Thesis by Azmina Afzal

Running head: IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE

THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING ON THE SOCIAL SKILLS OF STUDENTS

BY AZMINA AFZAL

Prof. Dr. NASREEN HUSSAIN SUPERVISOR

A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MPhil DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT KARACHI-PAKISTAN 2014

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Certificate of Approval It is certified that Ms. Azmina Afzal has successfully completed under my supervision a research study on, ‘Impact of Community Service Learning on the Social Skills of Students’ in part fulfillment of the degree of MPhil in Education.

Her thesis meets the scholarly standards as set by the HEC and Institute of Business Management, Karachi.

Prof. Dr. Nasreen Hussain Research Supervisor August 2014

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TITLE: THE IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING ON THE SOCIAL SKILLS OF STUDENTS

SIGNATURE:__________________________ DATE: ______________

EXAMINER – 1

SIGNATURE:__________________________ DATE: ______________

EXAMINER - 2

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DECLARATION

I, Azmina Afzal, Student ID number 2012-3-014083, a student of the Department of Education do hereby solemnly declare that this thesis entitled The Impact of Community Service on the Social Skills of Students submitted as the partial fulfillment of the degree of MPhil in Education, is my original work and has not been submitted in any version thereof for assessment in any other university/institution and shall not in future be submitted by me for obtaining any degree/diploma from any other university/institution. I also affirm that I have adhered to the IoBM’s policy on plagiarism.

Signed:

Azmina Afzal Student ID: 2012-3-014083

Dated: August 22, 2014

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DEDICATION TO MY BELOVED FAMILY

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Abstract Now a days many high schools and universities are promoting community service learning program by making it a part of admission process therefore, students participate in community service learning program to get admission in a good institution however, after completing the community service program they see themselves more socially responsible citizens. This study aimed to explore the impact of community service learning on the social skills of students. The research study also determined to know how community service learning help students to become good citizens. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative methods. For quantitative data 100 O- level school students from five different schools situated in middle socio-economic locality were selected randomly and among them twenty five students were selected for the focused group interview. Ten students were selected from the recipients schools (NGOs) to understand the experience of community service from beneficiaries’ perspective. After modification the likert scale measurement tool used for the research study was Community Service Self-Entitlement Questionnaire (CSSEQ) developed by August Hoffman and Julie Wallach (2007) to measure impact of community service learning on students. T-test was applied to evaluate the results attained from the quantitative data. The results revealed that community service learning program has positive impact on the social skills of O-level students.

Besides, students from recipients’’ schools had also positive learning experience.

Key words: community service learning, social skills and civic engagement.

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Acknowledgements The accomplishment of my MPhil thesis, “Impact of community service on social skills of students� would not have been gained without the encouragement, support and inspiration of many people. It has been their cooperation and enthusiasm, which has enabled the completion of this study and without them this study would not have been possible.

I owe a debt of gratefulness to each and every of those individuals who helped me all the way through this process. Primarily I am grateful to Allah who blessed me with the ability to continue my higher studies and to carry out this research.

Then academically, I would like to express my utmost gratitude to my supervisor Dr. Nasreen Hussain for her support and guidance at every step and for her expert opinions throughout my research study. She has shared her knowledge, wisdom and time during the study. Here I would also like to recognize the efforts of Sir Liaquat Hashim for helping me in rectifying language errors and to Ms. Shahina Sulaiman for facilitating to understand the intricacies of quantitative data.

Besides, my appreciation goes to the research study participants for their precious time and support during the data gathering procedure. I also wish to thank the education department and our librarian Mr. Nasir for providing their persistence support during my study.

I am obligated to my family, who gave exceptional importance and took interest in my thesis and prayed for my accomplishment. My sincere appreciation goes to my parents; though they were not with me, but their devotion for me in my childhood kept me encouraged and motivated.

Finally, the eventual acknowledgement goes to my husband Afzal Abdul Ali and to my dear sons Ali Shah and Ali Mohammad, who from the start of my study bestowed me their gifts of love and support. Without their support and encouragement, this thesis would not have been materialized.

Thanks to all those mentioned and those who wished and encouraged me.

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Table of Contents List of Tables …………………………………………………………....…….. iii List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………...…….iv Chapter One: Introduction …………….……………………………….………1 Background ……………………………………………………….…….…1 Context of the Study……………………………………………….…….…4 Statement of the Problem………………………………………….…….…6 Objective of the Study ……………………………………………………. 8 Research Questions…............................................................................…...8 Subsidiary Questions……………….…………………….…….…8 Hypotheses……………………………………………………….……...…8 Scope of the study……..…………………………………….…….…….…9 Definitions of key terms………….…………………………….….…….…9 Methodology…………………………………………………….……..…11 Organization of the thesis……………………………………….…..……13 Summary……………………………………………………….…………14 Chapter Two: Literature Review: ..............................................................…...16 Overview…………………………………………………………………16 Significance of Community Service Learning in Education….…..……..18 Overall Impact of CSL on Students’ Social Skills………………….…...20 Impact of Community Service Learning on Academics…………………25 Social Connectedness and Citizenship……………………………….…..27 Community Service Learning and Understanding Diversity………….....30 Awareness of Social Issues………………………………………………32 Participation in CSL……………………………………………………...35 Recipients’ Experience from CSL Program……..………………………36 Gender and CSL…………………………………………………………38 Summary…………………………………………………………………39 Chapter Three: Methodology: …………………….………………..…………41 Overview ………………….……………………………………………..41 Research design………………………………………………………….42

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Phenomenological Approach…………………………………….45 Sample …………….……………………………………………..45 Data Collection Tools……………………………………………46 Study Site…………………………………………………….…..46 Demographic Characteristics of Respondents……………….…..47 Research Instrument …………………………………………….………48 Focus Group Interview…………………………………………………..49 Reliability and validity of the Instruments………………………………50 Data Collection Procedure………………………………………………50 Data Analysis …………………………………………………………... 51 Entry Negotiation………………………………..………………………52 Ethical Consideration…………………………………………………….52 Summary…………………………………………………………………53 Chapter Four: Results and Discussions…………….....………………………55 Overview…………………………………………………………………55 Quantitative Analysis ………………………………………...………….56 Reliability………………………………………………………….......…61 Qualitative Analysis .................................................................….............62 Summary…………………………………………………………….…...69 Chapter Five: Conclusion and Recommendations ……..………...…......….. 70 References ………………………………………….…………………………..73 Appendices Appendix A: Survey Questionnaires …………………………………85 Appendix B: Focus Group Interview Questionnaire ….......................90 Appendix C: Consent Form for Survey……………………………….92 Appendix D: Consent Form for Interview…………………………….95 Appendix E: Permission Letter to Principal……………………..…...96 Appendix F: Descriptive Statistics…………………….…………..…..97

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List of Tables

Table 1 One-sample t-test: Gender Difference and Social Skills …….………..59 Table 2 One-sample t-test: Gender Difference and understanding Diversity….60 Table 3 One-sample t-test: Community Service Learning and Academic…..…61 Table 4 Reliability Statistics for the Questionnaire……………….…………...62 Table 5 Descriptive Statistics (see Appendix F) ………………………………97

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List of Abbreviations

CSL:

Community Service Learning

CSSEQ:

Community Service Self-Entitlement Questionnaire

NGO:

Non-Profit Government Organization

SPSS:

Statistical Package for Social Sciences

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Chapter One Introduction Background Community service learning programs in schools are experienced around the world in extensively diverse contexts (Bhattacharyya, 2004). Previous research suggests that learning through community service develops higher accountability to fulfil social responsibilities (Kolenko et al. 1996; Melaville, Berg, & Blank, 2006) and offers students a chance to grow into a civically engaged environment (Godfrey 1999; Rama et al. 2000). Such learning allows students to practice giving back to humanity at large, while it also supports classroom learning through an experiential activity (McCarthy & Tucker 1999).

