Education of the Heart and Mind: Community Service among Students at Emory Pubblico
Du, Rebecca Young (2015)
Abstract
Community service has long been a distinctive feature in the landscape of social life in the United States. More recently it has become incorporated into educational pedagogies, especially in secondary and higher education institutions. This study captures a snapshot of community service at Emory and examines the possible value and reciprocity of community service in higher education. Using quantitative indexes measuring emotional, social, and psychological well-being, time managements behaviors, and general self-efficacy as well as qualitative semi-structured ethnographic interviews, this study aims to gain a better understanding of the following questions: Who at Emory volunteers? Why do they volunteer? What do they gain out of volunteering? Using frequency of volunteering as the independent variable, this study examines differences between students who volunteered only once or twice an academic semester and students who volunteered on a weekly basis. All of the study participants were undergraduate students at Emory who had volunteered at least once throughout the Fall 2014 semester through Volunteer Emory. Overall, there were no significant quantitative findings; however, the qualitative findings revealed a more nuanced explanation to the lack of findings. It was observed that participation in community service was associated with psychological benefits, increased senses of social responsibility and belonging to community, and career callings. No definitive conclusions could be made, but the findings in this study do suggest the possibility that participating in community service is associated with enhanced emotional, social, and psychological well-being as well as academic development. This study provides implications for the use of community service as a tool to enrich and improve the experiences of students during higher education. Even participating in community service once or twice a semester may be associated with many of the positive benefits attributed to community service.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Project Origination
Research Questions
Chapter 1: Background and Literature Review 3
Community Service in the United States
Demographic Trends of Participation in Community Service
Theories of Volunteering
Predispositions to Volunteering
Defining Community Service as an Educational Practice
Community Service and Social Responsibility
Community Service and Well-being
Eudaimonic and Hedonic Well-being
Correlations between Community Service and Well-being
Community Service and Academic Development
Is All Community Service Equal?
The College Environment
Demographic Trends in College Enrollment
Who Participates in Community Service during College, and Why?
Chapter 2: Methodology 29
Procedures
Variables and Measurements Statistical Analysis Hypotheses
Chapter 3: Results 38
Quantitative Results: Survey
Demographic Information of Survey Participants
Self-Reported Measurements
Qualitative Results: Ethnographic Interviews
Demographic Information of Interview Participants
Why do Students Participate in Community Service?
Psychological Benefits of Community Service
Social Responsibility and Prosocial Orientations
Connecting through Community Service
Stress Relief, Escaping from "Normal" Life
The Reciprocal Impact of Community Service
Community Service, Academic Interests, and Career Goals
What Prevents Students from Volunteering?
Chapter 4: Discussion 70
Psychological Well-being: Depression, Anxiety, and Stress
General Self-Efficacy
The Mental Health Continuum: Emotional, Social, and Psychological Well-being
Time Management Behaviors
Volunteering at Emory
Community Service and Academic Development
Community Service and Human Evolutionary History
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Limitations 92
Conclusion
Limitations and Recommendations
References 97
Appendix I: Quantitative Data 105
Consent to be a Research Participant
The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE)
Mental Health Continuum, Short Form (MHC-SF)
Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale, 21 (DASS21)
Time Management Behavior Scale (TMB)
Volunteer Experiences and Extracurricular Activities
Appendix II: Qualitative Data 115
Ethnographic Interview Script
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