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The focus of this book is on the ways in which service learning and multicultural education can and should be integrated so that each may be strengthened and consequently have greater effect on educational and social conditions. It offers a significant attempt to forge a dialogue among practitioners ...

The focus of this book is on the ways in which service learning and multicultural education can and should be integrated so that each may be strengthened and consequently have greater effect on educational and social conditions. It offers a significant attempt to forge a dialogue among practitioners of service learning and multicultural education. The overriding theme is that service learning without a focused attention to the complexity of racial and cultural differences can reinforce the dominant cultural ideology, but academic work that seeks to deconstruct these norms without providing a community-based touchstone isolates students and schools from the realities of the larger communities of which they are part. Although the chapter authors provide varied perspectives on the benefits and challenges of integrating multicultural education and service learning, they all are committed to a vision of education that synthesizes both action and reflection. None of the authors pretend to have all the answers to what this integration should look like, nor do they believe that today's social problems are easily ameliorated through education. Rather, they share theories, practices, failures, and triumphs in order to further the conversation about the importance of aligning what educators say about the world and how they act in and on it. These authors share the view that multicultural education is truly transformative for students only when it includes a community action component, and likewise, service learning is truly a catalyst for change only when it is done from a multicultural and socially just perspective. It is their hope that the ideas explored in this book will further the work of those who share a commitment to the integration of action and reflection.

This volume represents a breakthrough discussion of the research issues surrounding innovative pedagogies. Using service-learning as its focus, it explores ways in which researchers and evaluators can study a teaching and learning approach that has multiple goals, including both academic and ...

This volume represents a breakthrough discussion of the research issues surrounding innovative pedagogies. Using service-learning as its focus, it explores ways in which researchers and evaluators can study a teaching and learning approach that has multiple goals, including both academic and affective development. The chapter authors show how to study a topic that is multilayered, complex, and involves the ways in which individuals make meaning of their experiences. Seven challenges that researchers need to grapple with in studying service-learning are identified and addressed: defining service-learning; basing service-learning research on strong theoretical foundations; refining service-learning research design and methodology; interpreting service-learning results; disseminating service-learning research findings; improving service-learning practice; and building funding to support service-learning research. In addition, practical recommendations are provided for professionals involved in doing research on service-learning and more broadly on any form of experiential education, community service and development, or educational reform. Studying Service-Learning: Innovations in Education Research Methodology is an essential resource for researchers who are interested in studying innovative teaching and learning strategies and for students who are learning about a range of research methodologies.