Digital Commons Network^™

Best Practices In Service-Learning At Christian Private Liberal Arts Colleges And Universities, Regan Harwell Schaffer

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

The purpose of this study was to develop a working definition of service-Ieaming, identify the best practices of service-learning in the Christian college context and based upon that information develop a model that could be replicated at similar colleges and universities. To address the research questions, the researcher performed a descriptive study which incorporated the following: (a) examination of the findings of unpublished data from a survey on service-Iearning at 90 Christian colleges and universities and notes from a conference on service-learning at faith-based institutions; (b) conducting a thorough review of the literature on service-learning and the mission and purpose …

Teaching The "Heart And Soul" Of Citizenship: Service-Learning As Citizenship Education, Bernadette Sun Chi

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Troubling trends in political disengagement among young people include decreasing knowledge of and interest in political issues as well as lower rates of voting compared to previous generations. To potentially address this CO~ service-learning has often been promoted in public schools as a means of educating active citizens, among other outcomes.

Despite the expansion of service-learning programs, the relationship between service-learning and citizenship outcomes deserves further study. This dissertation examines the following questions: Do teachers consider "citizenship" an explicit goal for service-learning experiences in K-12 schools? How do teachers and students define what it means to be a "good citizen"? …

Service In A Cultural Immersion Setting: Student Teachers Evaluate "A Sense Of Community", Susan E. Johnstad

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Classroom demographics in K-12 schools in the U.S. show that students of color represent an increased percentage of those enrolled. and that the number of students whose families are in poverty is on the rise. Yet teaching is a profession long dominated by middle-class individuals of European ancestry. The recruitment of teachers from diverse backgrounds is paramount, but teacher education must also prepare new professionals to meet the needs of students whose backgrounds might be different from their own. Cultural immersion and community-based service learning are two strategies for enhancing multicultural education for preservice teachers.

This is a qualitative case …

Service Learning's Influence On Multicultural Goals: Among Elite High School Girls: An Interpretative Case Study, Gina Miller Blackburn

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

This qualitative study was designed to explore the experiences of high school girls in a service-learning class that I co-taught with my husband, Jeffrey Stephens. an economics and World Civilizations teacher at the Bayou School. I observed the participants during their three-week service class entitled The Economy's Impact Upon Its Citizenry when they served at a Salvation Anny community center and during their class discussions. I also interviewed all of the students before the class began, three times during the class. and twice after the class was over. The students kept journals throughout the class and wrote a case study …

Empowering Students Through Community Action, Natasha Diane Yanez

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Service Learning is a pedagogy in which the student must participate directly in a service-oriented project, which addresses a real community need. This study focused on the effect of service learning in the curriculum. Research was conducted over service learning, its implementation, and its effects. In addition, the study looks at how one junior high school implemented service learning into their curriculum and the difficulties involved in creating a more intense program.

It was discovered that service learning was often not integrated into the curriculum as expected, teachers often did not require students to reflect on their experiences, and teachers …

Impacts And Effects Of Service-Learning On High School Students, Bryan Richard Rossi

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

In the ten years this researcher has spent preparing to complete the requirements for a Ph.D. in Education Policy and Administration, he has come to see some of the transformations society and education have gone through. This has been fascinating to examine in parallel the educational transformations and human development of work and research in various schools. On the one hand, there have been the developments of the "macro-education" world through the Department of Children, Families and Learning, the state legislature, the news media, and the role of the university in education policy. On the other hand, there have been …

Building Citizenship: Service-Learning And Student Learning, William D. Morgan

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Even the most casual observer of the American news media could walk away with the impression that there are hosts of negative trends, ranging from a drop in the percentage of people who vote, to an increase in political alienation. Some of these are the result of marketing efforts conducted by groups who have a vested interest in making things look worse, and some of this may be the result of the type of news that is covered, with the guiding philosophical perspective being "if it bleeds it leads." Nonetheless, these problems are real. As Jim Wallis (1994) notes, '''Things …

Enhancing Student Development In Service-Learning With Performance-Based Assessment Rubrics, Paula M. Vaughn

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

This study examined issues regarding the educational development of students in service-learning programs using sets of performance-based assessment rubrics and other assessment techniques. In particular, this study employed the Service-Learning Assessment Toolkit (SLAT). a compilation of instruments, measures, and guidelines developed by the researcher. The SLAT captured students' educational development through a variety of data sources and measured development across six target constructs: career exploration, civic participation, and academic, ethical, personal and social growth.

The researcher used a naturalistic inquiry and data was collected and analyzed based on a two-group scenario, instructor and student. The research data identified whether the …

The Sustaining Factors Of Service-Learning At A National Leader School: A Case Study, Bruce J. Pontbriand

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

This case study examines the sustaining factors of a fully implemented and nationally recognized high school service-learning program. More specifically, it investigates why Community Service Learning has sustained itself for nine years at a New England high school recognized as a National Service-Learning Leader School by the Corporation for National Service. The study describes the process of adoption, design, implementation, and paths to institutionalization. It also considers the organizational conditions that promoted institutionalization at this site. The research approach was primarily qualitative. The study exposes the broad narrative of the case from the perspective off Our data sources: observations, documents …

Inducing Voluntary Community Service In Undergraduates: The Relative Contributions Of Prior Experience, Coursework, And The Dispositions Of Empathy And Moral Development, Susan M. Hudec

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

In the past twenty years, higher education has been criticized for what is perceived to be a failure to create better citizens. As a result of this criticism, a variety of pedagogical and curricula innovations have been attempted. One of these innovations is service learning, a form of experiential learning, which engages students in activities that combine fulfillment of community needs and opportunities for promotion of student learning and development (Kendall, 1990). This study hypothesized that moral development and empathy would increase over the course of the required service learning experience in the first semester of college and that required …

Writing Toward Democracy: Service-Learning And Composition, Glenn C. Hutchinson Jr.

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

This study will show how encouraging students to write toward democracy could help them to become better writers and citizens. Service-learning can help students learn to write through active inquiry, collaboration with different discourse communities, and consideration of their roles as citizens. However, service-learning must meet three challenges in order to be successful.

First, I will argue that freshman composition's subordinate status as a service course to the university can inhibit a pedagogy of service-learning. Even though service-learning may be a useful term to name this pedagogy, I propose that we find a different name in order to emphasize student …

Service Helix: A Grounded Theory Of College Student Development And Outcomes Through Involvement In Community Service, Mary Kay Schneider

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

Community service and service learning have been lauded as ways of teaching civic and social responsibility during college. In order to better understand the concept of social and civic responsibility and whether students gravitated toward these concepts, this study was undertaken. The grounded theory was designed to understand students' experiences with community service, what they see as outcomes from their involvement, and the role of responsibility in this dynamic.

Grounded theory was utilized as the methodology because of the lack of research and theory regarding service and the outcomes for the servers. To achieve depth of understanding, information-rich participants were …