Toward a Civil Society: Civic Literacy and Service Learning

(Hardback)

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Addressing the need for marshalling the resources of education to help promote a more civil society, this book argues that education has a critical role to play in challenging the dominant views of politics and education. Service-learning, or academically-based community service is seen as a promising educational pedagogy that can help students acquire civic virtue and serve as a mechanism to enable institutions of higher education become stronger community partners. However, there is currently a lack of theoretical grounding for the service-learning movement; consequently service-learning is in danger of being co-opted by academic traditionalism, which could vitiate service-learning's social transformative potential and in fact undermine efforts at democratic revitalization.

Reviews

"In this short but important book, Lisman offers a clearly articulated pedagogical and social rationale for the implementation of community service learning programs, grounding his argument in the need to develop critical civic literacy within a "strong" interpretation of democracy. He is at his best in explaining how various ideological positions contend with the idea of service learning, and he gives several examples of service learning successfully tied to community-development efforts....[T]his is a much needed book during a period of shallow educational planning. Recommended for all levels."-Choice
[A] compelling assessment of why, while the value of this type of education and social experience for the individual is clear, it utterly fails to educate and engage young people in a democratic society and community life....[A]n excellent source of the political and philosophical basis of service learning. Lisman's vision provides the structure through which to inspire and engage young people, toward effective social transformation.-Education Libraries
In this short but important book, Lisman offers a clearly articulated pedagogical and social rationale for the implementation of community service learning programs, grounding his argument in the need to develop critical civic literacy within a "strong" interpretation of democracy. He is at his best in explaining how various ideological positions contend with the idea of service learning, and he gives several examples of service learning successfully tied to community-development efforts....[T]his is a much needed book during a period of shallow educational planning. Recommended for all levels.-Choice
"A compelling assessment of why, while the value of this type of education and social experience for the individual is clear, it utterly fails to educate and engage young people in a democratic society and community life....An excellent source of the political and philosophical basis of service learning. Lisman's vision provides the structure through which to inspire and engage young people, toward effective social transformation."-Education Libraries
"[A] compelling assessment of why, while the value of this type of education and social experience for the individual is clear, it utterly fails to educate and engage young people in a democratic society and community life....[A]n excellent source of the political and philosophical basis of service learning. Lisman's vision provides the structure through which to inspire and engage young people, toward effective social transformation."-Education Libraries

Author Bio

C. DAVID LISMAN is Professor of Philosophy at the Community College of Aurora in Colorado. He has served on several national projects with the American Association of Community Colleges and the Campus Compact National Center for Community Colleges and is the author of The Curricular Integration of Ethics (Praeger, 1996), Beyond the Tower: Philosophy in Service Learning (forthcoming), and co-author of Promoting Community Renewal Through Civic Literacy and Service Learning (1996).