Examines service learning as a bridge between practical courses such as professional communication, which are linked to the market economy, and the ideal of public service. Explores the charge of "vocationalism" regarding service learning and describes a partnership with a non-profit organization over several semesters that illustrates…

Service learning requires faculty and students to step away from habitual methods. It necessitates a culture change in organizations. Examples from nursing education illustrate how it can enrich teaching and learning. (SK)

Discusses service-learning programs, focusing on school-based programs that give students the opportunity to apply academic and nonacademic skills to real-life situations. Outlines some keys to effective programs, illustrated by the experiences of a charter school in Hoboken, New Jersey. (SLD)

Provides the first reliable national U. S. estimates of the percentage of public schools incorporating service-learning into their course curriculum. Also provides the most recent data on school engagement in community service. Sixty-four percent of all public schools and students participate in community service activities. (Author/SLD)

Presents a seven-step development model that professors new to service learning can use to prepare and conduct a service-learning course. The steps are: define student learning outcomes; define personal scholarship outcomes; plan community collaboration; design the course; arrange logistics and create forms; reflect, analyze, and deliver; and…

Community health nursing students performed community assessments and proposed and implemented service learning projects that addressed adolescent smoking in middle schools, home safety for elderly persons, industrial worker health, and sexual abuse of teenaged girls. Students learned to apply epidemiological research methods, mobilize resources,…

In implementing community service programs, camps need to develop safe, specific projects. Key planning points for service projects are presented. Risk management considerations specific to community service projects include developing guidelines for camper interaction with the public; discussing first-aid and emergency precautions, including…

Purpose: A collaborative partnership model was used to develop and implement a state-wide community education program on universal design. Design and Methods: University faculty, extension professionals, older adult service agencies, service learning students, and a community retail chain made up the original partnership. Results: This…

Service learning has moved into the mainstream of American higher education as an effective pedagogical approach to improving the teaching and learning of course content, but it has not sufficiently addressed the civic dimensions of the disciplines. The next phase of service learning's development must focus on the achievement of civic learning…

Healthy campuses are critical so that students can learn and actively participate in shaping and maintaining a strong educational environment. This Viewpoint describes the commonalities between service learning, social justice, campus health, and the goals of Healthy Campus 2010, which was developed from the larger Healthy People 2010 objectives…

Since the last decades of the 20th century, the teaching and learning environment at colleges and universities has been expanding significantly beyond the standard space-bound classroom. In addition to online and distance learning opportunities, many students have taken part in structured experiential learning that has given them opportunities to…

Professional identity is a term used to describe both the collective identity of a profession and an individual's own sense of the professional role. This article draws from the literature exploring professional identity with attention to the issues of developing professional identity in fields such as art therapy where lower wages, fewer jobs,…

Today, many classroom teachers are busy preparing for standardized tests. The No Child Left Behind Act encourages such behavior. Little time is left to devote to subjects that previously were considered a vital part of the curriculum, such as social studies, physical education, art, and music. Needless to say, if these subjects have taken a back…

Policy on service learning is framed in the discourse of reciprocity, partnership and engagement. It is tasked with transforming higher education to bring about opportunities for integrating theory and practice, work-based learning and academic learning, so that higher education engages with knowledge created in other sites of practice. While…

In service learning, students learn skills and apply their knowledge while addressing an identified community need. Service learning is especially powerful in special education as students with disabilities are allowed the opportunity to give, instead of receive, help and support, and therefore gain independence and self-esteem. This article…