Reciprocity of Service-learning Research and Practice at Tulane University

Building Strong Communities Through Civic Engagement

Barbara Moely and Vincent Ilustre

International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement, Indianapolis, IN, October 2010

Today’s Presentation Historical perspectives

The development of Tulane’s community engagement programs

Intertwining of research with program development How practice facilitated research How research findings have been used in

programming

•Current research

• University students participation in required service learning

• Civic attitude development during college

Early Program Development: 1997-2005 Four faculty in Psychology, working with schools in a

public housing community through a HUD grant to the University, began offering SL courses Other interested faculty soon joined on.

Formalization of service-learning program shown by Faculty approval of a service-learning course credit “Office of Service Learning” formed Staff positions established, space provided

• Program growth illustrated in numbers of courses and students:

Courses: Increased from 7 in 1997-98 to 67 in 2004-2005 Students increased from 186 in 1997-98 to 870 in 2004-

2005

1997-2005: Number of Service-learning Courses Offered

25 5

14

710

17

2823

27 25 2430 31

24

3532

05

10152025303540

Spring 1

997

Fall 1

997

Spring 1

998

Fall 1

998

Spring 1

999

Fall 1

999

Spring 2

000

Fall 2

000

Spring 2

001

Fall 2

001

Spring 2

002

Fall 2

002

Spring 2

003

Fall 2

003

Spring 2

004

Fall 2

004

Spring 2

005

Number of Courses

1997-2005: Numbers ofService-learning Students at Tulane

36

150 132

304

190 209275

420371 381

346397

447 453 431 421449

050

100150200250300350400450500

Spring 1

997

Spring 1

998

Spring 1

999

Spring 2

000

Spring 2

001

Spring 2

002

Spring 2

003

Spring 2

004

Spring 2

005

Number of Students

Program Enhancement through Funded Projects 1996 – 2001: Tulane-Xavier Campus Affiliates Program,

funded by the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development, for programmatic activities with agencies serving families and children from New Orleans public housing

1997-98: Foundation for Independent Higher Education and the Annenberg Foundation, small grant for college student tutoring of middle-school students

2000-2003: Tulane was a subgrantee on a FIPSE grant to Eastern Michigan University, for faculty development for SL

2003-2006/8: Tulane led an LSA Consortium Grant for program institutionalization, involved 7 other institutions, using Furco’s Rubric as the basis for program development

Initial Research (1999-2000): What are students gaining from their service-learning experiences? Development and use of the Civic Attitudes

and Skills Questionnaire (CASQ)

Moely, Mercer, Ilustre, et al. (2002) Moely, McFarland, et al. (2002)

Tulane students engaged in service learning showed pre-post course increases in ratings of their own civic attitudes and skills, greater than those shown by students in comparison courses that did not involve service learning.

Changes in Civic Attitudes and Skills Following Participation in Service Learning Courses

CASQ Scale Pretest M (SD)

Posttest M (SD)

SOCIAL JUSTICE ATTITUDE *

Service-learning course (N = 217) 3.95 (.52) 4.12 (.53)

Non-service-learning course (N= 324)

3.92 (.52) 3.94 (.56)

LEADERSHIP SKILL*

Service-learning course 3.87 (.68) 3.96 (.65)

No service-learning 3.90 (.66) 3.78 (.68)

CIVIC ACTION **

Service-learning course 3.97 (.65) 4.17 (.62)

Non-service-learning 3.97 (.68) 3.84 (.77)

* p < .05, ** p < .01, for differential pre-post change in group means

Students’ Ratings of Course Value for Service-learning and Comparison Courses

COURSE VALUE Measure

Pretest M (SD)

Posttest M (SD)

Service-learning course (N = 211)

4.10 (.62) 4.14 (.60)

Non-service-learning course (N= 322)

4.13 (.60) 3.96 (.83)

(differential pre-post change, at p < .05)

COURSE VALUE SCALE: Eight items asked students to evaluate how important or useful they expected (pretest) or had experienced (posttest) the academic course to be for them.

Implications of the ResearchProgrammatic feedback

Assessment of program effectiveness: “On the right track, though we can do better”)

Building justification for program on campusStudent gains were promising, encouraged faculty

involvement Enabling us to expand program through

participation in funded projectsThe CASQ measure we developed could be used in other

projects Beginning of a record of research activity

2001-2 Research: Does service-learning contribute to University goals?

