This study explores the role that identity and the identity development process play in a short-term, international service-learning experience. Employing narrative inquiry, two of the co-authors, student participants in a 2-week service-learning program in Honduras, describe and interpret their service-learning experience in the context of life…

The Community Based Learning (CBL) Certificate and the Civic Honors Program provide unique opportunities for students to receive college credit for their civic participation. The authors describe these programs and the historical and administrative changes at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, which created an environment for their development…

Despite solid foundations for service-learning at California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB), the economic context of higher education in California, and in particular the CSU system, has created significant challenges for service-learning practitioners. This article provides an overview of the institutional foundations in place at CSUMB…

This article articulates a model for the "engaged campus" through academic programs focused on community engagement, broadly construed. Such academic programs--usually coalesced in certificate programs, minors, and majors--provide a complementary vision for the deep institutionalization of civic and community engagement in the academy that can…

This essay is an excerpt from a keynote speech delivered by Benjamin Barber at the 2nd Annual Summer Research Institute on the "Future of Community Engagement in Higher Education." The speech focuses on six conditions that will impact community service-learning and voluntarism efforts in the years ahead: the ideology of neo-liberalism and…

Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions college students face. However, little academic work exists to help students evaluate the ethical implications of different career paths. This interview with Will Crouch, an Oxford University student, explores his controversial work on the ethics of career choice. He argues that to pursue a…

Educators often treat community service and diversity as distinct areas. The author argues that educators should seize upon the intersection of these two areas in order to strengthen students' capacity to engage with each.

Institutions of higher education have continuously struggled to find ways to keep young adults engaged. In order to do so, they have introduced a number of techniques and programs into the curriculum, but these programs do not necessarily translate to transformational learning for students. This article discusses the transformation of an…

Evidence of Christian privilege in America is not difficult to find. At the same time, however, Christians, particularly in evangelical settings, commonly think of themselves as a marginalized minority being overrun by the power of secular liberalism. The authors propose that "both" perceptions are accurate descriptions of reality. For…

This article analyzes the experience of teaching and learning in a "Literature of Service" course in its attempt to utilize the best of civic learning and faith-based reflection to make sense of social inequality. The language of students' final portfolios for the course suggests a direct connection between their classroom talk about literary…

This article examines relational ways of knowing--a concept both broad and deep--as a strategy we have infused throughout our design of one first-year Living and Learning Community (LLC). As outlined here, the authors teach faith as relationship; justice as being in just relationship with others, research as the concept of putting ideas in…

This article describes an initiative that integrated a strengths-base curriculum into a first-year experience program at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Using a positive psychology framework, students completed the StrengthsQuest and participated in activities designed to help them learn and apply their signature talent themes. A pre- and…

The authors explore ways that faith and a commitment to social justice can be integrated into learning in higher education today. They also seek to highlight six foundational insights emerging from the proceedings of the National Faith, Justice, and Civic Learning (NFJCL) conference related to the importance of effectively reintegrating the…

What is loyalty and why is it problematic in athletics? The author discusses the ethical lapses that can occur when a powerful social value, "loyalty," trumps individuals' ability to make moral decisions. She argues that education about morality should be a necessary part of sport education and explains how moral education programs can make a…

Given the lack of published spiritual practices in classroom settings, particularly in public colleges and universities, this article provides one way of promoting mindfulness in an academic course format. Personal insights and practices are shared as a way to encourage fellow instructors not only to teach mindfulness but, more importantly, to…