Service learning resources
Below is a list of resources related to the value of service learning. The abstracts are sourced directly from the published article when available.
Abstract:
A study based on data from 1,500 students at 20 colleges and universities found that students who combined community service and academic study (service learning) differed from those who did not, in their target attitudes, skills, values, and understanding of social issues. Participation in service learning had an impact on these outcomes over the course of a semester.
Abstract:
This publication presents findings from a national study conducted by AAC&U researchers to investigate the impact of engagement in high-impact practices on traditionally underserved populations (defined here as first-generation, minority, transfer, and low-income students).The mixed-method analysis includes student-level data on engaged learning at thirty-eight participating institutions-from the state higher education systems in California, Oregon, and Wisconsin-drawn from the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), as well as qualitative data obtained through student focus groups held at nine selected campuses. This report serves as a guide for campus-based inquiry to further our understanding of underserved student engagement with high-impact practices. The publication also includes a toolkit on assessing equity in high-impact practices developed by the Center for Urban Education at the University of Southern California. This project is funded by TG Philanthropy.
Abstract:
As today’s business world and society become more diverse, it is essential for colleges and universities to prepare students to work and live in that diverse world, and service-learning is one tool for that education. This study presents a critical review of 55 studies of the impact of service-learning participation on students’ diversity outcomes, identifying six diversity-related outcomes that emerge from these studies. The paper also identifies five major limitations of the existing body of research, and offers suggestions for researchers to conduct and write about this research in ways that provide an empirical basis for effective service-learning practice.
Abstract:
Only about half of all students who enroll in colleges and universities in the United States earn a four-year degree at the institution where they begin their studies, and many postsecondary institutions are seeking ways to increase the graduation rates of their students. Both student characteristics and institutional factors influence a student's likelihood of graduating, so it is important for colleges and universities to determine which institutional practices have a significant impact on degree completion. In this longitudinal, ex post facto study, a cohort of 3,458 undergraduate students who matriculated in 2005 at a large, urban public research university in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States were followed for six years to explore the differences between students who took service-learning courses while enrolled (SL students) and those who did not take service-learning courses (non-SL students). Although SL students and non-SL students had similar pre-college academic characteristics, SL students were more successful while enrolled in college. They earned more credits, had a higher average college GPA, and they graduated at a significantly higher rate than did non-SL students, despite having greater financial need while enrolled. Discrete-time survival analysis showed that service-learning course completion during the third, fourth, and sixth years of enrollment was a significant predictor of graduation for students in this cohort who persisted until the third year. These findings demonstrate that the impact of service-learning on degree completion is substantial, even when traditional predictors for graduation are also considered.
Abstract:
In 2006 the Learn and Serve America program of the Corporation for National and Community Service awarded a three-year grant to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Selected through a national competition, thirteen colleges participated in AACC's "Community Colleges Broadening Horizons through Service Learning" grant project. AACC measured learning outcomes attainment for students at the "Horizons" grantee colleges. To investigate the relationship between service learning participation and academic learning, AACC used both quantitative and qualitative methodologies as evaluation tools for its 2006-2009 "Horizons" grant project. AACC developed two quantitative instruments (one addressing students, one addressing faculty) after reviewing the institutional learning outcomes of multiple higher education institutions across the nation. To further explore how service learning affected student learning, AACC conducted five student focus groups and three faculty focus groups during spring 2009. In this study, student learning was assessed in relation to service learning participation through an end-of-course survey. Enhancement of learning was detected in the community college students who participated in service learning, either as a course option or a requirement. Additionally, the voices of community college faculty and students in this study validate the benefits of the service learning pedagogy as an active, engaged method of learning skills and knowledge that will be important beyond graduation. Through this study's results, those community college faculty and students who have experienced service learning appear to affirm that service learning is a key strategy for student engagement and a valuable learning tool for students across disciplines and academic majors, while at the same time providing these students with experiences that dissolve the classroom walls and help launch them more solidly into their careers of choice.
Abstract:
This study explores the role of community service learning (CSL) in promoting undergraduate persistence relative to other experiences students have in college, their entering characteristics, and institutional features. By following the 2009 freshmen cohort at three Midwestern universities over three years, this study finds that students' experiences while in college (CSL, full-time enrollment, and GPA) have a stronger effect on the likelihood of reenrollment than students' entering characteristics (age, gender, and race). Our separate analyses for each institution allow us to consider how the differences between the three universities (student body composition, retention rate, CSL program) might lead CSL courses to play a particularly critical role in student persistence in certain types of universities.
Abstract:
Underrepresented students have been identified as being less likely to attain a college degree than their majority counterparts. Service-learning (SL) offers students an opportunity to engage in community work and improve skills that might contribute to their educational success in college. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of SL courses on students’ academic outcomes (fourth-year cumulative GPA) and persistence (fourth-year cumulative units earned, retention, and graduation) at a large Midwestern university, with a focus examining service-learning’s impact on underrepresented students. Results showed that SL participation was positively related to underrepresented students’ cumulative GPA, retention, and graduation, but was not related to units earned. The relationship between SL and academic outcomes, however, were not consistent across the colleges included in the study. In some colleges, SL had negative relationships with underrepresented students’ academic outcomes and persistence. The differential findings across the colleges suggest that university-wide studies of SL should take into account particular practices within SL courses that promote and limit underrepresented students’ capacity to optimize educational outcomes.
Abstract:
The general purpose of this study is to determine the awareness and acquisitions obtained with service activities by the students studying on undergraduate level in Eskişehir Anadolu University in 2016-2017 education year and involve in service learning and volunteerism activities. The study was designed according to qualitative research method and the case study was used. The data of the study was collected with semi-structured interview technique. Descriptive analysis method was used in analysing the data. Consequently, in this study, 4 main themes, 9 sub-themes and 3 categories were found in accordance with the purpose of the study. Being the first purpose of the study, “the reasons of students’ participation into service learning and volunteerism activities” was determined as the first theme of the study. The second purpose, “the effects of service learning and volunteerism activities on students’ occupational developments” was determined as the second theme of the study. The third purpose of the study “the effects of service learning and volunteerism activities on students’ personal development” was determined as the third theme. The fourth purpose “the effects of service learning and volunteerism activities on students’ view about disadvantageous people of the society” was determined as the fourth theme. Sub-themes and categories were classified according to the themes determined.
Abstract:
Service-learning is an experience-based approach to education and learning that has a set of diverse learning outcomes. Because of the uniqueness of its pedagogical approach and breadth of potential learning outcomes, management and business scholars have recognized its value. Much theory and supporting research has been generated on the effect of service-learning on college and university students. Through meta-analytic techniques, we found support for the hypotheses that service-learning has a positive effect on understanding of social issues (Est. δ = .34); personal insight (Est. δ = .28); and cognitive development (Est. δ = .52). We also found significant moderating evidence for research design, type of reflection, type of measurement, and the service experience as optional or required. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of these findings along with suggestions for future research.