Case studies of districtwide service learning efforts in North Adams, Massachusetts, and Philadelphia embody four critical service learning components: learning, service, youth decision making, and reflection. Their sustainability is enhanced by teacher and administrator support, professional development, and district-level coordination and…

Examines what may be considered unrecognized roots of service learning embedded in African American social thought and action. Asserts that these roots, or precursors, to service learning are part of a community service agenda using various educational procedures and social welfare initiatives to promote race pride and influence social change. (EV)

Describes the preliminary study of a service learning program at Swarthmore College that paired students and college service staff in learning partnerships and as researchers of the program. Three primary questions were answered: How does service within a college campus count as service learning? How was the program community-shaping as well as…

Service learning has been heralded as a transformative and positive experience for most students, but what about those students who just don't get it? These students can often make the service-learning experience difficult and uncomfortable for everyone involved. The author examines this underside of service learning and suggests how to manage it.…

RISE (Reading Intervention Sans Expense) is a one-on-one reading intervention that involves maximizing human resources, not expending dollars. Tutors are high school students enrolled in a community service learning course who are trained in guided reading. Research suggests that RISE is an effective and efficient intervention that impacts all of…

The central purpose of this study is to increase our understanding of how community service involvement affects the development of undergraduate self-concept. The findings from this study suggest that the quality of service involvement is more important than the amount of service performed by students. (Contains 23 references and 2 tables.)…

Draws from self-descriptions of national and community service organizations, and from service-learning history and literature, to reveal and examine underlying metaphors of service. Then describes and develops purposeful metaphors for service, which can be used to clarify service-learning's multiple meanings and facilitate reflective learning.…

If well planned, service learning can exhibit developmental stages that parallel and feed into patterns of academic growth. Students who learn through service pass through six developmental stages (the need to be needed, to know, to know more, to understand why, to know what can be changed, and to integrate action and knowledge for developing…

Since the NASSP initiatives of the 1970s, service learning activities have prospered in many schools, and mandatory community service has either been adopted or is being considered by many state and local school systems. With passage of the National and Community Service Act (1990), both service learning and full-time stipended youth service are…

Service learning can be adapted for high school students with moderate to severe disabilities. It provides benefits for students (work-related skills, self-esteem), teachers (sense of service, raised expectations), and the community organizations in which they serve (exposure to diverse populations). (SK)

Describes a program to reinforce the art-history curriculum; establish a volunteer habit; and impact students' self-esteem, communication, and leadership skills through service learning. Discusses student training and service as docents at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Texas), and comments on the skills that they acquire through the…

The Francis Parker School in San Diego, California has a long history of unstructured service learning. The school's focus is on the whole student and the principle of individual responsibility. (SK)

Summarizes seven recent ERIC documents and six journal articles on service learning in the middle grades. Subjects of documents include descriptions of service learning in various areas and the national Indian Youth Leadership model. Topics of journal articles include descriptions of particular service-education opportunities, implementation of…

Study seeks to determine the effects of an Illinois mandate on publicly supported universities forming and promoting community service corps. Interviews were conducted with personnel at all 10 four-year public universities in Illinois. Data were gathered about the history of the programs; definitions, roles of students, faculty, student…

At the University of Missouri, A Way with Words uses work-study students as literacy tutors under an AmeriCorps grant. Service learning and critical reflection are incorporated into the program. (SK)