Andrew Furco
Andrew Furco (born April 17, 1961) is an American scholar, researcher, and educator in the field of experiential education, whose work has focused primarily on advancing research in service learning. Service learning is an instructional approach whereby students participate in community service that is linked to their academic learning.[1] Service learning has been adopted in K–12 schools, colleges, and universities in the United States, Canada and in countries throughout South America,[2] Australia,[3] Africa,[4] Asia[5] and Europe (i.e., Germany,[6] Ireland,[7] Spain[8]).
Contributions to service learning
In 1994, Furco established the Service Learning Research and Development Center at the University of California, Berkeley, which is cited as the United States’ first university-based research center for the study of service learning.[9] As the director of this center, he led 26 studies of service learning (domestic and international), which include some of the nation's earliest studies to examine the effects of service learning on participating students.
In 1996, he published the paper “Service-Learning: A Balanced Approach to Experiential Education”, in which he distinguishes service learning from other similar forms of experiential learning, including volunteerism, community service, field education, and internships. Cited in more than 200 publications,[10] this paper has been used at a substantial number of colleges and universities as a basis for defining service learning.[11]
In 2001, he helped launch and hosted the 1st Annual International Conference on Service-Learning Research. This international conference, held in Berkeley, California, October 21–23, brought together more than 350 participants from a dozen countries to present new research on service learning and to form a network of service learning researchers.[12] The conference continues to be offered annually, hosted by different universities. Through this annual conference, the network of service learning researchers has continued to grow. In 2006, the network was formalized into the first professional international association focused on service learning research (International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement or IARSLCE).[13]
Furco has developed and validated a number of survey instruments for the study of service learning, including pre-post surveys that measure changes in participants’ perceptions, attitudes, and understanding on civic, social, personal, and academic issues.[14] His Self-Assessment Rubric for Institutionalizing Service Learning in Higher Education (1998), commonly referred to as The Furco Rubric, is a self-assessment instrument that measures the level of service learning institutionalization at universities or colleges. The Furco Rubric has been incorporated into the service learning planning and development at more than 300 colleges and universities in various countries.[15]
His body of work on service learning includes journal articles, technical reports, and the books Service Learning: The Essence of the Pedagogy (2001) and Service Learning Through a Multidisciplinary Lens (2002), both of which he co-edited with Shelley Billing.
Awards
- 2003: Award for Outstanding Contributions to Service-Learning Research, presented by the International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement[16]
- 2004: The National John Glenn Scholar Award for Service Learning, presented by the Ohio State University[17]
- 2006: Research Leader of the Year Award, presented by the National Society for Experiential Education.[18]
- 2012: Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award, presented by Campus Compact.[19]
Background and education
Furco was born and raised in New York City. He studied music at UCLA, where he earned his B.A. in Music in 1984. From 1985 to 1992, he worked as a public school music teacher and school site administrator and earned a master's degree in special education (UCLA, 1986). While working on his doctoral degree in educational administration and policy at the University of California, Berkeley (PhD, 1997), he was appointed in 1995 as the founding director of UC Berkeley's new Service-Learning Research and Development Center.[20] He continued to conduct research at UC Berkeley as center director and faculty member in the Graduate School of Education through 2007. He currently serves as Professor and Associate Department Chair for the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, as well as the director of the International Center for Research on Community Engagement.[21][22] From 2008-2021, he served as the university's Associate Vice President for Public Engagement.[23]
References
- "National Service Learning Clearinghouse: What is Service-Learning? Retrieved June 5, 2010". Archived from the original on December 13, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
- CLAYSS Latin American Center for Service Learning "WELCOME TO CLAYSS - Latin American Center for Service-Learning". Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2010.
- Learn and Serve Australia (LASA) http://www.lasa.org.au/ Retrieved November 3, 2010.
- Patel, L., Perold, H., Mohamed, S.E., Carapinha, R.E. (2007). Five Country Study on Service and Volunteering in Southern Africa, CSD Research Report No. 07-19, St. Louis: Washington University in St. Louis.
- The Amity Foundation - Service Learning Program; Nanjing, China "Service Learning". Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2011,
- Lernen durch Engagement: Netzwerk Service-Learning http://www.servicelearning.de/ Retrieved January 5, 2011.
- "NUI Driving Instructor Training : Dublin : Galway : Cork". nuigalwaycki.ie. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- "APS". aprenentatgeservei.org. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- Graduate School of Education (2005, Summer). "School Opens Service Learning Center." Term Paper. Berkeley: University of California. Retrieved June 4, 2010
- "furco - Google Scholar". Google.com. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
- Campus Compact: What is Service Learning? "Servicelearning2". Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2011 See also Virginia Polytechnic University http://www.vtserves.vt.edu/Faculty/ServiceLearningHandbook/ Archived March 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine; Bethel University http://www.bethel.edu/cas/off-campus-programs/service-learning/; Dominican University of California http://www.dominican.edu/academics/service/questions.html Archived July 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine; Wegweiser Buergergesellschaft "Service-Learning | Wegweiser Bürgergesellschaft". Archived from the original on September 11, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2011. Retrieved March 5, 2011
- "National Service Learning Clearinghouse - The Evidence Base for Service Learning in Higher Education. Retrieved June 5, 2010". Archived from the original on November 14, 2007. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
- International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement; History. Retrieved June 5, 2010. Archived March 10, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- Place-Based Education Evaluation Collaborative: Furco/UC Berkeley Surveys/Tools http://www.peecworks.org/PEEC/PEEC_Inst/S016E8B87-016E8B8B%5B%5D Retrieved September 17, 2010.
- Campus Compact Consulting Corps: Andrew Furco http://www.compact.org/initiatives/consulting-corps/andrew-furco/4387/ Archived July 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Retrieved June 5, 2010. See also "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011.
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: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) and "MCC | Inside Story - Past Issues". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011. - International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement: Past Award Recipients "International Association for Research on Service-learning and Community Engagement". Archived from the original on October 22, 2011. Retrieved June 12, 2011. Retrieved June 5, 2010
- Hill, K. (2004, February). "Andy Furco Named 1st John Glenn Scholar in Service-Learning". http://evergreen.loyola.edu/rcrews/www/sl/archives/feb04/msg00076.html Retrieved January 5, 2011
- National Society for Experiential Education Past Award Winners "NSEE: National Society of Experiential Education". Archived from the original on July 24, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2011.
- The Thomas Ehrlich Civically Engaged Faculty Award http://www.compact.org/events-jobs-grants-more/awards/the-thomas-ehrlich-civically-engaged-faculty-award/18188/ Archived November 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- Graduate School of Education (2005, Summer). "School Opens Service Learning Center." Term Paper. Berkeley: University of California. Retrieved June 5, 2010.
- International Center for Research on Community Engagement: University of Minnesota. http://www.icrce.umn.edu Retrieved June 5, 2010
- "College of Education and Human Development". www.cehd.umn.edu. Retrieved October 15, 2023.
- "College of Education and Human Development". www.cehd.umn.edu. Retrieved October 15, 2023.