Service Learning: The Past, the Present, and the Promise

In addition to reading the textbook, listening to lectures, and taking tests examining the challenges that families with a child with a disability face, special education majors at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, as part of their course requirements, adopt a family for a semester by spending time with them, providing respite care, listening to their concerns and joys, and assisting with routine tasks. Similarly, in addition to traditional course work, students throughout the nation are tutoring, mentoring, working with the homeless, assisting those with disabling or life-threatening conditions, helping the elderly, and improving the environment. All of these ventures might be considered a part of a renewed look at service learning, defined here as learning that combines public service with planned, related educational outcomes through corresponding academic work (Cohen and Kinsey 1994; Olszewski and Bussler 1993)