Section I:
Getting
Started
Introduction
Developing
Campus
Support
Section II:
Integrating
Service-
Learning
Introduction
1: Overview of
Service-Learning
2: Overview of
Instructional Design
3: Reflection
4: Assessing
Student Learning
5: Capacity-building
6: Civic Learning
Section II: Chapter 6: Civic Learning
Chapter 6: Civic Learning
“The most critical demand is to restore to higher education its original purpose of
preparing graduates for a life of involved and committed citizenship…The advancement
of civic learning, therefore, must become higher education’s most central goal.”Frank Newman, Higher Education and the American Resurgence (1985)
Service-learning has long been understood as having among its most important goals the development of responsible citizens. Much attention is currently being focused on how best to design service-learning experiences so that their civic – as well as their academic – learning potential is fully tapped.
Jumpstart ’s own use of service-learning is grounded in the conviction that students will become better able to understand and participate in issues facing our world as a result of their experiences with individuals and organizations working in the arena of early childhood education. Through their work in Head Starts and other early learning centers serving low-income populations, students learn about education and the importance of school readiness, gaining a deeper understanding of which children enter school prepared to succeed and why. Students also have the chance to see firsthand the change that their efforts and those of other community agencies bring, learning from leaders in their cities and towns what it means to affect social change.
- All students participate in a series of citizenship trainings targeting topics such as “Leadership and Civic Engagement,” “The Working Poor,” “Rights and Civic Education,” and “ Jumpstart as a Social Change Agent.”
- Service-learning course instructors across disciplines complement these trainings by engaging students in deeper thinking around specific topics such as power and privilege, working in diverse communities, and community development.
In summary, Jumpstart is rising to the challenge, issued in the Wingspread Group Report on Higher Education (1993), that students graduate from colleges and universities “more sensitive to the needs of community, more competent to contribute to society, and more civil in habits of thought, speech, and action.” Doing so in the context of Jumpstart service-learning, of course, requires intentional design of our courses so that the civic learning potential of our students’ experiences with children, families, educators, schools, community centers, etc. is fulfilled.
Topics in this chapter include:
- Civic learning as a learning goal of service-learning – positions civic learning as an important goal of service-learning
- Defining civic engagement – provides examples of how instructors might define civic learning, including specific knowledge, skills, and dispositions that can be cultivated through service-learning
- Exploring community – provides a multi-faceted perspective on the meaning of community and suggests the range of learning outcomes associated with student reflection regarding membership in community
- Civic learning in Jumpstart service-learning – applies some of the issues raised here to Jumpstart courses in particular, including sharing some ideas from Jumpstart instructors
- Reflection prompts for the reader – provides several prompts that will help the reader reflect on the content of this section
- References