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Fact Sheets

Developing Service-Learning Scholarship: Actions and Issues to Consider

Source: Sarena D. Seifer, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, July 2002

Acknowledgments: In preparing this fact sheet, we would like to acknowledge the significant contributions of the UCLA Service-Learning Clearinghouse website (Archive) and the CCPH commissioned paper "Working with our Communities: Moving from Service to Scholarship in the Health Professions".

Introduction to Scholarship in Service-Learning

As service-learning (SL) becomes increasingly widespread in higher education, more opportunities are emerging for SL practitioners to pursue scholarship. This fact sheet provides a brief overview of contemporary issues regarding scholarship in higher education, actions to consider in developing a scholarly agenda in SL, ideas for places in which to publish and present SL scholarship, and resources for faculty review, promotion and tenure.

These other National SL Clearinghouse fact sheets may be useful to you in developing your scholarship in SL:

Contemporary Issues Regarding Scholarship in Higher Education

In 1987, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching commissioned a report to examine the meaning of scholarship. Scholarship Reconsidered, authored by the late Ernest Boyer, assessed the functions that faculty members perform and how these functions relate to both the faculty reward system and the mission of higher education. Boyer challenged higher educational institutions to embrace the full scope of academic work, moving beyond an exclusive focus on traditional and narrowly defined research as the only legitimate avenue to further knowledge. He proposed four interrelated dimensions of scholarship: discovery, integration, application and teaching:

  • The scholarship of discovery refers to the pursuit of inquiry and investigation in search of new knowledge
  • The scholarship of integration consists of making connections across disciplines and advancing knowledge through synthesis
  • The scholarship of application asks how knowledge can be applied to the social issues of the times in a dynamic process that generates and tests new theory and knowledge
  • The scholarship of teaching includes not only transmitting knowledge, but also transforming and extending it

These four categories interact forming a unified definition of scholarship that is rich, deep and broad, and applied in practical ways. Subsequently, Boyer expanded his definition to include the scholarship of engagement which regards service as scholarship when it requires the use of knowledge that results from one's role as a faculty member. SL is commonly considered to illustrate the scholarship of application and of teaching, although depending on the specific circumstances, it could be described by all of these forms of scholarship.

The Carnegie Foundation next charged Charles Glassick and his colleagues to determine the criteria used to evaluate scholarly work. In order to move beyond basic research and peer-reviewed journal publication as the primary criteria for academic reward and promotion, the following standards emerged from Glassick's study of press directors, journal editors, granting agencies, and promotion & tenure committees as applicable to assess the work of scholars

  • clear goals
  • adequate preparation
  • appropriate methods
  • significant results
  • effective presentation
  • reflective critique

As a result of Boyer's and Glassick's work, faculty roles and rewards surfaced as a major issue in higher education during the 1990s. Their work continues to inform discussions taking place on campuses across the country and within national higher education associations.

The challenge for faculty engaged in SL is to describe clearly how these accepted standards of scholarship are implemented in the context of community. SL scholarship is not simply teaching, research or service that takes place in a community setting. The principles, processes, outcomes and products of SL scholarship may look very different than scholarship based in a classroom, laboratory or library, but they are informed and guided by the same standards of rigor - in other words, clear goals, adequate preparation, appropriate methods, significant results, effective presentation and reflective critique.

Developing Service-Learning Scholarship: Actions to Consider

Below are a number of actions that you might consider as you pursue scholarship in SL

Make a plan…
Drafting a plan of action will help you to clarify your scholarship priorities. Consider these questions

  • What are you most passionate about in your SL work? What do you want to know? Your passion and interests should drive your scholarship priorities. For example, is there a burning intellectual question you hope to answer? An observation that has intrigued you that you would like to pursue further? A learning objective for your students that you hope to demonstrate is met through service-learning experiences? A community problem you seek to better understand and help to solve?
  • What opportunities for scholarship does your work in SL provide? For example, does your SL course have an evaluation plan that could generate interesting data for a manuscript? Will structured student journals provide opportunities for future content analysis and subsequent publication? Did you design a tool for assessing community partner impact that could be validated and published? Peer-reviewed, evidence-based journal articles are certainly one scholarly product, but also consider editorials and commentaries, descriptive articles, book chapters, "how to" guides, web sites, tools, forms, processes and policies. Start to sketch out possible scholarly projects and products that can derive from your work in SL.
  • What professional development might enhance your chances for success? Take an honest appraisal of your strengths and limitations with respect to SL scholarship, and begin addressing both. For example, do you have the methodological skills to carry out the research project you have proposed? If not, you might consider taking a class, conferring with an experienced colleague, or starting with a pilot project to test and refine your skills.

