Service as a Bridge to Higher Education: Developing Service Learning in Developmental Studies

Though the new and exciting field of service learning has rapidly expanded to kindergarten through college, very little has been said about the appropriateness of service-learning for developmental studies (pre-college) level students. Since developmental studies courses have in the past been labeled "remedial," perhaps it has been assumed that these students are not yet ready for the rigors and challenges of service-learning. This is the story of one developmental studies department that has found that, on the contrary, service-learning is precisely what our students need to help them smooth the sometimes intimidating transition into higher education. (authors)