Building Citizenship: How Student Voice in Service-Learning Develops Civic Values

Objective . Though many decry the decline in political participation and interest, few academic studies present a clear approach to help reverse these trends. This paper examines the impact of service-learning programs on students' self-concept, political engagement, and attitudes toward out-groups. Methods . The data come from a pre and post survey given to more than 200 high school students in 10 different schools. We use Huber regression to assess the impact of student voice in the service-learning project on six dependent variables. Results . We show that if students are involved in service-learning projects in which they have a high degree of voice and ownership, their self-concept and political engagement will improve, and they become more tolerant toward out-groups. Conclusion . In short, having a voice in service-learning programs builds citizenship.