Talk to people…

  • Contact your colleagues - Find out what scholarship strategies your colleagues utilize. Where have they published or presented their work? How have they disseminated their work? They might give you some creative ideas and/or be able to refer you to other resources.
  • Start within your institution - Be sure to investigate support for scholarship that may be available within your institution. For example, departmental funds to attend a research methods workshop, present your work at a conference, or develop a new research proposal.
  • Contact potential journals as you shape your ideas - Find out what journal editors think of your ideas for a manuscript by asking them. Consider joining forces with a colleague or two to pitch a SL "theme" issue for a particular journal. You could contact them by phone, email, or by attending a workshop at your professional association's annual conference (increasingly, journal editors are conducting "meet the editor" sessions at such conferences). Be prepared by first reviewing the journal's instructions for authors and past issues to get a sense for the types of articles the journal tends to publish.

Do some research…
Before determining the focus of your scholarship, become familiar with the service-learning research literature. Peruse the service-learning literature in your field, discipline or profession. These citations may help get you started

At A Glance: What we know about the effects of service-learning on college students, faculty, institutions, and communities, Janet S. Eyler, Dwight E. Giles, Jr., Christine M. Stenson, and Charlene J. Gray, 1993-2000, Third Edition. Funded by the Corporation for National and Community Service, Learn and Serve, National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. "At A Glance" provides an excellent summary of the findings of service-learning research in higher education over the past few years. An annotated bibliography is included. This is the place to start for an overview of where the service-learning research in higher education stands today.

The Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning's 2000 special issue "Strategic Directions for Service-Learning Research" summarizes what is know about service-learning in higher education and identifies gaps in our knowledge for which further research is needed. The table of contents and abstracts can be viewed online.

The Learning In Deed Program maintains a list of published abstracts and research reviews, primarily related to service-learning at the K-12 level.

The Corporation for National and Community Service maintains a service-learning research page with links to CNCS-funded service-learning research and evaluations.

The American Education Research Association has a helpful online document entitled "Publishing Educational Research: Guidelines and Tips"

Determine who will be involved in the project, how they will be involved, who will be authors and what the order of authorship will be...
It is important to discuss these issues at the start of any scholarly project. This may be especially true when, as is typical in service-learning scholarship, there will be a number of people involved in the work. For example, what role will your community agency partner play? Will the project generate more than one manuscript for publication? Will all project participants be co-authors? Be up-front about your needs and desires. For example, if it is important for your career progress to have first-authored, peer-reviewed publication, make that known.

Resources

Review and discuss sample policies and procedures for authorship and dissemination.

Bridgewater, C. A., Bornstein, P. H., & Walkenbach, J, Ethical issues in the assignment of publication credit, American Psychologist, 1981, 36, 524-525.

Fine, M. A. & Kurdek, L. A., Reflections on determining authorship credit and authorship order on faculty-student collaborations, American Psychologist, 1993, 48(11), 1141-1147.

Determine how you will protect confidentiality and rights of human subjects...
Review your institutional review board (IRB) requirements and follow them carefully. Whether IRB review is required or not, it is important to carefully consider how any service-learning scholarship you pursue will protect the confidentiality and rights of participants. For example, if you are planning to analyze student journal entries and publish the findings in a journal, you must inform the students of your plans and assure them that no identifying information will be divulged.

Be prepared for scholarly opportunities…
Journals often have short turnaround times for their "requests for manuscripts" for theme issues. If you have an article rejected by a journal, you are likely to revise it and send it on to a different journal. Prepare in advance for these opportunities by keeping background information and citations in readily accessible format. For example, bibliographic database programs like Endnote and Reference Manager make it easy to keep track of your reference materials, to save literature searches, and to reformat citations for a particular journal's specifications.

Review others' manuscripts to become a better writer…
The experience of reading and critiquing other people's manuscripts for publication will help you learn to think like a reviewer and to sharpen your own writing skills. Volunteer to be a reviewer for a journal or conference.

Remember, always follow the instructions for submission…
Whether you are submitting a manuscript for publication, or a poster proposal for presentation at a conference, you should follow the instructions for submission down to the last detail (i.e., font size, line spacing, receipt or postmark deadline). You run the risk of not having your submission reviewed or considered since reviewers might by-pass the candidates who do not follow instructions. Unfortunately, you also run the risk of leaving a bad impression no matter how objective the reviewer tries to be in the future. Avoid these risks by following all instructions and asking for clarification whenever there is confusion.