Study of service-learning and students’ plans for continued study to university graduation (retention):

Sarah Gallini: Surveyed 333 Tulane students in SL and other comparable courses

• Students in service-learning courses evaluated their courses more positively than did students in non-service-learning courses:

• Higher academic, community, and interpersonal engagement, more challenged by their courses

• SL course increased their plans to continue study.

Service-learning, Engagement, Plans for Continued Study (Retention)

Measure Service-Learning Course

(N = 142)

Nonservice-

learning Course

(N = 171)

ENGAGEMENT

Community *** 3.85 (.60) 3.06 (.65)

Academic *** 3.86 (.56) 3.53 (.71)

Interpersonal *** 3.81 (.70) 3.15 (.89)

ACADEMIC CHALLENGE *** 3.68 (.52) 3.33 (.63)

HOURS STUDIED per week *** 3.73 (3.16)

3.05 (2.68)

RETENTION PLANS *** 3.55 (.58) 3.24 (.47)

*** p < .001, for differences between mean scores

Why Does Service Learning Increase Retention in College?

Academic Academic Engagement Engagement

AcademicAcademicChallengeChallenge

Plans for Plans for RETENTIORETENTIO

N N

SERVICE SERVICE LEARNING LEARNING

Academic factors (engagement, challenging course work) Academic factors (engagement, challenging course work) mediated the relationship between SL and retention. -- Gallini mediated the relationship between SL and retention. -- Gallini

& Moely (2003)& Moely (2003)

Implications of the ResearchEmphasized the academic component of service-

learning as integral aspect of its impact on studentsFaculty could justify including service-learning as

innovative teaching rather than service, in P&T and other evaluations

Built administrative support for the programIncreased awareness of the potential for service-

learning to aid in pursuit of campus goals (increased retention through rigorous academic offerings)

Paradigms of Service (adapted from Morton, 1995)

Charity Approach• Emphasis on direct service to the individual, for

a limited period of time. The “helper” plans activities and makes decisions about service activities.

Social Change Approach • Emphasis on producing societal change that will

last. Aim is to empower those served so that they can accomplish self-determined goals.

Student Preferences andService-learning Outcomes

Moely and Miron (2005) study, based on Morton’s paradigms of service Compared two ways of assessing paradigm preferences ,

developed reliable scales for Charity and Social Change, not for Project paradigm

Tulane students expressed preferences for more individual, helping kinds of service (charity) than for experiences emphasizing social change

• Moely, Furco, and Reed (2008) Larger, more diverse sample

Included one of the Moely & Miron measures as part of an asssessment of service-learning impacts

Looked at how preferences and service placements are related to service-learning outcomes

Moely, Furco, and Reed: Service-Learning Courses

Data gathered from 7 campuses participating in a LSA grant

Involved 73 courses, representing a range of disciplines, most often in

• 33% in the Humanities • 27% in the Social Sciences • 17% in Psychology/Human Development • Courses taught by faculty who had taken part in a

faculty development seminar for service-learning

Community-Service Preferences Scale (Sample Items)

“The following statements describe different kinds of service-learning activities. Please rate each statement as to how much you would like to engage in this kind of service.”

Charity Items: • A service placement where you can really become

involved in helping individuals. • Helping those in need. (Internal Consistency: alpha (4 items, N = 2,016) = .83)

Social Change Items: • Changing public policy for the benefit of people. • Working to address a major social ill confronting our

society. (Internal Consistency: alpha (4 items, N = 2,017) = .85)

Characterizing Service Sites as Involving Charity or Social Change (Sample Items)

“Using the scale below, indicate the extent to which your service-learning activity involved each of the following:”

Charity • A service placement where you can really become involved

in helping individuals• Helping those in need. (Internal Consistency: alpha (4 items, N = 1,650 ) = .85)

Social Change • Changing public policy for the benefit of people. • Working to address a major social ill confronting our

society. (Internal Consistency: alpha (4 items, N = 1,646 ) = .84)

Identifying “Match” and “Mismatch” Groups

Charity

Pref.

Social Change Pref.

