MAKE IT LAST FOREVER: THE ... - National Service Resource Center

The Important categories include: Policy, Building Personnel, Project Evaluation, Student Assessment,
Philosophy/Mission, Youth Leadership, Evidence of Impact, and Resources. While policy is typically viewed as a critical
strategy, it did not seem to be a major feature of the participants in this study. This is not to suggest that policy isn’t or can’t be
enormously valuable, because clearly it has the capacity for widespread influence. However, what seems to be most successful in
schools and districts is the organic expansion of service-learning by teachers and students over time; policy often creates initial
resistance, except of course in those places where service-learning is unanimously embraced. There were many examples of schools
and districts making good strides towards systemic integration without any formal policy of endorsement or requirement.
In addition, while many practitioners swear by the importance of having a school service-learning coordinator, it is not a
prerequisite for institutionalization. Many teachers rely on the wisdom and logistical expertise of coordinators, so they ultimately
don’t learn how to develop their own projects, nor do students learn the valuable skills associated with project development. It is also
unrealistic to expect the level of financial support necessary to sustain such a position in every school. So while a coordinator can
certainly help get service-learning off the ground, the best way for it to become institutionalized is to make it one of teachers’
responsibilities.
The Supportive categories include: School Structures, Logistical Structures, Pre-Service Education, Peer Mentoring,
Public Support, Recognition, Faculty Camaraderie, and In-Kind Services. While most of these approaches do not make or break
service-learning, they are still significant and should not be overlooked. Block scheduling, for example, can provide the perfect
scheduling option which facilitates teachers taking students off campus for extended periods of the school day. And no one would
doubt the importance of training future teachers in service-learning, as it would relieve much of the cost and need to train current
professionals.
SERVICE-LEARNING INSTITUTIONALIZATION PATTERN
The categories of institutionalization strategies do not exist in isolation. Each approach not only addresses one of the four
functions (power, proficiency leadership, and collaboration) but also complements the other five categories of strategies that also
support that particular function. As you can see in the following new diagram, the process of institutionalization can be characterized
as a whole pattern, in which the essential, important, and supportive strategies from within schools and from districts, states, and the
community can be linked to the four functions. This map illustrates how all the pieces fit together as a system.
The bottom 12 categories are those which derive from the school, which implied that principals, teachers, students, and parents
have control over their use (and so they are bottom-up approaches). The top 12 categories usually stem from efforts in the school
district, at the state department of education, and in the community (and so they are top-down approaches). Each function has three
bottom-up categories and three top-down categories that support it, as indicated by the arrows pointing to each function. Again, these
are primary relationships, and no one would argue that these functions are not supported by some of the other categories in the pattern.
There are three concentric circles in the pattern which delineate those categories that are Essential (the inner circle of 8),
Important (the next circle of 8), and Supportive (the outermost circle of 8). These are generalizations which may not apply to every
circumstance; what is listed as a supportive approach (e.g., school structures) may be the critical factor at some school. The purpose
of the prioritization is to give a general sense of which approaches are generally more influential in terms of overall their institutional
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