The Impact of Service-learning Among Other Predictors for Persistence and Degree Completion of Undergraduate Students PDF Download

Author: Kelly Smith Lockeman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : College students
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
College completion is an issue of great concern in the United States, where only 50% of students who start college as freshmen complete a bachelor's degree at that institution within six years. Researchers have studied a variety of factors to understand their relationship to student persistence. Not surprisingly, student characteristics, particularly their academic background prior to entering college, have a tremendous influence on college success. Colleges and universities have little control over student characteristics unless they screen out lesser qualified students during the admissions process, but selectivity is contrary to the push for increased accessibility for under-served groups. As a result, institutions need to better understand the factors that they can control. High-impact educational practices have been shown to improve retention and persistence through increased student engagement. Service-learning, a pedagogical approach that blends meaningful community service and reflection with course content, is a practice that is increasing in popularity, and it has proven beneficial at increasing student learning and engagement. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether participation in service-learning has any influence in the likelihood of degree completion or time to degree and, secondarily, to compare different methods of analysis to determine whether use of more complex models provides better information or more accurate prediction. The population for this study was a large public urban research institution in the mid-Atlantic region, and the sample was the cohort of students who started as first-time, full-time, bachelor's degree-seeking undergraduates in the fall of 2005. Data included demographic and academic characteristics upon matriculation, as well as financial need and aid, academic major, and progress indicators for each of the first six years of enrollment. Cumulative data were analyzed using logistic regression, and year-to-year data were analyzed using discrete-time survival analysis in a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework. Parameter estimates and odds ratios for the predictors in each model were compared. Some similarities were found in the variables that predict degree completion, but there were also some striking differences. The strongest predictors for degree completion were pre-college academic characteristics and strength of academic progress while in college (credits earned and GPA). When analyzed using logistic regression and cross-sectional data, service-learning participation was not a significant predictor for completion, but it did have an effect on completion time for those students who earned a degree within six years. When analyzed longitudinally using discrete-time survival analysis, however, service-learning participation is strongly predictive of degree completion, particularly when credits are earned in the third, fourth, and sixth years of enrollment. In the survival analysis model, service-learning credits earned were also more significant for predicting degree completion than other credits earned. In terms of data analysis, logistic regression was effective at predicting completion, but survival analysis seems to provide a more robust method for studying specific variables that may vary by time.

Author: Mathew J. Bergman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Academic achievement
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
For more than 100 years, nearly half of all undergraduate students have failed to persist to degree completion (ACT, 2010; Tinto, 1993; U.S. Department of Education, 2008). To make matters worse, adult students have consistently been victims of higher levels of attrition than their traditional student counterparts (Justice & Dornan, 2001; National Adult Attitudes Report, 2008). This study utilized the theoretical underpinnings from the Bean and Metzner (1985) Conceptual Model of Nontraditional Undergraduate Student Attrition and Braxton, Hirschy, and McClendon's (2004) Theory of Student Departure in Commuter College and Universities model to create a new model to examine variables that impact persistence among adult students over the age of twenty-five in a degree-completion program at the bachelor's level. An internet-based self-report survey was constructed to measure variables from three constructs including student entry variables, internal campus/academic variables, and external environment variables. The sample came from the Bachelor of Science in Workforce Leadership program at the University of Louisville which includes adults ranging from ages 25-67. Hypotheses were tested through correlational and logistic regression analytic procedures. Educational goal, finances, and active learning were all significant predictors of persistence, controlling for all other variables in the equation and accounted for 35.4% of the variance among all variables. Students who reported higher educational goals, sufficient finances to pay for school, and content relevant active learning were more likely to persist. Implications for theory, research, and practice are highlighted as possible strategic leverage points for creating policies and procedures that will aid in adult student retention in degree completion programs at four-year universities.

