Every community has areas--public parks, schoolyards, sidewalks--that are neglected, vandalized, or just plain run down. Young people can help clean up those places by getting involved in a community cleanup project. As explained in this bulletin, a community cleanup is a project in which volunteers of all ages work together to spruce up a chosen…

Service learning, an instructional strategy for educators, has the potential to challenge students in diverse ways. It offers students experiential learning opportunities that are personally engaging, are educationally rigorous, require the direct application of knowledge and critical thinking skills, and transform both the community and the…

This collection of essays and references addresses the problem of the disengagement in public affairs and politics by U.S. youth and young adults. The collection brings together evidence of youth disengagement and reports on promising practices for civic education. Several chapters are devoted to research findings on the impact of service and…

The National Student Service-Learning and Community Service Survey was conducted in spring 1999 to determine the percentage of public K-12 schools that incorporate service learning into their course curriculum. Some of the findings of the study are the following: (1) 64 percent of public schools, including 83 percent of high schools, had students…

Civic involvement is a powerful opportunity in which young citizens can be more engaged in society. It provides young citizens with various opportunities to see themselves as contributing members to the community-at-large. Civic involvement enhances citizenship and civic engagement, allowing young citizens to develop a sense of community as an…

Service-learning in the chemistry curriculum provides an opportunity for students to learn while contributing to their communities. Examples of chemistry service-learning projects at the post-secondary level include: (1) teaching students about lead poisoning avoidance while assessing and analyzing lead content in the paint of older homes; (2)…

The Project Leadership-Service is based on two principles: high school students can be influential, positive role models for elementary students who learn best by example, and exemplary high school students can benefit from experiences which give them the satisfaction of helping others. (ERB)

Describes the creation of a community-service option for biology nonmajors as part of the course requirements. The student had to relate the project to some aspect of biology. The goal was to teach students that learning science is an everyday occurrence, and that they can make a difference in their community. Program instructions and student…

Five articles on service-based scholarship present broad issues confronting higher education, with a focus on physical education, and explore problems associated with current models. The articles note the need to move toward a more service-based model with significant connections to the community and society and present various barriers to the…

Contrasts separate and connected knowing as a way to understand transformations that higher education must undertake to integrate ethics into both theoretical and applied curricula. Explores education that promotes an ethic of caring; community service learning; theoretical components of ethics education; ethics education in practice; and ethics,…

In Florida, the Learn & Serve America program has fostered evolutionary, perhaps revolutionary, changes in teaching and learning. Data from 1995-96 Florida Learn & Serve grantees mirror the positive results of the previous academic year. By heavy majorities (62% to 82%), participating students showed improvements in attendance, conduct,…

Describes a writing course at Winona State University where students from working class backgrounds find practical service projects involving writing for nonprofit organizations. (TB)

Reports on a survey questionnaire of 130 Michigan college faculty who incorporate service-learning into academic courses, focusing on faculty motivation, satisfaction, and the intersection of the two. Results indicate significant differences concerning faculty motivation for using service learning, but also commonalities with other findings…

Suggests that higher education institutions should provide faculty development opportunities for service-learning that develop a common understanding on campus concerning the nature of service-learning, establish and maintain academic integrity of service-learning; increase faculty confidence in implementing a new pedagogy, and increase the…

The growth of community service, particularly service learning, is not occurring as quickly or as seriously as it should. The comprehensive partnership between the University of Pennsylvania and the West Philadelphia public schools that involves parents, children, and community members in a variety of programs is a model of a service learning…