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Significant studies point to to the value of service learning, but the field needs more experimenta research to firmly establish the value of this approach
Service learning has been a part of America's K-12 education landscape for more than 30 years. Yet today, service learning is found in less than 30% of K-12 schools in the United States, even though it's achieved a substantial footing in American institutions of higher education and the primary, secondary, and higher education systems of many other countries (Spring, Grimm, and Dietz 2008). Skepticism over service learning's educational merit continues despite published research reviews showing a consistent set of positive outcomes for students. Indeed, reviews of K-12 service learning research include close to 70 studies, most of which have found positive impacts on participating students' academic, civic, personal, social, ethical, and vocational development (Conrad and Hedin 1991; Furco 1994; Andersen 1998; Billig 2000; Shumer 2005).
For an innovation to gain traction in today's educational environment, strong and compelling evidence of its effectiveness must be secured. According to the U.S. Department of Education, evidence is secured when the effects of an educational intervention are tested under certain research conditions. Of the 68 studies cited in the K-12 service learning literature, only 2 5% have been tested under these conditions. If service learning is to be embraced by more educators and schools, then future investigations must incorporate the kinds of research design that can raise the status of service learning as an evidence-based practice. But the K-12 service learning studies that have been able to produce "possible evidence" and "strong evidence," as defined by the U.S. Department of Education, show a consistent set of outcomes for students across all six of the aforementioned educational domains. Four outcome areas within these six domains are especially noteworthy.
IMPROVED ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
Because of the important role that standardized subject-matter exams play in schools, researchers have explored the relationship between service learning and performance on academic-content examinations. For example, Weiler, LaGoy Crane, and Rovner (1998) assessed differences in reading and language arts performance between primary and secondary school students (n = 775) enrolled in 12 classrooms that offered service learning and students (n = 310) from eight comparable classrooms that did not. To assess the...