Featured articles from newsletters

Putnam, Robert, D. (2007). E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and community in the Twenty-first century. The 2006 Johan Skytte Prize Lecture. Scandinavian Political Studies, 30(2), 137-174.

A new study released by Robert Putnam, author of "Bowling Alone" and renowed Public Policy scholar at Harvard, offers important insight into the complexities of "community," particularly relevant in the face of competing discourses around immigration, multiculturalism, and the common good. The abstract from the article states, "Ethnic diversity is increasing in most advanced countries, driven mostly by sharp increases in immigration. In the long run immigration and diversity are likely to have important cultural, economic, fiscal, and developmental benefits. In the short run, however, immigration and ethnic diversity tend to reduce social solidarity and social capital. New evidence from the US suggests that in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods residents of all races tend to ‘hunker down’. Trust (even of one’s own race) is lower, altruism and community cooperation rarer, friends fewer. In the long run, however, successful immigrant societies have overcome such fragmentation by creating new, cross-cutting forms of social solidarity and more encompassing identities. Illustrations of becoming comfortable with diversity are drawn from the US military, religious institutions, and earlier waves of American immigration."

Stengel, R. (10 Sep. 2007) "A Time to Serve: The Case for National Service." Time Magazine. Retrieved on 9/17/2007.

Don't miss this Time Magazine article in the Sept. 10th edition addressing the political landscape around national service. This article offers an interesting perspective on the future of national service as the nation approaches a presidential transition.

Palmer, Parker J. (1992). "Divided no more: A movement approach to educational change." Change. Retrieved on 8/23/2007

Nadinne Cruz recommended this article as critical insight into the difference between an institutional approach to change versus a movement approach to change. Parker Palmer critiques the claims made for the impediments that plague educational reform. He argues for a movement approach to change. He states, "The genius of movements is paradoxical: They abandon the logic of organizations in order to gather the power necessary to rewrite the logic of organizations." He offers a blueprint for how movements unfold in order to provide insight into a way forward that might inform our work. Don't miss this important piece. Thanks, Nadinne!

Cipolle, Susan (2004) "Service-learning as a counter-hegemonic practice: Evidence pro and con. Multicultural Education, 11(3), 12-23.

This article offers a comprehensive review of the research that supports service-learning's potential as a socially transformative educational practice. Cipolle takes this a step further by discussing both the strengths AND the limitations of service-learning. She argues convincingly that "service-learning practitioners need to acknowledge weaknesses in current practice and devise programs with both a critical multicultural foundation and refined practices if the potential of service learning to create a counter-hegemony is to be realized."

Berkshire, Jennifer (3 May, 2007) "A handful of grantmakers support efforts to teach college students how to give intelligently," Chronicle of Philanthropy.

This article in the May 3rd edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy highlights course-based efforts to give college students hands-on experience in philanthropic work. Roger Grein, a Cincinnati-based philanthropist, is an Ohio Campus Compact sponsor and has funded philanthropy courses at OCC member campuses, Xavier University, Chatfield College, and Wilmington College. This article offers some insight into how these courses are structured/funded as well as some promising survey data on the long-term impact on college students' personal giving.

Sandy, M. (2007). Community voices: A California Campus Compact Study on partnerships executive summary. San Francisco: California Campus Compact.

Overview

This study grew out of a conversation among service-learning practitioners at a retreat hosted by California Campus Compact. “What do our community partners think about service-learning? We think they are benefiting, but how do we know?” This is the largest study of community partner perspectives that we are aware of in the literature.

Research Question and Structure

As recommended (Cruz & Giles, 2000), our unit of analysis was the community-campus partnership, perceived through the lens of community partner eyes. The study considers their perspectives on effective partnership characteristics as well as benefits, challenges, and motivations.
Service-learning coordinators at eight California campuses self-selected a total of 99 experienced or advanced (Dorado and Giles, 2004) community partners to participate in fifteen focus groups, making it the largest study of community partners in the literature to date. A mix of urban and rural, four-year and community college, public and private, faith-based and secular, research-intensive and liberal arts institutions were included from diverse regions of California. Participants were primarily staff members from non-profit organizations and public institutions, such as K-12 institutions, libraries and hospitals.
The ethic of reciprocity (Sandy, 2007) informed the research model of this qualitative study. This resulted in a two-tiered approach that included: 1) designing eight campus reports with information particular to each participating campus, and 2) synthesizing findings from all sites to inform service-learning practitioners and researchers more broadly.