Places to Present Service-Learning Scholarship

Although there are numerous conferences on SL in higher education, there is only one national conference that is specifically devoted to SL research. In October of 2001, the First Annual International Conference on SL Research was held in Berkeley and brought 350 researchers, policymakers and others interested in SL research together to share and hear about new findings, research agendas and explore research interests.

The American Education Research Association hosts a special interest group (SIG) on service-learning and experiential learning. The SIG's purpose is "to bring together both researchers and practitioners to build and promote understanding of SL and experiential education for the betterment of the field." The SIG also sponsors presentations on service-learning at the AERA's annual conference.

These websites maintain regularly updated lists of conferences in which to present SL scholarship:

American Association of Community Colleges
Campus Compact
Community-Campus Partnerships for Health
National Service-Learning Clearinghouse

Places to Publish Service-Learning Scholarship

The following alphabetical list of publications includes major journals that publish articles on SL research, plus a number of discipline-specific education-focused journals. This list is by no means exhaustive. If you are aware of journals that publish articles on SL research and should be added, please send an email describing the resource so we can include them in updates to this fact sheet.

Academe Online
Published bimonthly by the American Association of University Professors, this journal examines higher education from the point of view of faculty members. Feature articles focus on tenure, part-time faculty appointments, distance education, affirmative action, intellectual property, plus other relevant academic issues.

Academic Exchange Quarterly
Academic Exchange Quarterly was founded in 1997 and is an independent peer-reviewed print journal. It is a publication outlet for a multitude of faculty and disciplines in the United States and internationally. Several volumes have been devoted to the topic of service-learning.

Academic Medicine
This peer-reviewed monthly journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges, serves as an international forum for the exchange of ideas and information about policy, issues, and research concerning academic medicine, including strengthening the quality of medical education and training.

Accounting and the Public Interest
Accounting and the Public Interest is an academic journal published by the Public Interest Section of the American Accounting Association. The journal, envisioned as innovative and eclectic, welcomes alternative theories and methodologies as well as the more traditional ones. The common element in this diversity is the requirement that the study and its findings be linked to the public interest by situating them within the historical, economic, social, ethical, and political context, and ultimately providing guidance for responsible action. Theoretical and empirical contributions, as well as literature reviews synthesizing the state of the art in specific areas are considered appropriate.

Active Learning in Higher Education
Published three times per year by the Institute for Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, this international journal focuses on all aspects of developments, innovations and good practice in higher education teaching and learning worldwide. The journal includes accounts of research by those active in the field of learning and teaching in higher education, and overviews of topics, accounts of action research, outputs from subject-specific project teams, case studies and theoretical perspectives.

The American Behavioral Scientist
For over forty years, this journal has been a valuable source of information for scholars, researchers and professionals, providing in-depth coverage of fields of study throughout the social and behavioral sciences. Each issue offers a comprehensive analysis of a single topic, examining such important and diverse areas as marketing, medicine and public service. The journal's interdisciplinary approach stimulates creativity and, occasionally, controversy within the emerging frontiers of the social sciences, exploring the critical issues that affect our world and challenge our thinking.

American Educational Research Journal
American Educational Research Journal has as its purpose to publish original empirical and theoretical studies and analyses in education. The editors seek to publish articles from a wide variety of academic disciplines and substantive fields. They are looking for contributions that are significant to the understanding and/or improvement of educational processes and outcomes.

American Journal of Education
Published quarterly, this journal seeks to bridge and integrate the intellectual, methodological, and substantive diversity of educational scholarship, and to encourage a vigorous dialogue between educational scholars and practitioners. To achieve that goal, papers are published that present research, theoretical statements, philosophical arguments, critical syntheses of a field of educational inquiry, and integration of educational scholarship, policy, and practice.

American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education
Published five times annually by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, this is the only publication in the United States devoted entirely to communication among pharmacy educators.

The American Psychologist
This publication is the official journal of the American Psychological Association and includes articles on current issues in psychology in addition to empirical, theoretical, and practical articles on the general topics of psychology and psychology education.

Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education
Published six times per year this international journal includes papers and reports on all aspects of evaluation and assessment covering the range of higher education disciplines. The primary purpose of the journal is to help advance understanding of assessment and evaluation practices and processes, particularly in the contribution they make to student learning and to curriculum, faculty, and organizational development. The journal accepts submissions that are pragmatic, research-based or reflective studies that illuminate the practice of assessment and evaluation in higher education. The journal is aimed at all higher education practitioners and sets out to provide readily accessible, up-to-date information.

