Participation in service learning projects is a growing phenomenon at universities and colleges. Research indicates service projects are beneficial for college students and adults. There is little data investigating developmental differences in how younger versus older participants perceive the service learning process. In this project, older…

Many international schools embrace social studies education, and service learning embedded within the social studies curriculum is often the norm rather than the exception. Helping students help others in any setting is powerful. In a richly diverse venue there are added benefits. The "third-culture kids" attending international schools…

At its most basic level, service learning integrates community service activities with intentional learning components to enhance students' understanding of subject content and to meet identified community needs. Although service learning is similar to other active learning pedagogies--such as project-based, problem-based, inquiry-based, and…

Service learning actively engages students in the curriculum through participation in projects that meet a community need. It links the curriculum to the "real world," thus providing an authentic context for learning. Over the past two years, university and high school staff have collaborated to develop, implement, and evaluate a service learning…

Americans are living longer, and the meaning of age has changed, particularly for Boomers and seniors. These demographic changes have economic and social ramifications with implications for health care, including rehabilitation services, and health science education. Service learning is an experiential learning pedagogy that integrates traditional…

This qualitative study explores how 11 university students in a U.S. service-learning course in Belize understood and represented their identities during the project, particularly their use of "the tourist" as a construct to interpret their experiences. Drawing on literature in international service-learning (ISL) and tourism studies,…

Student engagement is an essential part of the many transitions adolescents must make on their way to self-sufficient adulthood. Motivating students to learn at pivotal points in their school careers, especially as they transition into high school, is sometimes difficult. The Freshman Transition Initiative (FTI) at The George Washington University…

As the student affairs profession developed, expanded, and specialized over the last century, a disconnect occurred between student affairs professionals and academics. Despite that separation, the literature on student affairs in higher education supports the need for movement towards collaboration and integration of academic affairs and student…

In this article, we explore two possibilities which arise from service-learning engagements, both from a narrative perspective. First, we consider the possibility that service-learning may be a sustaining experience for in-service teachers. And, second, we suggest that intentional inquiry into this experience for in-service teachers may foster the…

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of both students and older adults that participated in a service-learning, environmental health education program called Recycling Mentors (RM). Methods: Surveys were conducted before and after participation in RM. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS.…

For six years the Food Security Research Network at Lakehead University, Canada, has been engaged in an interdisciplinary theme-based service-learning initiative focusing on food security. Informed by complexity theory, the contextual fluidity partnership model brings community partners, students, and faculty into a nexus through which new…

This article presents research findings from a pilot study of the use of service-learning in an intermediate-high class ("Spanish Language and Culture for Heritage Speakers") in the fall semesters of 2010 and 2011. Students reported gains in the areas of communication skills, dispositional learning, language, identity formation, and…

In this study 44 undergraduate students in a language development course participated in service learning with preschool homeless and low-income children as a course requirement. Students completed a survey, questionnaires, reflective journaling, and small-group debriefing sessions. Based on current views on brain-based learning from cortical…

Previous research on service-learning in international contexts tends to focus on the benefits and outcomes for students and educational institutions. This essay is intended to provoke further examination of issues related to university-community engagement in global contexts, particularly in terms of the consequences for host communities. In…

One of my first experiences with teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) was during my years as an undergraduate, working with the Somali-Bantu Community Organization (SBCO) in Syracuse, NY. My fellow undergraduate tutors and I worked specifically with 4th-6th grade students, developing lesson plans and implementing project-based learning…