By integrating community service into the core curriculum, it provides students basic life skills that benefits the community and society as a whole, besides it also supports teachers to integrate education, learning, and humanity (Andrews, 2007; Easterling & Rudell, 1997). Students become more active because of their participation in community service programs and educational organizations too become involvde with the community and start working towards solving societal issues. Dewey (1902) has defined problem solving skills as the highest level of intelligence, and Lewin (1935) has specified that the best way to learn about something is to start working on it. Community service may help students in the social services by giving them experience of real life problems. For some students, this program even helps them understand themselves.

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The domains of community service learning, community work, civil engagement and voluntary or honorary work with society are becoming more current and famous topics of research study day by day, due to the fact that researchers and educationists are realizing the importance and psychosocial requirement to give back to a community (Ferber 2007). The significance of community service or voluntary work related to how people communicate and recognize with others has been well-known (Chun & Akutsu 2003; Martin & Nakayama 2004). When particular kinds of situation or settings are made and established, letting individuals to serve the society and work collectively with each other, prosocial behaviors progress more voluntarily, which expands the overall setting of other relationships in community (Bond & Smith 1996). Present research proposes that better contact with diverse groups can in fact decrease prejudice and conflicts; furthermore, it also provides a platform to understand diversity and pluralism (Paolini et al. 2004; Pettigrew 1997).

The importance of community service has increased students’ involvement in community service programs. Some people see it as an important factor in the benefit of community; therefore, there has been a strengthened effort to include school students in school-based community services and in less formal volunteer service programs (Blouin & Perry, 2009; Sandy & Holland, 2006; Stoecker & Tryon, 2009) emphasized to make service learning project as a part of curriculum rather than as an additional activity. Hence, community service learning is becoming an increasingly important project in education sector due to its effectiveness and impact.

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Educational and social philosophers and reformers like Plato and Dewey shaped the researcher’s understandings on the purpose of education and its role in society. These insights developed the researcher’s interest in the research and motivated her for the study. Plato emphasized that the purpose of education should be not only the future preparation of individuals for their survival but also as an active and responsible citizens of the society (Schennach, 2001). He encouraged self-realization along with cognitive development. John Dewey (1937), one of the exceptional intellectuals of the previous century, indicated that improvements in education can result in positive social change. Educational institutions should teach their students in a way that would lead entities to produce a society where everyone fulfills their social and citizenship responsibilities and also where justice is the top most priority. McCarthy and Tucker (1999) emphasized that community service involvement brings positive change however, their research proposes that high school students are less interested in community service programs before they experience it. Astin (1985) found that since some of the students find it time consuming because of its minimum 10-20 hours volunteer work requirement and according to them some of the outcomes are not directly related to their skills. In particular this research is an investigation in accordance to our context whether community service has its impact on social skills of students.

A number of researchers have found that community service has positive benefits on students but these researchers are not from our context (Elwell & Bean, 2001; Jacoby & Associates, 1996; Pritchard, 2002). In our context very

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little research has been conducted on this topic. Probably, in our context community service learning is a new pedagogy at school level (Seider, Gillmor, & Rabinowicz 2011) or high school administrators of every school are not quite familiar with this approach, its benefits and its possible educational outcomes.

Context of the Study I have been teaching in O-Level school system since 5 years. During this time I have observed that students who attend community service programs are more helpful to their classmates. As a school admin person, I wonder what makes them help others after students have attended the community service learning program as I was also interested in exploring the impact of community service program on the social skills of students and its effect on academic results. As we can observe that currently, community service is becoming a widespread social phenomenon that is advertised as an expression of citizenship. There is a wide agreement that community service is valuable for society. It is also presumed that volunteering for community service has benefits for citizens in general and young people in particular (Morton & Saltmarsh, 1997). Such activity increases social skills and helps people to get connected with others and it is a way to get involved in the community. By working with less privileged or lower class of the society, volunteers enhance their classroom learning as they recognize importance of the opportunity to study that they have and they also expand their boundaries and challenge their assumptions about the world. My experiences and observations revealed some interesting points. Most of the students do not enroll themselves in community service program seriously as they think that along with their studies it

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would be additional burden on them. Students who experience community service program have very good experience once they complete it they become more helpful to others. They realize the importance of the opportunity to study in a good school and teachers observe improvement in students’ behavior and academics who join such programs. They tend to help willingly than those who do not experience the program. For some students it is a very boring activity. Some join the program in order to get admission in A-Level because by showing the certificate of community service program they get extra credit points.

As a researcher, my interest for this research was based on the following particular incident.

It was Monday morning when I received a note from one of the grade X parents stating that they would like to officially meet their daughter’s friend and would like to thank her for developing social skills in their daughter. As an academic coordinator I attended this parent student conference. Parents were highly appreciative for the support and encouragement that their daughter received and they thanked their daughter’s friend and praised her parents for the values that they nurtured in her; but I was shocked after hearing the student who helped, that she was from a broken family where she had to face a number of social problems. Further, she also shared that she has developed these social skills from the community service program that she had attended the previous year. This incident enlightened me and I started inquiring from other teachers whether community service program really developed social skills of the students and decided to carry a research in this area. This study is also expected

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to evaluate students’ perceptions about CSL program and in developing the said skills. The prerequisite for community service learning programs require students to show their leadership skills, creativity, inspiration, and ability to survive in different situations and deal with unexpected circumstances (Gallini & Moely, 2003). Although there is no assessment system to assess these skills but the students with these skills are given preference.

Statement of the Problem Several countries encourage young people to work for the betterment of the society through community service programs arranged by the schools and with time it is becoming one of the key educational goals for the institutions (Arenas, Bosworth, & Kwandayi, 2006). Particularly O-Level School Systems (a subject based qualification awarded by Cambridge International Examinations as part of the General Certificate of Education which is equivalent to Grade 10 (Matric) in Pakistan) promote community service very strongly in students because students get extra credit points for participating in the community service learning program while seeking admission in A-Level (The General Certificate of Education Advanced Level is two years qualification awarded by Cambridge International Examinations that is considered equivalent to Grade 12 (Intermediate) in Pakistan). The awareness to encourage community service in schools is grounded on the acceptance that it does not only give students extra credit points but serving others or one’s community also makes them better citizens. It also boosts the capability to work together (Putnam, 1995).

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Primarily this study is an investigation that explores the impact of community service on social skills of students. It has been observed, that in general, students’ involvement and participation in community service is minimal at school level; however, most students of higher grades from O-Level school system do attend community service programs. This leads to the questions as to why students get involved in community service programs, what motivates them, what forms of community service students are involved in, and how this involvement impacts student social development? A few students attend community service program just for the sake of certificate, which is a requirement for getting admission in A-Level Schools. Though, through the experience shared by the students at one of the elite schools, it has been noticed that students who attend community service program feel a change in their personality and they become more helpful; these students think that volunteering has optimistic effects on other areas of their lives, for example, they are able to understand others’ problems, become more helpful to others, realize importance of having opportunity to study, develop the ability to use learning from formal education and are able to transfer to others ultimately that results in improved self confidence. Penner (2002) has examined voluntarism, emphasizing not only the short term benefits, but also long term nature of these altruistic behaviors like sympathy and other empathy oriented behaviors. Hence, it is vital to explore the impact of community service in other elite schools in order to explore other students’ experiences and their social development.

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The improvement in social skills of students through community service has stimulated the researcher’s interest towards this topic. In the researcher’s opinion, this research which will also aim to examine the community service context in which students develop their social skills.

