This study evaluated the cognitive process of students participating in a 20-hour
service-learning experience while enrolled in a collegiate Social Problems course. This
study examined student attitudes about social problems and their ability to affect change
and examined relationships between demographic variables, student attitudes, and their
stages of cognitive process.
The population was all students who were enrolled in a Social Problems course
during the Fall 2005 semester. Of the 77 students enrolled in the course, 48 completed
both the pre-test and post-test questionnaire and 64 completed the service-learning
journals and papers.
The researcher used a mixed method research design. The quantitative study
used a pre-test and post-test questionnaire to evaluate changes in attitude towards service
learning. The qualitative study evaluated journal entries and papers using the Constant
Comparative Method of Qualitative Analysis to assess stages of cognitive development.
The major findings of the study were: 1) Students progressed through six stages
of cognitive development - Shock, Guilt, Normalization, Cultural Sensitivity, Engagement, and Empowerment, however no student experienced all stages; 2) Three
new stages were discovered - Guilt, Cultural Sensitivity, and Empowerment; 3) All
students who had not volunteered before experienced Shock; 4) Shock occurred for some
students who had previously volunteered; 5) Students experiencing Guilt were primarily
White and from families with parental incomes greater than $75,000 a year; 7) A
majority of students experienced Empowerment; 8) Most students volunteering more
than 10 hours a month experienced Empowerment; 9) All People of Color experienced
Empowerment; 10) Results from pre-test and post-test questionnaires did not indicate a
significant change in attitudes towards service-learning as a result of participating in the
service-learning experience.
Educators should: 1) Be prepared to assist students as they experience multiple
stages of the cognitive process during their service-learning experiences; 2) Give
instruction in reflective journaling, provide students with guided journal questions, and
monitor stages of the cognitive process; 3) Incorporate service-learning into curriculum
to enhance cognitive learning and empower students; 4) Replicate with a more diverse
population and larger sample size.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/5847 |
| Date | 17 September 2007 |
| Creators | Pracht, Dale Wayne |
| Contributors | Boyd, Barry L. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | 398204 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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