Service-Based Scholarship: An Impetus for Change in Physical Education in Higher Education

Abstract

The controversy that remains in play over the accepted definition of scholarship has delayed higher education from progressing toward a more servicebased approach to scholarship. A change in the manner by which we perceive the worth of scholarship is imperative if higher education is to remain as a viable entity in a climate of economic constraints. In operationalizing the definitions of scholarship, scholars, service, and service-based scholarship, an agreeable language has been set forth to move the profession past discourse and debate and forward into action. The brief summary of NAPEHE's and Quest's philosophy with respect to a “changed” notion of scholarship and service echoes a common plea to the profession to be proactive change agents and leaders in the redesign efforts. Contextual factors, (mentoring systems, community politics, assessment standards, and reward and recognition systems) imbedded in most university environments, raise questions for scholars to wrestle with as they consider barriers that might prevent a “changed” notion of scholarship.