In the present research study I assumed that engagement in the community service learning program would significantly increase the students’ academic grades and increase their perceptions of the significance of community service learning activities. The advantages of community service learning are more than enlightening a segment of community and serving individuals to work more willingly with each other. Community service participation has also been exposed to support individuals to recognize the value and significance of social responsibility, involvement and commitment to the society to which they belong to (Jones & Hill 2003).

Objectives of the Study The purpose of carrying out this research is to explore the impact of community service learning on the social skills of students. The objectives are to: 1. Study the experience of students after participating in community service.

2. Investigate the impact of community service learning on the areas of social skills of O-Level students.

Research Question What is the impact of community service program on the social skills of students?

Subsidiary Questions 1. How do students perceive community service learning by gender?

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2. What changes do they see in themselves after completing community service learning program?

3. What experiences do the recipients get from the community service learning program?

Hypotheses The following hypotheses were developed for this study: Hypothesis 1: There will be no significant gender difference on the variable of social skills of the students who participate in community services.

Hypothesis 2: There will be no significant gender difference on the variable of understanding diversity who participate in community services.

Hypothesis 3: There will be no significant difference in academic grades of students participating in community service.

Scope of the Study The scope of the study will be limited to the students of higher level classes, teachers, parents and O-Level school system. This study is also restricted to Pakistani O-Level schools community service programs and will not focus from a global perspective.

Definitions of Key Terms Social Skills: Social skill can be any skill helping interaction and communication with others in an effective way by understanding others and fulfilling social responsibilities. Relatively, they are components of conduct such as social responsibilities that support an individual to understand and adjust in a society. In

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this study social skills mean skills that make a person a good citizen and skills that are required in a community to make the world a better place to live.

Community Service Learning: Community service learning is an act of volunteering one's self in order to provide services and benefit the community. It is working at no cost to give something back to the community. Community service learning is demarcated as initiatives that address social awareness (Jacoby, 1996). In order to know the notion of community service learning, it is important to study the words together that are service and learning. Service learning merges service with learning in thoughtful and expressive means. Service learning is at its face value a learning idea, a teaching philosophy, an academic approach, a civic progress model, an attitude towards community development, engagement in citizenship activities and an organized program design (Wade, 2007; Neal, 2003).

Community service denotes offering voluntary or honorary services, action for community’s betterment, fulfilling social responsibility, civic engagement and so on; both the terms service learning or community service denotes to the course of attaining knowledge and skills, reflecting, inquiring, reasoning and critically analyzing the information gathered. Within the framework of this study, community service programs represent students’ experiences that occur when they are in higher grade that is O-Level.

Hence, this study does not distinguish between the terms service-learning, community service and community service-learning and are often used interchangeably. Likewise, the word community service learning denotes the meaning of service learning to take account of the meaning of the word

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community openly in this study rather than its meaning in isolation Thus, in this study, the term community service is to incorporate any form of community involvement either through voluntary service or service learning that O-Level students do for the fulfillment of the basic requirement of A-level admissions.

Parent Schools: Schools for less previledged students where voulnteers go and give voluntary services.

Methodology Research design: To evaluate the impact of community service programs on the social skills of students a mixed method approach was used in five O-Level schools, involving 100 respondents belonging to middle socio economic class.

The quantitative data was collected through questionnaires to evaluate the impact of community service programs along with their demographic information.

For the qualitative study, five students from the schools who send their OLevel students for community service, were selected for focus group interviews using a semi-structured interview guide in order to explore the perceptions and experiences of community service given by the students. Twenty students in two groups (groups of ten each) from the two parent schools were also chosen to explore their feelings and experiences with volunteers of community service program. Parent schools are those where volunteers are sent to render community service during school hours. Community Service was considered as the independent variable while its impact on students was considered as the dependent variable for the research study.

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This mixed method technique, mostly referred to as triangulation, includes utilizing a blend of methodologies in any research to study of the similar phenomenon (Creswell, 1994). The researcher used this collective approaches to define and elucidate the forces determining the phenomenon (how students view impact of community service program ) (Creswell, 1994; Marshall & Rossman, 1994). The phenomenological reseach study helped the researcher to understand the statistical results through focus group interview. Thus, validity of interpretations was strengthened by critically analyzing and examining the data derived from focused group interviews (Marshall & Rossman, 1995; Stake, 1994).

Sample: An overall sample of 100 students from grades IX-X from five different co-education school system were selected for quantitative data (survey questionnaire), twenty five students for qualitative data (focus group interview) and twenty students for focus group interview from recipients schools were selected for this research study.

Instrumentation: This research used modified Hoffman (2007) Community Service Self-Entitlement Questionnaire (CSSEQ) which has 14 questions on a sliding scale of 1 to 5 and semi-structured interview protocol to explore the impact of community service on social skills of the participants (see Appendix A & B). A demographic section was developed to draw basic information about the students, like age, gender, grade /class, information about academic result and hours per week devoted to voluntary service of students of five different O-Level co-education system schools. Section A has demographic information of the participants (students only) consisting nine items.

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Qualitative tools: Focus group interviews were conducted from five schools for qualitative method. Five students from each of the five schools were selected for interviews through semi-structured and open ended questionnaires.

From parent schools five students were selected from two schools for under privileged students.

Confidentiality of students responses was ensured in a 30 minutes interview and then themes were identified to analyze the data. This tool was an investigation of the perceptions of students about the community service and its impact on their social skills.

Data analysis framework: Quantitative data analysis technique was used to analyze the data from questionnaire by using SPSS software version 17.

Descriptive and t-test was applied. Factors and means scores were also calculated, qualitative data was explored by extracting themes from the transcribed interviews as Streubert (2006) considers themes as a way of unfolding huge data in a summarized manner. Therefore, for qualitative data analysis after going through the process of verbatim transcription, the recorded material of focus group discussion was converted into written scripts for detailed thematic analysis.

Organization of the thesis The structure of the thesis will follow on a phenomenological researches format that will be an introduction, review of the related literature, methodology, findings and discussions and conclusion.

This study is organized into five chapters. In the introductory chapter, researcher discussed about the emergence of the idea whether community service

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programs help students develop their social skills. This idea emerged from personal observations and reflections about the incident that the researcher experienced. Furthermore, after stating background of the study, the researcher talked about the significance of the study. The researcher also shared a main question and subsidiary questions, which dealt with impact of community service on the social skills of the students who attend the program.

Chapter two describes review of the literature on community service, explains social skills, relation of voluntary service and students behavior. Chapter three presents data collection procedure with the help of tools/instruments along with mixed-methods methodology. Chapter four evaluates the findings and results of qualitative and quantitative data. Chapter five summarizes the discussion on impact community service program on social skills of students.

Summary Currently, community service programs are being appreciated by educational institutions around the world and many progressive schools have established voluntary service department for this purpose. Though there is no prescribed curriculum or national standards that can fulfil its objective but now educationists and curriculum developers are moving towards integrating community service programs into existing curriculum.

For this study the researcher has selected O-Level schools that have coeducation system. Research participants are in grade IX – XI and belong to middle class status. Most students tend to become more serious towards studies at these grade levels because the very next year they have to appear in CIE exams.

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These students attend community service program as it is a part of their result and good marks in this co-curricular activities area actually helps them getting admission in A-levels. Some students attend programs suggested and organized by their own school such as community program at NGO based schools but others prefer to work through scouts or guides units; only a few students go for independent community service programs for which they only have to show proofs of their services to the school. In these schools there is no community service curriculum though schools have added marks in the report card, but it is not included in their academics, therefore students do not take its marks seriously and consider it as an extra-curricular activity.

The chapter has provided a brief view of the study which includes the background where the researcher has detailed the background and existing profile of the context. In addition this chapter discussed the emergence of the study mentioned in the background of the study from her own experience. Moreover, this chapter discussed the significance and justification of the study. These include reasons and the purposes of it and finally, this chapter included the research question to be explored.

