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Service-learning integrates community service with academic study. Students apply skills and knowledge in practical situations and reflect on their experiences. Our 3000-level service-learning college course, Leadership Development in Agricultural Sciences, involved student-led development and execution of a one-day event, “AgCamp,” held on a university campus for high school students. The objective of this study was to evaluate if an intervention (i.e., a service-learning project) changed undergraduate students’ perceptions of their ability to collaborate, ability to lead, and overall perceptions of the usefulness of service-learning. An electronic mixed methods questionnaire-based survey was developed, tested for validity and reliability, and distributed to college students enrolled in Leadership Development in Agricultural Sciences as a pre- and post-test at the beginning and end of two semesters. Data were analyzed in SPSS 26.0 using measures of central tendency and paired sample t-tests. Undergraduate students’ (n = 74) had positive perceptions of service-learning entering the semester, all measures of which improved as a result of their experiences in the course. In comparison with traditional courses, students felt service-learning courses have more societal benefits and should be increasingly offered. Participating in the service-learning project significantly increased students’ comfort working with people from different cultures or backgrounds and empowered them in different ways, including with decision-making. Ultimately, our data indicate that students enjoyed service-learning and received soft skill development through the course. We recommend service-learning be increasingly integrated into post-secondary curriculum.

Since the 1920s, colleges have offered how-to-study courses orientating students to the rituals of academic study. We present an historical overview of these courses by highlighting major developments including the emergence of courses that evolved from skill-based curriculum underpinned by behaviorism to strategy-based curriculum underpinned by cognitive psychology and self-regulation theories. We also focus on two unique common iterations of course categories offered today: first-year seminars, which were re-envisioned by the University of South Carolina in the 1970s, and theory-based learning strategy courses, often referred to as learning frameworks courses, which emerged in the 1970s at two Texas universities.

Discussions surrounding incarcerated juveniles, education programs, and recidivism are difficult to find. In fact, gathering data is incredibly difficult in juvenile facilities because of high turnover rates and difficult of obtaining permission to conduct studies in juvenile facilities (Calderone, Bennett, Homan, Dedrick, & Chatfield, 2009; Shippen, Morton, Flynt, Houchins, & Smitherman, 2012). A study by David, Bozick, Steele, Saunders, and Miles found that participating in a GED or equivalent program reduced recidivism rates by 30% (2013). Assuming there is a relationship between juvenile recidivism rates and education programs, an important question remains. What types of education work best, and why? We believe a corequisite model paired with a philosophy course may be an important piece to this question.