



































The History of Service Learning in the United States:


114 

 

Forty Years of Service-Learning in the United States, 1969-2009  
 

Thomas A. Kessinger 

Xavier University 

 

Abstract 

 This article reviews the relatively brief 

forty-year history of service/service-learning in 

the United States. Distinctions are offered 

between community service, service learning, and 

service-learning (hyphenated) with emphasis on 

the latter during this period. A summary of 

service and service-learning ventures by public 

and private groups during the past ten years is 

also highlighted; and, the connection between 

service (and/or service-learning) and citizenship 

education is emphasized as well. 

 

Introduction 

 Service-learning is a relatively new term. 

It is a form of experiential education that has its 

roots in the ideas and writings of John Dewey. 

Nearly eighty years ago, Dewey said:  

 

The aim of civic efficiency…calls 

attention to the fact that power must be 

relative to doing something, and to the 

fact that the things which most need to 

be done are things which involve one's 

relationships with others. (Dewey 1930, 

140) 

 

Additionally, social efficiency 

 

covers all that makes one's own 

experience more worthwhile [sic] to 

others, and all that enables one to 

participate more richly in the worthwhile 

experiences of others. (Dewey 1930, 

141) 

 

Based on Dewey's ideas and writings as well as 

that of the National Society for Experiential 

Education many forms of experiential learning 

can be found at grades K-16 in both public and 

private education today. Some of the more 

common examples include tutoring, mentoring, 

public service, and youth service.  

 

Historical Overview 

The remainder of this article primarily 

serves as a historical description of service and/or 

service-learning in the United States for the past 

forty years. 

Are the following terms synonymous: 

service, volunteerism, community service,  

service-learning? Truly, it depends. Oftentimes it 

is nearly impossible to distinguish or to discern 

the distinctions between these terms in 

philosophy, program, support or result. According 

to various writers (Giles & Eyler, 1994; Kinsley 

& McPherson, 1995; Loeb, 1999; Putnam, 2000), 

the desire and ability to offer "service" has been 

present ever since the beginning of this country. 

Therefore, each one of the above terms has had 

attention given it and some evidence of 

application in the United States. However, it 

would be a major mistake to assume that the 

above terms are synonymous. According to the 

National Council for the Social Studies or NCSS  

(position statement, 2000), “[s]ervice-learning is 

distinguished from community service or 

volunteerism.” Stanton and others (1999) also 

note distinctions between the terms. This article 

offers a survey of service-related terms and 

definitions by various groups. It also shows a 

connection between service (and service-learning) 

and ctizenship. Finally, it notes how some public 

and private institutions (organizations) assist in 



 

115 

 

promoting either service or service-learning in 

this country. 

During the 1840s, Alexis de Tocqueville 

noted that Americans of all ages and backgrounds 

had a great propensity for forming voluntary 

associations to support community needs. More 

recent authors (Galston, 2003; Loeb, 1999; 

Putnam, 2000) express the concern that the 

United States is at risk in sacrificing this 

heretofore community or service ethic. Loeb 

(1999) states: “I remain convinced by Putnam’s 

basic proposition [contained in an earlier article], 

that civic involvement has dropped off 

significantly” (198).  

Service-learning, as a concept, has 

evolved from volunteerism and community 

service; or, to say it another way, service learning 

rests on both volunteerism, service and 

community service. The NCSS (2000) states: 

“Service-learning connects meaningful service in 

the school or community with academic learning 

and civic responsibility" (p. 240). It is one 

example of a tool or technique that fits within the 

dynamic notion of the "powerful social studies" 

(NCSS 1994, 11-12).  

Shumer says “. . . one of the problems we 

face is to separate service-learning from 

volunteerism and community service. I’m not 

against the word service, but I think service and 

volunteerism take the emphasis away from 

learning” (Stanton, Giles, & Cruz 1999, 208). 

According to Eyler and Giles (1999), one 

researcher had uncovered 147 definitions of 

service-learning. Ten years ago, Sigmon (1996) 

took the concept of service-learning (with and 

without the hyphen) and offered a typology to 

distinguish four different possibilities and 

meanings based on a particular term emphasis. 