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Chapter Two Literature Review Overview Kohlberg (1971) has defined community service learning as a vital element of social and civic development that forces students to confront social issues. He believes that, when people engage in services for others with a new way of thinking, people may be persuaded into reasoning at higher levels by reorganizing the way they think about a given situation. Community service engagement at school level has an informal but strong educational objective as it improves students’ skills while they serve and enhance their social and civic consciousness (McBride & Sherraden, 2007). CSL can be co-curricular activity or program as it is not mandatory. It is something students do, apart from, or in addition to their academic studies that plays a vital role in other developmental areas. Rest and Narvaez (1991) have acknowledged community service as a means of promoting social and moral development. Since the last two decades, community service learning programs have been used as an interesting pedagogy. One of the pedagogies of CSL is youth mentorship programs and it is considered that youth mentoring has a positive impact on students where students have to teach same age or below age students from them (Wasburn-Moses, L., Fry, J., & Sanders, K., 2014). Jacoby (1996) stated it is the methodology and teaching technique that relates academic learnings and community service so that each supports the other in order to achieve educational goals. CSL plays an important role in developing social skills through building qualities of good and responsible citizens. In today’s

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world, commercial agendas have influenced a lot of our educational institutions in goal setting. However, in the past, establishment of civic responsibility and its sense in students was one of the main objectives of public education institutions (Sears, 2003).

A widespread and comparatively new discipline in educational psychology these days is evolutionary thinking (Buss 2004). Evolutionary thinking defines the growth of prosocial behaviors essential for group of people to participate in positive and equally positive acts in order to confirm the existence of members within the group (Trivers 1971).

An argument can be raised based on the above mentioned definition of community service that the purpose why community service residues a vital element among people is that we have progressed the dimensions and necessity to not only benefit from the amenities of others, but to similarly provide those privileges to others in society. One concept that defines the popularity and success of community service is basically that of sympathy with others who need support, a notion that is generally referred to as ‘empathy’, where individuals who witness others in need of support feel intrinsically obliged to participate and communicate with them, contributing to them, providing support and assistance whenever possible (Penner et al. 2005). Hence, this notion is very convincing for many evolutionary thinkers, who claim that major early behaviors such as humanity and commitment towards community developed from need and at this moment literally offer the ‘glue’ for the fabric of contemporary behavior. These initial behaviors

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have facilitated to shape group standards that are now visible in the social interface and prosocial actions of society nowadays (Buss 2004).

Significance of Community Service Learning in Education Previous research has explored the significance of community service learning within the community and how people need to feel “associated� to society by providing a particular skill to others (Adler, 1964; Lisman, 1998). Research has also shown the significance of community service in connection to moral values and development of social skills (Boss, 1994). Adler describes the importance of volunteering with others for the common good of the community. As a collective society, citizens need to remind themselves to participate in pro social behaviors for the shared good.

Educational institutions have usually prepared students for the demands of the world by stressing critical thinking and social responsibility, and the importance of contributing to community and social activities. This supports John Dewey’s (1916) stance, a pioneer in higher education, that the responsibility of all the societies is in providing equal opportunity for educational advancement to everyone. He believes that all individuals within a society have a responsibility to act in socially responsible ways and to participate in critical thinking that will improve the overall quality of human interaction. It is believed that overall quality of human interaction can be improved through inculcating social skills that can be developed through childhood; further it can be nourished by helping others. To help others voluntarily leads people towards engagement in community service.

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Walker (1983) describes social skills to be a set of potential abilities that allow the individuals to interact, initiate new relationships, maintain healthy transaction in relationships and perform a satisfactory role in the team. Social skills in the context of education setting were regarded by him as a set of abilities to interact efficiently with the peers and have smooth school adjustment. Above discussed significance of community service highlights its interest among students and school administrations and also makes it understandable as to why such service is becoming so popular day by day. While discussing about education one cannot forget Dewey and his educational philosophies. Dewey explained CSL through an educational philosophy, a formation of community and self-governing life, a model of analysis, and a person’s engagement in society.

Whereas, Dewey indeed does not exactly address the theory of CSL, his work does examine five explicit areas of significance to it, such as self-governing community, associating learning to experience, civic responsibility, insightful analysis, and above all social transformation through education. For Dewey, to develop self-governing values and engage citizens, these principles form pedagogy and should be incorporated in educational process to make students’ beliefs strong for serving society (Saltmarsh, 1996). While emphasizing the importance of CSL Eyler, Giles, and Braxton (1997) also concluded in their study that CSL was an important predictor of students’ belief and its formation and that through CSL they could be effective for their community; and that students played an important role in their community, and the community also could be effective in resolving its issues. Further, CSL also seemed to grow students’

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beliefs about service that it should be a prerequisite by a school so that all students take part in such programs. While making this program mandatory, one should consider students’ interest, motivation and other factors. Several research studies have recognized the factors associated with volunteering. The literature review shows that community service involvement in the past or at an early age predicts future service involvement.

Hence, contribution in community service programs in senior school foresees service participation in future too (Cruce & Moore, 2012; Planty, Bozick, & Regnier, 2006). Berman and others also concluded in their researches (Berman, Bailey, Collins, Kinsley & Holman, 2000) that those who are involved in school for CSL, are likely to continue doing it when they become adults. In his study, Berman (1999) emphasized that students should understand the importance of active community participation. Building upon this view, CSL can be understood as an experiential learning model in which students are involved in activities that cater social and individual needs together with horizons designed purposely to encourage student learning and its progress in a longer run. Keeping the above points in mind, the significance of CSL can be easily understood in learning process and education.

Overall Impact of Community Service Learning on Students’ Social Skills Kagan (1981), Wynne (1989) and Walberg (1985) highlighted that decent character and good social skills should be the main concern of every educational system. We should produce ethical human beings before our students become skilled professionals. Therefore, nurturing social skills, building personality and

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learning of ethical, moral and social values are consider as the main purpose of teaching and learning process and are also stressed by a number of educationists like, Dewey (1934), Huitt (1997) and Power (1997). Education is also recognized as a moral and social activity by some authors who are not educationist (Sockett, 1993, Ayers, 1993; Noddings, 1992; & Tom, 1984). The school administrators are now reviewing teaching of social skills in schools because it seems that deterioration of social skills and values in students are prevailing day by day.

School misbehaviors, misconducts and the bunking of classes have compelled school management to rethink about changing the culture of schools. Developing social skills, character building and teaching code of conduct are incorporated into the school environment and community in order to help our students to be on task in the while learning, to become good citizens, to deal with conflicts and to engage in community with active participation by fulfilling social responsibilities (Otten, 2002).

CSL is not a new notion however, the practice of acquire and serve is an old one, it comes from the conventional models of Aristotle and Plato. These models promoted education as a medium of creating good citizens, providing them knowledge and wisdom both in order to pursue good ends (Rocheleau, 2004). Therefore, if we want to develop our society on educational grounds then we must select a model that emphasis on inculcating a sense of social responsibility in our students and that develops an enlightening educational system through promoting sound social skills, where civic accountability is a prime goal. For the purpose of this study, social skills of society and civic

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accountability are defined as energetic involvement of an individual in a community (Gottlieb & Robinson, 2003).

Participation in the community service and social responsibility interventions facilitate healthy relationships with the peers and other members of the community. It ultimately results in a stronger bond and commitment of an individual with the society and global community. Not only does it positively influence interpersonal skills but enhance the skills and opportunities for social networking. In addition to it, volunteering in social and community development events are found to be associated with a positively increased coping skills and capacities of the individuals with antisocial behavior. CSL is pedagogy in teaching that includes meaningful community work with instruction, knowledge, and reflection to improve academic experience of students. Study done by Schaffer, Berman, Pickeral, & Holman (2001) found that community service learning also fosters many qualities in students as confidence building, respect for others, personality development, teamwork and self-control. At this early age community service program provides an opening to develop problem solving skills as well as communication skills. To some extent literature review on the effectiveness of community service and its impact on students’ social skills reveal that there is no clear agreement on concrete benefits of these programs (Galston, 2001; Kraft, 1996) as it is very difficult to measure its benefits because one can see a clear impact after a lengthy passage of time; specially impact on social development and civic participation, one can see its impact on academics in a short passage of time but the relationship between community service learning

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programs and its impact on personal development cannot be seen immediately (Billig et al., 2005; Kraft, 1996).

