The Experiences of Students with Disabilities Actually Doing Service Learning: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: There are many examples of school-based interventions involving a service learning project aimed at helping students with disabilities, but it is potentially more impactful on the students with disabilities for them to be active participants in service learning, rather than merely its recipients. Purpose: The purpose of this article is to present a synthesis and analysis of all available research studies focused on service learning where the students with disabilities were active participants in the service learning, rather than passive recipients of interventions. Methodology/Approach: We assessed all available studies ( N = 13), including eight peer-reviewed journal articles and five dissertations, for content and for research quality according to established design standards for quantitative ( n = 3), qualitative ( n = 6), and mixed methods ( n = 4) research. Findings/Conclusions: Favorable evidence in support of service learning participation for students with disabilities exists in the available qualitative and mixed methods research, but evidence from quantitative research is lacking. Implications: The activity-based, often motivating opportunities to learn and apply a wide range of academic and functional life skills are abundant in service learning. We urge practitioners to consider implementing this practice, while also noting the need for more empirical research.

A Keyword Co-Occurrence Analysis of Research on Service Learning: Conceptual Foci and Emerging Research Trends

“…More specifically, this review of the full literature on service learning concludes that the knowledge base is large, has accumulated over a significant period of time, is informed by theory, and has been tested through empirical research. These findings, based on bibliometric analysis of the full literature, reinforce and extend findings reported in prior research syntheses of different segments of the literature on service learning using meta-analytic [78,91,98], systematic [54][55][56], and narrative [49] review methods.…”

“…This enabled the review to illuminate broad trends in the research foci of scholars across the full spectrum of service learning research and practice. This contrasts with prior reviews, which employed relatively small document samples [46,54], focused on research at a single educational level [24,55,56], or limited the review to a single discipline [47,57]. Thus, the findings from this review offer a broader perspective on the accumulated knowledge base, provide benchmarks that can be compared empirically in future decades, and outline key foci for future research on this pedagogical approach.…”

Increasing Community Inclusion for Students With Disabilities

“…These experiences should not supplant general education curriculum but provide additional meaningful opportunities for students with disabilities to gain important lifelong skills (e.g., employment and social skills) and experiences (e.g., building social relationships with peers and adults) outside of the classroom and after school hours. For example, youth with disabilities can participate in service learning, which allows students to develop knowledge and critical thinking skills as they address needs identified in their community (Garwood et al, 2023). In addition to physical participation, community inclusion also means students feel a sense of belonging within these activities, developing authentic relationships with peers and leaders and purpose through giving back to their community (Garwood et al, 2023; Leigers et al, 2017).…”

“…For example, youth with disabilities can participate in service learning, which allows students to develop knowledge and critical thinking skills as they address needs identified in their community (Garwood et al, 2023). In addition to physical participation, community inclusion also means students feel a sense of belonging within these activities, developing authentic relationships with peers and leaders and purpose through giving back to their community (Garwood et al, 2023; Leigers et al, 2017).…”