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The Hawaiian Studies Program (HSP) integrates the learning of Hawaiian culture with more traditional secondary curriculum in science, social studies, and English. Students also participate in weekly community service-learning sessions. Fifty-five HSP students and 29 peers (who were not involved in the program), completed a survey measuring: students' connection to, pride in, and responsibility for their community; civic attitudes; and career knowledge and preparedness. HSP teachers, community members, and students were also interviewed about program outcomes. Compared to other peers, HSP students tended to report feeling more connected to their community and school and to agree that they had career-related skills. Participants believed that service- learning contributed to these outcomes by making connections between school and community life and by exposing students to a variety of careers.

Service‐learning is a teaching and learning approach that has been widely adopted in K–12 schools and higher education throughout the world. Participants in service‐learning engage in structured learning opportunities that have been designed to meet an authentic community need. Typically, participants identify a genuine community need; engage in planning and action; reflect on their experiences in terms of personal growth, academic learning, and societal issues associated with the need; and demonstrate what they have learned and/or their impact on the community to peers, educators, or the public. Student participants in service‐learning have been found to benefit academically, personally, socially, and civically. Growth is greatest when the service is meaningful to the participant, when the service is aligned with the curriculum or academics to be learned, when the student has voice and choices, and when the participants engage in in‐depth reflection. This entry addresses the definition of the approach and variations in service‐learning context, prevalence, motivation to serve, underlying theories, effective practices, outcomes for participants, and issues, as well as future directions for the field.

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