Service-learning in community action research: introduction to the special section.

This special section focuses on service-learning in community action research, with an emphasis on Theory, Research, and Practice. This Introduction is organized into three sections. In the first section, a brief description of service-learning is provided, and the general goals of the special issue are delineated. The second section provides a rationale for the special section, including a brief discussion of (a) the relevance of service-learning to psychology in general, (b) the importance of stimulating additional systematic community-based research in the area of service-learning, and (c) the ways in which the goals and outcomes of service-learning reflect the values and assumptions in community psychology. Finally, the third section sets the stage for readers by providing a brief description of each article in the special section.