The Role of Research and Policy in Constituting the Service-Learning Field
reasons, the time could not be more right.
First, as highlighted above, we now have a growing body of data that proves the claim of the
Wingspread Principles that "service combined with
learning adds value to each and transforms both"
(Porter-Honnet & Poulsen, 1989). Therefore, it is
our responsibility and duty to insure that policymakers at all levels know what we have come to
know about the benefits of linking service and learning. How do we do this when policy-makers do not
read our professional journals or attend our professional conferences? It is necessary for service-learning researchers to further develop their own roles as
service-learning educators, explicitly targeting policy-makers for outreach purposes.
Second, there are a number of important related
policies that are being considered for renewal in the
near future. These include the reauthorization of the
NCSTA, the reauthorization of the Elementary and
Secondary Education Act, and other education-related policies at the state level. These policies will all
influence our practice. Therefore, our data-steeped
voices must be heard as the education community
attempts to reform itself, and address among other
things, the civic education of students.
Third, service-learning research findings inform
a number of key issues that are of paramount
importance to key leaders in the area of youth
development and youth policy. These findings
relate to the positive impact of service-learning on
the development of youth, including civic competence, tolerance of others, enhanced self-esteem,
decreased alienation and a reduction in at-risk
behaviors (Pittman & Cahill, 1992). This important
connection of service-learning practice to the country's focus on youth issues must be made known to
our policy-makers. Service-learning researchers
need to help policy-makers make this connection,
emphasizing these desired outcomes for youth as
overlapping with the outcomes of service-learning.
Finally, the service-learning field has never been
stronger. Not only are our numbers growing as colleges, schools and community organizations across
the country develop service-learning programs, but
the quality of the work is improving as we are able
to learn from each others' best practices. Servicelearning is on the agenda at a variety of disciplinebased professional associations including sociology, nursing, composition, management, communication, engineering and others. Our research is consistently showing that service-learning has a positive effect on students' civic and moral development, a topic which is central to the renewed
emphasis by college presidents on the "engaged
campus." So, we have to be conscious of the work
to be done in "staking our terrain." This includes a
concerted effort to reach out to policy-makers, and
to inform them about service-learning and its
accomplishments.
Carpe diem! Our growing knowledge and experience must be made available to policy-makers, so
that the formal policy frameworks that guide action
in our field can be informed by the cultural norms
and wisdom produced by those engaged directly in
the art of linking service and learning.
Notes
The author would like to acknowledge Dr. Marilyn
Smith, Director of Service-Learning at the Corporation
for National Service, for her assistance and consultation
in the development of this article. As a service-learning
researcher and current senior administrator of the federal government's service-learning program, Dr. Smith
brought a uniquely informed perspective to this article.
SThis article employs a broad definition of research.
By research, I am referring to the process through which
knowledge and experience gained by practitioners in a
field is collected and made available to inform future
practice. This broad definition of research does not draw
a distinction between levels of formality of research
methods or between theoretical- and practitioner-oriented research. The common factor is that knowledge and
experience is consolidated, analyzed, and made available
to others.
2 As this article goes to press, the final outcome of
this policy is still undecided. In a July 15 letter, Governor
Davis formally asked the Chancellors of the University
of California, the California State University, and the
California Community Colleges to "establish a community service requirement for undergraduate students...."
(Davis, 1999). The faculty senates of each of the three
systems were then asked to develop a response to
Governor Davis' "call to service." Of the three systems,
the California State University prepared the most thorough response to the governor. Though the CSU agreed
with the spirit of the governor's request, the CSU was not
supportive of a community service graduation requirement. Rather, in a document that was significantly influenced by the service-learning practitioners working on
the CSU's campuses, the CSU emphasized its commitment to service-learning, and the need for increased
financial support to significantly expand service-learning
opportunities on its twenty-two campuses (California
State University, 2000). In May 2000, acknowledging the
leadership of the CSU in the service-learning field, the
governor awarded the CSU $2.2 million annually over
the next four years to increase service-learning opportunities on its campuses.
References
Abbott, A. (1988). The System of professions: An essay on
the division of expert labor. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press.
111
