African American Service-Learning Quantitative Outcomes

• In Event: Service-Learning for Democracy, Engagement, and Success

Abstract

This research improves our understanding of student academic development associated with service-learning participation. The study is strengthened by 18 years of rich longitudinal data and the inclusion of fixed effects in the modeling to address threats to internal validity from students’ self-selection (i.e., endogenous bias; Meyer, 1995). The findings highlight a statistically significant, positive relationship between African American students participation in service-learning experiences and elevated academic outcomes (i.e., term GPA and term credits attempted and earned). The scale and design of this study increases our understanding of the impact of service-learning and the conclusions suggest it deserves further institutional attention as a core pedagogy in higher education.

Author

• Thomas Penniston, University of Maryland - Baltimore County