ABSTRACT
This chapter offers service-learning definitions, explores service dimensions in educational settings, and distinguishes between different types of service programs. An overview of the history of service-learning in Latin America and the United States is provided. The chapter describes service programs in educational settings in Latin America and the Caribbean, and focuses on school-based and university-based community service and service-learning programs. It outlines questions for future research to explore the possible effects of service-learning in the region. In the 1920s, John Dewey organized what is considered one of the first service-learning experiences in an educational setting, at Antioch College in Yellow Springs. Voluntary community service is the oldest and most widespread form of service in higher education, but also the most difficult to study because of the vast range of activities and programs. In 2004, the Medical School at Tucumán University in Argentina was awarded the first prize in the Presidential Award for Service-Learning Practices in Higher Education.
