There are several disturbing trends in U.S. public life. Citizens are increasingly distancing themselves from the institutions that structure decision making in the public domain. There is a diminishing sense of community, individuals tend not to have any personal obligation to their fellow citizens, nor do they seem to expect any consideration from others. The behavior of young persons show them to be both victims and manifestations of this progressive social pathology in frightening ways. One proposal for countering this trend is the idea of student service or community service as a feature of public education. This paper seeks to survey existing scholarship in social psychology and learning theory in search of research supportive of educational efforts to promote community service. A social psychological model of action is outlined and discussed in the interest of understanding the psychodynamics that underlie the withdrawal from community, and its flip side, commitment to community service. This model is related to specific goal areas appropriate to social education, and research relevant to implementing those goal areas in the classroom are reviewed. A proposal for integrating the goal areas into history, geography, government, and economics courses also is advanced. A 78-item list of references is included. (DB)