This paper is part of a study on the long-term effects of participation in a comprehensive service-learning program on alumni knowledge, skills, and dispositions necessary for effective democratic citizenship. In this article, the larger research project is introduced and its central questions are put into historical context. I contend that critical consideration of the changing context of higher education in recent decades--especially the advent of neoliberalism and a transformation in the meaning of the terms "civic" and "citizenship"--indicates the need for a more robust normative conceptual framework if democratic and justice goals of service-learning are to be incorporated meaningfully into evaluation work. Based on these historical/ideological challenges, I identify some core theoretical problems that must be addressed in evaluating service-learning's outcomes vis-à-vis democracy and social justice, and then explore conceptual resources for developing an adequate framework.