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Community College Journal ofResearch and PracticePublication details, including instructions forauthors and subscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/ucjc20

Service-Learning Code of EthicsBy Andrea Chapdelaine, AnaRuiz, Judith Warchal, CaroleWellsReviewed by Linc. Fisch Educational Columnist andFormer University Mathematics Professor (retired)Published online: 09 Mar 2007.

To cite this article: Reviewed by Linc. Fisch Educational Columnist and FormerUniversity Mathematics Professor (retired) (2007) Service-Learning Code of EthicsBy Andrea Chapdelaine, Ana Ruiz, Judith Warchal, Carole Wells, Community CollegeJournal of Research and Practice, 31:4, 339-343, DOI: 10.1080/10668920701242779

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BOOK REVIEW

Service-Learning Code of EthicsBy Andrea Chapdelaine, Ana Ruiz, Judith Warchal,Carole WellsBoston: Anker Publishing Company, Inc., 2005, 223 pp.,Softcover, ISBN 1-882982-83-5Reviewed by Linc. Fisch, Educational Columnist and FormerUniversity Mathematics Professor (retired)

Succinct. Accessible. Practical. Needed. Useful. These wordsdescribe Service-Learning Code of Ethics well. The book is packedwith cases that can be employed in seminars on ethical issues. Butread further of the benefits—and a few minor shortcomings—of thistidy text. Decide for yourself whether it fits into your armamentariumof material to prepare students for field experiences in civic engage-ment, a curricular thrust that has come to the fore in recent yearsin community colleges, four-year colleges, and universities.

The first chapter provides an overview of service-learning, with aquotation from Campus Compact’s 1999 Presidents’ Declarationon the Civic Responsibility of Higher Education supporting itsjustification:

This country cannot afford to educate a generation that acquires

knowledge without ever considering how that knowledge can benefitsociety or how to influence democratic decision-making. We must

teach the skills and values of democracy, creating innumerable oppor-

tunities for our students to practice and reap the results of the real,

hard work of citizenship.

Service-learning, thus, becomes a reincarnation of a basic tenetthat characterized the democratic expansion of American highereducation early in the 19th century. This chapter may seem an all

Community College Journal of Research and Practice, 31: 339–343, 2007

Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

ISSN: 1066-8926 print/1521-0413 online

DOI: 10.1080/10668920701242779

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too brief primer for those who are new to the field. But tucked intosubsequent chapters are more than enough examples to illustratethe rich learning possibilities toward this important goal.

The second chapter provides a background for ethical behavior,including a delineation of basic ethical principles: beneficence, non-maleficence, justice=fairness=equity, fidelity=responsibility, auto-nomy and respect for people’s rights, and integrity. There follows a‘‘service-learning code of ethics,’’ with separate sections for students,faculty, and administrators—each consisting of 7 to 10 guidelines. Thepurists among us might argue that these are simply lists of respon-sibilities rather than ethical guidelines. While I respect such a view-point, I think it is not a major concern, since responsibility is indeeda basic ethical principle, and the items listed are central to successfulservice-learning programs. Within each of the three sets is a statementspecifically emphasizing ethical behavior. This compact chapter closeswith a discussion of a standard model of decision-making:

1. Identify and define the dilemma.2. Address relevant principles and gather information.3. Propose courses of action.4. Determine and analyze the consequences for each proposed

course of action.5. Decide on the best course of action.6. Evaluate and reflect on the decision.

In an interesting, informal, and rather practical twist the authorscite ‘‘pillow, newspaper, and child tests’’ for helping in the finaltwo steps by responding to these questions:

Can you sleep with your decision?Would you be comfortable having your decision published in the

newspaper?Would you tell a child to engage in this behavior?

Part II of the book, chapters three through eight, focuses on ethicaldilemmas relating primarily to students. After a short elucidation ofthe student portion of the service-learning code of ethics, each of thenext five chapters contains a short, well-written narrative case thatdeals with specific kinds of problems or issues that students mightencounter in connection with service-learning activities. Topicsinclude conflict between personal commitments and service-learning

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requirements, confidentiality and responsibility to agency, researchand informed consent, treating recipients with respect and under-standing assignment limitations, and psychological burdens onstudents.