For example, he notes that when people go into 

the community and provide service—after 

hearing or reading about selected agencies, he 

refers to this as service-learning (emphasis on the  

service, with learning goals secondary). Likewise, 

when service and learning goals are of equal 

weight, and each enhances the other for all 

participants (this implies the notion of 

reciprocity), this is service-learning; this is the 

richest definition of all offered (Eyler & Giles 

1999, 5). 

 The focus of the remainder of this article 

will be to trace the idea of “service-learning” for 

the last forty years. An equally important 

objective will be to show how academics and 

others in the United States have applied the term. 

According to Wade (1997), “service-learning 

programs can take a variety of shapes and forms, 

making the defining of service-learning a 

challenging task” (19).  

 Pre-collegiate and collegiate student-

centered volunteer/community services have a 

long history that includes YMCA, YWCA, 4-H, 

the Scouting movements, fraternities and 

sororities, and other initiatives. It grew 

dramatically in both numbers and in the public’s 

eye during the early 1960s with Kennedy’s Peace 

Corps. A few years later, Volunteers in Service to 

America (VISTA) followed which allowed young 

persons to take on domestic-based challenges in 

various communities around the country.    

 A precursor to service-learning can be 

found in four of the “Cardinal Principles” of the 

National Education Association (NEA) 

Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary 

Education. In its report, the commission 

underscored the importance of “service” in the 

principles of vocation, civic education, worthy 

use of leisure, and ethical character. For example, 

under vocation, the report states: “. . . equip the 

individual to secure a livelihood for himself and 

those dependent on him, to serve society well 

through his vocation.” As to civic education, 



 

116 

 

“[t]he pupil should feel that he will be 

responsible, in cooperation with others . . . (to) 

realize that democracy itself is an ideal to be 

wrought out by his own . . .” On worthy use of 

leisure, “the school should therefore, see that 

adequate recreation is provided both within the 

school and by other proper agencies in the 

community . . . because it includes in its 

membership representatives from all classes of 

society and consequently is able through social 

relationships to establish bonds of friendship and 

common understanding that can not be furnished 

by other agencies.” Finally, for ethical character, 

“. . . the social contacts of pupils with one another 

and with their teachers, the opportunities afforded 

by the organization and administration of the 

school for the development on the part of pupils 

of the sense of personal responsibility and 

initiative, and above all, the spirit of service . . . 

should permeate the entire school” (NEA 

Cardinal Principles 1918, 10-16).  

 As noted in the Introduction above, 

service-learning as a form of experiential 

education [note that the National Society for 

Experiential Education (NSEE) was formed in 

1971], has its roots in the ideas and writings of 

John Dewey (see Giles & Eyler, 1994). Dewey 

(1930) said:  

 

The aim of civic efficiency (or good 

citizenship) . . . calls attention to the fact 

that power must be relative to doing 

something, and to the fact that the things 

which most need to be done are things 

which involve one’s relationship with 

others. (140).  

 

Furthermore, social efficiency “covers all that 

makes one’s own experience more worth- while 

[sic] to others, and all that enables one to 

participate more richly in the worthwhile 

experiences of others” (Dewey 1930, 141). As a 

result of his work and that of the NSEE, many 

forms of experiential learning can be found at 

grades K-16 in public as well as in private 

education. For example, tutoring, mentoring, 

cooperative learning, collaborative learning, 

internships, experiential education, public service, 

youth service and other examples abound (see 

O’Grady, 2000; also, see Bailes, 2001).  

 

Origins of Service-Learning 

 What is the origin of the term service-

learning? It first appears in the late 1960s in the 

publications of the Southern Regional Education 

Board (SREB) whose primary writers were 

Robert Sigmon and William Ramsay (O’Grady, 

2000; Stanton, Giles & Cruz, 1999).  In 1969 the 

Office of Economic Opportunity established the 

National Student Volunteer Program which later 

became the National Center for Service-Learning.  

In 1971 this program and two others—Peace 

Corps and VISTA -- combined to form the federal 

agency ACTION.  

