Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Being In Another World: Transcultural Student Experiences Using Service Learning With Families Who Are Homeless, Roberta J. Hunt, Paula Swiggum

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Developing skills in cultural competence is a recognized theoretical strategy in schools of nursing. Nursing faculty know that students need to be sensitized to the concept of diversity; however, many are struggling with the best way to teach cultural competence. This article describes transcultural experiences from service learning clinical rotations at a family homeless shelter, described by students as being in another world. Student narratives provide valuable information about structuring clinical learning activities to promote understanding of cultural differences and similarities. Clinical experiences using a traditional model versus those using service learning, the role of reflection, and teaching strategies promoting …

Justice-Learning: Service-Learning As Justice-Oriented Education, Dan W. Butin

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"Justice-learning" lies at the intersection of service-learning and social justice education. Specifically, I argue for a distinctive form of community-based learning ("antifoundational service-learning") that fosters a justice-oriented framework ("anti-anti-social justice") that makes possible the questioning and disruption of unexamined and all too often oppressive binaries of how we view the struggle toward equity in education. The linkage of service-learning and social justice education in this manner offers a "weak overcoming" that strengthens experiential learning toward justice while avoiding the dilution and radicalization faced by both movements. I, thus, trace the linkages between service-learning and social justice education; explicate the potential …

Alternative Education Programs: Program And Student Characteristics, Regina M. Foley, Lang-Sze Pang

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Alternative education programs are often viewed as individualized opportunities designed to meet the educational needs for youth identified as at-risk for school failure. Increasingly, these programs have been identified as programs for disruptive youth who have been referred from traditional schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of the administrative structures and physical facilities of alternative education programs and to describe the student population and educational services being offered to youth attending such programs. The findings suggest programs appear to be largely site-based programs, often operating in physical facilities with limited access to academic suppm1s. The …

Service Learning: Strategies For Developing Character, Catherine Berger Kaye

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Simply put, service learning connects school-based curriculum with the inherent caring and concern young people have for their world-whether on their school campus, at a local food bank, or in a distant rainforest. With the recent devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, young students are especially attuned to how we as a nation, truly rely on the spirit and actions of volunteers to bring both essentials for daily living and to restore hope.

Quo Vadis: What Can Students Do For American Cities?, Harris Wofford

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The experience of service learning can be deeply rewarding, whether the service rendered is voluntary or a required part of the curriculum; whether it is part-time or full-time (as it is in most programs of national service); whether it takes place in the community where the college or university is located, in a student's home community, or in other parts of the country-- or overseas in the peace Corps.

The Banneker History Project: Historic Investigation Of A Once Segregated School, Marilynne Boyle-Baise, Paul Binford

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The Banneker History Project was a service learning project in which students investigated the history of the Benjamin Banneker School, a segregated school that operated from 1915-1951 in a Midwestern college community. This article discusses the research these students conducted and the perceptions they adopted as a result of their work.

Fostering An Environmental Ethic Through Service Learning, Amie Eisenhut, Diana Flannery

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Objective: To explore connections between environmental education, public concern for environmental health, and service learning. Methods: A 20-item survey was administered to same students at the beginning and end of a 15-week Environmental Health course. Qualitative data were collected from reflective papers based on students involved in community based learning. Results: The findings of the study revealed that students grew in their sense of environmental responsibility; significantly increased their "level of concern" for 18 of the 20 environmental variables measured; and viewed community action as empowering. Conclusion: Students' participation in an Environmental Health course and engagement …

The Use Of Service-Learning In Emergency Management, Federal Emergency Management Agency

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Service-learning is an educational approach that offers distinct advantages for emergency management higher education. Service-learning marries educational objectives with practice environments in such a way that the student, the university, and the community all benefit. "Real world" contexts and emphases on critical thinking, problem solving, ref1ection, application and interpersonal skills enrich learning about emergency management.

Make The School Board Your Ally, Sheldon H. Berman

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To survive and grow in a school district, service-learning must be supported by the district's school board and embedded in district policy. Because today's school boards are focused on standards, testing, and accountability, advocates have to convince them that service-learning is an important vehicle for achieving both district and wider social goals. In preparing this article, I asked Hudson school committee members (in Massachusetts, a school board is called a school committee) to share their views about how advocates can gain support from their boards to promote service-learning at the district level.

Motivating Students Through Project-Based Service Learning, Melanie Bradford

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In a survey conducted by an independent evaluator for the California High School Exit Examination, the state's teachers reported that student motivation was the greatest limitation on teachers' effectiveness (Human Resources Research Organization 2003). Because a lack of encouragement is also a primary reason for high student dropout rates, this article will offer proven strategies for addressing the issue of student motivation.

National Service: A Resource For Faith-Based And Community Groups, Corporation For National And Community Service

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The Corporation for National and Community Service provides opportunities for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to serve their communities and country, primarily through its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America programs.Together with the USA Freedom Corps, the Corporation is working to build a culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility in America.Through access to human capital, grant funding, training and technical assistance, and other resources, we can help increase your organization’s capacity to deliver innovative solutions for communities.

