Engaging Students in the Community as Part of Classroom Learning and for Future Benefits

In this paper, service learning is defined as volun-teer work in response to community need com-bined with a reflective assignment. In this regard, ser-vice learning provides students with an opportunity to test “theory ” against “reality ” (Barrow, Hofren-ning, & Parkhurst, 2005; Bishop & Driver, 2007; Dicklitch, 2003). Students ’ service learning catalyzes their academic and self-development and promotes social responsibility through links between town and gown (Joseph, Stone, Grantham, Harmancioglu, & Ibrahim, 2007). Another potential benefit of service learning is enhanced short- and long-term academic performance (Strage, 2004). Empirical evidence on short-term academic performance impact is mixed (Matthews-Gardner, Fitzgerald, & Gitelson, 2005) and inconclusive (Eyler, 2002). It may not be re-alistic to expect a one-term experience – even with 15-20 hours of service and a reflective course-base