Both

Neither

Total Matc

h

Total Mismatc

h

Charity Site

69 46 75 107 144 153

Social Change Site

26 66 62 74 128 100

Both 83 105 195 131 195 131

Neither 62 88 76 170 170 226

Totals 240 305 408 482 637 610

Importance of the “Match”

For three Preference groups, a MATCH predicted:

Increased Learning about the Community Increased Satisfaction with College Increased Interpersonal Effectiveness Positive pre-post change in CASQ Civic

Action and Furco’s HES-LS Civic Responsibility scales.

Matched/Not Matched Students’ Reports of Learning about the Community

Group:

Initial Service

Preference:

Match NO Match

Charity 3.80 3.39

Social Change 3.80 3.20

High Value Undifferent.

4.17 3.37

Low Value Undifferent.

2.97 3.44

Implications of the ResearchStudents preferences should be considered in planning

service learning experiences, by offering choices of varied service opportunities

Ideally, service should encompass aspects of BOTH service to individuals and contributions to social change.

Community partners’ roles in the education of students building connections between individuals served and

larger social issues the agency is addressing;offering students opportunities to contribute to social

change activities at the agency.

A New Phase in Program and Research: Renewal after 2005 Hurricane Katrina

Major changes at the University included an increased emphasis on campus-community engagement :

Board approval of a new Public Service

emphasis

Student graduation requirement established

Center for Public Service established

Undergraduate Focus Academic Realignment

Graduate ProgramsNew Partnerships

Tulane Renewal

Plan

An enhanced collegiate experience that is campus-

and student-centric

Focus resources, achieve greater integration and synergy among related

disciplines

A focus on building healthy, sustainable communities

locally, regionally, and throughout the world

More focused, world-class graduate programs and enhanced professional

experiences

Center for Public ServiceCenter for Public Service

Service Learning

Internship

Honors Thesis

Research Project

Capstone

Service Learning

Part 1: Part 2:

International

Public Service Graduation RequirementPublic Service Graduation Requirement

Center for Public ServiceCenter for Public Service

Service Learning

Internship

Honors Thesis

Research Project

Capstone

Service Learning

Part 1: Part 2:

International

Public Service Graduation RequirementPublic Service Graduation Requirement

• Completed by the end of the sophomore year

• Course level: 100 – 300

Center for Public ServiceCenter for Public Service

Service Learning

Internship

Honors Thesis

Research Project

Capstone

Service Learning

Part 1: Part 2:

International

Public Service Graduation RequirementPublic Service Graduation Requirement

• Completed after sophomore year before graduation• Course level: 300 – 600

Center for Public Service: Building University Center for Public Service: Building University Capacity for Student Engagement Capacity for Student Engagement

Academic Year: 2004-05 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

Number of CPS Program Staff Members 9 11 25 32 28

Number of Community Partners 56 140

110192150

382118

406122

Number of Service Learning Courses 67 108 145 220 266

Number of Students in PS Internships 69 112 170 193 211

New Research Questions

1) Did students entering Tulane after Katrina have different reasons for attending this University and different expectations for their study than those entering prior to the storm?

2) How did the incoming students view the public service graduation requirement?

3) Were incoming students’ personal characteristics, past experiences with service, and their civic attitudes, knowledge, and skills related to their views of the public service requirement?

4) How do these students evaluate the requirement after they have spent two/four years at the University ? (Work partially completed.)

5) How do students’ civic attitudes change over their years in college? How are these changes related to aspects of their public service experiences? (Work still underway.)

Research Design

Year of

Tulane

Entry:

Time of Test (Year)

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20112012

2003- 05 257*

2006 290 47 55

2007 185 55 X

2008 195 148 X

* Numbers indicate number of students completing surveys; color codes indicate Year in College (e.g. first, second, fourth) “X” represents a future test date Arrows indicate repeated tests of same participants Gold box indicates students considered in the present report.

Research Question 1a: Research Question 1a:

Were post-Katrina students’ Were post-Katrina students’ reasons for attending Tulane different reasons for attending Tulane different

from those of from those of pre-Katrina students? pre-Katrina students?

Reasons for College Choice Differentiating Incoming and Continuing Students

Reasons Differentiating Student Groups:

“Why did you choose to attend Tulane University?”

ALL First-Year

Students 2006-08

N = 648

M (SD)

Advanced Students

2006N = 257

M (SD)

Tulane will make it possible for me to help rebuild New Orleans ** 2.82 (.95) 2.07 (1.07)

Opportunities for me to engage in service in New Orleans communities ** 2.81 (.96) 2.16 (.91)

The major area of study I want is available at Tulane. * 3.25 (.91) 2.97 ( 1.01)

* Groups differ at p < .01 ** Groups differ at p < .001

Research Question 1b: Research Question 1b:

Were post-Katrina students’ Were post-Katrina students’ expectations for their college expectations for their college

experience different from those of experience different from those of pre-Katrina students? pre-Katrina students?