 Service-learning was introduced and 

became a mainstay on many college campuses 

during the late 1960s and the 1970s. From the 

mid-1980s, service-learning on college campuses 

increased in popularity. In 1985 the Education 

Commission of the States began Campus 

Compact or the Project for Public and 

Community Service. Today, this is "a national 

coalition of more than of 1100 college and 

university presidents—representing some 6 

million students—dedicated to promoting 

community service, civic engagement, and 

service-learning in higher education" (see 

Campus Compact website 2008). Campus 

Compact defines service-learning as “a teaching 

method which combines community service with 

academic instruction as it focuses on critical, 

reflective thinking and civic responsibility” 



 

117 

 

(“What is Service-Learning?” Campus Compact 

Online 2008,  6). 

 As a result of community service and the 

spread of service-learning programs, the NSEE 

began to establish a set of “principles of good 

practice” in 1987. This effort culminated in a 

1989 Wingspread conference hosted by the 

Johnson Foundation at which the “Principles of 

Good Practice in Combining Service and 

Learning” were articulated. Wingspread offered 

the ideal that any definition of service-learning 

must represent that “(s)ervice, combined with 

learning, adds value to each and transforms both” 

(Kendall 1990, 39). 

 After this conference Kendall and 

Associates published the classic three-volume set, 

Combining Service and Learning, under the 

auspices of the NSEE and in collaboration with 

ninety-one national and regional associations. The 

document contains a wide range of resources on 

service-learning in K-12 and higher education 

plus an annotated bibliography on service-

learning literature. That same year mainstream 

educational publisher Jossey-Bass issued the first 

volume on service-learning. 

 During the 1990s additional articles and 

books were published on service-learning for 

secondary and higher education students and 

institutions. Besides publishing other references 

on service-learning (curricular service-learning 

models and reflective ideas for students), NSEE 

hosted another Wingspread conference in 1991. 

As a result of the push for research on the benefits 

and effects of service-learning, the Michigan 

Journal of Community Service-Learning was 

launched in late 1994. Campus Compact 

continued its publication of service-learning 

materials as well.  

In recognition of the need for a widely 

agreed-on definition of service-learning and a set 

of standards by which to judge programs, a 

diverse group of service-learning educators 

formed the Alliance for Service-Learning in 

Education Reform or ASLER.  They defined 

service-learning in 1993 as: 

 

. . . a method by which young 

people learn and develop through active 

participation in thoughtfully-organized 

service experiences: that meet actual 

community needs, that are coordinated 

in collaboration with school and 

community, that are integrated into each 

young person’s academic curriculum, 

that provide structured time for a young 

person to think, talk, and write about 

what he/she did and saw during the 

actual service activity, that provide 

young people with opportunities to use 

newly acquired academic skills and 

knowledge in real life situations in their 

own communities, that enhance what is 

taught in the school by extending student 

learning beyond the classroom, and that 

help foster the development of a sense of 

caring for others. (ASLER 1993, 1) 

 

The federal government’s interest in and 

support of service-learning increased dramatically 

in the 1990s as well. This was due in large 

measure to the passage of the National and 

Community Service Act of 1990. This act 

reflected President George H.W. Bush’s 

campaign pledge of a “thousand points of light,” 

and led to the creation of the first White House 

Office of National Service and the Points of Light 

Foundation. President Clinton’s campaign 

stressed the establishment of a national “service” 

program that culminated—after much debate—in 

the passage of the National and Community 

Service Trust Act of 1993. This legislation 

brought together the Commission of National and 

Community Service, ACTION, and the newly 

established National Civilian Community Corps 



 

118 

 

that merged to form the Corporation for National 

and Community Service (CNS).   

This corporation is responsible for the 

establishment and maintenance of three major 

volunteer, community service, and/or service-

learning programs: Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, 

and Learn and Serve America. The goal of all 

three groups/programs is to provide opportunities 

for Americans of all ages and backgrounds to 

“serve” their communities and country. 