In each chapter, an analysis is made of the case, following the pre-scribed six-step process. The analysis models the process well andamounts to what often is called ‘‘teaching notes.’’ The authors arecareful to honor multiple viewpoints of the case and the dilemmasgenerated by conflicting values. The commentary recognizes vari-ation in situations and emotional aspects, and that there’s often noautomatic, easy, or single resolution to ethical dilemmas. Alternativesare duly weighed, and conclusions are not cut-and-dried. Each chap-ter includes a second case on a topic similar to the first, but withoutthe analysis. Presumably, the first discussion serves as a model forstudents to follow independently with the second case.

The assumption is that carefully studying and pondering thesecases prior to becoming immersed in service-learning activities willhelp preclude the occurrence of ethical dilemmas—or at least provideparticipants with background that may help them more easily resolvesuch matters, should they occur. I consider it a valid assumption—atleast as valid as any assumption about the applicability of what hap-pens in the classroom to later real-life situations.

Part III, chapters nine through thirteen, follows the same patternas Part II, but with cases focused primarily on the faculty portionof the code. These include responsibility to the community agency,student posing a potential risk in placement, academic freedom,and misuse of service-learning research project.

Part IV, chapters fourteen through eighteen, poses issues foradministrators in a similar way. The topics include university policiesand faculty implementation, administrator commitment, treating allconstituents consistently with regard to ethical principles, and allo-cation of resources and program implementation.

Chapter nineteen deals with assessment of programs and projectswith regard to a service-learning code of ethics, and chapter twentydeals with service-learning and risk management. A final chapter pre-sents fifteen additional case scenarios, without analysis, so that dis-cussion participants can assume various perspectives in workingthrough the problems and issues. An extensive bibliography follows.

Service-Learning Code of Ethics provides a plethora of cases (41, inall) and ample related material for use in training students, faculty,and administrators. The implicit presumption is that training sessionswould be provided for members of target groups prior to a personbecoming engaged in service-learning programs—perhaps even with

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some sessions involving a mix of discussants from two or three of thetarget groups. I also can envision that selected cases might bereserved for study during the service-learning activity, when theircontext and nuances might be better known and appreciated by part-icipants. For this use, it would be fruitful to organize training sessionsthat bring together participants from a number of different service-learning assignments in order to share their diverse experiences.And after conducting general sessions in case analysis, programfaculty might assign some cases for relatively independent study,discussion, and analysis by groups of three or four students.

Whatever the format, the productivity of case usage is always pow-ered by engaging participants in extended discussions in which variousand sometimes subtle viewpoints contribute to fruitful examination,evaluation, and application. These outcomes often emerge more fromdepth of interaction of participants, self-examination and clarificationof values, and commitment to new behaviors than from simple ‘‘cover-age’’ of topics. These results are enhanced when those who conductsessions assume a primary role of facilitator of the process throughflexible design, adroit though unobtrusive guidance (often by posingquestions), and focus on personal commitment.

The cases presented in this book are typical of those used in stan-dard training in human relations and business. They are descriptivesummary narratives and are relatively complete with regard to usefulinformation. They lend themselves nicely to academic discussion andanalysis. They could easily be reframed into dialogues of critical inci-dents for those of us who prefer cases that are conducive to interac-tive presentation, processing, and role-playing.

The authors of the book are psychology faculty members atAlbright College, Alvernia College, and Kutztown University. Allhave extensive experience and credentials in service-learning. I sug-gest two things they might consider for future editions of Service-Learning Code of Ethics. In chapter three, the authors state that theychose to not propose a section of the code for service agenciesbecause they assumed that appropriate ethical standards for the agen-cies already exist. I, being not as sanguine about this as they seem tobe, think the book would benefit by inclusion of a suggested list ofresponsibilities for agencies and their personnel—particularly withregard to relationships with students.

Second, members of organizations, agencies, and professionsfrequently encourage ‘‘professional behavior,’’ but very few definewhat they really mean by that term—and some who do include spe-cious criteria. It would be desirable for service-learning faculty andadministrators to address this matter and define professionalism

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carefully. This book would provide an ideal place to initiate thateffort.

Early in this review, I characterized Service-Learning Code ofEthics as succinct, accessible, practical, needed, and useful. Employedappropriately, the code and the cases can serve well in accomplishingthe book’s intended purposes.

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