By Whom and How is Service-Learning Implemented in Middle-Level Schools Involved in Documenting School Improvement: A Quantitative Study of Opportunity-to-Learn Conditions and Practices

National educational standards call for an increased focus on meaningful teaching
and learning that is developmentally appropriate and helps all student reach levels
of proficiency not only in basic skills by in higher order thinking skills and real
world application of skills. Among the recommendations for including real world
experiences in the community into the student's education is service-learning.
This study examined the opportunity to learn conditions and practices in 271
middle-level schools in 16 states involved in documenting school improvement
efforts in order to find out by whom and how service-learning was implemented.
A secondary analysis was conducted of data from teachers who participated in the
High Performance Learning Communities Assessment during 1997 and 1998.
Although nearly all the teachers endorsed the strategies of service-learning, they
were not implemented frequently. The professional knowledge of national and
state curriculum standards and adolescent development predicted their use of the
service-learning strategies. These service-learning strategies were also associated
with more frequent implementation of standards-based practices for higher order
thinking in literacy and numeracy. The students' background characteristics and
their schools' location in an urban environment were associated with
opportunities to learn through service-learning.