Anticipated Gains from College that Differentiate Incoming and Continuing Students

Reasons Differentiating Student Groups: “What do you hope to gain from your college experience?”

ALL First- year

Students

M (SD)

Advanced Students

M (SD)

Helping with the revitalization of the New Orleans community **

2.98 (.89) 2.25 (.98)

Making a difference **3.35 (.82) 2.87 (.98)

Becoming active in politics ** 2.21(1.01) 1.73 (.94)

Gaining leadership experiences and developing leadership skills ** 3.22 (.86) 2.79 (.96)

Exploring career possibilities and preparation for a chosen career **

3.74 (.55) 3.52 (.75)

Conducting research ** 2.47 (.96) 2.04 (.99)

** Groups differ at p < .001

Research Question 2: Research Question 2:

How did incoming students view the How did incoming students view the public service graduation requirement?public service graduation requirement?

Incoming Students’ Views of the Public Service Requirement

Items Assessing Students’ Evaluation and Plans

2006

2007 2008

Evaluation: “Do you think that learning about academic subject matter through public-service experiences is …”

N = 290

N = 185

N = 195

• A good idea 56% 54% 62%

• OK 31% 31% 30%

• I don’t have any opinion about this 9% 5% 4%

• A bad idea 4% 10% 4%

Plans: “How much public service do you plan to do while here at Tulane?”

• I plan to become very active in the community

25% 25% 32%

• More than the amount required if it seems beneficial to me

56%59% 56%

• Just the amount that is required, no more

19% 15% 12%

Research Question 3: Research Question 3:

Were incoming students’ personal Were incoming students’ personal characteristics, prior experiences with characteristics, prior experiences with

service, and their civic attitudes, service, and their civic attitudes, knowledge, and skills related to their knowledge, and skills related to their

views of the public service requirement? views of the public service requirement?

Predicting Entering College Students’ Evaluations of and Plans Regarding the Public Service Requirement Predictors Correlated with Students’ (bivariate correlations)

Evaluat.

Plans

Personal Characteristics

Gender (1 = male, 2 = female) .21**

.18**

Area of Origin (1= Louisiana, 2 = All Other) .12** .17**

High School Experiences

Enjoyment of Prior Community Service .30**

.35**

Impact of Prior Community Service .23** .20

Service was a volunteer activity (1 = no, 2 = yes)

.18* .32*

Service was for a service-learning course (1 =no, 2 =yes)

.07* .11*

* p < .01 *** p < .001

Predicting Entering College Students’ Evaluations of and Plans regarding the Public Service Requirement

Predictors Correlated with Students’ (partial correlations, controlling for Social Desirability responding)

Evaluations

Plans

Civic Attitudes

HES-LS Civic Responsibility .51** .59**

Valuing Community Engagement .46** .59**

CASQ Social Justice .25 .36*

Civic Knowledge

Seeks Information about Political/Social Issues .29** .37**

Civic Actions

Interpersonal Skills .27** .28**

Leadership Skills .18 .25*

Cultural Skills .12 .25*

Research Question 4: Research Question 4:

How do students evaluate the How do students evaluate the graduation requirement after graduation requirement after

they have spent two/four years they have spent two/four years at the University?at the University?

(Data collection not yet completed.)(Data collection not yet completed.)

Continuing/Graduating Students’ Views of the Requirement

Assessing Students’ Evaluations and Plans

First Year to Soph./Jr. Year

(All Three Groups)

Seniors

(2006 Group)

Evaluation: “Do you think that learning about academic subject matter through public-service experiences is …”

N = 252 (37% of total)

N = 55

Time1 Time2 Time 3• A good idea 60% 65% 66%

• OK 31% 29% 29%

• I don’t have any opinion about this 3% 1% 0

• A bad idea 6% 5% 5%

Plans: “How much public service do you plan to do /are you doing/ while here at Tulane?”