Assessment in Experiential Education
This publication examines various best practices and techniques which are being used to evaluate the progress and performance of students engaged in experiential education activities. Articles on the theme of "Assessment in Experiential Education" are invited for possible publication in a collection of articles on evaluation and assessment in experiential education. For more information, please contact Kyle Farmbry, Director of Diversity Leadership Programs, The Washington Center for Internships and Academic Seminars, 1101 14th Street, NW #500, Washington, DC 20005-5622; (202) 336-7564, kylef@twc.edu .

Business Communication Quarterly
A refereed journal devoted to the teaching of business communication, which is a broad, interdisciplinary field. It is also international, and thus the journal aims to present the field from that international perspective. The journal publishes the following types of articles: discussions of issues and methods for teaching business communication in a variety of settings (two-year college, technical institute, four-year college, university, corporate or agency training program, etc.), case studies of specific classroom techniques, tutorials on business communication processes or products, especially innovations in electronic technology that need to be introduced into the classroom, research on classroom teaching or assessment, summary reviews of literature on teaching business communication, book reviews of both textbooks and other items of interest to teachers, and reports on strategies for program development.

Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning
Well known and respected as an opinion magazine dealing with contemporary issues in higher learning, Change spotlights trends in, provides new insights about, and analyzes the implications of educational programs. Articles cover influential institutions and individuals, new teaching methods, curriculum, finances, governance, and public policy. Change is published six times a year with editorial leadership provided by the American Association for Higher Education. Editorial content includes special departments, regular columnists, a wide-ranging book review section, and in-depth analytical features on current issues in higher education.

The Chemical Educator
A peer-reviewed journal for chemical education professionals, publication on the World Wide Web allows for quick dissemination of material, timely information on current topics, and internet access to supporting material. Full search capabilities for all issues are provided online. Featured tutorial articles on modern instrumentation, techniques, and theory provide educators access to the most current information in a format immediately usable in their classrooms and laboratories. These articles provide an instant resource for the inclusion of topics and techniques that are too current to appear in standard textbooks. Studies published in this area provide concrete evidence and conclusions about techniques that improve teaching effectiveness.

College Composition and Communication
The editorial staff of this journal invites submission of research and scholarship in composition studies that supports college teachers in reflecting on and improving their practices in teaching writing. The field of composition studies draws on research and theories from a broad range of humanistic disciplines- English studies, linguistics, literacy studies, rhetoric, cultural studies, gay studies, gender studies, critical theory, education, technology studies, race studies, communication, philosophy of language, anthropology, sociology, and others-and within composition studies, a number of subfields have also developed, such as technical communication, computers and composition, writing across the curriculum, research practices history of composition, assessment, and writing center work. The usefulness of articles to writing teachers should be apparent in the discussion.

Community College Journal
The Journal features articles by leading experts, opinions that put the news in perspective, coverage of higher education issues, and profiles of the field's leaders. Every issue covers news and information from a national network of colleges, providing the latest surveys, practices, and innovations.

Community College Review
The Review publishes contributions from scholars and practitioners who report on research, identify important issues and trends in community college education, and review recent books that involve community colleges. The majority of the manuscripts accepted for publication in the Community College Review describe original research. Essays that combine authors' professional experiences with their knowledge or opinions about specific topics or issues constitute about 20% of accepted submissions. Acceptable research topics focus clearly on two-year postsecondary institutions: the populations served, the curricula offered, the methods used to deliver academic and administrative services, and the problems and issues encountered.

Education for Health: Change in Learning and Practice
This journal invites reports on qualitative and quantitative research that can enhance educational practice, especially if it will help enhance clinical practice. It also invites thoughtful analyses, innovative ideas, and conceptual statements that may not necessarily be the product of research but which have implications for the decision-making of teachers and educational leaders.

Educational Leadership
This journal is intended primarily for leaders in elementary, middle, and secondary education but is also for anyone interested in curriculum, instruction, supervision, and leadership in schools.

Educational Researcher
Published nine times per year by the American Education Research Association and received by all members of AERA, this journal contains scholarly articles of general significance to the educational research community from a wide range of disciplines. Manuscripts that speak only to scholars in particular sub fields should be submitted to more specialized journals.