Previous research findings present different results on the impact of community service learning (Billig et al., 2005; Galston, 2001; Melchior, 1998).

Another major study done by Moore and Allen (1996) found that even though community service learning programs decreased number of failures and dropouts in the school, yet they improved their attitudes towards society and responsibility towards school but it does not guarantee that they have learnt social competence and problem solving skills to a great extent (Moore & Allen, 1996). Helping to the community t h r o u g h C S L p r o g r a m s might produce new kinds of experiences for those who participate , activities where students need to involve adults make students confident enough to talk to them.. In carrying out these types of activities, students might feel a need for conversation with their parents. It should be noted, parenthetically, that p o s i t i v e a n d c o n s t r u c t i v e attention of parents is linked to other indicators (particularly awareness and participatory abilities of their parents), Hence, it is suggesting that community service may have indirect rela-tionships in addition to the direct relationships discussed above.

Research findings that present positive effects also attribute them to the nature of the programs. Though, it is very difficult to identify and suggest which programs one should do or with carry on due to diverse situations and context.

Also all programs have different objectives and for everyone best practices differ (Hall & Hall, 2002). Another difďŹ culty in viewing or examining impact of

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community service is the rareness of realistic evidences representing a clear crystal connection amongst community service learning programs and its impact on students (Blyth, Saito, & Berkas, 1997). Comparatively, in the area of volunteers’ satisfaction more evidences were witnessed (Meinhard et al., 2006; Pancer et al., 2007). Several times Westheimer and Kahne (2004) have emphasized the correlation between CSL and social conscience. They argue that CSL is more likely to increase civic responsibility than other strategies or activities. A study conducted by Skinner & Chapman, (1999) concluded that one of the main reasons school administrations organize CSL programs for students was to support students in developing characteristics of more active and responsible members of the society. Correlation between social service and achieving academic goals Conrad and Hedin (1991) found in their study that through contribution in community service activities students develop their social and personal responsibilities as well as social skills. For example, public speaking and communicating to others is at times challenging for some people; CSL may provide participants’ capability in expressing their views, in so doing t h i s p r o g r a m increases their confidence.

Perhaps these results are suggestive but not the final one because everywhere the context is different. Previous researches specify that the significance of CSL seems to depend on quite a few factors: the m i n d s e t t h a t educational institutions have, upbringing of a child parental awareness, dedication for service, arrangement for the service, and social aspects such as race and gender. Participants seem to gain more benefits from a community

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service program if they have preparation in school before they experience in the field (Raskoff & Sun- deen, 1998; Blyth et al., 1997; Gibboney, 1996; Shumer, 1994; Hedin, 1988). Hence, CSL was a predictor in our study that students who were active participants of community service have more growth in pursuing a profession focused on serving people, on offering time to their community and on tolerance and patience for others (Eyler, Giles, & Braxton, 1997). The above mentioned literature tells us that the advantages of community service are in a triangular form: it benefits the participants, the organization and the society. It also connects the education and the community. At the learner level, the benefits are vast and that can be achieved by engaging them in active learning and enlightening them through relating that experience with academic work. From the above literature review, the impact of CSL has been well recognized and explains a clear influence on students’ skills such as personal and social growth, in areas like their sense of responsibility, self-respect, dogmatic and social skills and also developing relations with others (Howard, 2003).

Impact of Community Service Learning on Academics In the study done by Gallini and Moely (2003) it wasfound that students who were involved in community service learning programs scored higher grades in academic engagement, took academic challenges positively and had retention of concepts than those who did not participate. Research carried by Kahne, Westheimer, and Rogers (2000) supports that participating in community service programs or service learning boosts the academic development of students because they learn life skills. Students engaged in the community service program felt that

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such programs had influenced their understanding of concepts. A few of them felt that while teaching others they learn more than in their own classes learning by their teachers (Gallini & Moely, 2003). Students also get awareness of social issues and learn how to help in reducing these issues by supporting through community service programs. As Sigmon (1979) described such learning for students as a likely means to learn about their society and community while linking academic content. Besides, they also develop a good sense of good citizens’ accountability and responsibility.

Moreover, community service programs help participants to nurture academic and professional skills (Bennett, Henson, & Drane 2003; Conrad & Hedin 1982; Eyler & Giles 1999; Moely et al. 2002; Sax & Astin 1997; Simons & Cleary 2006). Here professional skills mean social skills, interpersonal skills, ability to solve problems, communication skills (oral and written), and managerial and leadership skills. On the basis of the above mentioned skills, community service learning programs is open to on array of fields and therefore, it has been integrated and incorporated into a variety of fields in higher education such as social work and nursing (Karasik & Wallingford, 2007). On how community service can be executed in a better way, study conducted by Kapoor and Williams, (2003) concluded, few research participants feel that our educational institutions can be of great support to students who engage in community service learning programs if they try constantly and thoroughly to help students relate their experiences and skills with their learning from academic courses.

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Social Connectedness and Citizenship Social connectedness is one of the investigated advantages of volunteerism and many students were reported to have enhanced their sense of social responsibility, community ownership, empathy and a sense of give and take transactions. Hedin (1989) describes various studies in his review where community service participation has predictive higher grades and better classroom performance. Subsequently, it has also assertively influenced students’ social skills, sense of citizenship and acceptance of community ethical values. However, there are studies which state and argue upon challenges germane to confidently validating the idea of community service and moral reasoning development.

Social and civic engagement of students can be improved through community service learning programs (Gallini & Moely, 2003).

Amongst the theories of human development, a theory based on humanity gave back reasons that all human beings have a tendency to feel and question themselves on what is their contribution towards humanity (McAdams, Diamon, Aubin, & Mansfield, 1997). According to this theory, individuals after rendering community services tend to feel and experience a sense of contentment, intrinsic satisfaction and sense of achievement in their personal lives and this is one of the major reasons that individuals end up participating in voluntary activities. John Dewey (1916) promoted the relations between educational learning within the society and citizenship. On discussing relations between community service and civc engagement, Dewey stressed that it is very important to implement learning from educational experiences in the community. He believed that by endorsing

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experiential learning within the community, students could be challenged to encounter the experiences and go beyond the system of traditional rote learning, which is being implemented today in many schools, and it was the teaching model in classrooms at that time too. Dewey accentuated that when students apply their learning from the classrooms in the community; they not only improve their understanding of the world but also make a difference as citizens in their communities by active participation and contribution (VanWynsberghe & Andruske, 2007). Similarly, Cooks and Scharrer (2006) agreed by stating that by its very nature, CSL programs and education promote the awareness in the people regarding social accountability through intervention in community and academics which is a way a of positive interruption that results in change for betterment in the community.

Astin, Sax and Avalos (1999) carried out a study in which they investigated how taking part in community positively predicts student commitment to the society and enable them to evolve and advance in communal harmony and academia. They found that it brings in the experiential learning element in the curriculum where students can apply the civic ethics and religious teachings into their practical lives. This additionally also allows them to support and emphasize with human needs and acquire more skills of thinking beyond self.