Specifically, the Act of 1993, states that service-

learning: 

- Is a method whereby students learn 

and develop through active participation 

in thoughtfully organized service that is 

conducted in and  meets the needs of 

communities; 

- Is coordinated with an elementary 

school, secondary school, institution of 

higher education or community service 

program and the community; 

- Helps foster civic responsibility;  

- Is integrated into and enhances the 

academic curriculum of the students, or 

the education components of the 

community service program in which the 

participants are enrolled; [and,] 

- Provides structured time for 

students or participants to reflect in the 

service experience. (Act of 1993) 

 

In other words, service-learning is built upon the 

concept of community service linked to or with 

schools, and civic participation/education is the 

primary goal of the act. 

 CNS has given dramatic impetus to 

service-learning in elementary, secondary and  

higher education settings especially in one 

program. The Learn and Serve America program 

focuses more on service-learning than on the 

other related concepts. According to its “fact 

sheet” (nd), Learn and Serve America (L&S) 

offers “grants to schools, colleges and nonprofit 

groups to support efforts to engage students in 

community linked to academic achievement and 

the development of civic skills.” L&S America 

refers to this as “service-learning” and states that 

it improves communities while preparing students 

for a lifetime of responsible citizenship. L&S 

offers grants via the states to communities for 

school-based, community-based and higher 

education programs.   

 Finally, L&S also offers models by which 

service-learning can be accomplished by school 

and community groups in the states.  One 

model—employed in Maryland—is PARE 

(preparation, action or service, reflection, 

evaluation)—as noted in CNS EpiCenter 

“effective practices.” Other states offer similar 

models (e.g., PARR and PARAC). According to 

various researchers (Pritchard, 2002; Wade, 

1997), in order to move beyond mere community 

service, each model must contain the major 

elements of service-learning: preparation, 

action/service (which implies reciprocity), 

reflection (that relates service to academic 

learning), evaluation or assessment, and 

recognition or celebration (see Learn & Serve 

Ohio 2000 Annual Report for a state-adopted 

PARR model and explanation). 

 

Community Service versus Service-Learning  

 In early 1999 the National Center for 

Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. 

Department of Education conducted the first 

“National Student Service-Learning and 

Community Service Survey.” This survey 

provides “reliable national estimates of the 

percentage of elementary, middle and high 

schools incorporating service-learning into their 

courses, as well as providing the most recent data 

on school engagement in community service.” 

(NCES 1999, 1) Significant findings include: 

 



 

119 

 

- Sixty-four percent of all public schools, 

including eighty-three percent of public 

high schools, had students participating 

in community service activities 

recognized by and/or arranged through 

the school; 

- Fifty-seven percent of all public 

schools organized community service 

activities for their students; and,  

- Thirty-two percent of all public schools 

organized service-learning as part of 

their curriculum, including nearly one-

half of all high schools. 

 

 What is significant here is that service-

learning in K-12 schools combines elements of 

community service with classroom instruction. 

Note that the percentage of public schools 

nationwide with service-learning was 32 percent, 

which means about one-half as many schools had 

service-learning as had community service. 

 Throughout the short history of service-

learning, there still appears to be divided opinion 

as to its definition and some confusion 

distinguishing it from community service. 

Pritchard (2002) states that “community service is 

used more widely than service-learning, both in 

the sense that it is typically applied to a wider 

range of activities” (6). In the above cited NCES 

survey, community service was defined as 

“activities that are non-curriculum-based and are 

recognized by and/or arranged through the 

school.” The survey defined service-learning: 

  

as curriculum-based community service 

that integrates classroom instruction with 

community service activities . . . 

organized in relation to an academic 

course or curriculum; have clearly stated 

learning objectives; address real 

community needs in a sustained manner 

over a period of time; and, assist 

students in drawing lessons from the 

service through regularly scheduled, 

organized reflection or critical analysis 

activities, such as classroom discussions, 

presentations, or directed writing. 

(NCES 1999, 2-3) 

 

Pritchard (2002) further notes “the decision about 

which term to use may be arbitrary, so long as the 

meaning is clear, but the public debate about 

these terms may also reveal other goals educators 

have about how service opportunities should be 

experienced by students” (6). 