The Generator: Journal of SL and Service Leadership
This national journal of SL and youth leadership provides NYLC members with the most up-to-date information on SL methodologies, programs, and initiatives. Contributors are leaders in the field from throughout North America who share their experience and perspectives implementing SL and youth leadership programs in academic and community-based settings.

Harvard Educational Review
This is a quarterly scholarly journal of opinion and research in education with a mission to provide an interdisciplinary forum for discussion and debate about education's most vital issues. Each year, the Review covers a wide range of topics of current concern in education. Each quarterly issue of the Review is book length, containing a variety of articles, essays, and book reviews.

Higher Education Perspectives
This peer-reviewed journal, published by The Higher Education Group, Department of Theory and Policy Studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, features research articles, theoretical papers, literature reviews, book and essay reviews, and revised conference papers that analyze, challenge, and/or create Higher Education theory, history, philosophy, policy, and practice.

Higher Education Policy
This is an international journal for advancing scholarly understanding of the policy process applied to higher education through the publication of original analyses, both theoretical and practice-based, the focus of which may range from case studies of developments in individual institutions to policy making at systems and at national level.

Innovative Higher Education
The goals of this journal are to present descriptions and evaluations of innovations and provocative new ideas with relevance for action beyond the immediate context in higher education, focus on the effect of such innovations on teaching and students, be open to diverse forms of scholarship and research methods by maintaining flexibility in the selection of topics deemed appropriate for the journal, and strike a balance between practice and theory by presenting manuscripts in a readable and scholarly manner to both faculty and administrators in the academic community.

International Journal of Education and the Arts
This peer-reviewed online scholarly journal serves as a forum within the fields of aesthetics and arts education. These fields include, among others, art theory, music education, visual arts education, drama education, dance education, education in literature and narrative. Holistic, integrated studies that cross or transcend these fields are also welcomed.

Journal of Adolescence
This is an international, broad-based, cross-disciplinary journal that addresses issues of professional and academic importance concerning development between puberty and the attainment of adult status within society. It provides a forum for all who are concerned with the nature of adolescence, whether involved in teaching, research, guidance, counseling, treatment, or other services. The aim of the journal is to encourage research and foster good practice through publishing both empirical and clinical studies as well as integrative reviews and theoretical advances.

Journal of Adolescent Research
This journal is the primary source for the latest analysis on how adolescents develop, behave, and are influenced by societal and cultural factors as they enter their second decade. The Journal includes empirical research and theoretical papers on all aspects of adolescent development.

Journal of Business Education
This is a multi-disciplinary journal seeking the following kinds of papers: Educational research (empirical research that test teaching practices, student performance and learning environments), Pedagogy (papers offering interesting or unique approaches to teaching or delivering business education-general or specific), Curriculum (papers addressing interesting or unique approaches to curriculum development and discipline integration), Literature Reviews (papers that offer extensive reviews of current relevant research and thought), Multi-disciplinary (papers emphasizing multi-disciplinary approaches to business education), and Ethics and Moral Values (papers offering guidance in the integration of ethics and moral values in business education.

Journal of Career Development
This journal provides the profession, the public, and policy makers with the latest in career development theory research and practice, focusing on the impact that theory and research have on practice. Among the topics covered are career education, adult career development, career development of special needs populations, career development and the family, and career and leisure.

Journal of College and Character (JCC) and the Character Clearinghouse
The journal focuses on moral and civic learning in higher education and is published on the internet by the Center for the Study of Values in College Student Development at Florida State University. The JCC is published on an ongoing basis with new articles and entries added on a weekly and monthly basis.

Journal of College Student Development
The Journal of College Student Development was established in 1959 and is the oldest continually published scholarly journal in the field of college student affairs. Writers are encouraged to submit manuscripts concerning student development, professional development, professional issues, administrative concerns, and creative programs to improve student services. Manuscripts may focus on recent original research, replication of research, reviews of research, or essays on theoretical, organizational, and professional issues.

Journal of Excellence in College Teaching
This is a peer-reviewed journal published at Miami University by and for faculty at universities and two- and four-year colleges to increase student learning through effective teaching, interest in and enthusiasm for the profession of teaching, and communication among faculty about their classroom experiences. The Journal provides a scholarly, written forum for discussion by faculty about all areas affecting teaching and learning, and gives faculty the opportunity to share proven, innovative pedagogies and thoughtful, inspirational insights about teaching.

Journal of Experiential Education
This is a professional journal that publishes a diverse range of articles in subject areas such as outdoor adventure programming, SL, environmental education, therapeutic applications, research & theory, the creative arts, and much more. It is an invaluable reference tool for anyone in the field of experiential education.

