“In the Nation's Service and the Service of Humanity”: Service Learning in K-12 Education and Its Applicability to Youth Mental Health

Abstract

Service learning is increasingly being embraced in K-12 education policy, as it has demonstrated benefits for students’ academic performance, sense of civic engagement or responsibility, and prosocial behavior. The rise in youth mental health issues is a simultaneous trend affecting schools, especially at the primary and secondary schooling levels. As the centrality of both service learning and student mental health becomes evident for schools, there is a need to seek alternative solutions to adolescent mental health within the existing structures of U.S. education policy. This study aims to reconcile the relationship between service learning and mental health outcomes of K-12 education students, exploring the extent to which service learning confers a positive impact on the mental and emotional wellbeing of young students. This thesis meta-analyzes a set of fifteen papers reporting twenty-six total experimental findings from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assess service learning programs. In addition, this research reports a series of interviews with seven education leaders, experts, and administrators who speak to their experience with service learning and its relevance for youth mental health. The findings from the meta-analysis indicate that service learning has a modest, but statistically significant effect on students’ mental health. This estimated effect size reflects the first meta-analytic approximation of the causal impact of service learning on mental health, as assessed by RCTs. The interviews reveal how local sociopolitical contexts shape the opportunities for implementation of service learning, and the importance of instituting participation and program quality standards in order to foster the best outcomes for students. In all, this thesis argues for the significance of expanding service learning programs in education policy, especially to address the youth mental health crisis and pursue alternative solutions for it in global health efforts.