Students entering Tulane University in 2006, 2007, and 2008, the years following Hurricane Katrina, were surveyed soon after arriving on campus and again after they had been at the university for two years. Attitudes toward a new public service graduation requirement, established after the storm, remained positive after students had completed two…

International service-learning (ISL) is a popular way to facilitate student growth in the areas of cross-cultural learning and civic engagement. However, many have questioned whether international trips provide any added value compared to domestic service-learning. Using the context of Alternative Break programs, this study compares student…

Based on quantitative survey data and qualitative data from journal entries by students in a seminar focused on community-based research, undergraduate student perceptions of community partners are explored in the context of debates about the politics of knowledge. Student perceptions that frame community partners as the recipients of academic…

This paper explores four potent tensions between service-learning students and their community agency hosts. These tensions result from naturally opposing perspectives and are reflected in the service-learning literature focused on criticism and complaint. Given the centrality of the alliance between service-learners and their community host…

As New Orleans began to rebuild after Hurricane Katrina, Tulane University also began its recovery process. A new initiative in the recovery was the establishment of a public service graduation requirement for undergraduate students. Attitudes toward the requirement were assessed for 290 first-year and 257 advanced students in fall 2006. The…

Retention of college students is a priority of all colleges and universities. This research investigated whether or not student enrollment in a service-learning course in the fall semester of college was related to (a) intentions to stay on that campus, based on self-reports at the end of the semester, and (b) re-enrollment the following fall on…

Stigmas toward those who have mental illnesses are wide-spread and detrimental to the health and well-being of those suffering from these debilitating conditions, and to society as a whole. Stigma-reducing programs are plentiful but many are only marginally effective. In this paper we describe and evaluate a course in Psychopathology that included…

This study considered the impact of the SERVE Program upon participating college students' belief in the American Dream. The SERVE Program is a community service learning program sponsored by the philosophy and theology departments at Ignatius University. Using a mixed methods approach, the authors found that participating students demonstrated…

Previous research has established numerous outcomes associated with taking service-learning coursework during college. However, most studies have examined the impact of three- or four-credit courses involving engagement of several hours per week, and other research has suggested that the gains associated with service-learning are directly related…

This paper reports on the first two semesters of an ongoing longitudinal study exploring how 22 pre-service teachers' involvement with change-oriented service-learning impacted their thinking about citizenship and civic education. Drawing upon Westheimer and Kahne's (2004) notions of citizenship, we analyzed three data sources: pre- and…

I explore certain complexities of partnering university students with members of the Mexican and Honduran immigrant community through service-learning. I reveal how my "good intentions" inadvertently created social hierarchy and deficit notions of the community, establishing the students as "haves" and community members as "have-nots." Critically…

Students who had enrolled in an innovative university-based service-learning class were asked to reflect on their expectations prior to mentoring youth attending high-poverty high schools, and whether they believed they had met these expectations post-mentoring. Findings indicated that students primarily were motivated by learning about the…

This article presents the findings from a narrative inquiry exploring the perceived outcomes associated with a high school service-learning graduation requirement from a diverse group of college students. In particular, we were interested in participants' stories related to their experiences meeting the requirement, the meaning they made of the…

Students from seven institutions of higher education reported their preferences for different paradigms of service at the beginning of their service-learning courses. At the end of the courses, they described the associated service activities in terms of the same paradigms and also completed scales describing their learning outcomes and attitudes…

A theoretical model is developed for the process relatively privileged white students go through as they become more aware of their own socioeconomic and other advantages and come to terms with these within their community service learning placements. The model is supported with journal reflections from service-learners placed in inner-city…