 

Citizenship Education 

 Shumer (1999) notes that students can 

“learn to become critically thoughtful, engaged, 

active, lifelong citizens” by permitting their active 

participation in thoughtfully organized 

experiences that meet actual community needs, by 

integrating service into their academic 

curriculum, by providing structured time for 

thinking about the service, by providing 

opportunities to use newly acquired skills and 

knowledge in real-life situations in their 

communities, by extending learning into the 

community, and by helping to foster the 

development of a sense of caring for others (1). 

 The notion of “community” naturally 

leads to a discussion of citizenship; or, it leads to 

the question: What has been the connection 

between community service or service-learning 

and citizenship education? (see Kessinger 2003). 

Recall in an inaugural address, former President 

George W. Bush called for all Americans to give 

4000 hours or two years of “service” to their 

country. The President also embraced the work of 

the Corporation for National Service and further 

encouraged its three associated 

organizations/programs by requesting additional 

funding for these groups. Recently President 

Barack Obama acted similarly. He signed the 

Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act early in 

2009, which is the most sweeping expansion of 



 

120 

 

national service in generations. It reauthorizes the 

CNS, expands its Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and 

Learn and Serve America programs, and creates 

new initiatives to increase service opportunities 

and strengthen the country's civic infrastructure.  

Specifically, this legislation reauthorizes and 

expands the mission of the Corporation for 

National and Community Service (CNS) by: 

 

 --increasing opportunities for 

Americans of all ages to serve; 

 --supporting innovation and 

strengthening the nonprofit sector; and, 

 --strengthening management, cost-

effectiveness, and accountability. 

[CNS Press Release, "Highlights of the 

Edward M. Kennedy Serve America 

Act", March 30, 2009.] 

 

For example, this act puts young people onto a 

path of national service by establishing a Summer 

of Service program to provide $500 education 

awards for rising 6th-12th graders, a Semester of 

Service program for high school students to 

engage in service-learning, and Youth 

Empowerment Zones for secondary students and 

out-of-school youth. 

 According to many in education, the 

primary purpose of the social studies is to foster 

and enhance citizenship education. Recall the 

National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), 

the major professional and learned society of the 

social studies, drafted and approved a position 

statement on service-learning in 2000. Besides 

defining the term, the statement includes a 

rationale and benefits for social studies teaching 

and learning. Clearly, NCSS distinguishes 

between service-learning and voluntary or 

community service. To the NCSS (2000), 

“service-learning connects meaningful service in 

the school or community with academic learning 

and civic responsibility” (240). Obviously there  

is a notable—albeit expected—link with 

citizenship education here. According to 

Dynneson et al (2003), service-learning (formerly 

known as community civics) “in connection with 

citizenship education has been incorporated into 

the social studies curriculum” (44). This 

connection will be recognized and enhanced by 

subsequent groups and initiatives in both public 

and private sectors. 

 

Recent Advocates of Service and Citizenship 

Indeed how others define these terms and 

relate them to citizenship may reflect their 

priorities in terms of ideology, program, or 

support. For example, in 1998, the W.K. Kellogg 

Foundation in partnership with The John Glenn 

Institute for Public Service and Public Policy—at 

The Ohio State University—launched an initiative 

called “Learning In Deed: Making a Difference 

Through Service-Learning.” Coupled with this 

effort, the National Commission on Service-

Learning—chaired by former Senator John 

Glenn—was established to broaden the use of 

service-learning in school districts across the  

United States. In 2002 the commission issued a 

report and videotape entitled Learning In Deed: 

The Power of Service-Learning for American 

Schools. The report encourages a higher level of 

public commitment to service-learning and 

recommends service-learning for all K-12 

students. The video defines service-learning as 

integrating “community service with academic 

study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility  

and strengthen communities.” Missing in this 

definition, however, is the role played by 

reflection, a critical or essential component of 

service-learning, as defined by others earlier 

(ASLER 1993; National and Community Service 

Trust Act of 1993; NCSS 2000; Wade 1997). 

