Barbara Moely and Vincent Ilustre Tulane University International Society for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement Baltimore, September 2012

 Provide an overview of Tulane’s public service graduation requirement and the role of the Center for Public Service  Briefly summarize findings regarding stability and change in students’ civic attitudes, knowledge, and skills after two years in college;  Look at how service-learning experiences are related to students’ reports of learning and their civic attitudes, knowledge, and skills  Show how CPS preparation of faculty and community organizations promotes high quality service-learning courses and experiences for students.

 Public service graduation requirement  Creation of the Center for Public Service  Constituency considerations in programming  Increased interest in Tulane University  Increased numbers of applications  Higher SAT and ACT scores of entering students

 Longitudinal study of undergraduate students  Three “waves” of students, entering in 2006, 2007, and 2008  Surveyed when they entered the University (N = 670)  Surveyed again after two years (N = 147), along with 103 new participants). These students are the focus of today’s presentation

Year of Tulane Entry: Time of Test (Year) (103) 116

 Students who had entered the University in the years prior to Katrina described their reasons for choosing Tulane and their expectations for college differently than did students entering after the storm, who placed greater emphasis on community service and rebuilding New Orleans.

 Students’ views of the graduation requirement were positive (only 6.6% expressed negative views) as were their plans for involvement in the community (only 16% planned to limit service to just what was required). These views were similar for all three waves of students and were maintained after two years at the university.

 Students remain positive about the public service requirement, both in terms of their evaluations and plans for or actual involvement in community service.  Students show stability in civic attitudes, knowledge, and skills from college entry to two years later, with high correlations (ranging from.55 to.75, p <.001) between initial and second survey responses.

 On several measures, students scored higher after two years of study (Time 2) than they had at college entry (Time 1):  Students at Time 2 indicated stronger valuing of community engagement.  Students at Time 2 reported increases in efforts to learn about their communities.  Self-described knowledge of community and social issues showed consistent increases from Time 1 to Time 2.

Focus of Presentation: How are students’ descriptions of their service- learning courses related to their reports of learning and civic attitudes?

Students rated their service-learning courses on 12 items describing good practice in service learning. Topics addressed:  Value of the service the student had done (Service activity was worthwhile, met real needs; I did a good job, I accomplished something.)  Extent to which the course reflected adequate planning Community site was ready for students, I was well-prepared, SL was integral part of the course, I was free to develop my ideas.)  Extent to which the student had opportunities for reflection (Journals or discussions with faculty, other students, community.) Internal consistency ( alpha ) for 12-item scale =.93, N = 198 (Alpha ’s for subscales ranged from.72 to.90.)

Students indicated the extent to which their own service-learning experience was characterized by aspects of a Charity orientation and a Social Change orientation. Charity items were concerned with helping individuals, giving to others, making a difference in a person’s life. Alpha =.90 for 4 items, N = 225 Social Change items emphasized changing public policy, addressing social ills, working to reshape society. Alpha =.87 for 4 items, N = 222

Course Characteristic NM (SD) Overall Service-learning Course Quality (.89) Value of Service (.98) Course Planning (.97) Reflection Opportunities (.99) Experience characterized re Charity Orientation (1.16) Experience characterized re Social Change Orientation (1.10) Note: Scores could range from 1 to 5 points. Course Planning received significantly lower ratings than Value or Reflection. Charity orientation was rated higher than Social Change. The maximum score possible for each scale is 5.00.

Year Overall S-L Course Quality Value of Service Planning of Course Opportunity For Reflection Wave 1: 2006 College Entry M = 3.41 ( SD = 1.00) 3.57 (1.02) 3.13 (1.06) 3.66 (1.11) Wave 2: (.93) 3.63 (1.06) 3.45 (.96) 3.60 (1.09) Wave 3: (.78) 3.92 (.91) 3.65 (.90) 4.04 (.87) Note: Significant change over year is shown for each of these course descriptions. The maximum score possible is 5.00.

 Students were most positive about the opportunities for reflection that their courses offered and about value of the service they carried out for their courses. Course quality improved, according to student reports, over the three years of the study.  Students saw their course experiences as characterized more by a Charity than a Social Change orientation, although scores were not near the maximum on either scale. These scales did not show change over time.

 Learning about the Community “Through my service learning course, I have become more aware of the community of which I am a part/changed the way I think about societal problems/learned to appreciate different cultures. “ Alpha =.92 for 6 items, N = 154  Academic Learning ( Alpha =.92 for 10 items, N = 79) Understanding “Through my service-learning course, I gained a deeper understanding of things I learned about in the course.” Innovation “Through my service-learning course, I improved my ability to creatively/solve problems.”

 Leadership Skill “Through my service learning course, I have developed my leadership skills/practiced my ability to lead and make decisions. “ Alpha =.92 for 4 items, N = 205  Satisfaction with College “Through my service learning course, I have become more positive about being at this university/more likely to recommend my university to other students/more likely to continue study at this university. “ Alpha =.90 for 6 items, N = 185

Outcome NM (SD) “Through my service learning course, I have gained in…” Learning about the Community (.93) Academic Learning (overall) (.89) Understanding of Course Content (1.07) Innovative Thinking /Problem Solving (1.03) Leadership Skill (1.06) Satisfaction with College (1.04) Note : Students scored significantly higher in Learning about the Community than they did in the other areas; they were lowest in overall ratings of Academic Learning.

 Students reported learning a great deal about the community from their service-learning courses.  They reported some gains in leadership skill and satisfaction with college.  Service-learning contributions to academic learning received lower ratings, with the greatest contributions reported for increased understanding of course content and innovative thinking and problem-solving.

 Students described their courses in terms of quality characteristics: How do these relate to the learning outcomes they reported?  Patterns of relationship between course and outcomes were identified through the use of regression analyses and are summarized below.

Course Characteristics Outcomes of Service-learning Participation Learn about Comm. Acad. Lrng. Academic Learning Components Leadership Skill Satisfaction w/College Undrstnd.Innovation Overall S-L Course Quality Value of Service Course Planning Reflection ++++ Charity Orientation Social Change Orient Note: Depiction of results of regression analyses: “+” sign indicates significant positive prediction of an outcome from a course characteristic.

Measures of Civic Attitudes and Knowledge Course Characteristics: Civic Responsib. Valuing of Comm. Engagemnt Cultural Awarenss Knowldge of NOLA Knowldge of Public Issues Overall S-L Course Quality +++ Value of Service ++ Course Planning Reflection +++ Charity Orientation + Social Change Orient Note: Depiction of results of regression analyses: “+” sign indicates significant positive prediction of an attitude or knowledge assessment from a course characteristic.

 Course quality is important: Students benefit by service experiences in which they accomplish something meaningful and are appreciated for their work, with ample opportunities for reflection. Course planning, to build ties between course content and service, is important, as well, and is an area in which improvements can still be made.  An experience perceived as emphasizing Social Change is important. It appears that there is room for increased emphasis on this orientation.

 Encouraging FACULTY involvement, developing expertise and providing support  Seminars, workshops, and one-on-one consultations  PS Fellows and SL Assistants  Involving COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS and building their capacities  AmeriCorps VISTA program and layered support  Supporting STUDENTS involvement in service-learning and volunteer community service

 Contact us at  Vincent Ilustre:  Barbara Moely:  Visit our website:

 Center for Public Service, Tulane University.  Moely, B. E., & Ilustre, V. (2011) University students’ views of a public service graduation requirement. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 17 (2),  Moely, B. E., & Ilustre, V. (2012). Stability and change in the development of college students’ civic attitudes, knowledge, and skills. Unpublished paper.