Disciplinary Pathways to Service-Learning

I begin with a metaphor borrowed from another domain; the movement to link community service with academic study is a kind of collage. As a work of art, a collage contains objects that have a double meaning: they originated in one context but have been incorporated into a new work. The educators whose essays comprise this monograph are combining a number of educational traditions into a new whole. They have found creative and engaging ways to bring course content to life by having students study that material as they encounter the world outside the classroom. At the same time, these educators' work reaffirms a central purpose of American higher education: preparation of students for citizenship and civic engagement. Finally, their work helps community colleges enact their mission of service to their local communities.

The essays in this monograph affirm the strengths of community college education--the emphasis on teaching as a means of unlocking students' learning, the desire to combine theoretical knowledge with practical wisdom, and profound respect for students' varying cultural traditions and learning styles. In his 1995 book Dogmatic Wisdom Russell Jacoby observed that community colleges are now enrolling more than half of all students currently attending college. Hence the work of community college faculty and staff will play an increasingly important role in shaping the postsecondary educational experiences of future students in the United States.

As educators committed to service-learning, these authors report their experiences with this pedagogy for the consideration of their peers. At the same time, this monograph helps document the early stages of a national movement which is still fairly young. The tone of the essays here reflects the passion for teaching, the dedication to discipline-based content, and the struggle for curricular integration of these authors. The tone of this volume was set in a workshop at the Campus Compact National Center for Community Colleges conference last Spring in Phoenix. At that session educators wrote their answers to three questions: What is your work? How is your work related to you job? How is your work related to your academic training? They discovered their service-learning experiences helped them connect their training, their work, and their jobs in a powerful fashion. We realized then that their personal stories were a vital part of the development of their service-learning courses. Although their styles vary considerably, each of the essays in this monograph is permeated with the personal narratives of the authors.

Hints for Readers

Different readers will find different sections of this monograph more immediately interesting and useful. Readers who are unfamiliar with the term "service-learning" are invited to begin with Sue McAleavey's outline of a "Theory and Rationale" for service-learning. That essay, along with President Deborah DiCroce's Foreword to this volume, provides an excellent general overview of the importance and advantages of this pedagogy.

The second section contains essays that link service-learning to specific disciplines. Many of these essays come from an ambitious project at Kapi'olani Community College in the University of Hawai'i system. Read together, these essays speak to the power of institutional commitment and faculty cooperation in enacting service-learning. Specific courses, including some samples of course syllabi, are listed under each essay in the Table of Contents. These courses are identified to aid readers interested in specific fields or courses.

The third section contains essays describing the incorporation of service-learning into programs targeted for specific populations, e.g., students attending tribal colleges, non-native speakers of English, or students "at-risk" for leaving college before finishing their studies. To me this section is the most rewarding, because the work of the faculty and staff involved in these programs speak eloquently to the educational power of combining service with academic study.

The final section contains print resources, organizations, and a list of electronic resources for those seeking further information. Prepared by Gail Robinson of the American Association of Community Colleges and Maria Hesse of the Business Faculty at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, this section should help those readers who do not find their particular courses or programs described in these essays. In combination with the overview essays, the resources listed in this section should provide educators new to service-learning with a sense of the field.

Finally, I hope all readers will sample from a number of the essays in this monograph. Many of the suggestions offered would be of help to anyone designing a course which includes service-learning. As the compiler of this document, I have read each essay several times. I continue to be encouraged in my own work and my own job by the learning reported here. Both the students affected by these authors, and these educators themselves, live on these pages. I invite all readers to share in their work. I believe they have documented one of the most meaningful aspects of higher education in the United States in the 1990's.

I would like to close by expressing my appreciation and admiration to each of the people who contributed to this collection. I especially want to thank the staff at CCNCCC, particularly Lyvier Conss, Executive Director, and Terry Pickeral, Coordinator of Instructional Programs, for the opportunity to participate in this project.

		Service-Learning: Theory and Rationale
		Foreword
		Table of Contents