All of us have something to share that can make our communities and our nation stronger.

We hope this booklet …

Moral Education In The Digital Age, Edward E. Tywoniak

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Our natural human inclination to seek a moral understanding of the world is one of the oldest cultural narratives handed down since the beginning of recorded history. Much has been written on the ontic nature of moral absolutes and the rhetorical discourse of what makes a good citizen, but neither metaphysics nor politics has been totally prepared for the instantly ubiquitous nature of digital technology and its effect on societies in the contemporary age of the networked world. This paper reflects both a philosophical inquiry into the nature of technical systems through a set of anecdotal observations on civic engagement, …

Educating The "Good" Citizen: Political Choices And Pedagogical Goals, Joel Westheimer, Joseph Kahne

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At the level of rhetoric, most educators, policymakers, and citizens agree that developing students' capacities and commitments for effective and democratic citizenship is important. When we get specific about what democracy requires and about what kind of school curricula will best promote it, however, much of that consensus falls away. For some, a commitment to democracy is a promise to protect liberal notions of freedom, while. for others democracy is primarily about equality or equality of opportunity. For some, civil society is the key, while for ()!hers, free markets are a great hope for a democratic society. For some, good …

Chicagoland Youth And Adult Training Center: Building Strong Relationships Betweel1 Faithbased Organizations, Govemn1ent And Corporations To Transform Low-Income Communities, Jose Wilson, Brian Banks

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President George W. Bush's faith-based initiative has sparked increased interest in the role faith-based organizations can play in the development of low-income communities. Government is increasingly relying on religious groups to provide economic and moral development in communities, advocates argue, because faith-based organizations are well-organized, well disciplined groups that know communities. I I The following report describes Chicagoland Youth and Adult Training Center (CYATC), a three-year-old workforce development initiative created by faith-based organizations located in low-income communities, with Ford Motor Company and its' Chicago-area dealerships, and local government, and educational institutions. CYATC was started to help employers address their needs …

The Value Of Work: A Case For Promoting Christian Service Opportunities To College Students, Glenn Bryan

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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the historical evolution of attitudes toward work, the Protestant work ethic, a Biblical perspective on work, and to provide a rational for why Christian colleges should offer multiple service opportunities for students to help them integrate faith into their everyday lives.

Educator's Guide, Rahima C. Wade

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In the fall of 2003, the National Council for the Social I Studies (NCSS) was awarded a teacher training grant I from the federal Corporation for National and Community Service to fund "CiviConnections: Constructing the past, creating the future." The NCSS proposal was one of just 8 chosen for funding in the new 2003 grant competition on "Linking History, Civics, and Service." From 2003 to 2007, CiviConnections will involve more than 297 teachers and 7,425 3rd - 12th grade students nationwide in linking local history inquiry with community service-learning activities. Teams of three teachers apply for $7,500 grants to cover …

Learning That Matters, Shelley H. Billig

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In Georgia, kindergarten and first-grade students conduct a community mapping activity to figure out the needs of the children within the school. Kindergartners new to the school say that the school layout is confusing and it is hard to find their way to the classrooms. Each class considers solutions, and students decide to label the hallways with street signs. Each class brainstorms potential names for the hallways, and first grade students design and conduct a survey. They eliminate names that do not represent positive images. (No Shock Street because it would scare the five-year-olds.) The surveys are administered, the data …

Persuading Students To Care: Eugene Lang's Program Aims To Prod Colleges Into Encouraging Civic Involvement, Jeffrey R. Young

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Democracy in America is at risk, and colleges are not doing enough about it, says Eugene M. Lang, a philanthropist known for tackling large problems in education. Colleges may say they encourage good citizenship, he says, but their efforts are often "random," and students are increasingly tuning out of the democratic process.

Integrating Service-Learning Into Watershed Management Programs: Opportunities And Challenges, Tamim Younos, Raymond De Leon, Christine Lewicki

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The objective of this article is to open a dialogue on integrating service-learning into community based watershed management programs and to discuss opportunities and challenges that a service-learning program presents to universities and communities. The article presents the concept and definition of service-learning, and arguments concerning why institutions of higher education and university faculty and students should be involved with community based watershed management programs.

