Introduces a theme issue, discussing the journal's purposes and evolution, and reviewing historical landmarks related to service learning research. Reviews the articles within this issue, discussing planned next steps, and concludes with a call for service learning research efforts to broaden the knowledge and practice bases and further expand the…

Research emphasizes the impact of service learning on college students' development. Less evidence exists of its cognitive impact. To improve academic learning quality, researchers must identify intellectual outcomes best facilitated through service learning, create measures of these outcomes to embed into instructional processes, and conduct…

Reviews recent research related to the roles of race and gender issues in community service learning, exploring issues of student participation, student learning and peer interaction, community relationships and impact, and transfer to other venues in the educational institution. A series of foci for further research related to race and gender…

Discusses reasons for the lack of research on the community dimensions of service learning, noting that community-focused research is possible. Presents a four-dimensional model for doing research with community partners on the process and outcomes of community service learning, arguing that it should emphasize the community-university partnership…

Little research exists on the critical role of faculty in service learning. Recommends focusing increased and immediate attention and resources on research related to: motivations and attractions of faculty to service learning; supports needed by faculty; impact or influence of service learning on faculty; satisfaction reported by faculty; and…

Highlights three areas of research on the relationships between college service learning and citizenship. Discusses the need to: understand relationships between different approaches to service learning and conceptions of good citizenship; connect service learning research to scholarly issues and frameworks from related disciplines; and examine…

Identifies questions and issues related to the "engaged" campus, detailing organizational issues and institutional impacts related to service learning and highlighting: issues of definition and language; the definition of an engaged institution; the role of affiliate groups and national reports; issues of infrastructure and support; the challenges…

Advocates for studies designed to promote understanding of how service learning fits with the historical traditions and norms, key concerns and perspectives, and basic assumptions of the various academic disciplines. This agenda can only be successfully addressed by enlisting the active cooperation of national and regional disciplinary and…

Service learning practitioners must devote more resources to systematic, scientific assessment of service learning outcomes across students, faculty, institutions, and communities. Provides recommendations for generating meaningful information about service learning, including: evaluating hypotheses derived from theory, using multiple-item…

Discusses fundamental issues of contention regarding educational research on service learning, including standards of validity and who is represented in the research. Examines the crisis in legitimization and demonstrates how various research paradigms are necessary and appropriate for understanding the impact and process of service learning…

Discusses the need to develop a comprehensive research agenda to build knowledge about service learning assessment and refine concepts of best practice for assessment, examining: what is known about the subject; principles of good practice for service learning assessment; what knowledge is needed to develop the research agenda; and how this agenda…

Discusses service learning research, emphasizing: why institutions are interested in service learning; service learning to promote community involvement; college presidents' role in promoting service learning; creating the capacity for change; and a research agenda. Emphasizes how much can be gained from communication between higher education…

Examines the design of service learning research using psychologist-philosopher Ken Wilber's fourfold scheme. By interfacing Wilber's two dichotomies (interior versus exterior and individual versus group), researchers can access a comprehensive framework for conceptualizing the full range of service learning outcomes to study. Wilber's framework…

Examines the interplay between service learning policy and research, noting their impact on practice. Discusses traditional roles of research in policymaking, describing an alternative approach to understanding policy. Recommends that service learning practitioners and researchers make usable knowledge available to help clarify contested concepts…

Action research is an approach to knowledge generation that can strengthen communities and institutions and is ideally suited to the advancement of academically-based service learning. Presents the history and goals of this approach to service learning, defining current challenges, providing examples from three action research projects responding…