During and Post-COVID-19 Community Engagement Expectations and Attitudes Among College Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18060/28507Keywords:
Research, COVID-19, Community Service, First Year StudentsAbstract
Numerous studies emphasize the impact of community service on college students by pointing out its positive correlations to establishing a sense of belonging among 1st-year students. However, despite many colleges’ best efforts, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 disrupted the normal college experience. In this study, we utilized a post-positivist worldview and employed a cross-sectional survey research study to explore how undergraduate students’ attitudes, behaviors, and intended skill development through community service changed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. We found a statistically significant decrease in all community service attitudes and behaviors and no change in intended skill development during and post-COVID. Our findings have implications for service-learning faculty and higher education professionals working in community engagement functional areas.
References
References
Adams, A. N., Brock, R. J., Gordon, K. A., Grohs, J. R., & Kirk, G. R. (2014). Service, dialogue, and reflection as foundational elements in a living learning community. Journal of College and Character, 15(3), 179–188. https://doi.org/10.1515/jcc-2014-0021
American Association of Colleges and Universities. (2012). High impact practices. https://www.aacu.org/resources/high-impact-practices
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, September 12). End of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) declaration. https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/end-of-phe.html
Chang, D.-F., Chang, T.-N., & Chen, C.-C. (2021). Exploring the effect of college students’ civic engagement on transferable capabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 13(19), 11074. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131911074
Cochran, W.G. (1954) Some methods for strengthening the common χ2-tests. Biometrics 10:417–451.
Coelho, M., & Menezes, I. (2021). University social responsibility, service learning, and students’ personal, professional, and civic education. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.617300
Creswell, J.W. (2013) Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. 4th Edition, SAGE Publications.
Dempsey, S. B. (2023). Community engagement: A retrospective learning experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 11(1). Article 4. https://doi.org/10.37333/001c.92027
Duke, A. (1996). Importing Oxbridge: English residential colleges and American universities. Yale University Press. https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300241761
Falk, D. (1995). Preflection: A strategy for enhancing reflection. NSEE Quarterly, Winter, 13. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1025&context=slceeval
Fraenkel, J., Wallen, N., & Hyun, H. (1993). How to design and evaluate research in education (10th ed). McGraw-Hill Education.
Hoffman, A. (2012). The relationship among higher education, community service work activities and “connectedness”: Simply a matter of doing more and expecting less. Making Connections, 13(2), 46–53.
Jensen, C. D. (2014). Persistence in higher education: The influence of community service on undergraduate students’ intention to graduate [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Oakland University.
Jessup-Anger, J. E., Dowdy, R. P., & Janz, M. (2012). Social justice begins at home: The challenges and successes of a social justice living-learning community. Journal of College and Character, 13(4). https://doi.org/10.1515/jcc-2012-1936
Mucci-Ferris, M., Grabsch, D. K., & Bobo, A. (2021). Positives, negatives, and opportunities arising in the undergraduate experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of College Student Development, 62, 203–218. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csd.2021.0017
Mucci-Ferris, M., Grabsch, D. K., & Bobo, A. (2023). Forced transition: Impact of COVID-19 on the college-student experience. Education, 143. 177–191.
Museus, S. D., Yi, V., & Saeluna, N. (2017). The impact of culturally engaging environments on sense of belonging. The Review of Higher Education, 40(2), 187–215. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2017.0001
Myers, C. B., Myers, S. M., & Peters, M. (2019). The longitudinal connections between undergraduate high impact curriculum practices and civic engagement in adulthood. Research in Higher Education, 60, 83–110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-018-9504-4
Petracchi, H. E., Weaver, A., Engel, R. J., Kolivoski, K. M., & Das, R. (2010). An assessment of service learning in a university living-learning community: Implications for community engagement. Journal of Community Practice, 18(2-3), 252–266. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705422.2010.490743
Pichon, H. W. (2021). The cave and service-learning: Developing a sense of belonging in summer bridge. Journal of College and Character, 22(3), 239–255. doi.org/10.1080/2194587X.2021.1939720
Rockenbach, A. B., Hudson, T. D., & Tuchmayer, J. B. (2014). Fostering meaning, purpose, and enduring commitments to community service in college: A multidimensional conceptual model. The Journal of Higher Education, 85(3), 312–338. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2014.11777330
Rosing, H. (2015). Tracking culture: The meanings of community engagement data collection in higher education. Metropolitan Universities, 26(2), 147–163.
Singh, R. (2020). Promoting civic engagement through cultivating culturally competent self-reflexive information professionals. Journal of the Australian Library and Information Association, 69(3), 302–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/24750158.2020.1777635
Singleton, R. A., & Straits, B. C. (2009). Approaches to social research (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Smith, R. A. (2018). Connective segregation: Residential learning communities as networks of engagement. The Review of Higher Education, 42(1), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2018.0032
[research site]. (n.d.). Community engagement. https://www.[research site].edu/provost/saes/academic-support/general-education/university-curricula/common-curriculum/graduation-requirements/community-engagement
Spanierman, L. B., Soble, J. R., Mayfield, J. B., Neville, H. A., Aber, M., Khuri, L., & De La Rosa, B. (2013). Living learning communities and students’ sense of community and belonging. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 50(3). 308–325. https://doi.org/10.1515/jsarp-2013-0022
Webb, D. J., Green, C. L., & Brashear, T. G. (2000). Development and validation of scales to measure attitudes influencing monetary donations to charitable organizations. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 28, 299–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070300282010
Weber, J. E., Weber, P. S., & Craven, B. L. (2008). Measuring students’ attitudes toward college education’s role in addressing social issues. Psychological Reports, 102, 791–796. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.102.3.791-796
Weber, J. E., Weber, P. S., & Young, M. A. (2010). Measuring service learning outcomes: Test-retest reliability of four scales. Psychological Reports, 107(2), 611–616. https://doi.org/10.2466/01.11.17.PR0.107.5.611-616
Weber, P. S., Weber, J. E., Sleeper, B. J., & Schneider, K. C. (2004). Self-efficacy toward service, civic participation and the business student: Scale development and validation. Journal of Business Ethics, 49, 359–369. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:BUSI.0000020881.58352.ab
Welch, M., & Saltmarsh, J. (2013). Current practice and infrastructures for campus centers of community engagement. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 17(4), 25–55. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137315984_14
Williams, S. M., & Ferrari, J. R. (2015). Identification among first‐generation citizen students and first‐generation college students: An exploration of school sense of community. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(3), 377–387. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.21685
Yamamura, E., & Koth, K. (2019). Leadership practices for place-based community engagement initiatives. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 23(1), 181–196.
Yamamura, E. K., & Koth, K. (2018). Place-based community engagement in higher education: A strategy to transform universities and communities. Stylus Publishing.
York, T. T., & Fernandez, F. (2018). The positive effects of service-learning on transfer students’ sense of belonging: A multi-institutional analysis. Journal of College Student Development, 59(5), 579–597. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2018.0054
Yue, H., & Hart, S. M. (2017). Service learning and graduation: Evidence from event history analysis. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 23(2), 24–41. https://doi.org/10.3998/mjcsloa.3239521.0023.202
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Audryanna Reed, Dr. Dustin Grabsch
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
