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RESEARCH ON THE IMPACT OF SERVICE-LEARNING ON HIGHER EDUCATION
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Impact on Students
- Service-learning has a positive effect on students’ personal and interpersonal development, including a sense of personal identity, spiritual growth, moral development, the ability to work well with others, and leadership and communication skills.
- Service-learning increases students’ commitment to service and facilitates cultural and racial understanding.
- Service-learning has a positive impact on students’ academic learning as measured by outcomes such as problem analysis, critical thinking, and cognitive development.
- Service-learning contributes to career development and to students’ ability to apply what they have learned in the “real world.”
(From Eyler, J.S., Giles, D.E., Stenson, C.M., & Gray, C.J. (2001). At a glance: What we know about the effects of service-learning on college students, faculty, institutions, and their communities, 1993-2000. Funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service, Learn and Serve America subgrant through the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. Available at http://www.compact.org/resources/downloads/aag.pdf.)
Long-Term Impact
- Participation in service-learning during college is associated with increased civic leadership, charitable giving, and political engagement after graduation.
(From Astin, A.W., Vogelgesang, L.J., Misa, K., Anderson, J., Denson, N., Jayakumar, U., Saenz, V., & Yamamura, E. (2006). Understanding the effects of service-learning: A study of students and faculty. Los Angeles: Higher Education Research Institute. Available at http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/publications-brp.php.)
Impact on Communities
- Students at Campus Compact member colleges and universities—approximately one-quarter of all U.S. higher education institutions—contribute more than $7 billion in service each year through campus-organized service and service-learning initiatives. In 2006, these students contributed 377 million hours of service in their communities.
- The most common issues addressed by student service and service-learning work are poverty, reading/writing, housing/homelessness, hunger, the environment, health care, multicultural understanding, and senior services.
(From Service statistics: Highlights and trends of Campus Compact’s annual membership survey. (2007). Providence, RI: Campus Compact. Available at http://www.compact.org/about/statistics/.)
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