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This article presents a longitudinal research study that led to the development of a theoretical framework for explaining how students experience the process of transformational learning in service-learning. The article describes nonreflective and reflective dimensions of the process of transformational learning. The author recommends that future research focus on supporting the transformative potential of service-learning.
Little research has examined the effects of service participation and the level of integration of service into courses on alumni service-related attitudes and behaviors. In the present study, 481 alumni of a religious-affiliated liberal arts college participated in a phone survey that examined their present and past behaviors related to service and their current service-related attitudes. Results showed that participation in both general community service and service-learning as undergraduates was positively associated with alumni attitudes toward social and personal responsibility as well as alumni involvement in post-college community service and service-related careers. Service-learning participation exerted an effect over and above that accounted for by community service participation. Positive relationships of service-learning with outcomes generally were limited to courses that provided high-quality experiences (more hours of service, more reflection activity, and more integration of service into the course).
Articles on service-learning champion its potential to create a win-win-win situation for the university, students, and community; however, substantial scholarly attention to pedagogical benefits for students and universities contrasts with limited research assessing community partner perspectives. This study presents findings on nonprofit organizations participating in service-learning projects as part of a graduate nonprofit management course during 2000-2003. Data indicate resource constraints of community nonprofits lead them to place a high premium on opportunity costs of staff time devoted to service-learning. Because transactional relationships are perceived as having potentially low economic risk (opportunity cost of staff time) and yielding high benefits, they are nonprofits' preferred type of relationship with universities. For universities to engage in more complex relationships, nonprofits' resource constraints must be overcome.
We analyze a two-year Faculty Fellows Program designed to enhance the service-learning pedagogy and scholarship at a regional comprehensive university. The impact of the program was analyzed using initial questionnaires, meeting notes, final reports, and faculty reflective essays. Participation in a faculty fellows cohort program provided a sense of campus community, led to professional and personal development, and improved community and student outcomes. Findings indicated the supportive culture created through the program was central to its powerful impact; other positive outcomes were grounded in the sense of community that developed.
In the past two years, three graduate students and a senior faculty member have co-taught a participatory action research (PAR) course to undergraduate and graduate students. In this article the co-teachers advocate a set of pedagogical principles and practices in a PAR-oriented classroom that establishes congruency with community PAR projects in which students participate. PAR in the classroom parallels, supports, and amplifies PAR lessons students learn in their community partnerships.
Last Updated October 6, 2005
