Service-Learning: A History of Systems

Abstract

From an historical perspective, service-learning is a relatively new phenomenon in American higher education. The term was first coined in 1967, in reference to an internship program that was sponsored by the Southern Regional Education Board and through which college students gained academic credit and/or federally funded financial remuneration for work on community projects (Sigmon, 1979). As a pedagogical practice in higher education, service-learning was limited to a small group of participants until the mid 1980s. By the late 1980s, service-learning was gaining in prominence and was clearly distinguished from community service by its attention to the integration of service with academic study (Hollander, Saltmarsh, & Zlotowski, 2001). The 1990s have witnessed tremendous growth in service-learning, such that it is now regarded as a “vital force in educational change” (Liu, 1999, p. xi). Colleges and universities have espoused a renewed commitment to civic responsibility, with service-learning as a central vehicle for fulfilling this commitment (Ehrlich, 2000).