Author: Andrew D. Stelljes
Publisher: Cambria Press
ISBN: 1604975474
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 198

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Book Description
In recent years, there has been a virtual explosion of interest in service-learning. Impact studies have demonstrated a wide range of interpersonal outcomes including a sense of efficacy, connection to community, appreciation for diverse populations, and interest in course work to name a few. Yet critics have recently argued that the developmental outcomes of service-learning do not sufficiently examine cognitive development. Further, it is not clear whether interpersonal outcomes interact with the intellectual outcomes attributed to the courses affiliated with the service. This groundbreaking book examines whether exposure to and immersion in a service-learning program is in any way related to cognitive development. The researcher identified traditionally-aged college students who were selected by service-learning faculty as demonstrating an exemplary commitment to, and engagement in, service-learning. This study utilized The Service Learning Model, developed by Delve, Mintz, and Stewart (1990), to examine, describe, and assess depth of engagement in service at two points in time. William Perry's Scheme of Intellectual and Ethical Development (1970) was used to examine possible cognitive development. Results reveal a new pathway of deepening engagement in service. The growing body of research on college student participation in service-learning has documented the generally small, positive effects of service-learning on student development. A casual observer may attribute this effort to be successful, however, a closer examination of service-learning begs the question: Is a small, positive effect the type of learning we expect and are we accomplishing the learning objectives of the academy, not to mention, meeting community needs? The focus on what students are learning, rather than on how they learn best, leaves us with an unsettling uncertainty regarding the outcomes of service-learning. In order to focus on how students may learn best, this book focuses on an examination of individuals, as compared with groups, and of individuals that exhibit some of the outcomes that service-learning claims to promote. This book examines whether any students report that service-learning enriches their course of study resulting in the development of critical thinking skills (among other cognitive skills), in addition to interpersonal skills. This book shows that direct service experience involving an emotional or psychological (affective) connection with a community member or members receiving services prompts an assessment of the participants' place in society. In responding to these emotions, students participated in service more frequently and with deeper engagement. Exposure to and immersion in direct service experiences, along with subsequent reflection prior to involvement in a service-learning program, are the mediating factors for the preparation of exemplars to initiate the interest necessary to develop cognitive skills. This book shows that interpersonal, affective development is the precursor for participants' readiness for cognitive development in a service-learning program. A developmental scheme of engagement, student development interactions, recommendations for faculty for optimal development in service-learning, and recommendations for future practice are presented in this book that will be a valuable addition for all collections in education.

Author: Alexander W. Astin
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
ISBN: 1442213639
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
The second edition of Assessment for Excellence arrives as higher education enters a new era of the accountability movement. In the face of mandates such as results-based funding and outcomes-based accreditation, institutions and assessment specialists are feeling increasingly pressured to demonstrate accountability to external constituencies. The practice of assessment under these new accountability pressures takes on special significance for the education of students and the development of talent across the entire higher education system. This book introduces a talent development approach to educational assessment as a counter to prevailing philosophies, illustrating how contemporary practices are unable to provide institutions with meaningful data with which to improve educational outcomes. It provides administrators, policymakers, researchers, and analysts with a comprehensive framework for developing new assessment programs to promote talent development and for scrutinizing existing policies and practices. Written for a wide audience, the book enables the lay reader to quickly grasp the imperatives of a properly-designed assessment program, and also to gain adequate statistical understanding necessary for examining current or planned assessment policies. More advanced readers will appreciate the technical appendix for assistance in conducting statistical analyses that align with a talent development approach. In addition, institutional researchers will benefit from sections that outline the development of appropriate student databases.

