Impacts of Service-Learning on College Students Essay

The functional area of service-learning is currently emerging as an acknowledged department at an institution of higher education. The theoretical roots of service learning go back to John Dewey, and the early twentieth century. However, current research on service-learning pedagogy dates back only to the early 1990’s. Best practices for the field are still being created as more and more new offices are springing up on campuses throughout the United States and institutions internationally. The reason this functional area is becoming ever popular is due to the positive impact it has on students and most all educational outcomes. Service-learning is considered both academic and co-curricular. Academic service learning is credit bearing†¦show more content†¦The biggest impact is with the students’ civic engagement. However, outcomes of service- learning do not end there. Outcomes of service-learning range from academic to moral to life skills and all outcomes that fall within (Eyler Giles, 1999). Academic Outcomes Some of the academic based outcomes of college that are impacted by service-learning include knowledge application, content understanding, critical thinking, and even grade point average. Astin and Sax (1998) identified ten academic outcomes affected by service participation, and all ten were positively affected by service. In their study, grade point average, retention, aspirations for educational degrees, graduate school prep, general knowledge, discipline knowledge, time devoted to studying, extra credit, and faculty contact all showed varying increases due to service participation. Eyler and Giles (1999) discuss how students in their study perceived themselves to identify social issues easier due to service-learning participation, which is the first step in critical thinking ability. Students were also more likely to think critically about these social issues when their service was linked to a particular social problem. There is little research connected to critical thinking and service learning, but the small amount that there is indicates some increases in critical thinking ability. Students who participated inShow MoreRelatedAnnotated Bibliography of Articles on Service Learning839 Words   |  3 PagesService Learning Annotated Bibliography American Association of Community Colleges. (2011). Service Learning. HYPERLINK http://www.aacc.nche.edu www.aacc.nche.edu. The source offered by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) details the growing emphasis on service learning in higher-education contexts. Particularly, the source offers a number of statistical figures indicating that 60% of all community colleges offer some comprehensive form of service-learning curriculum. 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