Sociology Commons^™

Research Matters, Shelley H. Billig

Service Learning, General

Many people are attracted to service-learning because they see what it does for students, schools, and communities. Students are more engaged in their studies, schools are revitalized, with a new sense of mission and focus, and community members, energized by working with students on service-learning projects, are more supportive of young people and their schools.

This rosy picture is the reality in some settings with well-implemented service-learning, but too often this is not the case. In fact, much service-learning practice is uneven in quality, and research shows that low-quality service-learning has little impact.

The Effects Of Service Learning, Shelley H. Billig

Service Learning, General

Research, while limited, finds that students who help others help themselves academically and socially.

Is Service Learning A Good Idea? Data From The National Longitudinal Study Of 1988., June R. Chapin

Service Learning, General

Service learning is an integral part of social studies that aims to instill social responsibility among students. According to the National Longitudinal Study of 1988, a significant percentage of high school students participated in community work during the previous two years and that this involvement in community service was greatest in church or church-related groups. However, the survey showed that students favor diversity in their choice of community work and that social action is not their top priority. Furthennore, there is confusion about the difference between service and community learning.

Service Learning: What Is It? Can We Use It?, Terri Feldman Barr

Service Learning, General

I used to work for a Big Eight (now Big Six) Accounting firm. In addition to a tremendous amount of pro bono work that we did, the firm required all of its staff accountants, managers, and partners to become involved with one of the many not-for-profit organizations in the Cincinnati area.

The rationale was that each employee had an obligation to the greater community, to give something of himself or herself to others. And while I also heard that the "real" purpose of this requirement was "practice development" (translate marketing), there were certainly more likely places to network for "paying" …