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  		Service Learning

Service learning allows students to connect their studies to community issues and concerns while bringing attention and intention to the community building foundation of ethnic studies programs. The following programs and opportunities are part of the CSRE Service Learning initiative:
The Service Learning initiative in the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity began in 2007 with the support of a grant by the Raikes Foundation to build on the traditions of public service and community development that already guided much of the Center’s intellectual activity. Service learning is a vehicle for bringing to bear the broad range of human knowledge needed to solve the complex, comprehensive, and interconnected problems of society.

Through this initiative we work to build and expand opportunities for students to participate in community work by providing a structured curriculum for students interested in public service and community development. We are also working to develop community partnerships with aims to bring about structural community improvement.



Public Service Concentration

CCSRE is home to a Public Service Concentration which can be combined with any of the majors housed in the Center. The Public Service Concentration allows a student to develop an area of study focused on community development and social change. Studying how issues of race and ethnicity impact and are impacted by community and social problems, the Public Service Concentration affords students the opportunity to engage in a structured curriculum providing a solid grounding in the theory and practice of public service that enables them to become future leaders in the sphere of public life.

Public Service students must complete a public service or community research internship, and four approved (through consultation with the Service Learning Director) service learning courses (these courses should also meet the requirements of the students chosen ethnic studies major). Finally, students who pursue the concentration in public service should select a topic for their senior paper or honors thesis that reflects their interest in community work (i.e., service or organizing) or a community issue or concern that is addressed through public service.



Service Learning Courses

Service Learning courses combine academic content, community-based experience, and structured reflection to create a dynamic learning opportunity that provides students with:
  • First-hand experience with economic, social, cultural, and political contexts and factors that shape concepts addressed in course work.
  • Greater depth of understanding by connecting course work to the issues and concerns in the community.
  • Opportunities to learn from community leaders and practitioners.
  • Opportunities to contribute to the mission and/or purpose of an organization through service.
  • Understanding how the non-profit, government or educational sector functions.

Through our affiliated faculty, there are at least 3 courses every quarter with a service learning component. The Center is also at work developing new service learning courses by partnering with faculty to provide the curricular, community, and financial support necessary for these courses to happen.



Community Internships and Placements

Through CSRE 198: Public Service Internship, students can design an internship with a local service organization for credit. Internships are 1-5 units with each unit the equivalent of 4 hours of service per week with the organization. The community internship is a self-designed learning opportunity where the student, in collaboration with the Director of Service Learning and a supervisor from the community organization, determine learning outcomes that the student will seek to meet through direct service with the organization. The student will also create a reading list that will serve to help the student meet the mutually determined learning outcomes. 3 reflection meetings with the Service Learning Director provide opportunities for the student to process the experience and to discuss the readings selected for the internship experience. CSRE 198 may be taken twice for credit.



Community Research Summer Internship (CRSI)

Instituted in 1997, the Summer Service Internship Program was developed with the purpose of enhancing the academic course of study of CSRE-related majors through a hands-on public policy or public service summer internship with a non-profit organization or government agency. In 2007 the internship program was redesigned to offer new research opportunities for undergraduate students and to create projects that were responsive to community needs. The Community Research Summer Internship serves ten students (each partnered with a community agency) to design and implement a research experience aimed to benefit community.

The CCSRE community research summer internship is sponsored by the office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Raikes Foundation, and the Escobedo Commemorative Fund. The internship program aims to facilitate the integration of undergraduate students into original and innovative research experiences that delve expressly into community issues. Enhancing this experience through faculty mentorship, students are supported to develop a research internship that is community-based, community supported, and that includes an analysis that engages issues of race and ethnicity.

The selection of the summer interns is based on the following criteria:
  • the proposed internship will expand and augment the student’s major course of study.
  • the proposed internship will integrate the student in a substantive and meaningful way into the work of a community organization committed to public service, public policy, and/or community development.
  • the proposed internship will provide valuable experience for future career considerations and/or advanced study or projects such as an honors thesis.
  • the proposed research will benefit the community served.

Selection of Internship Placements and Faculty Mentors In consultation with CCSRE’s Service Learning Director, students identify internship sites and make arrangements for placement. The internship sites must be with an approved agency or organization committed to public service, public policy, and/or community development. Students are expected to identify at least one person from this organization who will serve as a mentor/supervisor (from the community side) for the research project. Students are expected to work at their internship placements for a minimum of 8 weeks during the summer (equivalent to 300 hours). Based on methodology or subject/issue, students also secure a faculty mentor during their internship to assist in IRB, research design, and other advice that may guide you in your intellectual pursuits.

Preparation for Internship
All recipients of the Community Research Summer Internship are required to take CSRE 146: Community Matters—Research and Service with Community Organizations. This 2-unit course is offered during Spring quarter before the internship begins. The course aims to support students in preparing students for the community-based research experience by discussing prevalent issues in community work and research design. Topics include:
  • framing research questions
  • community-based research methodologies
  • mentorship/supervision strategies (communicating what you want/need as an intern)
  • ethical service and research
  • creating reciprocity through community research

Internship Assignments
CCSRE summer interns submit weekly progress reports to outline challenges and accomplishments during the course of their internship experiences. They participate in a community blog to engage with other internship participants about their experiences. At the conclusion of the internship, students complete a report about their internship activities and experiences, including a discussion of their research and the findings and conclusions produced. There is an internship forum in Fall quarter for students to share their research and students also participate in the Symposia for Undergraduate Research and Public Service (SURPS).

Summer Stipend & Budget
CRSI participants receive up to $4,500 during the course of their internship. The expectation is that students will spend no less than 300 hours working to complete the internship and most internships should be designed as 8-10 week experiences. These funds are issued as a stipend and should be used to support any expenses associated with the internship. An estimated budget that outlines personal expenses (e.g., travel, health related expenses like insurance or vaccinations, housing, per diem or food) and project expenses (e.g., supplies, services like translation or transcription, honoraria or compensation for research participants, etc.) is submitted with the application to explain how the stipend will be used. In addition to the funds issued as a stipend to support student research, a small honorarium of $500 is provided to the community-based mentors/supervisors connected to the research internships.


 
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