Hedin (1989) accomplishes a strong correlation between student intrinsic motivation with community and voluntary work participation. He argues that students, in order to perform better in their academic setting require high level of intrinsic motivation and life satisfaction, and in this participation and community

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service support and increases their satisfaction level and indirectly help them to perform better. He further reasoned this idea by relating it with a context in which young people and students take accountability of their own future and present situation. These communities’ services help a student not only to develop morally but heightens their planning, organizing, decision making and team building skills.

Students actively involved in such projects are inclined more towards taking charge of their community issues and seeking solutions to resolve them. These activities and projects extensively provide opportunities to enhance their problem solving and critical thinking skills.

Jacoby and Associates (1996) emphasized that by volunteering, students learn what it means to make and keep a commitment. They learn how to be on time, do their best, be honored of the results and realize that even one person can make a difference. An empowering message for students is that they are important enough to have a positive impact on someone or something else. By giving up their own belongings to less fortunate children, a child learns that sometimes it is good to sacrifice. Cutting back on leisure time to help clean up a beach tells students that there are important things besides us and our immediate needs.

Working in community service can bring students in touch with people of different backgrounds, capabilities, cultures, ages, education and social status. They learn that even the most diverse individuals can be united by common values.

Community service can help young people decide on their future careers. Wilson (2000) wisely presented his view and stated that we will remain civically illiterate except that we come up with the strategies to educate our youth to become good

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citizens through teaching them skills that are necessary for making this world a better place to live. In the past, we used to live in an uncivilized manner (Barber, 1994). Even though this proclamation was shared in the last century but still it relates very much to the existing condition of society. Similarly, Koliba (2004) agreed by stating that the period of having good social skills and fulfilling responsibility of citizenship may perhaps end. Even if most of the people would agree to that, as a society we need to nurture more committed citizens who can enthusiastically use their rights and responsibilities. We have fewer agreements on who should be accountable and answerable for this important task. Recent authors highlighted that responsibility for the growth of social skills and citizenship attitude lies on the shoulders of the education sector and the people who are associated with it (Koliba, 2004).

Community Service Learning and Understanding Diversity One of the benefits of community service program is that it provides the ability to value diversity and understand others. Research on learning from community programs showed that the participants who were involved experienced more connectedness with the community, were more likely towards accepting racial differences, acknowledged the importance of community service and viewed themselves as members of the community who can make a difference in bringing positive change (Eyler & Giles, 1999; Howard, 2003). Students who contribute in CSL programs have shown significant interest for future volunteer service, have increased self-esteem that that they can make a positive difference, and have future plans to engage in the careers that help people; and also they have a better ability

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to mixed and amalgamate with people of diverse backgrounds (Gallini & Moely, 2003). The research carried by Gallini and Moely (2003) concluded that students who contribute in community service programs also become problem solvers because it provides them a chance to intermingle with people from different context and different backgrounds from those they interact with normally.

Shepherd (2003) stated that such initiatives help students understand the complications and the importance of identity and multicultural relations.

Similarly, community service learning has been revealed as an effective pedagogy to communicate students concerns related to diversity. Therefore, it is considered as an effective methodology for teaching diversity to students of higher grades.

Further Shepherd (2003) examines community service learning as a comprehensive pedagogy to teach diversity, for example, investigating how cultural engagement experiences permit participants an opportunity to engross with and improve relationships within a community that, in turn, nurtures a better appreciation and understanding for diversity.

In addition, Watts (2010) examined how the amalgamation of community service learning into real classrooms exposes participants to people in scarceness as well as various ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Several researches examined CSL as a medium to teach diversity within an explicit curriculum including the subjects of social work (Comerford, 2005; Maccio, 2011), business communication and speech communication (Gendrin, 2008), sociology (Palmer & Short, 2010), and organizational and educational psychology (Reifsteck, 2002).

Literature review on teaching diversity through community service tells us the

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possibility of teaching diversity through the CSL programs in differernt disciplines. Further study concentrates upon the implementation of service learning in specific fields, such as teaching sociology (Marullo, 1998) and a family diversity (Toews & Cerny, 2005). Study by Morgan and Streb (2001) concluded the level to which participants’ ownership in community service learning programs increases their self-esteem, civic engagement, and patience and tolerance for others. However, there are problems associated with understanding and valuing diversity. Blouin and Perry (2009) defined difficulties and hurdles of service learning programs in terms of understanding diversity and presented practical strategies for addressing these obstacles, for example one needs to be very careful with our own values and norms..

Hence, this literature examining community service learning as a way to teach diversity is indeed significant and provides several examples of active classroom strategies. Still, in the researcher’s review of this literature she was astonished that the study examining community service learning as pedagogy to teach diversity and tolerance remains hypothetically under examined. Although literature has examined three progressive outcomes of CSL; appreciation of diversity and multiplicity, leadership, and community engagement but it’s very limited (Vogt, 2005).

Awareness of Social Issues Responsible citizens seek to improve society in order to make this world a better place to live and frequently try to serve the community to meet their needs.

These citizens are also aware of and are conscious about community problems

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(Westheimer & Kahne, 2002). Besides this, such citizens take more directive roles in order to solve the problems in their societies while others involve in direct community service through charitable means. During the program at teenage when these students are involved in community service learning and observe the social issues, then they, in their later life try to determine the root causes of problems and they work actively to promote social justice in society (Westheimer & Kahne, 2002). Moreover, involved citizens are well informed about their community issues and are eager to bring change in their community by addressing core issues (Billig et al., 2005; Kraft, 1996). Research has also shown evident impact on students’ academic and intellectual growth (Ngai, 2006) and on rational and ethical development, which is linked to density of thinking about societal issues (Boss, 1994, as cited in Howard, 2003).

However, critics recommend that participants should be provided more opportunities for ethical and social thinking on the glitches they view first hand (Coles, 1994). Moreover, for some researchers CSL was a forecaster of transformation in the way participants understood social issues, as well as the possibility to solve these issues. Participants were more likely to be empathetic and sympathetic and remained open to share and reflect on new views and information. Likewise, participants were also more likely to demonstrate an improvement in their inclination to view problems in general. Besides, participants understood that changing guiding principle is a value-added approach than aiming individuals, they agreed that social justice should be the main

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concern for society, and they viewed things from the others’ perspective and were open to new ideas and suggestions for improvement (Eyler, Giles, & Braxton).

One more significant effect of CSL is that it can benefit people’s feelings to view other social groups and community as diverse from themselves. CSl, with its prospective to assimilate participants with groups, whom they are not likely to work with or interact otherwise, propose a more hopeful context for learning relations among members of diverse groups. However, few CSL experts claim that it is indeed these expressive inter-group exchanges that lead to the several positive outcomes for participants engaged in community service work (Brody & Wright, 2004).

Dewey (1916) indicated that one cannot take part in dialogue with others without learning; without understanding a wider point of view and recognizing opinions which one would otherwise ignore; (Brody & Wright, 2004) agreed, asserting that without collaborations and diversity, students’ awareness about social issues are less likely to alter. CSL also offers participants the perspective to view the density of the issues of those whom they are helping. Assumptions about other people are unfolded when participants obtained a depth of understanding of the problems of the people whom they help (Keller, Nelson, & Wick). Likewise, Battistoni (1997) also agreed and supported this view by, stating that participants who communicated to the people in a home without shelter, were able to feel homelessness. Study also concluded that after CSL participants might understand social issues as causing from individual insufficiencies or ethical weakness, it is important to open students’ vision to other factors involved in that,

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for example political and social interventions (Keller, Nelson, & Wick, 2003).

Hence, literature tells us that CSL increases students’ consciousness of the existing social issues. Further, it also improves their critical thinking and develops social skills and community responsibility and commitment. If we talk in terms of institutions’ benefits who arrange such programs for students, they for the institution it improves teaching and learning process. It benefits through identifying new zones of enquiry in order to solve community’s issues. In general, for the society, community service learning nurtures ethics of voluntary service and forms synergetic partnerships. Moreover, it also offers human resources to encounter the needs of the less privileged people of the communities.

