M.E. Sharpe (2006)
Edited by Amanda Moore McBride, Ph.D., assistant professor, and Michael Sherraden, Ph.D., the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development, both at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work
“Civic Service Worldwide,” a comprehensive collection of the latest research and policy developments in civic service worldwide, provides an informed assessment of what works and what doesn’t work in the field.
With contributions from some of the discipline’s best-known global leaders, it presents a conceptualization and operational definition of civic service that allows for variations across nations and cultures.
“Civic service is arguably a relatively new field with most programs having only been developed in the last 30 years,” McBride says.
“This book frames the common elements of service whether it’s local, national and international and allows us to compare service across nations and cultures.”
In addition to offering a perspective on the history and potential for civic service from its roots in military service, the book summarizes the effects of national service in diverse countries, and identifies important developments in service, including service across the lifespan and transnational service.
The editors and contributors also address key questions and promising theoretical and methodological approaches for advancing knowledge in the field.
The collection received advanced praise from many service experts, including Robert Leigh, senior policy specialist at United Nations Volunteers.
“Civic service, including volunteering, has enormous potential to enhance the economic and social well-being of nations and contribute to the maintenance of peace,” Leigh says.
“Citizen participation as an essential feature of effective democratic governance is increasingly seen as being central to human development. This book makes a most welcome and timely contribution to policy makers and practitioners alike, while also providing pointers for further research in this field.”
– Jessica Martin