Illinois State University depends on their faculty and an aggressive Student Counseling Service for student growth. (Author)

Volunteering can teach elementary and secondary students about community service while improving their attitudes, enhancing their academic work, and providing them with valuable skills and experience. (SK)

Suggests field trips and other community exploration activities to show students that reading exists as a useful skill outside the classroom. (SJL)

The Physical Education Opportunity Program for Exceptional Learners (PEOPEL) was initiated as a project designed to provide a physical education experience for handicapped learners. PEOPEL differs from regular physical education programs in three aspects: (1) the use of trained student aids, (2) smaller class size, and (3) individualized…

Interviewed students (N=17) following a week-long Alternative Spring Break. Results show that nearly all of the participants experienced social and psychological difficulties while attempting to readjust to campus life. Findings should encourage educators and student affairs professionals to provide extensive reentry programming to support these…

Examined the benefits of volunteerism for people with disabilities as well as their non-disabled peers and the agency in which they served. Participants were college students who were matched with adolescents from a local school for students with disabilities. After two semesters of volunteer work for a local museum, benefits were discussed and…

This study examined whether and which types of voluntary service might facilitate adolescents' civic development. Analyses showed that social-cause service participation was positively related to concern for social issues, future unconventional civic intentions, and future intended service. Findings suggest a developmental connection between…

Discusses the Early Adolescent Helper program, which was designed to provide a safe and positive after-school environment for young people. In this program, 10- to 15-year-olds serve in day care, Head Start, latchkey programs, and at senior centers. (RJC)

Brisk political winds are now converging behind national proposals for youth service. As several examples show, combining classroom work with service/social action projects can help produce dramatic improvements in student attitudes, motivation, and achievement. Learning through service succeeds because youth become active, needed members of their…

Describes Academic Service-Learning (AS-L), in which classroom content is infused into a community-service experience. Describes a successful AS-L project in a business-communication class. Notes that its greatest strengths are students' tying theory into actual application of principles, student passion for the work, faculty enthusiasm for the…

A study tested the effect of controlled contact with children with developmental disabilities on the attitudes of 62 Israeli volunteer college students toward children with disabilities. The main finding indicates the association between contact and attitudes was related to the time of exposure to a person with disability. (Contains references.)…

Explains a work-study program designed for fourth and fifth grade students and describes pros and cons of using student workers in the media center for checking out materials, shelving books, straightening shelves, and dusting. Includes the student's job application, the teacher's application for student workers, and the work-study agreement and…

This study examined the association between adolescents' religious development, social integration, and risk-taking behaviors. Religious development was tracked along 4 trajectories from sophomore to senior year in high school: low religiosity (sophomore)-low religiosity (senior), low-high, high-low, and high-high. Civic integration was measured…

A 2005 national survey of incoming freshmen in the US reveals that two out of three college freshmen believe it is essential or very important to help others who are in difficulty, with 83 percent stating they volunteered at least occasionally during their senior year of high school. The survey also finds an increased level of political…

This project aimed to quantitatively measure the ability of first year science students to transfer their mathematical skills and knowledge to a physical context. An instrument used in earlier studies to measure transfer of mathematical knowledge was modified for this project, and tested with 49 student volunteers. This paper presents the Transfer…