Service-Learning in American Schools

State Superintendent Burmaster's View of Service-Learning

Burmaster spoke at the 2007 State Superintendent's Institute on Service-Learning and Citizenship, held in Madison on February 23. Her speech addressed the importance of service-learning in developing 21st Century Skills. See the Service-Learning Home page for details.

American Views on Public Education and Service-Learning

According to statistics from a September 2000 survey conducted by Roper Starch Worldwide, 49 percent of Americans choose education as the highest priority for the United States, making education by far the priority on which there is the greatest public consensus.
83 percent strongly agree that “a good education is much more than just learning to read, write and do math.”
94 percent agree that people not having the education or skills they need to succeed is a serious problem facing the United States.
90 percent believe service-learning will help students build skills they need to be successful later in life.
89 percent believe service-learning will encourage active citizenship and community involvement among students (Roper Starch Worldwide, 2000).

The Prevalence of Service-Learning

64 percent of all public schools and 83 percent of all public high schools currently offer some form of service opportunity (The National Center for Education Statistics).
In the 2000-2001 school year, more than 13 million students will be involved in service and service-learning activities (The National Center for Education Statistics).

The Impact of Service-Learning

Academic Learning

Students in over half of the service-learning schools studied showed moderate to strong positive gains on student achievement tests in language arts and/or reading, engagement in school, sense of educational accomplishment, and homework completion (Weiler, LaGoy, Crane and Rovner, 1998).
Students engaged in service-learning had higher attendance rates than their peers (Shaffer, 1993; Supik, 1996; Shumer, 1994).

Civic Responsibility

More than 80 percent of participants in quality service-learning programs felt they made a positive contribution to the community (Melchior, 1999; Billig and Conrad, 1997).
Students who engaged in service-learning programs showed an increase in the degree to which they felt aware of community needs, believed they could make a difference and were committed to service now and later in life (Melchoir, 1999; Berkas 1997).
High school students who participated in service-learning and service are more likely to be engaged in a community organization and are more likely to vote 15 years after their participation in the program than those who did not participate (Youniss, Mclellan, and Yates 1997; Yates and Youniss, 1998).

Youth Personal and Social Development

Middle and high school students who engaged in quality service-learning programs showed increases in measures of personal and social responsibility, communication, and sense of educational competence (Weiler, LaGoy, Crane, and Rovner, 1998).
Students who engaged in service-learning ranked responsibility as a more important value and reported a higher sense of responsibility to their school than comparison groups (Leming, 1998).
Students who engaged in quality service-learning programs reported greater acceptance of cultural diversity (Melchior, 1999; Berkas, 1997).

Career Development

Students who participated in service-learning reported gaining career skills, communication skills and positive increases in career exploration knowledge (Berkas, 1997; Billig, Jesse, Calvert, and Kleimann, 1999).
Students who engaged in high quality service-learning programs developed positive work orientation attitudes and skills (Weiler, LaGoy, Crane and Rovner, 1998)

This research brief was developed in part with research numbers compiled by Shelley H. Billig, Ph.D., RMC Research Corporation, Denver, CO, as part of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation’s Learning In Deed Initiative. A full bibliography of all sources cited here is available at www.learningindeed.org or by calling Learning In Deed at (202) 778-1040.

For questions about this information, contact Theresa L. Dary (608) 261-7494

Last updated on 2/25/2008 9:08:24 AM

Service-LearningA Growing Trend in American Schools