Journal of General Education
Intended for faculty, administrators, and policymakers, the Journal of General Education is the professional forum for discussing issues in general education today. It addresses the general education concerns of community colleges, four-year colleges, universities, and state systems. Along with perspective essays on the role of general education today, JGE features articles on: Innovative methods in teaching and assessment, Profiles of exemplary general education programs, Case studies of successful curriculum development efforts, and Reviews of books and monographs related to general education.

American Journal of Health Education
This refereed journal covers today's health education and health promotion issues for professionals working in the following areas: medical care facilities, professional preparation, colleges and universities, community and public health agencies, public and private schools, and business and industry.

Journal of Higher Education
Through full-length articles, commentary, and book reviews, the Journal of Higher Education encourages creation of effective policy solutions and enhancement of professional development in all areas within the university, the four-year college, and the community college.

Journal of Moral Education
This journal provides a unique interdisciplinary forum for consideration of all aspects of moral education and development across the lifespan. It contains philosophical analyses, reports of empirical research and evaluation of educational strategies, which address a range of value issues and the process of valuing, not only in theory and practice, but also at the social and individual level. The Journal regularly includes country based state-of-the-art papers on moral education and publishes special issues on particular topics.

Journal of Nursing Education
This journal provides a forum for original articles and new ideas for nursing educators in various types and levels of nursing programs. The Journal enhances the teaching-learning process, promotes curriculum development, and stimulates creative innovation and research in nursing education. The October 2002 issue is focused on service-learning in nursing education.

Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement
Formerly known as the Journal of Public Service and Outreach, this journal serves as a forum to promote the continuing dialogue about the service and outreach mission of the University and its relationship to the teaching and research missions and to the needs of the sponsoring society. Published three times per year, it is a peer reviewed journal that casts a wide net and welcomes submissions from a broad range of scholars, practitioners, and professionals.

The Journal of Qualitative Research
This journal provides a forum for the discussion of research methods, in particular qualitative research, across the social sciences and cultural studies. It features papers with a methodological focus, discussed in relation to specific empirical studies and research problems and papers raising philosophical, theoretical, historical or ideological debates about qualitative Research.

Journal of Statistics Education
This journal disseminates knowledge for the improvement of statistics education at all levels, including elementary, secondary, post-secondary, post-graduate, continuing, and workplace education. Articles that provide a scholarly overview of the literature on a particular topic are also of interest. Reviews of software, books, and other teaching materials will also be considered, provided these reviews describe actual experiences using the materials.

Liberal Education
Published by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, Liberal Education expresses the voices of educators, faculty and administrators in colleges and universities nationwide who are working to enrich liberal learning and undergraduate education. The journal is a national forum about liberal education - a forum addressing teaching and learning, leadership, faculty innovation, and institutional change all in the service of improving undergraduate education.

Metropolitan Universities Journal
Each issue reports in-depth on both the theoretical and applied aspects of a current theme affecting colleges and universities. Authors come from diverse institutional perspectives, and include top scholars and administrators who share a wealth of experience and knowledge about best practices and effective strategies. Past issues have focused on community-university partnerships and service-learning.

Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning
This is a peer-reviewed journal consisting of articles written by faculty and SL educators on research, theory, pedagogy, and issues pertinent to the SL community. The journal aims to: widen the community of SL educators; sustain and develop the intellectual vigor of those in this community; encourage research and pedagogical scholarship related to SL; contribute to the academic legitimacy of SL; and increase the number of students and faculty who have a chance to experience the rich teaching and learning benefits that accrue to SL participants. Contributing authors are associated with a wide range of academic disciplines and professions.

NASPA Journal: The Journal of Student Affairs Administration, Research, and Practice (members only)
This journal is a quarterly publication and provides in-depth articles covering issues pertinent to student affairs administration. The journal is written primarily for the student affairs generalist who has broad responsibility for educational leadership, policy, staff development, and management. Common article topics include cultural diversity, legal and judicial issues, student development, assessment and administration.

National Society for Experiential Education Quarterly
Articles from the field of experiential education, including research related to the effectiveness of experiential education techniques, are featured in this quarterly journal. Service-learning is one of the many experiential education methods featured in this journal.

Planning for Higher Education
This journal invites well-written articles about important trends and issues that could influence academic planning and management, about novel or effective planning techniques, and about applied research of relevance to educational decision making.

