school leadership development program targeting teens in inner-city middle schools. The program provides opportunities for inner-city youth to learn and practice leadership skills in a service-learning environment. 4-HYCA participants actively engage in problem-solving activities that teach…

Describes how American and Russian students engaged in service learning in their own communities as part of an organizational communication class in which they learned communication principles and applied their skills to assist non-profit organizations. Describes both projects, stumbling blocks, and course outcomes. (SR)