Service-Learning and Civic Education

Abstract This report intends to assess, through both qualitative and quantitative research, the overall impact of the Service-Learning Program on the civic education of college students at a small, public liberal arts institution. The research focuses on positive student outcomes, including student development, diversity issues, and academic achievement, all of which are related to service-learning a teaching strategy. Introduction Over the past few decades, there has been a growing trend in academia to encourage student civic education and engagement, both on- and off-campus. This engagement takes many forms, ranging from one-time community service experiences to more extensive service-learning projects. Recent research demonstrates the growing importance of creating an engaged campus, supportive of student service within the community. According to Campus Compact, a national advocate for service-learning in higher education, opportunities for students to become civically engaged are necessary because now more than ever, higher education is challenged to educate the leaders of tomorrow and to connect those future leaders with the world of today (Hollander, et al., 2001). For many advocates of civic engagement, student service is essential for promoting an understanding of the individual's roles within both the community and the larger American democratic system. According to Kerrissa Heffernan, civic engagement provides important lessons to students because it illustrates the basic democratic tenet, that social bonds strengthen communities and institutions, and in doing so maintain the democratic process (2002, 69). Student participants in the 2001 Wingspread Summit on Student Civic Engagement agreed, stating that they viewed service as alternative politics, a method of pursuing change in a democratic society [by] building relationships with others (Long, 2002, 2). Service-learning naturally contributes to the development of this social cohesion and democratic involvement through its promotion of meaningful campus-community partnerships that enrich and support an engaged environment. In order to fully understand the impact of service-learning in promoting civic engagement, though, we must find adequate ways of assessing both the individual and institutional effects of service-learning programs in higher education. The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey is a small, public liberal arts college nestled in the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey. The campus's proximity to Atlantic City and its communities affords students ideal opportunities for service-learning and other forms of civic engagement. The Service-Learning Program has been a part of Stockton's dedication to community involvement since 1991, and for ten years, the Service-Learning Coordinator has been a part-time student position. The primary goal of the Office of Service-Learning, overseen by the Office of Academic Affairs, is to involve students in meaningful community service related to the content of specific courses. Since the program began in the early 1990s, though, little had been done in the way of evaluating the program's impact on Stockton students and the institution a whole. The program's rapid growth demanded an assessment of both the Office's resources and its ability to help facilitate the development of an engaged campus. Because the five academic years from 1998/99 to 2002/03 represented this growth so well, it was decided that a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative study would be completed for this period. The results demonstrate that without a doubt, the Service-Learning Program has had a significant impact on both the College and the student body at Stockton. Research Methods The information for this report was gathered largely from existing statistical reports produced in the Service-Learning Office over the five-year period studied. These reports provided the following information for the study: the number of students involved in the program, the total number of service hours completed, and the involvement of academic divisions in the program. …