Service-Learning and Hispanic Students: What Works in the Field

A concern about poor academic achievement among Hispanic students and the corresponding high dropout rate led the National Center for Learning and Citizenship (NCLC) at the Education Commission of the States (ECS), with funding from the State Farm Companies Foundation, to convene a Thinkers Meeting about Service-Learning for Hispanic Students in March 2008. Thinkers Meeting participants — representing P-12, universities, policymakers, education leaders, program staff, students and practitioners from around the country, along with community organizations advancing Hispanic initiatives — explored the positive relationship between service-learning and Hispanic students’ education, success and aspirations. Building upon the growing body of research indicating that service-learning is a critical pedagogy for student academic, civic, social and career development, the meeting concluded with a plan to conduct case studies to uncover best practices for engaging Hispanic students in service-learning.