Examines six mentoring programs conducted by fraternities and other organizations to ascertain the perceptions of participants of the effectiveness of their involvement. Results with 51 mentors and 54 African-American male adolescents support the positive impact of mentoring programs. Mentoring can be an important component of multifaceted…

Expands understanding of social support by addressing the communicative use of support in a community program for troubled teens. Presents the ways in which the organization accomplishes and constructs support. Identifies and explores two novel aspects of supportive communication: supportive communication that may be perceived as uncomfortable and…

Service-learning pedagogies are used in K-12 and higher education to provide students with experiential learning opportunities and foster connections between students, their communities, and the world. Presents comments from librarians across the United States on their experiences with service-learning programs. Suggests strategies for libraries…

Notes that while parental involvement in the classroom is beneficial, it can be difficult for teachers to maintain a balance between classroom needs and parent preferences. Briefly describes six successful activities for parental involvement and what is expected of parent volunteers for each activity. Outlines five other considerations for…

Examines the experiences of a group of 24 university students and 14 staff members who worked as volunteers in a low-income rural community. Interviews, participant observations, and document-analysis methods explore learning outcomes of engagement in community service. Conclusions relating to community process and implications for practitioners…

Students from an Albany (New York) free school spent a week repairing storm damage in a Puerto Rican village with a rich history of community solidarity. The students learned how good it feels to help others and the power of cooperation. They also encountered another culture, discovered they could cope with challenge, and experienced appreciation…

This article argues that the trend in college student public service cannot be sustained unless it is linked to the faculty's teaching mission, both disciplinary and interdisciplinary. This includes institutionalization of service learning in the field of pedagogy and within specific disciplines, and the linking of service learning to other higher…

Examined the effectiveness of the Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork (TIPS) Social Studies and Art Volunteers program at a Baltimore middle school. Data from over 400 students who participated in the interdisciplinary program indicated that the students increased their awareness of art and developed attitudes toward and preferences for…

A program in which 12 seventh- and eighth-grade students with learning disabilities and/or culturally diverse backgrounds participated with nondisabled peers in service learning is described. The students improved their social skills and self-esteem through community service with younger students and senior citizens. The article offers a rationale…

Identifies factors that influence parental involvement and describes ways that school librarians can help parents gain the skills needed to support their children's technological learning. Describes levels of parental involvement and possible obstacles; working one-on-one, including parent volunteers; and community-wide outreach education about…

Increases in teacher workload, deemed an undesirable site-based management consequence, is partly attributable to teachers' organizing skills. A New Zealand case study shows how secondary teachers attempting to improve minority student achievement unintentionally created workload pressures by developing parallel problem-solving structures and…

Fifteen high school students and adults from Idaho traveled to Mexico to assist the One World Workforce with monitoring the nests of olive ridley sea turtles. Only 1 percent of these endangered turtles mature to adulthood. The volunteers protected the eggs from poachers and helped the hatchlings get safely to the water. (TD)

Discusses extended hours of operation for school library media centers and describes how to plan for them. Considers benefits of extended hours; planning questions; staffing, including volunteers; costs and funding; security; and patron use of extended hours. (LRW)

This article examines individuals in a community as defined by their membership in an organization. In such a setting, individuals often make use of their social contacts to make sense of events in the organization. Yet, the organizational justice literature is generally silent on how these contacts shape information seeking, volunteering, and…

Fifteen at-risk new mothers participating in a volunteer home-visiting program were interviewed about their experiences with these home-visitors and their relationships with close family and friends after their babies were born. Results of the qualitative analysis, viewed through the lens of Relational Cultural Theory (RCT), detail the social…