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integration (8 states). It should be noted however, that no state has completed its efforts to institutionalize service-learning, and even
the states which are the most advanced in this process have much work to do to even get the majority of their school districts to
commit to the use of this pedagogy. However, they are making excellent progress.
The study provides numerous suggestions about how to facilitate the institutionalization of service-learning. A rubric is
provided for each category, which details what the use of the approach looks like at the school, district, and state level throughout each
of the three phases of institutionalization. In addition, while all the categories are interrelated, the key relationships among each
category are explored in terms of how they support and are supported by other primary approaches. For example, youth leadership is
strongly supported by organizational culture and strongly supports the gathering of evidence about service-learning’s impact.
The research illustrates the importance of developing a planning process which strategically emphasizes specific suggestions
on how to support each approach to institutionalization. This process includes assembling proper stakeholders to assess the status of
each institutionalization category and develop action steps which bring them more fully to fruition.
Implications and Recommendations
The primary implication of this research is that the institutionalization of service-learning rarely happens without planning for
it. While occasionally a school will embrace service-learning without any effort at all, most institutions require a concerted effort to
persuade educators and decision-makers of its educational value. Furthermore, despite the ranking of various approaches, there are
numerous means, used in limitless combinations, to the end of systemic integration. As such, there is no one best process of servicelearning
institutionalization; while some factors do seem more important than others, the uniqueness of individual institutions and
communities suggests building on the success of current strategies rather than merely adopting the approaches used elsewhere. It is
important to determine how these successful approaches link to other potential avenues, and then monitor progress over a period of
years. This is important to see if and how service-learning’s success in one school expands to other schools and to the district, as well
as from one district to another in a region; thus far, this sort of organic expansion has not occurred in most states.
Considering this, the states need greater levels of assistance from the Corporation for National Service and other national
technical assistance and research organizations to facilitate the institutionalization process. Most states are essentially left to their own
devices, and do not have a conceptual framework to guide their planning nor the resources to implement many strategies. They need
tools to assist department of education, district, and school personnel and service-learning coordinators in assessing institutionalization
strategies and developing strategic plans to build on current successes.
In particular, the Corporation for National Service should play a leadership role in highlighting the importance of
institutionalization and demonstrating how it can be accomplished. While its grant applications ask applicants to explain their
methods to sustain service-learning after the grant period concludes, no information or support is provided to practitioners about how
to achieve this. The Corporation can publish profiles of model schools and districts, provide funding to leader schools to specifically
concentrate on institutionalization strategies, and assist states in infusing service-learning into the educational system.
The important issue at the school, district, and state level is the commitment to strategic planning. While practitioners,
consultants, and researchers have given much attention to improving quality practice and demonstrating the impact of service on
students and communities, more attention should now be placed on the process of institutional change and integrating service-learning
into the educational system. As such, researchers should conduct long-term studies on schools which have received several years of
Learn and Serve funding to see how they have weaned themselves from this support and sustained service-learning. While many of
these programs are included in this report, most are still receiving federal funding, and only a few have managed to sustain the same
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