This publication provides Peace Corps volunteers and others who conduct environmental education activities in schools, environmental education centers, parks, and communities with the tools to adapt existing environmental education resources to local environmental issues, cultures, and audiences. Sections include: (1) the process of adapting…

This issue of "Service-Learning Network" explores some useful applications of technology to service learning. In the classroom, technology, computers, and the Internet can stimulate activity and cooperative learning while they forge links between curriculum and community. Articles in this issue are: "Service Learning on the…

Democracy is more than a creed or a doctrine. It must be a continuing force in the daily thinking, working, and living of all our citizens. American schools and colleges can strengthen democracy by practicing it--by showing concretely the basic advantages it offers to human beings. It is in the homes and in the schools, in home towns and local…

George Jacobs holds a doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He has taught courses on English, cooperative learning, curriculum design, environmental education, and multiple intelligences in the U.S., Thailand, Singapore, Nicaragua, and China . Dr. Jacobs has published more than 100 articles, book chapters,…

This discussion of service learning locates the notions of community and justice within the philosophies of liberalism and communitarianism. It examines constructivist models advanced by two authors, and argues that, despite debates surrounding communitarianism and liberalism, both philosophies share similar founding assumptions (consensual…

Community service learning has evolved as a vehicle to strengthen students' learning, reconnect them with their communities, and counter the learning/living imbalance in our society. Teachers use service learning to challenge and motivate students, gain insight into youngsters' learning processes, and improve their own relationships with students.…

An innovative University of Central Florida collaborative project has provided 56 university students with a structured hands-on learning experience. In turn, students have given over 10,000 hours of free assessment and case-management services to the juvenile offender population. The program is described, noting specific considerations and…

Describes the writing program at Pepperdine University, where some of the composition sections incorporate a service learning component. Makes a case for service learning as a productive space in a composition course. (TB)

Results of a survey of 48 college faculty from diverse disciplines and institutions support the hypothesis that faculty feel that both liberal arts and disciplinary learning derive from field study and service-learning, suggesting a shift in faculty attitudes about service-learning from skeptical to affirming. It is proposed that experiential…

Argues that higher education's traditional "closed" communities contrast sharply with democratic progressive ones that are more inclusive, empowering, and diverse. Drawing on feminism and postmodernism, demonstrates why service-learning is well suited to connect relational, experiential, and constructive epistemologies with democratic progressive…

Discusses the importance and history of volunteerism in America in the context of President Clinton's 1997 Volunteer Summit for America's Future, which promoted the spirit of community service. A sidebar discusses reasons to volunteer. Another sidebar presents the story of elementary school students who participated in a multifaceted community…

Strategic, academically based community service holds promise for creating the structural change needed to reduce deprivation and inhuman suffering found in urban areas. The early history of the modern urban university, particularly in the late 19th century, is an example and can provide a model for further development of this mission. (MSE)

This article suggests that in college community service programs, it is widely assumed that community refers to groups off campus, and primarily or exclusively to those who have been identified as needing assistance. A more flexible and inclusive concept of community, including the campus community itself, is urged. A central issue discussed is…

Describes national initiatives providing community colleges with grants and technical assistance to develop community building and service learning programs. Suggests that the objectives of service learning (that is, integrating community service with academic instruction, emphasizing critical reflection and civic responsibility) matches the…

This study identified factors associated with support for service learning (SL) among institutions of higher education. Surveys of SL programs in North Carolina indicated that institutionalization of SL was closely associated with such institutional characteristics as degree of faculty involvement and emphasis on academic goals in SL courses.…