Community Service and Service-learning in America's Schools

"In the spring of 2008, 1,847 principals of K-12 public schools, nationwide, responded to a survey on the prevalence of community service and service-learning in their schools. The National Study of the Prevalence of Community Service and Service-Learning in K-12 Public Schools, sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service and conducted by Westat, collected data on the scope of community service and service-learning activities, as well as the policies and supports for service-learning provided by and for schools during the 2007-08 academic year.

Leveling the Path to Participation: Volunteering and Civic Engagement Among Youth From Disadvantaged Circumstances

This report is the third in the Youth Helping America Series, a series of reports based on data from the 2005 Youth Volunteering and Civic Engagement Survey, a national survey of 3,178 American youth between the ages of 12 and 18. The survey was conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service in collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau and the nonprofit coalition Independent Sector. The survey collected information on teen volunteering habits, experiences with school-based service-learning, and other forms of civic engagement. This report explores the attitudes and behaviors of youth from disadvantaged circumstances toward volunteering and other forms of civic engagement

The Health Benefits of Volunteering: A Review of Recent Research

Over the past two decades we have seen a growing body of research that indicates volunteering provides individual health benefits in addition to social benefits. This research has established a strong relationship between volunteering and health: those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer. Comparisons of the health benefits of volunteering for different age groups have also shown that older volunteers are the most likely to receive greater benefits from volunteering, whether because they are more likely to face higher incidence of illness or because volunteering provides them with physical and social activity and a sense of purpose at a time when their social roles are changing. Some of these findings also indicate that volunteers who devote a "considerable" amount of time to volunteer activities (about 100 hours per year) are most likely to exhibit positive health outcomes

National and International Volunteerism Among Volunteers in the United States, 2005

National and International Volunteerism Among Volunteers in the United States, 200

Youth Helping America - Educating for Active Citizenship: Service-Learning, School-Based Service and Youth Civic Engagement

This brief is the second in the Youth Helping America Series, a series of reports based on data from the Youth Volunteering and Civic Engagement Survey, a national survey of 3,178 American youth between the ages of 12 and 18 that was conducted by the Corporation for National and Community Service in 2005 in collaboration with the U.S. Census Bureau and the nonprofit coalition Independent Sector. The survey collected information on teen volunteering habits, experiences with school-based service-learning, and other forms of civic engagement. While the first brief in the Youth Helping America Series focused on youth volunteering and social institutions, this brief focuses on participation in school-based service — service opportunities made available or required by schools — among middle school and high school aged youth. We pay particular attention to the extent to which youth participate in service-learning courses, which integrate school-based service opportunities into the academic curriculum such as those programs supported by Learn and Serve America

Associations between a Universal Free Breakfast Policy and School Breakfast Program Participation, School Attendance, and Weight Status: A District-Wide Analysis

Breakfast consumption among youth is associated with improved diet quality, weight, cognition, and behavior. However, not all youth in the United States consume breakfast. Participation in the School Breakfast Program (SBP) is also low relative to the lunch program. Universal free breakfast (UFB) policies have been implemented to increase breakfast participation by reducing cost and stigma associated with the SBP. This study examined whether a UFB policy implemented in a school district in the Southeast US was associated with changes in breakfast participation, school attendance, and student weight. A longitudinal study of secondary data was conducted, and a mixed modeling approach was used to assess patterns of change in SBP participation. General linear models were used to assess attendance and student weight change. On average, across schools in the district, there was an increase in breakfast participation of 4.1 percentage points following the implementation of the policy. The change in breakfast participation in schools differed by the percent of students in the school who received school meals for free or at a reduced price, the percent of students of color, and the grade level of the school. Increases in SBP participation were not associated with significant changes in attendance or weight. UFB policies may be effective in increasing participation in the SBP

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500 steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30 minutes spent performing activities ≥500 counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24 months), both the number of steps per day (per 500 steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500 counts per minute (per 30 minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score >10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500

Parent Knowledge of FAS and the Risks of Heavy Drinking During Pregnancy

The purpose of this mini-study was to determine the level of parent knowledge of FAS and the risks of drinking during pregnancy.; The parents involved in this mini-study were members of a small, primarily rural community and had one or more children enrolled in grades kindergarten through four in the Hart Public School District.; A questionnaire was developed and mailed to a random sample of parents who were chosen from the school enrollment lists. Results of the survey indicated that the majority of parents had some basic knowledge of the term FAS; however they felt that they lacked enough knowledge to identify a child with FAS.; The results of this mini-study were incorporated into a macro-research project by Dr. Faite Mack of Grand Valley State University

Constituting Moral Orders A Situational Analysis of US Military Veterans' Public Testimony Against War

This dissertation explores the social and moral significance of the testimonies against war that were presented by US military veterans during Winter Soldier Iraq and Afghanistan (WSIA) in 2008. I examine how the frame and structure provided by the event organizers position the veteran testifiers as victimized perpetrators who speak as moral witnesses to systemic discrimination within the military and atrocities in war. I undertake a multi-level situational analysis to examine the interrelation of macrostructures, discursive frames, spatial and temporal relations, and linguistic and nonlinguistic expressions. Through the findings, I identify how the asymmetrical and performative aspects of the event hindered opportunities for alternative interpretations and open deliberation and positioned the participants as an audience that served as witnesses to the testimonies. Using an approach that draws inspiration from American pragmatism, the dissertation focuses on the experience of morality, as opposed to its discursive legitimation. I demonstrate how a pragmatic approach to the study of morality allows for recognition of the ways in which the enactment of moral valuations are partial, implied, and situationally dependent, as well as how actors tend to be more concerned with the relation of the valuation to the situation than its justification. I compare the findings from the situational analysis of WSIA with a series of semi-structure interviews with a group of veterans who testified at WSIA to show how the methodological approach to the study of morality influences the possibilities for moral meaning. More specifically, the positioning of the veterans as selves during the interviews is contrasted with their constitution as witnesses during WSIA. Consequently, moral valuations during the interviews tended to be abstract and didactic, while the moral valuations during the testimonies tended to be highly affective, as the veterans attempted to communicate the existential experience of war and the suffering that results from acting as involuntary perpetrators. As evidenced from these findings, sociological studies of morality would benefit from greater attention to the ways in which situational context, and researchers' methodological assumptions, affect the possibilities for moral meaning