Service Learning: Applications and Research in Business

Researchers have described service learning as an ideal way to integrate experiential education into coursework while meeting community needs and imbuing students with civic responsibility. They have advocated service learning in business as a method to implement course concepts and increase student understanding of the external environment. In this article, the author briefly summarizes institutional and program characteristics that are associated with successful service-learning programs. She reviews research publications related to service-learning implementations in business. The author found that the fields of information systems, management, and marketing have more service-learning applications tied to course-earning objectives than have the fields of accounting and finance. Further, she suggests that service learning may fit best in business courses where skilled interaction with users is a key learning goal.