Service-learning and civic engagement: a longitudinal assessment of experiential education

This Spring we are celebrating 10 years of the Liemandt Family Service-Learning Program at CSB/SJU. The goals of service-learning are to enhance academic learning as well as to foster community awareness and a sense of social justice. In pursuit of these goals, I\u27ve incorporated service-learning in my classes over the past six years. We have evidence to suggest that service-learning is an effective tool for teaching course content. Assessment of the long-term effects on student\u27s civic engagement is less clear. Therefore, the question remains, to what extent do service-learning experiences in college empower students to serve greater roles in their community after they graduate? This session will present preliminary results on a longitudinal study designed to assess some possible long-term effects of experiential education initiatives at CSB/SJU