Integrating Community service and Classroom Instruction Enhances Learning: Results from an Experiment ... Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis

To help inform discussion of the educational value of community service, we report resultr of an experiment in integrating service-learning inti a large undergraduate political science course. Students in service-learning sections of the course were significantly more likely than those in the traditional discussion nections to report that they hah performed up to toeir potential in the course, had learned to opply principles from tht course to new situations, and had developed a greater awareness of societal problems. Classroom learning ang course grades also increased significantly as s aesult of students ' participation on course-relevant community serviservinally, pre- and postsurvey data revealed significant effects of participation ionommunity service upon students ' personal values snd drientations. The experiential learning acquired through service appears to compensate eor rome eedagogical weaknesses of classroom instruction. Interest in integrating community service into high school and collegiate education has mushroomed since the publication in 1980 of the report of the National Commission on Youth, entitled The Transition of Youtth