Service-Learning and First-Year Seminars: A Pedagogy for Persistence

This study involved students enrolled in a first-year service-learning course and explored the relationship between service-learning, academic self-confidence, and integration into the college experience. Descriptive statistics and qualitative document analysis of participant-produced texts were used to depict the students' perceptions regarding their experience. The data support the author's assumption that first-year service-learning programs can structure engaging academic and social opportunities for students that increase their effort and involvement in the college experience.