PS: Political Science and Politics
This journal brings together political scientists from all fields of inquiry, regions, and occupational endeavors in order to expand awareness and understanding of political life.

Reflections on Community-Based Writing Instruction (To submit a paper, request more information, or subscribe, please write to broswell@goucher.edu.)
This peer-reviewed journal, published three times a year, provides a forum for scholarship on community-based work in college writing courses and related issues. Articles reporting on research, describing and reflecting on curriculum or teaching practices, or exploring the practical, theoretical, political, and ethical implications of community-based writing instruction are accepted. Abstracts describing current research projects, book reviews, and announcements are also accepted.

Review of Higher Education
The official journal of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), this journal provides a forum for discussion of issues affecting higher education. The journal advances the study of college and university issues by publishing peer-reviewed articles, essays, reviews, and research findings. Its broad approach emphasizes systematic inquiry and practical implications.

Social Policy Report
Published four times a year by the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), this publication's purpose is to provide policymakers with objective reviews of research findings on topics of current national interest, and to inform the SRCD membership about current policy issues relating to children and about the state of relevant research.

Teaching Sociology
This quarterly publication of the American Sociological Association publishes articles, notes, and reviews intended to be helpful to teachers of sociology. Articles range from experimental studies of teaching and learning to broad, synthetic essays on pedagogically important issues. This journal also shares theoretically stimulating and practically useful information and advice among teachers.

Theory into Practice
Published since 1962, Theory Into Practice (TIP) is the professional journal published quarterly by The Ohio State University's College of Education. TIP is organized around a single theme, and features multiple perspectives and scholarly, yet accessible, discussions of current and future concerns of interest to today's educators. For information, e-mail tip@osu.edu.

Funding for Service-Learning Scholarship

The following list highlights funding specifically available for SL research. For more information on funding for SL in general, please see the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse Fact Sheet on Raising Funds for SL in Higher Education.

The American Education Research Association
AERA administers grants for education research at the pre-doctoral and post-doctoral level, through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement. The AERA website also includes links to private and public agencies that fund education research

Communities of Science
COS Funding Opportunities is an online resource to identify funding information related to research, collaborative activities, travel, curriculum development, conferences, fellowships, post-doctoral positions, equipment acquisition, and operating or capital expenses, among others. Sources of this information are federal and regional governments, foundations, professional societies, associations, and corporations. COS Funding Opportunities are updated daily and can be searched by sponsor, amount, deadline, eligibility of applicant, funding type, and area of interest.

Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)
Another online resource for finding grants.

The Learning in Deed Program
Maintains a list of private and public funding source for SL research, with links to their websites.

Spencer Foundation
The Spencer Foundation's research programs provide funding for investigations that promise to yield new knowledge about education in the United States or abroad. Each of the Foundation's two research programs, the Major Grants Program and the Small Grants Program, supports researchers from a wide range of disciplines and professional fields.

Service-Learning Scholarship and the Faculty Review, Promotion and Tenure Process

Opportunities for scholarship are essential for the success of faculty in the review, promotion and tenure process. Below are resources that may assist in leveraging SL research for the RPT process.

General Resources

Faculty Development Advanced Toolkit
This resource on the Campus Compact website focuses on creating faculty reward and evaluation systems that take faculty community based work into account. The website contains examples of task force reports, policies and forms from campuses that have sought to embrace Boyer's expanded definition of scholarship.

East/West Clearinghouses for the Scholarship of Engagement
The East/West Clearinghouses for the Scholarship of Engagement sponsor the National Review Board for the Scholarship of Engagement, which provides external peer review and evaluation of faculty's scholarship of engagement. The Clearinghouses also provide consultation, training, and technical assistance to campuses that are seeking to develop or strengthen systems in support of the scholarship of engagement.

Service at Indiana University: Defining, Documenting, and Evaluating
Available from: Center for Public Service and Leadership, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Provides an intellectual model for service, examples of documentation that respond to criteria for evaluating service, and descriptions of campus activities that stimulate campus discussion. The guidebook provides an important resource that can be used as campuses revise promotion and tenure guidelines, reshape the assessment of scholarship, and develop criteria for service awards. It is also useful to faculty as they prepare documentation for professional development, annual review, promotion and tenure, and awards.

Community-Campus Partnerships for Health Mentor Network
CCPH's Mentor Network provides consultation, training and technical assistance to campuses that are seeking to develop or strengthen their support of community-based scholarship (e.g., service-learning, community-based participatory research).