Glenn, in a letter of support (personal 

communication, May 2002) of the commission’s 



 

121 

 

work, states “[a]fter a year of study and 

discussion, our Commission concluded that every 

student in kindergarten through high school 

should participate in a quality service-learning 

project every year. Service-learning stands at the 

crossroads of civic engagement and academic 

achievement. By making this strategy an integral 

part of every student’s education, we can produce 

world-class learners who are also world-class 

citizens. Furthermore, by doing so, “we can 

renew the engagement, dedication to learning, 

and civic commitment that have made our nation 

great.” 

Also in 2002 the Corporation for National 

Service (CNS) was placed under a newly created 

governmental (supervisory) office of service: the 

USA Freedom Corps. This White House initiative 

was established to foster a culture of citizenship, 

service and responsibility, and help all Americans 

to answer the President’s Call to Service.  

According to then President George W. Bush, its 

mission is to help “more Americans engage in 

meeting vital community needs, develop their 

personal characters, and participate in our civic 

traditions and institutions.” (personal 

communication, 2003). 

Later that same year, the USA Freedom 

Corps, CNS, and the U.S. Department of 

Education launched three initiatives to enhance 

citizenship. Two of these initiatives highlighted 

“volunteerism” and “service.” The third initiative, 

a report entitled Students in Service to America, 

focuses on service and service-learning programs 

in schools that aim to improve the teaching of 

civics and American history. The report is a 

guidebook for teachers and emphasizes ways of 

connecting service and citizenship. Note the 

emphasis here is on students contributing 

service—not necessarily service-learning—“in 

order to foster a culture of service, citizenship and 

responsibility in or to America’s communities” 

(Students in Service 2002, 2). 

Another effort promoting service 

(connected to citizenship) has been the work of 

the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the 

Center for Information & Research on Civic 

Learning & Engagement, in consultation with 

CNS, in its 2003 report, The Civic Mission of 

Schools. The report is a scholarly attempt “to 

determine, based on solid data and evidence, the 

components of effective and feasible civic 

education programs” (Carnegie, 2003, p. 4). 

Besides indicating that schools are important 

venues for civic education, the report notes “that 

schools can help to develop competent and 

responsible citizens” when they “design and 

implement programs that provide students with 

the opportunity to apply what they learn through 

performing community service that is linked to 

the formal curriculum and classroom instruction” 

(Carnegie 2003, 6).  Essentially, this is another 

definition of service-learning!  

Finally, in May 2003, CNS—together 

with the USA Freedom Corps, the Department of 

Education and the National Endowment for the 

Humanities—sponsored the White House Forum 

on History, Civics and Service. Titled “We the 

People,” the purpose of the forum was to call 

public attention to the need for more and better 

American history and civics education and to 

focus attention on the promising practices in 

teaching history and civics through student 

service. The former chairman of CNS (Leslie 

Lenkowsky) noted, “service is one of the best 

ways to instill the lifelong habit of engaged 

citizenship” (CNS press release, April 30, 2003). 

This was an obvious attempt to renew and 

reinvigorate America’s tradition of citizenship, 

service (again, not necessarily service-learning) 

and responsibility. 



 

122 

 

 More recently there have been other 

private partnerships formed in order to promote 

either the concept of service or service-learning 

between schools and their communities. For 

example, the National Association for Secondary 

School Principals and the Constitutional Rights 

Foundation have sponsored either programs or 

curricula that focus on one or both terms. Also, 

Learn & Serve America/Ohio is one of many 

state-sponsored programs to accentuate service-

learning on a more local basis. In Ohio local 

school districts can apply—through a competitive 

grant process—for funding that allows districts to 

initiate and extend a service-learning program for 

up to seven years. Other states do similarly; in 

fact, legislation passed by Congress in 2004 

provided $43 million in grants to be distributed to 

the states in the Learn & Serve America program 

during the 2004-2005 school year. More recently, 

the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 

2009 greatly expands the notion of contributing 

service to the nation.  

