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Developing Service-Learning Scholarship: Actions & Issues to Consider
| Print Version (367K pdf) | ||
| Source: Sarena D. Seifer, Community-Campus Partnerships for Health, July 2002, updated February 2008 | ||
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| 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, and resources for faculty review, promotion and tenure. | ||
 | Contemporary Issues Regarding Scholarship in Higher Education | |
| The challenge for faculty engaged in SL is to describe clearly how accepted standards of scholarship are implemented in the context of community. 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. | ||
| Developing Service-Learning Scholarship: Actions to Consider | |
| Make a plan…a plan of action will help you to clarify your scholarship priorities. Consider these questions: | ||
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| Talk to people… | ||
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| 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. | ||
| 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. Will all project participants be co-authors? Be up-front about your needs and desires. | ||
| Determine how you will protect confidentiality and rights of human subjects...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. | ||
| Be prepared for scholarly opportunities…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. | ||
| Review others' manuscripts to become a better writer…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…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 of leaving a bad impression no matter how objective the reviewer tries to be in the future. | ||
| 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. For resources that may assist in leveraging SL research for the RPT process see the expanded version of this fact sheet. | ||
| For a more detailed discussion, including references and documentation, see the complete online fact sheet at http://www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/fact_sheets/ he_facts/he_ops/expanded.php |
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| © 2008 Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. Photocopying for nonprofit educational purposes is permitted. | ||
Suggested Citation:
Seifer, Sarena D. Developing Service-Learning Scholarship: Actions & Issues to Consider. Scotts Valley, CA: Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, 2002/2008.
http://www.servicelearning.org/instant_info/fact_sheets/he_facts/he_ops/index.php