Articles & Publications

Boyer, Ernest, "Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate," The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching: New York, 1990.
In this report by the Carnegie Foundation, Ernest Boyer argues for a broader understanding of scholarship that takes into account the scope of faculty activity more fully than does the traditional categories of teaching and research.

Boyer, Ernest, The Scholarship of Engagement, Journal of Public Outreach, Spring 1996, 1:1, 11-20.
Ernest Boyer suggests that American education has moved away from its traditional commitment to public service and argues for a new commitment to service that he calls the scholarship of engagement.

Chang, Yu-bi, Evaluation of Outreach for Promotion and Tenure Considerations: Views from University Faculty, Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 2000, 48:3, 5-13.
Yu-bi Chang examined the evaluation of university outreach from the perspectives of faculty members, particularly those who had engaged in outreach activities. It utilized a survey to determine criteria for judging the quality of outreach; types of performance indicators for evaluating teaching, research, and service elements of outreach; and who should evaluate outreach. The article concludes that, in the opinion of faculty, an adequate evaluation mechanism should include both criteria specific to outreach and more traditional standards for scholarship and rigor.

Coppola, Brian, Learning to Play a Rigged Game, National Teaching and Learning Forum online newsletter.
Brian Coppola, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor - A Pew Scholar who won tenure on the strength of his teaching, explains how faculty don't win by bucking the rules, only by reframing their understanding of their possibilities.

Diamond, Robert M., and Bronwyn E. Adam, ed., The Disciplines Speak: Rewarding the Scholarly, Professional, and Creative Work of Faculty, Washington, D.C.: AAHE, 1995.
This monograph contains a number of statements from professional associations in disciplines representing the humanities and social sciences, the natural sciences, the arts, and professional programs. These statements describe the work of faculty in the different disciplines, re-examining the traditional relationships between research, teaching, and service.

Driscoll, Amy and Lynton, Ernest, Making Outreach Visible: A Guide to Documenting Professional Service and Outreach, 1999.
This guide addresses the "how to" issues and needs of faculty and administration in the context of institutional change. 

Eyler, Janet, and Dwight E. Giles, Jr., Where's the Learning in Service-Learning?, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999.
Includes sections on identifying the learning outcomes of service; personal and interpersonal development; understanding and applying knowledge; engagement, curiosity, and reflective practice; critical thinking; perspective transformation; citizenship; characteristics of effective SL programs; and strengthening the role of service in the college curriculum.

Gelmon, Sherril and Agre-Kippenhan, Susan, Promotion, Tenure, and the Engaged Scholar: Keeping the Scholarship of Engagement in the Review Process, AAHE Bulletin, January 2002.
This article presents the perspectives of two faculty members at Portland State University who have navigated the promotion and tenure process, and their reflections on the scholarship of engagement.

Glassick, Charles E., Mary Taylor Huber, and Gene I. Maeroff, Scholarship Assessed: Evaluation of the Professoriate, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.
This text offers a new paradigm for evaluating scholarship of engagement, a scholarship that better integrates the full range of scholarly activity, research, teaching and service. It includes discussion of changes in thinking about scholarship and ideas about developing criteria for evaluating a full range of scholarship and for documenting scholarly efforts. It also includes, as appendices, the Questionnaire for the National Survey on the Reexamination of Faculty Roles and Rewards and the results of that survey.

Maurana, Cheryl; Wolff, Marie; Beck, Barbra; and Simpson, Debra, Working with our communities: moving from service to scholarship in the health professions, San Francisco, CA: Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, 2000.
This commissioned paper describes a model for community scholarship in the health professions that builds upon the work of Boyer and Glassick. The paper includes suggestions for developing a community scholarship portfolio, as well as a wealth of print and online resources.

Sandman, Lorilee R., Pennie G. Foster-Fishman, James Lloyd, Warren Rauhe, and Cheryl Rosaen, Managing Critical Tensions: How to Strengthen the Scholarship Component of Outreach, Change, January/February 2000, 32:1, 44-52.
This article examines ways that faculty can balance the community demands for scholarship of engagement and their institution's expectations regarding teaching and research with their own scholarly interests. It also explores the different perspectives among community, institution, and scholar, which create tensions in the implementation and design of outreach scholarship programs.

Simpson, Ronald D., Toward A Scholarship of Outreach and Engagement in Higher Education, Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 6:1, 7-12.
This article builds on the work of Ernest Boyer in calling for a "scholarship" of outreach in which the faculty service mission is directly tied to the field of knowledge and subject to the same requirements for rigor and accountability that apply to research scholarship.

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