By their very nature, courses that contain a community-based component invite opportunities for the practice of empathy, whereby students come to identify with their community partners (such as the low-income children they tutor, the elders they interview). In fact, the building of empathy through the cross-dialogue often catalyzed by such classes…

In this article, the author describes the leadership class that she created for the family and consumer sciences (FCS) department. The class, "Family & Consumer Sciences Issues & Applications," focused on family and community action for improved quality of life. It included in-depth laboratory experiences, service learning activities, and the…

Many middle school students often report that what they learn in school science has little meaning or relevance to their lives. This is not surprising, as schools and students are frequently separated from what is happening in their community. "Service learning" is a pedagogy that has the potential to connect young adolescents with their community…

Our system fills every bed before it is built. Supply and demand have never had a better relationship. We need to refocus our public policy upon a correctional system that heals itself by helping those it serves to heal themselves through service to others even less fortunate. Let us term this new paradigm a "Correctional Cooperative," where…

Since 1998, the author's classroom has doubled as a training ground for students to experience archeology, research, service learning, outreach, and political activism, all within the history curriculum. In 1998, the author began teaching a class he called Research History. It was based on the concept of getting students involved using primary…

This paper describes the revision of a curriculum that was initiated to engage and sustain students' interest in the macro dimension of social work practice. Specifically, we describe how two junior policy courses, a senior macro practice course, and a research methods course were revised to include a service learning approach. This article…

I was interested in whether the inclusion of a service-learning experience would affect students' attitudes and values about the environment. To investigate this question, I incorporated a service-learning project into the laboratory portion of one of the two sections of my non-majors biology course, and kept the lecture portions of the course…

The 2007 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected a need for more than one million new and replacement nurses by 2016, while higher education continues to be challenged to find methods of producing graduate satisfaction, accompanied by successful transition from college to the workplace. Some nursing programs are meeting the challenge by…

Because service-learning challenges participants to widen perspectives on social issues, we designed and assessed a multi-semester, multidisciplinary project with both academic and service objectives. In this project, undergraduate students developed a script and video centered on a board game designed to educate high-school students about their…

Universities that lack significant racial or ethnic diversity present challenges to teaching multiculturalism, particularly in linguistics. This article presents ideas from a service-learning curriculum designed to teach university students about diversity through a community-based partnership to provide tutors in English as a second language…

This paper is a documentary account of a project currently under investigation. The project engages pre-service teachers in a self-study about their participation in community based literacy activities with elementary school children and their families involved in after school programs. Participants in the study are members of a student volunteer…

"Career Development in the Schools" describes a dynamic process that continues to evolve in its rationale and practice. In many schools and in a variety of scholarly writings, the status of career development is controversial. Some observers assert that career development should be seen as a by-product of all of the knowledge and activities that…

The author (a university instructor) and her community partner (a public school teacher) have collaborated in teaching an academic service-learning course in special education. This collaboration, the RAP (recreational activities project), was completed by university undergraduate students and young adults with cognitive impairment and/or…

As practitioners of Catholic Social Teaching, Catholic nongovernmental organizations are excellent resources for Catholic colleges and universities seeking to integrate social justice into educational programs and institutional practices. In this article, the partnership between Catholic Relief Services and Cabrini College is presented as a case…

Doing business at the base of the pyramid is a topic of increasing interest to business practitioners and academics. Base of the pyramid business offers the promise of great economic gains for companies and the possibility of a powerful new approach to alleviate poverty. At the same time, it may threaten local culture and independence while…