Service Learning Projects Reinforce Character Education

Shelley H. Billig

In this era of globalization and nurturing of 21st century skills, schools are under more pressure than ever to produce responsible citizens with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they need to succeed in their postsecondary lives. One promising pathway to success in this area that is identified by nearly half of the schools in the United States and schools across the globe is service learning.

Service learning engages young people in meeting community needs as a way of learning and applying their knowledge and skills. Research has shown that when schools implement high-quality service learning programs, students become more actively engaged in schoolwork, improve their academic skills, and become more likely to volunteer throughout their lives. Students are also more likely to develop personal and social skills such as conflict management, respect for diversity, empathy, and social responsibility. In addition, schools benefit by forming important partnerships with community agencies, and communities benefit by having their needs directly met (Billig, 2000, 2005, 2009; Furco & Root, 2010).

Many Forms

Service learning is not always easy to explain because it can take so many forms. For example, it can involve working with the homeless, senior citizens, young children, the environment, or the school. Students can work on increasing recycling, reducing childhood obesity, developing museum displays, repairing playgrounds, tutoring, building nature trails, restoring cemeteries, teaching computer skills to senior citizens, addressing transportation policies, and other activities designed to meet community needs and, in fact, change the world.

The nature of service learning projects designed to meet community needs is determined by young people themselves through investigation, planning, action, reflection, and demonstration and celebration of the results. Adults facilitate and guide young people to both learn from the experience and become successful in addressing issues in their community.

Service learning projects are most likely to benefit all participants when specific practices are in place (Spring, Dietz, & Grimm, 2006). Students gain more when their service learning experiences take place for many hours over the course of a semester, giving them time to engage in research on community needs, plan for meeting those needs, and measure or publicly show the eventual impact on the community and on themselves. Students experience greater lasting effects when they choose projects that are meaningful to them and when they organize the service activities and reflect on their experiences, not just in journals but in multiple ways, including group reflections and public presentations.

Academic Impact

Academic outcomes are much more likely to be realized when there is a direct link between the service learning activities and the content standards being taught. For example, students learning geometry can apply those skills when working with architects and contractors to build play structures for young children. Earth sciences come alive when students can test how long it takes for various items to decompose and then sponsor a campaign to promote the use of reusable shopping bags. Students learn about some of the challenges of aging when they work with the elderly to develop alternative ways to access less expensive health care and see the effects of nutrition when they help with an exercise and eating campaign to reduce childhood obesity.

School and Community Leadership

Like other instructional approaches, service learning needs to be addressed in administrator and teacher professional development so that facilitators can learn the benefits of implementation, what works, and how to sustain practice. Leaders need to work with the community to both formulate strong partnerships and increase public support for students working outside the school walls. Leaders also need to implement policies for student safety and transportation and may need to procure the services of a paid or volunteer coordinator; many sites use AmeriCorps volunteers for this purpose.

Service learning, which is being adopted in countries throughout the world, adds a lot of value to schools and is a relatively easy and inexpensive way for schools to realize both their academic and civic missions. For more information, go to the Corporation for National and Community Service or the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse.

References

Billig, S. H. (2000, May). Research on K–12 school-based service-learning: The evidence builds. Phi Delta Kappan, 81(9), 658–664.

Billig, S. H. (2005, April). Use research knowledge to advance district-wide service-learning. District Lessons, 3, 1–3. Retrieved from http://nslp.convio.net/site/DocServer/districtlessons3.pdf?docID=861

Billig, S. H. (2009). Does quality really matter? Testing the new K–12 service-learning standards for quality practice. In B. E. Moely, S. H. Billig, & B. A. Holland (Eds.), Advances in service-learning research: Vol. 9. Creating our identities in service-learning and community engagement (pp. 131–157). Charlotte, NC: Information Age.

Furco, A., & Root, S. (2010). Research demonstrates the value of service learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(5), 16–20.

Spring, K., Dietz, N., & Grimm, R. (2006, March). Educating for active citizenship: Service-learning, school-based service and youth civic engagement. Washington, DC: Corporation for National and Community Service.

Shelley H. Billig is vice president of RMC Research in Denver, Colo., and a veteran researcher in education reform.