Author: Christina Monte
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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ABSTRACT LEARNING PROSOCIALITY THROUGH EXPERIENCE: MODELING THE OUTCOMES OF POSTSECONDARY STUDY ABROAD AND SERVICE LEARNING MAY 2018 CHRISTINA R. MONTE, B.S., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST M.S., DREXEL UNIVERSITY Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Dr. Ezekiel Kimball. In recent years, study abroad and service learning programs have experienced rapid growth on college campuses. Study abroad requires students to travel to another country and experience a different culture while service learning exposes students to differences that exist in their own communities. Study abroad has the ability to internationalize the student experience. Service learning can help students recognize the needs of others. As a result, both study abroad and service learning programs have been tied to student development outcomes; however, the extent to which these experiences influence outcomes that persist after college graduation and into young adulthood is unclear. Studies have explored outcomes associated with domestic service learning and study abroad, yet few have looked at outcomes after college graduation. In addition, much of the evidence surrounding study abroad and service learning has been self-reported immediately after the experience and is based on limited evidence. This dissertation addresses three gaps in existing literature. First, this study uses a longitudinal dataset to systematically investigate the long-term outcomes of study abroad, service learning, and both study abroad and service learning. Second, this research uses a nationally representative dataset, rather than the small convenience samples that have been common in prior research, in order to produce generalizable claims. Finally, this research simultaneously investigates study abroad, service learning, and both study abroad and service learning to identify the effects of these programs and differences in prosociality outcomes. Research identifying how these activities influence prosocial outcomes in young adult life is necessary so that institutions can measure whether the objectives of these programs are realized. Additionally, with colleges and universities increasingly merging study abroad and service learning to offer international service learning programs, more research is necessary to explore differences in outcomes to determine whether institutional objectives are met. This study is framed by a comprehensive review of extant literature on study abroad and service learning. Based on this review, a modified version of Terenzini and Reason's (2005) Conceptual Model for College Student Experience is recommended. The modified model suggests outcomes should be extended beyond those defined in the current model. The modified model posits global citizenship to be a primary goal of higher education and suggests the model extend beyond learning, development, change and persistence, which are defined as the finite goals of the Terenzini and Reason (2005) model. As such, it incorporates outcomes related to civic engagement and prosociality, which contribute to global citizenship. To examine study abroad and service learning through the lens of this conceptual model, this study uses data from the Educational Longitudinal Study [ELS] of 2002-2012. ELS provides data on critical transitions experienced by students as they move through high school into postsecondary education and their careers. For this study, data was drawn from the first follow-up survey, which was administered in 2004 to seniors in high school and then in 2012 to those who went on to college and graduated from a four year institution. The analytic sample for this study included those who completed the third follow-up survey and earned a bachelor's degree or higher at that time. This study employed a quantitative research design using regression analyses, a Wald test and descriptive statistics to answer the three research questions. The results of this research revealed differences in study abroad, service learning, and both study abroad and service learning participation by gender, race and socioeconomic status. White, affluent females comprised the majority of study abroad and service learning participants. Additionally, females comprised the majority of those placing high value on helping others while in high school and were among those most likely to complete service work prior to college. In addition to looking at precollege characteristics and in college participation, this research explored the relationship between study abroad, service learning, and both study abroad and service learning on prosociality four years after college graduation. The results of the regression analyses indicated that service learning and both study abroad and service learning were predictors of prosociality four years after college graduation; however, study abroad alone was not a predictor. In addressing the differences in prosociality within each activity, the outcomes were compared. The results showed the highest mean found when both study abroad and service learning had occurred in college followed by service learning only. Study abroad produced the lowest prosociality among the activities; however, it was still higher than if a participant had done neither study abroad nor service learning. The results of this dissertation show that study abroad and service learning appear successful in achieving certain developmental outcomes in students. Interpreting these results through the lens of Kolb's Experiential Theory Model aids in better understanding the results of this study. Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory emphasizes learning as a process of re-learning with reflection and active engagement as key components to successful learning. The integration of study abroad and service learning has the potential to deepen experiential learning, and with these two programs being merged with increasing frequency, more research needs to investigate the joint effects of study abroad and service learning. Notably, this study's findings may understate the effects of combined study abroad and service learning due to the way that relevant ELS variables recorded study abroad and service learning participation. With better data, higher education administrators will be able to speak about international service learning more intentionally. Further, they will be more effective in setting objectives for these programs and meeting those objectives.

