Service Learning in College Political Science: Queries and Commentary

Abstract

Community service is widely advocated as a method for advancing civic awareness and citizen responsibility in both secondary schools and colleges. Use of service learning in higher education has been promoted nationwide by academic, political, professional, and business leaders through such organizations as Campus Compact, American Association for Higher Education, Commission on Civic Renewal, and Corporation for National and Community Service (Bringle, Games, and Malloy 1999). In some cases, service has been institutionalized in colleges. Tufts University, for example, has added a College of Citizenship and Public Service through which students from various departments can complete a certificate program that integrates active service and citizenship studies into their major course of study (Zernike 2000). A recent report estimates that nearly two million students participate in service learning at four-year public and private institutions of higher education, and almost half of all community colleges offer service learning courses (Shumer and Cook 1999). Service learning has been applied in college courses as diverse as freshman composition, education, sociology, anthropology, business, and public policy.But does service learning—and community service more generally—help students learn about politics and government? And, what research is needed to determine whether service, in fact, contributes to students' civic education? Having recently completed an analysis of national survey data on secondary school students' participation in community service and its relationship to civic education (see Niemi, Hepburn, and Chapman 2000), we now turn to examining the implications of service learning for college political science teaching and research.

Advocacy as Service-Learning

“…In order to be a successful pedagogical tool, a service-learning activity must be directly linked to the course and its objectives and must be carefully interwoven into the learning process set out in the course (Hepburn, Neimi, & Chapman 2000;Weigert, 1998). One component of HDFS 253 is the advocacy assignment, designed to also be a service-learning assignment following the course based model outlined by Eby (2001).…”

Nudging Students' Creative Problem-Solving Skills

“…In recent years, many instructors have turned to service learning to foster students' sense of civic connectedness (Niemi and Junn 2005;Hepburn, Niemi, and Chapman 2000). In service learning, students work with local organizations and community partners on the premise that "learning through doing" complements course concepts and learning objectives (Weigert 1998).…”

Linking Experiential and Classroom Education: Lessons Learned from The American University-Amnesty International USA Summer Institute on Human Rights

“…The literature suggests that making the link between experiential learning and classroom learning clear is the first step in successfully integrating the two~Delli Carpini and Keeter, 2000;Hepburn, Niemi, and Chapman, 2000!. Taking our cue from these recommendations, early discussions among the faculty involved in the program led us to articulate what, exactly, we expect the students to learn from their service learning experience.…”