The adoption of a community engagement strategy to teaching and learning is found promising by a growing number of mentors. In Asia, colleges and universities have disseminated their own unique experiences in various fora, conferences, workshops and training programs. For one, this book offers a variety of information and rich insights as to the evolution, application, development, and outcomes of service-learning approaches in Hong Kong, Singapore, China, India, and Indonesia. The book demonstrates that learning encounters from the ground/community provide a foundation for a critical interpretation of the theories and principles expounded in books and lectures. My university, Silliman University, in the Philippines, is committed to "total human development for the wellbeing of the society and the environment." For us, this book promises to be a valuable reference for educators in search of teaching that integrates social action and community research. The book illustrates how some research outcomes make a case for institutions to strongly support service-learning efforts in all their curricular programs. Betty Cernol-McCann President, Silliman University I have been fortunate to have engaged with many Asian service-learning programs and practitioners for two decades - from the field's earliest days to its robust present.

With publication of this research collection from leading Asian scholars and practitioners Shumer, Ma, and Chan illustrate how deeply embedded service-learning has become within Asian education, and how the emergence of evidence-based scholarship reveals both its complexity and maturity. Similar to how service-learning research evolved in the US, most of the included Asian studies examine outcomes of the practice for education institutions and communities. Others delve into curriculum design and implementation, program planning and development, and affective aspects of students' experience. Taken together the collected studies illuminate how service-learning has evolved as an Asian phenomenon with its uniquely important and very interesting characteristics. Timothy K. Stanton Senior Engaged Scholar Ravensong Associates Director Emeritus Bing Overseas Studies Program, Cape Town, Stanford University.