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also references the disparities in research of well-defined and accepted measure and outcomes of
civic engagement. A study in 1990 noted 147 definitions of service learning in their literature
review . Other studies have discussed the limitations of their research as participants self-
reported the service learning program and there were varying levels of program activity and
functioning . With so many interpretations and applications of service learning, it is not
surprising that it has not seen even greater expansion, especially with the plea by Senator John
Glenn and Marian Wright Edelman, to establish service learning as a core piece of the K-12
standard curriculum .
Arenas, Bosworth, and Kwandayi define service learning by providing descriptions of
similar concepts. Civic service is organized time that is provided by an individual in areas
related to local, national, or global issues . Community service is volunteer service that is given
to a school or community, but has no related components to a curriculum or learning agenda .
Service learning has a purposive academic curriculum and provides the bridge between
theoretical learning and real-life application of knowledge in a meaningful way to the learner and
provides a benefit to the community . A report by the National Center for Education Statistics
includes that in addition to the class curriculum, there must be defined learning goals for each
service learning project and that each project must meet a real and identified community need.
Eyler and Giles add that service learning brings “multiple dimensions of human development
that are often separated” (p. 10) in traditional learning settings. They also declare that service
learning links education with citizenship and provides a learning environment that supports all
dimensions of learning, not just rote memorization or recall .
Terry and Bohnenberger provide a description of service learning that breaks it into three
different types of service learning activities and three progressively more engaged and
Convention