History, Civics and Service
| This project is funded through the Corporation for National and Community Service, Learn and Serve America — Higher Education. |  |
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Introduction
Campus Compact is undertaking an initiative aimed at deepening the pedagogical impact of civic learning through the design of deliberate connections between historical and civic knowledge and community service experience. The initiative has three primary purposes: providing a substantive historical context for students' community-based service, improving learning of history and civics, including the Country's foundations and civic structures, and increasing students' civic awareness by providing a fuller context for their community outreach efforts.
This initiative includes the gathering and creation of resources designed for 1) faculty who are interested in pursuing this linkage of history, civics, and service and 2) for community service directors and service-learning directors who work with faculty in developing their service-learning courses. Campus Compact has affirmed the importance of students' deeper understanding of historical and civic knowledge to the overall improvement of their civic learning.
History, Civics, and Service is an initiative of the current administration, implemented through the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Archives and Records Administration, US Freedom Corps, and the Corporation for National and Community Service.
Project Goals and Rationale
Campus Compact's goal is to approach this initiative as an opportunity to increase students' sense of civic responsibility by incorporating an understanding of our nation's foundation and history into service-learning courses and community service activities. As we see it, this understanding involves three components, all of which can be curricular goals achieved through service-learning courses in a variety of disciplines:
- Historical knowledge, so that past events provide a context and foundation for present community-based problem solving;
- Civic knowledge, including the study of structures and processes of government and the responsibilities of citizenship; and
- Civic skills, such as public deliberation and working collectively to achieve common interests.
The focus of this project is on civic education that combines classroom learning with direct community-based experience as defined by the U.S. Department of Education:
A good understanding of the democratic principles and institutions embodied in our history, government, and law provide the foundation for civic engagement and commitment, but the classroom alone is not enough. Research shows that students are more likely to have a sense of social responsibility, more likely to commit to addressing community or social problems in their adult lives as workers and citizens, and more likely to demonstrate political efficacy when they engage in structured conscious reflection on experience in the larger community. To achieve these outcomes, students need structured, real-world experiences that are informed by classroom learning.
U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education
For example, could an education course that includes a service-learning experience in an inner-city school provide an opportunity for teaching about the court case Brown v Board of Education? In the same way, could studying that case help to deepen students' learning associated with their community service? Similarly, in what way could the study of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 as part of a political science course be enhanced by connecting it to students' service working on a voter registration project in such a way that understanding the legislation is enhanced by the service experience and that the service is enhanced by connecting it to a deeper historical context? In a course offered at Portland State University, "The Portland YWCA in the World War II Era," students' community service at the YWCA is integrated with a project to research and write the Portland YWCA's history, which includes identifying and understanding key historical documents related to that history. In what ways did the service experience enhance students' historical understanding, and in what ways was the learning from their service enhanced by understanding the historical development of the YMCA in Portland and nationally? These are just a few examples.
Activities
- On-line Toolkit on History, Civics, and Service
Initially, this resource will serve as a central location for websites, articles, bibliographies, and models for connecting history, civics, and service. Over time, new resources will be added to the Toolkit addressing the use of historical documents in a wide range of service and civic activities and concrete examples for pairing civic documents with reflection activities to be used in conjunction with curricular-based service. Click here to go to the Toolkit.
- Civic Scholars
The work of the civic scholars is to assist the Compact in identifying and creating resources for deepening service-learning by connecting service and civics with historical context and evidence. Five civic scholars have been appointed for 2004. During this first year of the project, the main task of the Civic Scholars will be to identify resources, best practices, curricula, models, and activities that exemplify connecting history, civics, and service. These will be continuously added to the online Toolkit to help faculty and CSDs effectively incorporate civic documents into service-learning courses and community service activities. Additionally, Civic Scholars provide strategic advice to Campus Compact in the development of resources and provide trainings for faculty in their region in collaboration with state Campus Compacts and national Campus Compact. Click here to learn more about Civic Scholars.
Being a part of Campus Compact has let us touch the heart and soul of building better communities while improving teaching and learning for faculty and students. James A. Drake, President, Brevard Community College