Participation in CSL Program Approaches and beliefs also play a vital role in tendency to implement and continue work of social service (Cruce & Moore, 2012). Students who are generally social, responsible, positive, religious, and not money-oriented display persistent participation in community work (Marks & Jones, 2004) and students who feel associated to their communities and observe serious community necessities also tend to volunteer on their own for community service (Hellman, Hoppes, & Ellison, 2006). Seider (2007) claimed that a tendency to care for an ethics and have strong moral values is a very important to teach our students but not enough signs for consistency in future participation in community service work; the other important element is providing academic experience that builds students’ perception and understanding about the world and boosts them to serve.

Other study similarly argued about environment and context matters: educational

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settings and experiences are stimulus choices to participate in community service work (Cruce & Moore, 2007, 2012; Haski-lev- enthal et al., 2008; Jones & hill, 2003; Planty et al., 2006).

Furthermore, students’ own culture, normative beliefs and family background (Jones & Hill, 2003; Okun & Sloane, 2002) and the visibility and awareness of community service opportunities (Jones & Hill, 2003) also shows influence for service participation. Motivation from parents and their regular involvement in community service is also connected to whether students discussed with their parents o r n o t about the C S L programs. Community service learning programs provide students a chance to participate in structured and planned activities that are deliberately designed to improve students learning in a way that they can fulfil civic responsibility and are also capable of addressing communal needs (Jacoby, 1996).

Recipients’ Experience of CSL Program Community service learning programs provides give-and-take advantages in which volunteers develop their skills and increase their understanding whereas parent schools benefit from the efforts of the helpers (Buchanan, Baldwin, & Rudisill, 2002). However, it is not necessary that all the programs are successful or the way they execute are same. The important concern that involves is of power between the volunteer and recipients being an unequal problem.

Community service -learning is a system where students, who are more privileged than others and have abilities and means go to help those who are less privileged than them and have less resources. In this situation the less privileged ones feel

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more about relative poverty. On the other hand, those who are privileged sometimes exercise their power even in a positive manner but still it results in power imbalance. The determination behind CSL is to support those who are less fortunate and less privileged rather than encourage social change (Marks, 1994).

Further, Ansley and Gaventa (1997) argue that participation in community service work or voluntary service is grounded on rather equal power that purposes fairness rather than charity from one side. Another concern related to it, is sometimes the help is provided without doing proper need analysis of the required help. The effect of community service programs on the beneficiaries is inexplicit yet study done by Kraft (1996) claim that young volunteers have a more encouraging impact on their groups. Hence, community service programs are based on assumptions that may be the help that is being provided is the one that the parent schools wanted. In addition, the power to provide help is mainly in the hands of the volunteers. Barbara Jacoby (1996) viewed CSL as a form of experimental learning in which students participate in deeds that address social and human necessities together with planned prospects which are purposely designed to encourage student for community service through learning and development. This academic tool, which permits participants to relate academic knowledge in the practical world that beneďŹ ts volunteers and recipients of community both (Simons & Cleary 2006), CSL is different from other academic tools because it caters to both the routine learning simulations, where the anticipated receiver is the students, and serving community, where the recipient from the community is the key beneficiary. Though, the influence that

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participants have on recipients of communities is diverse and not necessarily always positive. Hence, Cruz and Giles (2000) reported that research study on CSL and its impact is only just the foundation, there is much more to explore and investigate.

Gender and CSL It has long been believed that females are more altruistic with their resources than males, and the literature review claimed this is certainly the case (Mesch, Rooney, Steinberg, & Denton, 2006). Study indicates that females involved more seriously in helpful behavior considered as sympathetic, compassionate, and generally empathetic (Wilson, 2000; Gilligan, 1982) than males, and are highly accustomed to the caring attitude and comfort of others (Mesch et al., 2006; Gilligan & Attanucci, 1988). Though there have been valuable contributions by women during their voluntary services, but as they often offer to contribute willingly and ever ready to help therefore, these services are sometimes overlooked and are taken for granted (Warburton & McLaughlin, 2006).

Rotolo and Wilson (2007) concluded in their study that though there was slight variance in whether or not females or males offer more numbers of hours and volunteer with dedication, there was significant dissimilarity in what they serve or in what activities they are involved as helpers or volunteers. Females in their research findings were more likely to be involved in activities more closely connected with indoor activities or tasks that needs to be followed, while males were engaged with managerial roles (Rotolo & Wilson, 2007). Females are often

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engaged in voluntary services considered as more compassionate, person-toperson responsibilities, as compared to males, who are more engaged in leadership positions. Discussing gender differences by understanding the gender beliefs in which they are brought up and socialized, Wilson (2000) elucidated that mostly males are involved in voluntary services that is harmonizing to their actual work that they do and they tend to help on an individual basis, while females are more likely to help in groups. Furthermore, females are likely to volunteer in comfort zone with their friends, whereas males give voluntary service with unknowns too and then make new friends (Wilson, 2000). Female students with greater academic background and socioeconomic resources and capabilities usually volunteer more frequently than do male students with less academic background and socioeconomic abilities (Cruce & Moore, 2007, 2012; Dote et al., 2006). Fischer and Schaffer (1993) reported in their study that no matter female and male volunteers are in identical numbers while during the service program, but the nature of voluntary activities they offer differs in every context. Hence, regarding voluntary service and its participation, there are gender differences and these differences plays an important role on the impact of community service. A restriction in this research is that the nature of voluntary services is not measured against gender differences. Therefore, this literature can not elaborate on that.

Summary Community service learning plays a key role in the process education therefore, it is considered important for developing social skills in students.

Community service learning is the amalgamation of pragmatic learning and

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community service into the model where community essentials are considered and students achieve both a sense of civic accountability and other skills. Due to the acceptance that CSL programs increase, students’ learning and benefit to community at a large CSL programs have gained attractiveness of education sector (Blouin & Perry, 2009). The literature review has shown that CSL can support in developing social skills that are required to fulfill civic responsibility.

The researcher feels that her research will be of importance to schools and students further it will enhance the understanding of community service’s involvement and impact of students’ engagement in the CSL programs in our context.

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Chapter Three Methodology Overview In this chapter, the researcher presents the research design and approach of the study, data collection methods and tools, sampling procedure and entry negotiation. The research study was intended to evaluate the impact of community service learning on social skills of students. The researcher discusses short descriptions of the context of the schools and research participants, the ethical consideration of the study and briefly acknowledge the methodological limitations. To carry out the mixed-method study the researcher also defines the methodology that was used during the study.

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of community service learning program on the social skills of O-Level students. Mixed methods approach was applied to carry out the research study. To develop an understanding of the importance of community service learning the exploration had to be carried out in the natural setting for example with the students who participated in community service learning program and the real beneficiaries of the program. Therefore, the mixed method research design suited most appropriately for the purpose of this study. Mixed methods research design is an organized method that fulfills the principles of holistic research. As described by Creswell and Plano Clark (2007), the mixed method study design infers that the research is not only anticipated to have two well-proportioned distinctive aspects and strands, one quantitative and another qualitative, each of them qualifies with

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its own inquiries, data, investigation, and conclusions, it must also incorporate these aspects and strands in some way or other (Bryman 2007). It is an organized study that caters accessible data that has been analytically examined for, planned and concise according to determined criteria. In mixed method research design the ďŹ ndings extracted from qualitative and quantitative data. Johnson et al. (2007) defined mixed methods research as a study in which quantitative and qualitative studies are combined and researchers apply a mixed methods methodology in order to incorporate those studies, for the in depth understanding Definitions of mixed methods are still in consideration as it is a growing field of study. The researcher denoted this study as a mixed method research grounded on the meaning of mixed method study defined by Creswell, Plano, Gutmann and Hanson (2003) who described it as a research which includes both qualitative and quantitative data collection in one study where the data is gathered in sequence, and integrated in the process of research. Morse (1991) defines the benefit of applying mixed methods study design by affirming that these approaches increase the breadth and extensiveness of the research study.

