Research on Student Civic Outcomes in Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Methods

At this time of a renewed call for colleges and universities to create campus cultures that support and develop students’ understanding and commitment to civic participation, what is known about the design of service learning courses and their effectiveness to achieve this goal? This volume presents research on--and deepens understanding of--teaching strategies that foster the knowledge, skills and dispositions of college graduates to be actively engaged in their communities as citizens and civic-minded professionals.

The first section offers an overview of civic learning and the importance of intentional service learning course design to reach civic outcomes. The next section employs various disciplinary perspectives to identify theories and conceptual frameworks for conducting research on student civic outcomes. The third section focuses on research methods and designs to improve research using quantitative and qualitative approaches, cross-institutional research strategies, longitudinal designs, authentic data, and local and national data sets. Chapters also address implications for practice and future research agendas for scholars.

JulieA. Hatcher is Associate Professor Emeritus of Philanthropic Studies in the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy atIndiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). From2012-2018, she was executive director of the Center for Service andLearning and associate professor.  Julie serves as co-editor of theIUPUI Series on Service Learning Research (Stylus, 2011, 2013, 2016). Herresearch focuses on the role of higher education in democracy and civilsociety, civic learning outcomes in higher education, philanthropic studies,and civic-minded professionals. She serves on the national advisory boardfor the Carnegie Foundation’s Community Engagement elective classification.Julie is the 2017 International Association forResearch on Service-Learning and Community Engagement DistinguishedCareer Award recipient, and the 2008 Dissertation Award recipient.Julie earned her PhD in philanthropic studies with a minor in higher educationat Indiana University.

Robert G.Bringle is Chancellor’s Professor Emeritus of Psychology and PhilanthropicStudies and Senior Scholar in the Center for Service and Learning at IndianaUniversity Purdue University Indianapolis. From 2012-2015, he was theKulynych/Cline Visiting Distinguished Professor of Psychology at AppalachianState University. He was the Executive Director of the Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis Center for Service and Learning from 1994-2012.Dr. Bringle was awarded the Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service Learning,the IUPUI Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Legacy ofService Award from Indiana Campus Compact. In 2004, he was recognized at the4th Annual International Service-Learning Research Conference for hisoutstanding contributions to the service-learning research field. TheUniversity of the Free State, South Africa, awarded him an honorary doctoratefor his scholarly work on civic engagement and service learning.

ThomasW. Hahn is the Director of Research and Program Evaluation at the Center forService and Learning and Institute for Engaged Learning at Indiana UniversityPurdue University Indianapolis. He is responsible for assessment, evaluation,and research in the areas of student civic learning and success. Tom has over20 years of experience in assessment and program improvement in highereducation. He oversees the annual IUPUI Research Academy on CommunityEngagement and Engaged Learning and chairs the campus subcommittee for thestudent Experiential and Applied Learning Record. He received his undergraduateand graduate degrees from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.