New NSLC Library Items - June 26, 2008

General/Cross-Sector


National Conference on Citizenship. America’s Civic Health Index: Broken Engagement. Washington, DC: National Conference on Citizenship, 2007.
Abstract: The conference featured the release of the nation's first Civic Health Index, a rigorous tool to measure civic progress over time. The Civic Health Index is comprised of 40 key civic indicators measuring levels of political activity, civic knowledge, volunteering, trust, philanthropy, and much more. Just as it is possible to track the nation’s economic progress through the regular reporting of economic indicators, NCoC hopes to effectively track the nation’s civic health with this set of civic indicators. (authors)
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7766

National Youth Court Center. National Youth Court Center: National Program Directory and National Resources 2006-2007. Lexington, KY: National Youth Court Center, 2007.
Abstract: Youth courts—also known as teen, peer, and student courts—are programs in which youth sentence their peers for minor delinquent and status offenses and other problem behaviors. Although youth courts have been in existence for more than 30 years, the number of youth courts has increased exponentially over the past decade, from approximately 78 in 1994 to more than 1,100 in 2006. This guide gives a state-by-state listing of youth courts, a directory of state youth court associations and networking groups, national resources related to youth courts, and a listing of allied agencies.
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7847

Rivers, Andrew and Kristen A. Moore. What Works for Civic Engagement: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Interventions. Washington, DC: Child Trends, 2008.
Abstract: This fact sheet from Child Trends synthesize the lessons learned from evaluated interventions in education and civic engagement. The findings are based on the Child Trends database of experimental evaluations of social interventions for children and youth - LINKS (Lifecourse Interventions to Nurture Kids Successfully). There are only a small number of rigorous evaluations of programs to promote youth civic engagement. This limits conclusions and highlights the need for more experimentally evaluated programs and interventions that target civic engagement outcomes. Among the findings of this Child Trends fact sheet: Connecting children with needy populations and/or providing community service opportunities is effective in increasing helping behavior and perceptions of social responsibility; monetary compensation was not found to undermine future helping behaviors in either experimental evaluation that provided payment for performing community service; all three programs that incorporated mentoring, tutoring, or life skill training components in tandem with service learning had positive impacts on civic engagement. The fact sheet also includes a table that shows whether the evaluated programs were found to work, not proven to work, or had mixed findings.
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7748

CBO

Ling, Thomson and Kristen A. Moore. What Works for Education: Lessons from Experimental Evaluations of Programs and Social Interventions to Enhance Educational Outcomes. Washington, DC: Child Trends, 2008.
Abstract: This fact sheet from Child Trends synthesize the lessons learned from evaluated out-of-school-time programs. The findings are based on the Child Trends database of experimental evaluations of social interventions for children and youth - LINKS (Lifecourse Interventions to Nurture Kids Successfully). This fact sheet provides information to help individuals design an effective intervention that targets educational outcomes and also includes a table that shows whether the evaluated programs were found to work, not proven to work, or had mixed findings.
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7747

HE

Ellison, Julie and Timothy K. Eatman. Scholarship in Public: Knowledge Creation and Tenure Policy in the Engaged University. Syracuse, NY: Imagining America, 2008.
Abstract: This report is intended to serve as a toolkit for faculty, staff, and students who are eager to change the culture surrounding promotion and tenure. It offers strategies that they can use to create enabling settings for doing and reviewing intellectually rigorous public work. Publicly engaged academic work is taking hold in American colleges and universities, part of a larger trend toward civic professionalism in many spheres. But tenure and promotion policies lag behind public scholarly and creative work and discourage faculty from doing it. Disturbingly, our interviews revealed a strong sense that pursuing academic public engagement is viewed as an unorthodox and risky early career option for faculty of color. We propose concrete ways to remove obstacles to academic work carried out for and/or with the public by giving such work full standing as scholarship, research, or artistic creation. While we recommend a number of ways to alter the wording and intent of tenure and promotion policies, changing the rules is not enough. Enlarging the conception of who counts as “peer” and what counts as “publication” is part of something bigger: the democratization of knowledge on and off campus. (author)
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7703

Finsley-Satterfield, Bonnie. Factors Influencing Faculty Members' Motivation in Integrating Service-Learning into Their Syllabi. Paper presented to the 7th International Research Conference on Service-Learning & Community Engagement, October 6-9, 2007, in Tampa, Florida.
Abstract: This paper covers a presentation sharing the results of a study which was conducted in 2006-2007 for a dissertation titled “Factors Influencing Faculty Members' Motivation in Integrating Service-Learning into Their Syllabi.” Four research questions were addressed in this study. 1) Which are the factors which motivate faculty to integrate service-learning into their courses? 2) Are student learning outcomes a significant motivator to faculty for including service-learning in their courses? 3) Can prior knowledge and research in service-learning be communicated to the studied faculty in such a way to engage their participation? 4) What characterizes faculty who have incorporated service-learning into their courses? Analysis of the data revealed that there is considerable interest in service-learning as a teaching pedagogy among the faculty members who were surveyed. However, the approach to institutionalizing a service-learning initiative must be carefully planned and formulated before it is presented to the faculty and should be viewed as another teaching tool to be utilized rather than a mandatory program. (author)
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7819

Frederick, Andrew P. Preparing Students for Lives of Responsible Citizenship: A Higher Education Civic Blueprint for the State of New Jersey. Princeton, NJ: Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library, 2007.
Abstract: This thesis develops a working civic education blueprint for New Jersey’s public colleges and universities and proposes concrete steps the State, particularly the governor and the Commission on Higher Education, can take to support their efforts. Civic education must be strategically integrated into the campus culture, the co-curriculum, and most importantly, the curriculum if higher education institutions hope to foster an ethic of service that diffuses across campus and reaches all students. Two overriding objectives should guide higher education in its civic mission: 1) providing students with multiple pathways, both curricular and co-curricula, that support their development as citizens across their collegiate career and 2) identifying and increasing the short-and long-term capacity of community partners. (author)
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7746

Wilson, Nancy E., Ande Diaz, Lisa S. O'Leary, and Dawn Geronimo Terkla. “Civic Engagement: A Study of Changes in College.” Academic Exchange Quarterly, v.11(2), Summer 2007, 141-146.
Abstract: Using a mixed method longitudinal cohort design, the Tufts University study is examining student involvement in and attitudes towards civic engagement during the undergraduate years and beyond It does this by using baseline data from students' levels of community service in high school and then analyzes a variety of curricular and co-curricular experiences in college. This article focuses solely on the research design and some preliminary findings of students' civic attitudes during their first two years of college. (author)
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7843

k-12

Rothstein-Fisch, Carrie and Elise Trumbull. Managing Diverse Classrooms: How to Build on Students' Cultural Strengths. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2008.
Abstract: The authors present a simple framework for understanding cultural differences, comparing the "individualistic" culture that prevails in American education with the "collectivistic" culture that characterizes most of the world's population, including many of the Latino immigrant students in U.S. classrooms. At the heart of the book are teacher-developed strategies that capitalize on the cultural values that these students and their families offer, such as an emphasis on helping, sharing, and the success of the group. The strategies cover a wide spectrum of issues and concerns, including: Communication with families; Open house and parent-teacher conferences; Homework; Attendance; Learning in the content areas; Motivation and rewards; Classroom rules; Assessment and grading. (author)
http://www.servicelearning.org/library/lib_cat/index.php?library_id=7745