So, in spite of the differences in terms, 

service and service-learning have received added 

emphasis recently by governments (national and 

state) and by other groups in this country.  But the 

question remains: Does everyone agree with the 

definition and practices of service, and especially, 

service-learning? 

 

Conclusion 

It is evident that government, foundations 

and other interested parties embrace service and 

service-learning. It is equally true that many 

public and private efforts are ongoing to connect 

service and service-learning with citizenship 

education. So, even though the two terms (service 

and service-learning) and other terms are not 

synonymous, various groups use the terms to 

promote and encourage the service ethic that de 

Tocqueville (1961) keenly observed among 

Americans in the 1840s. Yet, the problem remains 

to find a consistent definition of service, and 

especially of service-learning, that all individuals 

and groups embrace and practice in the twenty-

first century.  

Indeed until there is a commonly accepted 

and agreed upon definition of service-learning, 

questions and discussions will continue regarding 

what it is, how it should be encouraged, how it 

can be best measured, and what are the critical 

components, impacts or effects of service-

learning. 

 

Author's Note: The introductory section of this article 

borrows from information--previously written by the 

author--that will be published in the Encyclopedia of 

Educational Reform and Dissent in 2010. 

 

 

 

 

 

References 

  

Alliance for Service-Learning in Education 

Reform. 1993. Standards of quality for 

school-based service-learning. Chester, VT. 

Bailes, L. 2001. "The National Society for 

Experiential Education in Service-Learning."  

In Canada & Specks (Eds.), Developing and 

implementing service-learning programs 

(Number 114, Summer 2001). San Francisco, 

CA: Jossey-Bass. 

Campus Compact. 1998. Service matters: 

Engaging higher education in the renewal of 

America’s communities and American 

democracy. Providence, RI: Campus 

Compact. 

Campus Compact. 2008. April 14, 2008. 

Retrieved from http://www.compact.org. 

Canada, M., and B. Speck. (Eds.). 2001. 

Developing and implementing service-

learning programs (No. 114, Summer 2001) 

of New Directions for Higher Education. San 

Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 



 

123 

 

Carnegie Corporation of New York and CIRCLE. 

2003. The civic mission of schools. New 

York: Author. 

Colby, A., et al. 2003. Educating citizens: 

Preparing America’s undergraduates for lives 

of moral and civic responsibility. San 

Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

Cooper, D. 1998. “Reading, Writing and 

Reflection.” In Robert A. Rhoads and Jeffrey 

P.F. Howard, eds. Academic service learning: 

A pedagogy of action and reflection. San 

Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 

Corporation for National and Community 

Service. (2008). Retrieved April 11, 2008 

from http://www.nationalservice.org/. 

Corporation for National and Community 

Service. 2009. Highlights of the Edward M. 

Kennedy Serve America Act (Press Release, 

dated March 30, 2009). Retrieved April 1, 

2009 from http://www.nationalservice.gov/ 

assets/printable/printable_releases.asp?tbl_pr_

id=1283/ 

Corporation for National and Community 

Service. 2002. Students in service to America: 

A guidebook for engaging America’s students 

in a lifetime habit of service. Washington, 

DC: Author. Retrieved 18 March 2008 from 

http://www.studentsinservicetoamerica.org/. 

Corporation for National Service. No date. Fact 

Sheet. Washington, DC: Author. 

Corporation for National Service. 1993. The 

National and Community Service Trust Act of 

1993. Washington, DC: Author. 

De Tocqueville, A. 1961. Democracy in America. 

2 vols. New York: Schocken. 

Dewey, J. 1930. Democracy and education: An 

introduction to the philosophy of education. 

New York: The Macmillan Company. 

Dynneson, T.L., Gross, R. E., and M.J. Berson. 

2003. Designing effective instruction for 

secondary social studies (3
rd

 ed.). Columbus, 

OH: Merrill Prentice Hall. 

Eyler, J., and D.E. Giles, Jr. 1999. Where’s the 

learning in service-learning? San Francisco: 

Jossey-Bass. 

Galston, W.A. 2003. “Civic Education and 

Political Participation.” Phi Delta Kappan 85, 

29-33. 

