Chapter 6: Theories Guiding Outcomes for Action Research for Servicelearning

This chapter outlines theories and methods that explain the linkages between service-learning and academic performance when K-12 students engage in the process of action research. It attempts to illustrate how service-learning can gain academic legitimacy in school environments where standardized discipline-based curricula (science, math, literacy and social studies) take precedence over other educational activities. By linking service-learning directly to specific academic outcomes, service-learning can be seen as a means for students to meet the academic goals of schooling.

Much of the research on service-learning is based on case studies or broad-based evaluation of general outcomes across multiple programs (Center for Human Resources, 1999). Missing is the focused, theoretically driven experimental and longitudinal research that links pedagogical theory with designated instructional and social outcomes (Eyler, 2000). This paper shows how critical and cooperative educational theories, when combined with action research, can provide a theoretically and methodologically consistent framework for service-learning in K-12 environments.