Service learning is defined as a teaching/learning method connecting meaningful community service experiences with academic learning, personal growth, and civic responsibility. It is associated with various school-to-work transition efforts, including apprenticeship, tech prep, outcome-based education, and substance abuse and dropout prevention.…

Service learning is a teaching tool in which students apply classroom skills to solve real problems in their communities. Community service becomes service learning when it is connected to classroom learning and contains opportunities for students to reflect upon their experiences. In addition to enhancing learning through experience, service…

Focusing on student experience rather than distinguishing between vocational or academic education is essential to preparing students for future society. Seven trends are influencing the future for adolescents preparing for the work world: (1) a shift from employment where manual labor, physical dexterity, and minimal education are needed for jobs…

This think piece examines the role of community in educational reform. The paper maintains that while many scholars, business people, and politicians have advocated the creation of a community covenant--a mutually beneficial relationship between schools and their communities--such programs have never really taken hold. The paper advocates that as…

The early childhood education program at Massachusetts' Middlesex Community College has included a service learning component for the past 3 years. Service learning participants have the opportunity to observe several different public and private early care and education programs in the community and to discuss the programs with other students.…

This paper describes a partnership project with state parks in Florida and Pennsylvania that was inspired by and builds upon the work done through the Florida Office of Environmental Education with public schools and state parks in Florida. The project is a curriculum reform effort that combines the expertise and resources of a state park, two…

This document lists those guides most pertinent to service-learning in the collection at the National Service-Learning Cooperative Clearinghouse (NSLCC). Each citation provides bibliographic information, an indication of the type of guide, a program grade level, and the source or sources where the guide can be obtained. If an abstract was…

This paper describes an innovative service learning program developed at Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi, a historically black college in a poor rural area. Project DREAMS (Developing Responsibility through Education, Affirmation, Mentoring, and Service) involves college student volunteers serving as tutors and mentors to elementary…

This essay presents the findings of a study employing a developmental approach to student acquisition of social responsibility. Professors at seven collegiate institutions of differing types who teach service-learning courses were asked if they would be willing to include their students in a study of social responsibility development through…

This book offers eight papers intended for student affairs professionals, college administrators, and faculty which discuss wholistic approaches to college student learning, focusing on the entire campus learning environment. Following an introduction by Frances K. Stage and Lemuel W. Watson, the papers are: (1) "A Framework to Enhance Student…

This study examines how 11 community colleges present and promote their service learning courses via the Internet. Of particular interest to this study are the following features of online presentations: (1) how detailed and developed the Web site is and the extent of the information provided; (2) whether the Web site provides student and faculty…

This funding guide is designed to help schools, education agencies, institutions of higher education, and others develop service-learning initiatives to improve K-12 education. It includes descriptions of 130 funding programs in 15 federal agencies, which generally provide two categories of financial assistance--formula grants, and competitive or…

This study describes a service-learning course in the Department of Organizational Leadership at Purdue University developed in 1998 with the overarching goal of creating a culture of civic engagement by providing students with an opportunity to apply what they learn in the classroom to meet community needs, to learn from social service providers…

The procedures for awarding academic credit in one particular community service learning program, the University Year for ACTION, were examined through an analysis of the responses to a mail questionnaire sent to all UYA program directors. Almost all of the programs include a fairly traditional academic component that probably has as much, or as…

This report examines the impact on students in the field of environmental studies. The study looked at how environmental studies courses and programs, which present biogeochemical facts to inform students of current problems and issues in the state of the planet, could change student attitude and behavior in relation to both the discipline of…