Practical Wisdom for Conducting Research on Service Learning

Forscholars seeking to undertake consequential research in service-learning andcommunity engagement (SLCE) at a time when there is widening interest in andincreasing acceptance of research in this field as a primary area ofscholarship, this book provides accounts by preeminent scholars about thetrajectories of their research, their methodologies, lessons learned along theway, as well as their views about the future direction of the field.The contributors to this volumerepresent a range of disciplines and fields including education, history,organizational leadership, political science, philanthropic studies,psychology, and public health, as well as both qualitative and quantitativetraditions, and offer models of scholarly learning that contribute to aknowledge base that can guide practice and further the broader public purposesof the academy.They articulate how they view theirresearch on SLCE as having broader purposes that matter to them personally aswell as professionally and illustrate how the "e;why"e; and "e;to what end"e; of theirresearch can evolve as a program of research develops and matures across time. They identify key choices they made in terms of inquiry and methodology,describe both successes and challenges in establishing and navigating a SLCE researchagenda across their careers, and share lessons learned from their researchjourney to advance the field both domestically and abroad. Emergingfrom these narratives is a theme of practical wisdom that arises through thelearning of researchers, students and communities as they engage with complexsocial contexts.