Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning
Fall 1996, pp. 31-43
Service-Learning Practice: Developing a Theoretical Framework
Dick Cone and Susan Harris
University of Southern California
Service-learning has dramatically increased its impact on the American educational
scene during the past few years, and new practitioners are quickly adopting the methods
of integrating traditional classroom-based instruction and community service. As might
be expected of practitioners, our practices are strong but our theory is sometimes found
to be wanting. We have tinkered with methods to perfect practices without understanding
the philosophical, psychological and social mechanisms that undergird our practices.
For two decades, we have been drawing largely on Dewey, Kolb and Freire for theoretical support for our work. This paper suggests additional theoretical perspectives drawn
largely from cognitive psychology and social theory. A number of constructs will be presented including concept formation, selective perception, categorization, critical reflection and mediated learning, each of which helps to explain the transformational nature of
experiential education, as well as provide intellectual support for what are currently recognized as "best practices."
Cheryl Gilbert'
Sociology 101
Journal Entry - Week One
Week One - The Setting: What are your most
vivid first impressions of the site? Describe
settings, people, actions and positive or negative feelings you are having.
Today was my first day as a volunteer for
USC's Joint Educational Project at Prairie
Avenue Elementary School.2 Despite the fact
that this is my third semester on campus, I
have never ventured beyond Exposition
Boulevard into South Central Los Angeles,
and I must admit that I was scared to death.
What had I gotten myself into? I had volunteered to spend two hours a week in riot-ravaged South Central LA?! Riding south on
Figueroa St., which borders USC on the east, I
was thinking that it didn't look much different
than Minneapolis (which is about an hour's
drive from where I'm from). However, the
further south I traveled, the more run down the
houses looked, the more boarded up stores I
passed. The cars parked on driveways and
along the street appeared very old, often with
missing tires or broken windows. The scene
changed even more dramatically after I turned
onto one of the side streets. Suddenly I was
thrust into a scene right out of one of the
"gangsta" videos I've seen. I was very conspicuous as I rode my bike; I felt like every
person I passed stared at me, a 19-year-old
white girl on a shiny expensive bike, intruding
where she shouldn't be.
Luckily, I arrived at the school safely. As I
circled the school trying to find a bicycle rack,
my thoughts drifted back to Walnut Road
Elementary School in Apple Valley,
Minnesota. Prairie Avenue Elementary looks
nothing like the spacious, lush campus that I
once attended. The building was badly in need
of repair and there was graffiti and trash in the
neighborhood surrounding the school. How
could anyone get used to this? I walked
around to the front entrance and was stopped
by a security guard who asked me to sign in.
Once admitted, I waded through a sea of black
and Mexican children to the JEP office, and
then to the classroom where I am assigned as a
mentor.
When I met my "mentee," my heart sank.
Standing in front of me was this little Mexican
kid who could barely speak English. Although
he was smiling and seemed happy to meet me,
I could tell that he was poor and probably
neglected. While I feel very strongly for the
people who live in this community, I do not
understand why it is that they continue to live
here, subjecting their children to such unbearable conditions. These children are susceptible
to picking up bad habits like stealing, lying
and cheating in trying to be like the gangbangers who live in the neighborhood.
Cheryl's journal entry is representative of many
students venturing beyond the perimeter of the
University of Southern California campus through
the Joint Educational Project (JEP), a program that
links service-learning courses with community
schools and agencies. USC is a wealthy, influential
institution3 located in a predominantly Latino and
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