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Volunteering and service-learning (a pedagogical practice that combines volunteering with university-level courses) are associated with positive academic, psychological, and prosocial development in university students. Taking part in service-learning and volunteering is generally assumed to contribute to student development (Chapter 1), although little is known about students’ characteristics on entry into service-learning, specifically in comparison to volunteering or non-volunteering students. Characteristics of students who participate in service-learning or volunteering are shaped by institutional factors (Chapter 2) and are in turn related to developmental outcomes (Chapter 3). The unique motives for university student volunteering, particularly self-oriented motives such as career and understanding have likewise received little attention (Chapter 4). This thesis is structured in five chapters. Chapter 1 is an overview of key theoretical and practical issues in volunteering and service-learning research, including volunteering and service-learning in Canada and at the University of Ottawa. Chapter 2 is a study of 266 university students enrolled in developmental psychology courses offering elective service-learning. A model of institutional structuring of volunteering and service-learning was developed to examine students’ characteristics at entry into service. The study identified a novel subset of service-learners (service-learners with no prior volunteering engagement) that have yet to be examined in the literature. Chapter 3 is a longitudinal study, using the same sample as Chapter 2, testing developmental change using multi-level linear modelling (students nested in courses) to examine academic, psychological, and prosocial change over one semester, however, few changes were found. Chapter 4 examined volunteering motivations and prosocial tendencies among 270 undergraduate students, with the goal of testing the impact of motivations on wellbeing. Supporting past research, the study demonstrated that other-oriented volunteer motives are associated with well-being, however, some self-oriented volunteer motives (career and understanding motives) were positively associated with well-being contrary to expectations and previous research. Chapter 5 integrates the overall findings from each chapter in a general discussion, exploring: novel contributions of this thesis to the research literature, theoretical and practical issues raised in this dissertation, the connection between results and issues raised in the research literature, and limitations of the results with suggestions for future directions.

Vi har tittat på hur det amerikanska konceptet Service-Learning används på en svensk skola, Pilevallskolan i Trelleborg, hur och varför man valt att arbeta med det. Vi jämför också LPO-94 med resultatet av vår undersökning för att se om det är motiverat att arbeta med denna metod. Värdegrunden och en tolkning av denna är också av viss signifikans. / A study of how a Swedish school has chosen to work with Service-Learning, how the work is done and why it started. We also compare the concept of SL as we understood it to be used with LPO-94 to see whether it is a justified method of work.

The 2015 U.S. Census predicts that over the next 30 years, the population of the United States will be increasingly diverse (United Stated Census Bureau, 2015). Understanding how this diversity influences healthcare, and more specifically the practice of occupational therapy, has become increasingly important. Occupational therapy practitioners encounter cultural factors when assessing a client’s occupational needs yet 91% of OT programs surveyed reported barriers to teaching multi-cultural curricula (Brown, Muñoz, & Powell, 2011), and more than half of practicing OTs surveyed want to learn more about cultural competence skills (Hildebrand et al., 2013). Evidence supports that there is a gap between what is currently being taught and that practitioners need to know. Project H.O.P.E. is an evidence-based, theory-driven service-learning course designed to increase cultural competence in OT students. It includes assignments, activities, reading and lectures to facilitate short term service learning projects promoting healthy occupations in the underserved community. Students are guided to be self-aware of their own cultural attributes as a starting point to learning about culture in a wider context of history, healthcare and society. This material is presented first in the classroom in lecture format, then used in small groups and eventually applied while working on short term programs within Head Start programs, homeless shelters and after school adolescent programs in the underserved community. Project H.O.P.E. provides a way to define and measure student self-assessment of cultural competence, and to prepare OT students to work in today’s diverse clinical settings.

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This study examines the relationship between service learning innovations and improved academics, self-concept, and social or personal growth in middle and high school students. Meta-Analysis is employed to arrive at effect-size estimates for each construct. A historical overview of service learning is presented and a detailed description of the study selection process is provided. The data revealed a moderate relationship between service learning participation and academics, self-concept and social or personal growth in middle and high school students. The findings are presented, and some appropriate conclusions are drawn. A discussion of the implications of these findings and recommendations for future research are also provided.