Giles, D.E., Jr., and J. Eyler. 1994. “The 

Theoretical Roots of Service-Learning in John 

Dewey: Toward a Theory of Service-

Learning.” Michigan Journal of Community 

Service Learning (Fall) 1, 77-85. 

Kendall, J.C. & Associates. (Eds.). 1990. 

Combining service and learning: A resource 

book for community and public service 

(Vols.1, 2). Raleigh, NC: National Society for 

Internships and Experiential Education. 

Kessinger, T.A. 2003. “Service-Learning: An 

Innovative Concept and Effective Practice.” 

In NSSSA Leader 17(2), 25. 

Kinsley, C.W., and K. McPherson. (Eds.). 1995. 

Enriching the curriculum through service 

learning. Alexandria, VA: Association for 

Supervision and Curriculum Development. 

Learn and Serve America. 2008. Retrieved April 

11, 2008 from http://www.learnandserve.org. 

Loeb, P. R. 1999. Soul of a citizen: Living with 

conviction in a cynical time. New York: St. 

Martin’s Griffin. 

National Center for Education Statistics. 1999. 

Service-learning and community service in k-

12 public schools. Washington, DC: U.S. 

Department of Education. 

National Commission on Service-Learning. 2002. 

Learning in deed: The power of service-

learning in America. Washington, DC. 

Retrieved October 15, 2004 from http:// 

www.learningindeed.org 

National Council for the Social Studies. 1994. 

Expectations of excellence: Curriculum 

standards for social studies (Bulletin 89). 

Washington, DC, 11-12. 

National Council for the Social Studies. 2000. 

“Service-Learning: An Essential Component 

of Citizenship Education.” Social Education 

65(4), 240-241.   

National Education Association. 1918. Cardinal 

principles of secondary education: A report of 

the Commission on the Reorganization of 

Secondary Education. Washington, DC: GPO.  



 

124 

 

National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. 2004. 

Retrieved October 15, 2004 from 

http://www.servicelearning.org/ 

O’Grady, C.R. (Ed.). 2000. “Integrating Service 

Learning and Multicultural Education: An 

Overview.”  In Integrating service learning 

and multicultural education in colleges and 

universities. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum 

Associates, Publishers. 

Ohio Department of Education. 2001. Learn and 

Serve Ohio 2000 annual report. Columbus, 

OH. 

Ornstein, A.C., and D.U. Levine. 2008. 

Foundations of education (10th ed.). Boston, 

MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. 

Pritchard, I.A. 2002. “Community Service and 

Service-Learning in America: The State of the 

Art.” In Furco & Billig (Eds.), Service-

learning: The essence of the pedagogy, pp. 3-

21. Greenwich, CT: Information Age 

Publishing. 

Putnam, R.D. 2000. Bowling alone: The collapse 

and revival of American community. New 

York: Simon & Schuster. 

Shumer, R.D. 1999. Service, social studies, and 

citizenship: Connections for the new century. 

Bloomington, IN: ERIC Clearinghouse for 

Social Studies/Social Science Education. ED 

430 907. 

Stanton, T.K., Giles, D.E. Jr., and N.I. Cruz. 

1999. Service-learning: A movement's 

pioneers reflect on its origins, practice and 

future. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. 

USA Freedom Corps. 2003. 2002 annual report. 

Washington, DC. Retrieved October 15, 2004 

from http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/ 

Wade, R.C. 2000. Building bridges: Connecting 

classroom and community through service-

learning in social studies (Bulletin 97). 

Washington, DC: National Council for the 

Social Studies. 

Wade, R.C. (Ed.). 1997. “Community Service-

Learning: An Overview.” In Community 

service-learning: A guide to including service 

in the public school curriculum. Albany, NY: 

State University of New York Press. 

Waterman, A.S. (Ed.). 1997. Service-learning: 

Applications from the research. Mahwah, NJ: 

Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. 

“What is Service-Learning?” Campus Compact 

online. 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2008 from 

http://www.compact.org/faqs/s-

ldefinitions.html 

 

 

 

 

 


