(Potential applicants to CIRCLE may also be interested in an opportunity offered by the Global Service Institute.)

Assessing the Impacts of the KIDS CAN and Living Democracy Service-Learning Programs
Principal Investigator: Alan Melchior, Center for Youth Development, Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University

 The Center for Youth Development at Brandeis University is conducting a two-year study of the KIDS CAN and Living Democracy programs, two service-learning programs managed by KIDS Consortium, a nationally recognized educational organization that provides training and support for organizations integrating service-learning into public school classrooms. Both programs are based in the KIDS Consortium model for service-learning, in which young people identify and select a community issue; conduct research to learn more about the issue and potential solutions; and develop and carry out an action project, usually in cooperation with a community partner organization. The model represents a community problem-solving approach to service-learning that is intended to help young people gain both the skills and dispositions needed for lifelong involvement in civic affairs.

The study is designed to assess the impacts of program participation on students' civic attitudes and skills, and also on measures of school engagement and resiliency. The primary sources of data are pre- and post-program surveys administered to students in KIDS CAN and Living Democracy classrooms in approximately 30 communities throughout New England and to students in comparison classrooms in each site, with an expected total of 1000 participant and comparison students in the study. Data on key program characteristics, including student voice and the use of reflection are also being used to examine the relationship between program implementation and participant outcomes. Survey data is being supplemented by site visits and focus groups with students and teachers in five sites to learn more about the nature of the program experience and participant perceptions of the program's impacts.