Author: Ana M. Martínez-Alemán
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421416662
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
An essential guide to incorporating critical research into higher education scholarship. Winner of the Outstanding Publication Award of the Post-secondary Education Division of the American Educational Research Association Critical theory has much to teach us about higher education. By linking critical models, methods, and research tools with an advocacy-driven vision of the central challenges facing postsecondary researchers and staff, Critical Approaches to the Study of Higher Education makes a significant—and long overdue—contribution to the development of the field. The contributors argue that, far from being overly abstract, critical tools and methods are central to contemporary scholarship and can have practical policy implications when brought to the study of higher education. They argue that critical research design and critical theories help scholars see beyond the normative models and frameworks that have long limited our understanding of students, faculty, institutions, the organization and governance of higher education, and the policies that shape the postsecondary arena. A rigorous and invaluable guide for researchers seeking innovative approaches to higher education and the morass of traditionally functionalist, rational, and neoliberal thinking that mars the field, this book is also essential for instructors who wish to incorporate the lessons of critical scholarship into their course development, curriculum, and pedagogy.

Author: Wesley R. Habley
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0470888431
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 513

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Book Description
INCREASING PERSISTENCE "Of all the books addressing the puzzle of student success and persistence, I found this one to be the most helpful and believe it will be extremely useful to faculty and staff attempting to promote student success. The authors solidly ground their work in empirical research, and do a brilliant job providing both an overview of the relevant literature as well as research-based recommendations for intervention." GAIL HACKETT, PH.D., provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs; professor, counseling and educational psychology, University of Missouri, Kansas City Research indicates that approximately forty percent of all college students never earn a degree anywhere, any time in their lives. This fact has not changed since the middle of the 20th century. Written for practitioners and those who lead retention and persistence initiatives at both the institutional and public policy levels, Increasing Persistence offers a compendium on college student persistence that integrates concept, theory, and research with successful practice. It is anchored by the ACT's What Works in Student Retention (WWISR) survey of 1,100 colleges and universities, an important resource that contains insights on the causes of attrition and identifies retention interventions that are most likely to enhance student persistence.?? The authors focus on three essential conditions for student success: students must learn; students must be motivated, committed, engaged, and self-regulating; and students must connect with educational programs consistent with their interests and abilities. The authors offer a detailed discussion of the four interventions that research shows are the most effective for helping students persist and succeed: assessment and course placement, developmental education initiatives, academic advising, and student transition programming. Finally, they urge broadening the current retention construct, providing guidance to policy makers, campus leaders, and individuals on the contributions they can make to student success.

Author: George D. Kuh
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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This publication¿the latest report from AAC&U¿s Liberal Education and America¿s Promise (LEAP) initiative¿defines a set of educational practices that research has demonstrated have a significant impact on student success. Author George Kuh presents data from the National Survey of Student Engagement about these practices and explains why they benefit all students, but also seem to benefit underserved students even more than their more advantaged peers. The report also presents data that show definitively that underserved students are the least likely students, on average, to have access to these practices.

Author: Robert G. Bringle
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 100097944X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 324

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Book Description
The purpose of this set is to improve service learning research and practice through strengthening its theoretical base. Contributing authors include both well-known and emerging service learning and community engagement scholars, as well as scholars from other fields. The authors bring theoretical perspectives from a wide variety of disciplines to bear as they critically review past research, describe assessment methods and instruments, develop future research agendas, and consider implications of theory-based research for enhanced practice. This set constitutes a rich resource that suggests new approaches to conceptualizing, understanding, implementing, assessing, and studying service learning. Each chapter offers recommendations for future research.Research on Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Assessment will be of interest to both new and veteran service learning instructors seeking to enhance their practice by integrating what has been learned in terms of teaching, assessment, and research. Staff and faculty who are responsible for promoting and supporting service learning at higher education institutions, evaluating community service programs, and working with faculty to develop research on service learning, will also find this volume helpful. For scholars and graduate students reviewing and conducting research related to service learning, this book is a comprehensive resource, and a knowledge base about the processes and outcomes of innovative pedagogies, such as service learning, that will enable them to locate their own work in an expanding and deepening arena of inquiry.Both volumes open with chapters focused on defining the criteria for quality research. Volume 2A, then begins with research related to students, comprising chapters that focus on cognitive processes, academic learning, civic learning, personal development, and intercultural competence. The concluding faculty section presents chapters on faculty development, faculty motivation, and faculty learning. Volume 2B addresses community development, and the role of nonprofit organizations in service learning. It then focusses on institutions, examining the institutionalization of service learning, engaged departments, and institutional leadership. The final section on partnerships in service learning includes chapters on conceptualizing and measuring the quality of partnerships, inter-organizational partnerships, and student partnerships.Both volumes are also available separately.