Support For K-12 Service-Learning Practice: A Brief Review Of The Research, Shelley Billig

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Each year, more K-12 schools and districts are adopting service-learning as an educational reform strategy to help students achieve :important educational goals. The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that service-learning is being practiced in. more than one-third of all public schools in the United States and in about half of all public high schools. The 1999 National Student. Service-Learning and Community Service Survey found that rates of participation in service-learning progressively increase across grade levels. Passion for the practice of service-learning sometimes reaches evangelical proportions. However, by its nature, the practice of service-learning varies widely, and even ardent practitioners …

A Way With Words: A Unique Approach To Literacy And Career Development, Allyson D. Brathwaite

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This article describes a unique collaboration between the Career Center at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia Public Schools and the community. A WAY WITH WORDS is an "America Reads" community literacy program that has enriched the educational experience of graduate, undergraduate and K-5 students since 1996. Teams of undergraduate volunteers led by graduate students in Counseling Psychology and Educational Leadership (ELPA) tutor local children in an effort to increase literacy. The teams interact and communicate with children, parents, teachers and principals as they serve during school and in after-school programs that they co create with school administrators and community members. …

Eleven Principles Of Effective Character Education, Tom Lickona, Eric Schaps, Catherine Lewis

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There is no single script for effective character education, but there are some important basic principles. The following eleven principles serve as criteria that schools and other groups can use to plan a character education effort and to evaluate available character education programs, books, and curriculum resources.

Executive Summary - The Philadelphia Freedom Schools Junior Leader Project, Shelley H. Billig

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The Philadelphia Freedom Schools Junior Leader Project is a bold initiative to foster leadership and civic engagement for young people in the Philadelphia School District. Beginning in 1999, the school district project was developed to help young African American and other high school students to become strong leaders in their schools and communities. The Junior Leader project recruited freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in high school to learn about their heritage; work with young children to help them gain academic skills; participate in meaningful dialogue about social justice; learn and engage in community action strategies; develop leadership skills; and create pathways …

Service As A Pathway To Political Participation: What Research Tells Us, Tobi Walker

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Historically, there has been a rich American tradition connecting service to politi­cal engagement. To test whether this pathway remains significant, research on the political outcomes of young people's service participation is reviewed. The author argues that most research operationalizes citizenship as a helping behavior, contributing to a perspective that service is an alternative to politics. The article Concludes with a set of recommendations for reinvigorating service to support more robust political participation.

Consortia And Institutional Partnerships For Community Development, Mitchell R. Williams

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The need for effective community development to address social, economic, and environmental issues is perhaps stronger now than at any other time. Making communities functional and livable is critically important to our society. There is a renewed interest in using the resources of higher education to assist communities and regions through community development initiatives (Livermore and Midgley, 1998; Usnick, Shove, and Gissy, 1997), To illustrate the contribution of colleges and universities to building sustainable communities, this chapter examines the development of community leaders through institutional partnerships and consortia involving different types of institutions of higher education.

"...And Justice For All": Community Service-Learning For Social Justice, Rahima Wade

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Community service-learning, the integration of school or community-based service activities with aca­demic skills and structured reflection, is a growing movement in the field of education nationally. With funding and initiatives at the federal, state and private organizational levels, service-learning programs have proliferated in the nation's K-12 classrooms, as well as in colleges and universities.

Doing Theology In The City, Paul Fitzgerald

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The task of theology is often a lonely endeavor. The hush of the library or the archives, the still of the chapel, and the quiet discipline of one's desk are places where theological research and writing unfold, most often in solitary concentration. The classroom on the protected college campus or seminary, the academic conference in large hotels, and even the cherished conversation in the homes of colleagues do open the theologian to other minds and hearts so that theories and insights may be tested in dialogue. However, these exchanges are often located in affluent social contexts which cannot reveal the …

School-Community Partnerships In Rural Schools: Leadership, Renewal, And A Sense Of Place, Patricia A. Bauch

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Rural schools are vulnerable to imitating the reform standards of national and urban school. Urban schools, to which much of the research on current reform efforts has been directed, are not rural schools writ large. Neither are rural communities like urban neighborhood communities. Hodgkinson and Obarakpor (1994) declared "rural poverty is not the same as urban poverty in a different setting" (p. 2). Rather, the context of rural has its own set of community identifiers that make rural schools dramatically different from their metropolitan counterparts. The goals and purposes of schooling and educational renewal processes appropriate for urban and suburban …

Sparking A Renewed Jewish Commitment To Service, Sara Paasche-Orlow, Maggi G. Gaines

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Where do Jews stand in relation to service and what might a Jewish commitment to service look like? By reflecting on historical Jewish understandings of service, we hope to gain perspective on the present and the need to rejoin our concepts of God, service, and worship. Such explorations can spark a radical transformation of our social and communal norms.

United We Serve: A Call To Universal Jewish Service, Maggi G. Gaines, Sara Paasche-Orlow

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We have reached a turning point in American Jewish history. Now that large segments of our community are living successful, integrated lives, we have an opportunity to align ourselves behind service to enrich Jewish life and to effect prophetic change in the world. In Pirke Avot (Ethics of the Fathers), Rabbi Tarfon admonishes us, "You are not obliged to finish the task, neither are you free to desist from it." The usual interpretation is that our task is bigger than any of us in terms of the quantity of work that must be done. Rabbi Tarfon's dictum, however, also refers …