• I plan to/have/ become very active in the community 34% 14% 14.5%

• More than the amount required/ if it seems beneficial to me

59% 61% 71%

• Just the amount that is required, no more 7% 25% 14.5%

Understanding Students’ Views of the Requirement

In contrast to these findings of a consistent and lasting positive view of the requirement, studies of K-12 service learning have shown that students show negative reactions to a required service-learning experience. What might explain the difference? Stukas, Snyder, & Clary (1999) found that negative reactions to

required service are less likely among college students who 1) have a strong history of service activities, and 2) do not perceive the requirement as a strong form of control.

Our study: 1) Past experience did predict positive reactions; 2) “Control” was less apparent because

students came to the university with interest in service, and they had choices of ways in which to complete the requirement.

Research Question 5: Research Question 5:

How do students’ civic attitudes change How do students’ civic attitudes change over two/four years of college?over two/four years of college?

(Data collection and analysis not yet (Data collection and analysis not yet completed.) completed.)

Changes from Time 1 to Time 2 for Groups Entering in 2006 and 2007 (N = 102)

Measure Time 1 Time 2

M SD M SD

HES-LS Civic Responsibility ** 3.22 .43 3.88 .70

Community Engagement ** 3.83 .57 4.02 .58

Seeks Information about Political/Social Issues **

3.48 .50 4.35 .61

Knowledge of New Orleans Culture and Issues **

2.83 .76 3.39 .72

Knowledge of Current Events ** 3.53 .82 3.86 .71

HES-LS Academic Attitude ** 3.17 .36 3.70 .66

* * Pre-post difference significant at p < .001

Summary of Current Research Incoming students’ positive views of

requirement are influenced by• Gender, Area of Origin

• Positive prior community service experience

• Civic attitudes and Interpersonal Skills

Students’ views of the public service requirement continue to be positive after two years of academic study.• They see public service as a “good” or “OK” idea

• They report doing more than the amount required

Students show increases in positive civic attitudes after two years.

Implications of Current ResearchConcerns about students’ possible negative reactions

to the requirement are not confirmed by the findings.

Student choice in completing the requirement may contribute to the positive outcomes, so that offering an array of service-learning courses and other kinds of public service experiences is important.

Question for the field: Can these findings be generalized to other institutions

and contexts, or is this something specific to a particular campus and city at a unique time?

Overall Summary: Looking Back

The research has been useful for program development.

Formative value: Program has been responsive to implications for practice gained through research

Evaluation: Building the program’s reputation Can show that a program contributes to campus goals, offers

faculty opportunities for new instructional and research initiatives Research record is helpful in making the case to outside agencies

for support

Program development supports the research effort. • Interesting research questions often derive from practice• A strong program offers opportunities to conduct worthwhile

research.

Looking ForwardResearch:

Aim to complete this work, with two more groups of seniors to be surveyed

Ongoing research on campus-community partnership development and partner strategies for working effectively with large groups of students

Program:

• Encourage more faculty to engage in research on questions related to CPS

• Many other programmatic activities underway!

References for Tulane work Moely, B. E., Mercer, S. H., Ilustre, V., Miron, D., and McFarland, M. (2002). Psychometric

properties and correlates of the Civic Attitudes and Skills Questionnaire (CASQ): A measure of students’ attitudes related to service learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 8, 15-26.

Moely, B. E., McFarland, M., Miron, D., Mercer, S. H., & Ilustre, V. (2002). Changes in college students’ attitudes and intentions for civic involvement as a function of service-learning experiences. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 9, 18-26.

Gallini, S., & Moely, B. E. (2003). Service learning and engagement, academic challenge, and retention. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 10, 5-14.

Moely, B. E., & Miron, D. (2005). College students’ preferred approaches to community service: Charity and social change paradigms. In S. Root, J. Callahan, and S. H. Billig (Eds.) Improving service-learning practice: Research on models to enhance impacts. Greenwich, CT: Information Age

Moely, B. E., Furco, A., & Reed, J. (2008). Charity and social change: The impact of individual preferences on service-learning outcomes. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 15(1), 37-48.

Miron, D., & Moely, B. E. (2006). Community agency voice and benefit in service-learning. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 12(2), 27-37.

Moely, B. E., & Ilustre, V. University students’ views of a public service graduation requirement. Submitted for publication.

For More InformationBarbara Moely

moely@tulane.edu

Vincent Ilustrevilustr@tulane.edu

Research Websitehttp://tulane.edu/cps/about/engaged-

scholarship.cfm