Author: Su-I Hou
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
ISBN: 9781536109030
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
Editor Biography: Dr. Su-I Hou is currently Professor of the Department of Health Management and Informatics, College of Health and Public Affairs (COHPA) at the University of Central Florida (UCF), Orlando, FL. She serves as the Health track coordinator of COHPA''s interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in Public Affairs. Prior coming to UCF, Dr. Hou was a founding faculty member and Founding Director of the Taiwan Public Health Study Abroad Program at the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA. She serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Community Engagement and Higher Education, as well as an Associate Editor for the Health Promotion Practice, Society of Public Health Education''s official journal devoted to the practical application of health promotion and education (2009-2015). Dr. Hou is a recognized service-learning scholar by the Community-Campus Partnership for Health, and an inaugural service-learning senior scholar for UGA''s Office of Service-Learning. Most of her research involves working with community partners in developing and validating study instruments, assessing psycho-social factors, developing and implementing theory-based programs, and evaluating the effectiveness of health interventions. Dr. Hou has extensive experience integrating course-based service-learning into her teaching and have successfully developed a model to build engaged community-campus partnerships while providing valuable real-world experiential learning opportunities for her graduate students. Book Description: In Service-Learning: Perspectives, Goals, and Outcomes, the authors examine samples of experimental learning programs in higher education to better understand the influential drivers of service-learning pedagogy, as well as potential barriers that hinder service-learning adoption in higher education settings. Service-learning is a structured learning experience that links academic course work and community service, stressing reciprocal learning and reflective practices to address community identified needs, while engaging and developing student''s citizenship skills and critical thinking for social change. This book discusses how service-learning projects impact students, faculty, higher education institutions, and service-learning clients through domestic and international experiences. The research methods demonstrated throughout this text include: survey research, mixed-methods research, literature reviews, quasi-experiments, and case studies. Chapters within this book evaluate the impact of service-learning projects through learning competency outcome measures or reflection analyses. We believe the empirical data and knowledge provided through this book will advance service-learning research and support the adoption/integration of service-learning opportunities in higher education settings. Moreover, we hope that future research will expand upon lessons provided in this book, to continue to build the service-learning knowledge base for faculty, students and institutions. Part I of this book provides a brief literature review of overcoming service-learning barriers in higher education, including discussion of online service-learning challenges and strategies. To offer an interdependent analysis of the service-learning approach, Parts II, III, and IV include case studies grouped by what may be considered the three primary stakeholder groups: Faculty, Students and Institutions. Part II: Faulty will provide detailed analyses of faculty, both tenure-track and off-tenure track, encountered issues and considerations regarding the integration of service-learning projects with the course curriculum. Part III: Students will discuss learning, reflections, and personal development outcomes of students who participate in service-learning opportunities. Part IV: Institutions will examine the partnerships between the higher education program and stakeholder communities, both in the domestic and international context. Chapter authors include professors from public, private, domestic and international universities with experience in student learning and experimental learning. These professors represent disciplines in public health, communication science and disorders, psychology, community engagement, and education and have incorporated service learning in their teaching and instruction. It is with sincerity that we express our appreciation to these professionals for their passion and commitment to advance our knowledge base of service-learning pedagogy and research in higher education. Target Audience: Faculty members in higher education settings, community-engaged scholars and researchers, as well as professional and community practitioners who are interested in service-learning pedagogy, community-based participatory research opportunities, and building engaged community-campus partnerships with higher education institutions.