Premium
Promoting Civic Activism: Student Leadership in Service‐Learning
Author(s) -
Morgan William,
Streb Matthew
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
politics and policy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.259
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1747-1346
pISSN - 1555-5623
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-1346.2002.tb00639.x
Subject(s) - service learning , experiential learning , civic engagement , politics , civics , political socialization , public relations , voting , political science , service (business) , socialization , experiential education , pedagogy , sociology , psychology , social psychology , american political science , business , law , marketing
Service‐learning is an approach to experiential education where students apply knowledge and skills that they learn in the classroom by providing needed service to the larger community in which they live. One goal of service‐learning programs is to develop citizens who are engaged and involved in the political process. This paper examines the effects that service‐learning programs have on students' political participation. The data we use come from the Civic Education and Political Participation Survey gathered by the Indiana Department of Education. This pre/post survey includes students from the 5th through the 12th grades from five states. The survey allows us to examine the change in political participation for students involved in service‐learning programs. Using a political socialization perspective on participation and education theory that draws from Dewey, Piaget and Kolb, we use an expansive definition of political participation that includes much more that the simple act of voting. Specifically, we examine whether students, through their involvement in service learning, (1) engage in political communication, (2) will participate in acts of civic support, (3) will contact public officials, and (4) will vote. We find that service‐learning does appear to make students more likely to participate in the future. The effects of service‐learning are even greater when students had leadership in the project.