Stylus Publishing (VA) Practical Wisdom for Conducting Research on Service Learning: Pursuing Quality and Purpose (IUPUI Series on Service Learning Research)

Review "Practical Wisdom provides varied and essential guidance for those wishing to pursue service learning research. But the richness of this volume comes from the personal narratives of leaders in the field who connect that guidance to their personal journeys as service learning practitioners and scholars. The result is a compelling case for the scholarly foundation of service learning research and a call to the next generation of scholars to embrace the work."--Mel Netzhammer, Chancellor, Washington State University Vancouver "Washington State University Vancouver""Service learning pedagogy is thriving due, in large measure, to the authors of this volume, who, in aggregate, have set the standards for generating outcome-based evidence of the impact of service learning on student achievement. Instructors interested in adding practice knowledge to augment their students' academic knowledge, will avoid many pitfalls by absorbing the "Practical Wisdom" offered for conducting service learning, community engaged research. As a result instructors and students alike will gain deeper understanding about civic engagement, collaborative inquiry, and authentic learning."--Hiram E. Fitzgerald, University Distinguished Professor "Michigan State University"From the Foreword: "Preeminent SLCE researchers share their research stories, lessons learned, and guidance for future research and researchers. Each chapter is replete with each author's SLCE research trajectory, homespun stories of their research and campus experiences, and past and future research agendas and practice plans, in essence portraits of reflective practitioners and researchers. Although it may seem counter-normative to blend the practical and research, doing so makes perfect sense. When we read a published article, we have no idea the trials and tribulations faced by the scholar, and often do not know the role of that particular study in the author's overall research agenda. This book makes such matters and others transparent, and its focus is unprecedented in the SLCE field. If you consider yourself an SLCE researcher or a prospective one, then you will find this book a must-read because it illuminates the trajectory of some of the talented SLCE researchers' stories of becoming involved in the work. Seasoned, early career, and aspiring SLCE researchers will find this book chock-full of guidance to inform and improve SLCE research. I cannot overstate the value of this book (and the entire book series) to advancing SLCE research agenda and movement."--Jeffrey Howard, Assistant Director, Center for Learning Through Community Service "University of Michigan" Product Description For scholars seeking to undertake consequential research in service-learning and community engagement (SLCE) at a time when there is widening interest in and increasing acceptance of research in this field as a primary area of scholarship, this book provides accounts by preeminent scholars about the trajectories of their research, their methodologies, lessons learned along the way, as well as their views about the future direction of the field.The contributors to this volume represent a range of disciplines and fields including education, history, organizational leadership, political science, philanthropic studies, psychology, and public health, as well as both qualitative and quantitative traditions, and offer models of scholarly learning that contribute to a knowledge base that can guide practice and further the broader public purposes of the academy.They articulate how they view their research on SLCE as having broader purposes that matter to them personally as well as professionally and illustrate how the “why” and “to what end” of their research can evolve as a program of research develops and matures across time. They identify key choices they made in terms of inquiry and methodology, describe both successes and challenges in establishing and navigating a SLCE research agenda acro