Service-Learning and Students' Personal and Civic Development

The purpose of this paper is to report student perceptions articulated in surveys conducted in six school districts over two years (1996 and 1997) and to explore the hypothesis that service activities, including service-learning, can contribute to cognitive, affective, civic and social development among students. Analyses of the data revealed patterns of behavior that can be interpreted with consistency and in ways that advocates of service-learning would generally expect. The results support the hypothesis that community service, including service-learning, relate positively to the cognitive, affective, civic, and social development of youth, and supports the utility of the service-learning pedagogy.