Violence-Prevention Outcomes in Civic Education (VOICE) is a curriculum program for elementary social studies that incorporates conflict resolution, law-related education, and service learning. These three elements are among those considered to have promise in addressing youth violence. The VOICE curriculum is designed to complement the…

This study was performed to determine if a first-year experience course with a service-learning component could help students achieve teaching dispositions and make freshmen more satisfied with their college experience. "Teaching dispositions" are the set of desirable habits and ways of thinking and acting necessary for successful…

This publication is the first volume of a three-volume resource book intended for anyone who wants to start, strengthen, or support a program or course that combines community or public service with learning. The book covers policies, issues, and programs in colleges and universities, K-12 schools, community-based organizations, public agencies at…

This literature review surveys the varieties and purposes of connections between schools and communities, from home-school relationships to schools as social service centers and communities as school curricula. It explores the benefits of school-community connections to students, communities, and schools. It describes the processes by which…

These eight papers focus on connections beyond the foreign language classroom. They include the following: (1) "Intercultural Communities: Rethinking Celestin Freinet" (Helene Gresso and Lara Lomicka); (2) "Beyond the Foreign Language: Making Connections Through Recorded Oral Histories" (John Chaston); (3) "Information…

This book presents a theoretical rationale for youth involvement in community service. Its thesis is that youth participation in solving social problems has the potential to promote the development of personal and collective identity. Through community service, youth can acquire a sense that they can make a difference and a concern for society's…

This book incorporates teaching strategies to enhance middle school science and social studies using service learning. The book was developed by teachers who participated in a series of institutes conducted by the Social Science Education Consortium and the Science Discovery Program at the University of Colorado during the summers of 1993 and…

Contextual teaching and learning (CTL), which is still being designed and implemented, is a conception of teaching and learning that helps teachers relate subject matter content to real-world situation, and motivates students to make connections between knowledge and its applications to their lives as family members, citizens, and workers.…

This paper describes four considerations for policymakers who wish to have public schools serve as viable partners in the rural development efforts of their communities. First, schools are a community resource. When rural students are given opportunities to engage in community-based learning, they develop responsible citizenship and leadership…

This booklet discusses the collective power of collaboration among the three agencies that compose the Corporation for National Service (AmeriCorps, Learn and Serve America, and the National Senior Service Corps) and introduces the reader to a process of collaboration intended to strengthen existing services and to create new and higher-quality…

Ethics and social responsibility are the subject of both curriculum materials and research in adult and vocational education. State academic standards and curriculum frameworks address citizenship and personal and social responsibility. Ethical and legal issues for specific occupations are addressed in curricula issued by states, professional…

The Girls' Resiliency Program is a youth empowerment program for girls in a rural, economically depressed area of West Virginia. Girls develop leadership skills by participating in board meetings, discussion groups, recreational events, song writing and poetry workshops, action research, and school and community service projects. Evaluation…

A significant theme in the literature on rural education is the extreme interdependence between rural schools and rural communities. Belief in this interdependence has led to a number of initiatives focused on strengthening both student learning and the local community's economic and social resources. Most of these initiatives involve some degree…

This teacher's guide has been developed for use with the Peaceful Solutions video series. It provides information for educators who want to learn more about how to prevent or reduce youth violence. Through video, print, and on-line components, Peaceful Solutions is intended to increase awareness about educational practices that help promote peace.…

Compiled to help staff developers, administrators, teachers, and policy makers reexamine current literacy practices and reimagine how they can work with each other and with parents and community members, this collection of 22 previously published articles from various professional journals and one new article offers examples of how educators can…