Volunteers are those who find that they have the ability to change at least one other person's life for the better. Public service programs can be established within the forensics medium. Such programs as "Kids on the Block," which uses puppetry to teach about individual differences, can benefit from forensics experience. Dramatic…

The Penn State Outing Club at Pennsylvania State University redesigned operational procedures to better address fiscal, managerial, and leadership development concerns. The student-run club dissolved its old divisional structure, centralized operations, and split into two branches: club officers and the apprentice-style Wilderness Instructional…

This essay addresses how to cope with several potential barriers to implementing effective service-learning projects. The discussion builds on experiences of developing and refining service-learning in upper-division communication courses. Difficulties arise in three areas: the institutional and physical setting, student attitudes, and community…

This paper summarizes a round table discussion entitled "Translating Our Scholarship into Practice," which was presented at the 2001 Western States Communication Association meeting. The paper highlights the presentation of four California speech instructors--in their classes the instructors encourage students to participate in…

Participation in extracurricular activities by 124 secondary students who had exceptionalities was studied at 8 public high schools in an urban area of northeastern Ohio. Questionnaires were completed by students who participated in extracurricular activities and those who did not. Study variables were: student's gender and grade level; type of…

For traditional-age college students (18 to 24 years old), college is a time of identity exploration. During this time, if individuals have a deep sense of caring for others, it is more likely that they will interact with others in an especially meaningful way. Thus, ways to expand student's identity through community service involvement are…

Parents of delinquents often display unconstructive behavioral patterns. The effects of behavior contracting with juvenile delinquents in response to these patterns was examined. Delinquent youth (N=72) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (1) controls, receiving normal court treatment; (2) a Family Contracting (FC) group, diverted…

This paper describes the development of a scale that measures college students' attitudes about community service, based on Schwartz' process model of altruistic helping behavior. The development of such a scale is seen as essential for research, evaluation of interventions, and the prediction of outcomes of community service participation. The…

This presentation by North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt discusses the need to get students engaged in their communities via service learning. Service learning reverses student disengagement by giving them responsibility for their own learning. This provides real-life contexts for learning, prepares students for citizenship through involvement…

Surveys administered to 48 state student representatives and 46 chapter advisors attending the 1983 National Future Farmers of American (FFA) Conference on Community Development provided data about the Building Our American Communities Program (BOAC), which originated in 1970 as vocational agriculture's vehicle for high school level community…

A study examined how culturally diverse students increased their reading/writing performance through a structured volunteer tutoring program. Two university professors developed volunteer tutoring programs at six elementary schools in southeastern Michigan. Program objectives were to: (1) increase the reading performance of culturally diverse…

This study examines the relationship between college student alcohol use and the construct of social responsibility. For purposes of the study, alcohol use was defined by average number of drinks a week and frequency of binge drinking; social responsibility was defined by employment, marriage, living with children, living with parents, and hours…

This study examined English teenagers' community involvement. Participants were all 14-16-year-old students in 3 large public schools (rural, urban, and suburban), none of which had service learning as part of the curriculum. Over 1,000 students completed questionnaires that examined regular and one-time involvement in community service activities…

This study examines the importance of structured reflection in service-learning courses. The study consisted of interviews with 15 faculty and 72 students from three different higher education institutions; interviews were conducted between October 1998 and March 1999. Focus group interviews with faculty gathered information about course design,…

Resources developed by "Campus Compact," a coalition of over 550 colleges and universities established to create and enhance service learning opportunities for students, are presented in this handbook for mathematics and science faculty. A brief introduction defines service learning and provides a continuum of types of service learning,…