Particularly in this study the researcher has used qualitative data to support quantitative data in order to understand and analyses the data in a more comprehensive manner.

Research Design A mixed-methods research design has been used in this research study.

The procedure for this research study was data collecting, coding the qualitative data in order to identify themes, then integrating and analyzing both qualitative

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and quantitative data at several stages of the research study. To understand and comprehend a research problem in detail and in a complete way this design was used within a single study. Separately, quantitative or qualitative data is not enough to understand students learning from community service and its impact on their social skills. Therefore, the researcher decided to go for data integration.

When collectively qualitative and quantitative data are used in a same research study, they balance each other and provide space for a more comprehensive analysis (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005). McMillan and Schumacher (2001) believes that in quantitative research study the researcher relies only on statistical or numerical data in which the researcher concentrate on specific variables, uses cause and effect thinking and tries to get meaning from numbers only. He separates the variables, relates them to limit the degree and level of relationships.

Besides, he himself decides which variables during the study need to be investigated and then selects the tool to get reliable and valid results. However, in qualitative research, the researcher engages himself in an understanding process of investigation where the investigator tries to develop a complete picture, understands feelings, analyzes words and where a researcher conducts research study in a natural setting (Creswell, 1998) which means on the basis of constructivist approach the researcher or investigator makes knowledge claims.

In research having qualitative method the data is gathered from the natural setting in which the study is designed and the analysis of the data is done on the basis of the perception and insights of research study participants. Ultimately it results in a complete and comprehensive understanding of the research problem

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based on authentic contextual frames. For using qualitative and quantitative methods, Bogdan and Biklen, (1998) said that the researchers or investigators constructs the knowledge on the basis of practical grounds in real context. They choose approaches, methods, measures and variables for data analysis which are most suitable for their results and findings. The main principle of practicality is that both qualitative and quantitative data are similar to each other; consequently, both words and numeric data is gathered in sequence that can help to comprehend the research problem in a proper manner.

While choosing a blended research method study, three concerns should be kept in attention, which are significance of each method, application and integration (Creswell, Plano, Clark, & Hanson, 2003). Significance means as to which method either qualitative or quantitative should be given priority.

Application refers to which data collection and investigation presents in order or in sequential stages, which means one shadows the other or is it comparable with each other. Integration refers to the stage in the research study process where the amalgamation or integration of both the data occurs.

By using questionnaires quantitative data was gathered in the first stage.

The aim of quantitative stage was to find students perception of community service learning and to evaluate the impact of community service on social skills of 100 chosen O-Level school students where community service was the independent variable while impact on social skills was dependent variable. In the second stage focus group interview tool was used to gather data through semi structured questions. The reason for this method was to verify and validate the

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results of quantitative data. Qualitative data and its outcomes helped to understand the statistical results, it refined and described the numerical results by explaining the views and opinions of research study participants in depth whereas quantitative data gave the overall picture of research problem.

In sequence the quantitative method went first then qualitative data followed. Before choosing the participants for focus group interviews and outlining the questions for them, quantitative data was reviewed thoroughly. The results of both the stages will also be correlated in the next two chapters four and five of the research study while discussion on the outcomes of the whole study.

Phenomenological approach: The researcher used phenomenological approach; the study of subjective experience, in the study. Finlay (2009) was of the view that this approach in interviews gives a comprehensive account of current situations where the researcher is then accountable for studying them in depth first ideographically and then nomothetically.

Sample: The sample comprised five O-Level schools situated in the average socio-economic vicinity of Karachi, Pakistan. These schools are private schools and have co-education system. Twenty students from grade IX-XI who experienced community service learning program were randomly selected from every school and were requested after signing the consent form to participate in the research study and fill in the Community Service Self-Entitlement Questionnaire. The total number of samples for the quantitative research study was 100; and for qualitative research twenty five students, five from each school were selected randomly. Students of the same schools were interviewed. From

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parent schools ten students from two schools were interviewed to examine their experiences of community service learning program. This research study from each of the five schools used simple random sampling to gather the data.

Data collection tools: Quantitative data was gathered with the help of Community Service Self-Entitlement Questionnaire (CSSEQ) developed by August Hoffman & Julie Wallach (2007) (see Appendix A). The independent variable was community service learning while the dependent variable was social skills of students. Qualitative data as to how students perceive the community service learning and its impact on social skills of students was collected through in-depth focus group interviews from each of the five schools through open ended research questions (see Appendix B) questions were asked from five randomly selected students from the research participants. Though, the demographics of the research study participants were collected through demographic survey (see Appendix A). From two parent schools ten students were interviewed to understand their experience of community service program.

Study Site: This research study was carried in five private O-Level schools situated in middle socio-economic locality. These schools were in easy access for the researcher due to good rapport with the school heads. It was very essential since for this research study the school heads acted as gatekeepers to research participants (students) for both quantitative and qualitative both the data, especially for the interviews. The focus group interviews of the chosen research participants (students) were carried within their school premises during school hours and the focus group interviews of the beneficiaries from two schools where

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students went for voluntary services were taken from the 20 students in two groups to gain an awareness of their experience of community service learning program. Interviews from the parent school was taken in Urdu language due to their comfort zone and for better understanding. However, from volunteers (students of O-Level schools) interview was bilingual. Both the interviews were conducted in the absence of school teachers where the comfort zone of the research participants was assured and guaranteed.

Demographic characteristics of the respondents: With the help of Demographic survey consisting of five items descriptive information of the research study participants was gathered. The purpose of this survey was to know research participants brief demography. The items were based upon age, gender, class/qualification, improvement in academic grades and hours per week devoted for community service during the program. Age was specified within the range of 14 to 17; though, this range was further fragmented into two more age brackets.

Qualification/class of students was confined to IX to XI grades. Improvement in academics was also divided into two units stating yes or no; which meant whether there was an improvement in academics grades after attending the community service learning program or not. Hours per week devoted for community service program were also included in the demographic survey to get to know a better picture of density of their involvement in the program. The responses to questions in demographic section support that the results are impartial, fair and helpful to all users.

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Research Instrument In this study modified Community Service Self-Entitlement Questionnaire (CSSEQ) developed by August Hoffman and Julie Wallach (2007) has been used which is a likert scale measurement tool. This likert scale technique to measure attitude has for years been pervasive in survey questionnaires of all kinds of studies in fields ranging from anthropology to marketing. This likert scale tool helps measure the importance of community service learning according to students and its impact on their patience level, self-satisfaction, academics, helping others, fulfilling civic responsibilities; hence to measure impact of community service on students’ social skills. This instrument comprised the dimensions that are related to developing social skills. It is not only a simple way of measuring specific views, but also provides a very easy way to construct multiple-items measures that help to quantify attitudes and values in a broader way. The questionnaire was developed on an intensity scale of 1-5 (see Appendix A) contains 16 items to measure the impact of community service on social skills of students. It comprises a 5 point Likert scale ranges from 1 to 5 as follows: 1 = Absolutely Untrue 2 = Somewhat Untrue 3 = Undecided 4 = Somewhat True 5 = Absolutely True

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Focus group interviews The benefits of focus group interviews have been discussed comprehensively in the literature. Focus group interviews offer many benefits to qualitative research without needing full scale anthropological research. They offer verbal transformation of insight into inspiration, attitudes, behavior and emotion that cannot be obtained easily by quantitative or quantifiable methods alone (Hitchcock & Hughes, 1995). This is perhaps the motivation why the focus group interview method is becoming so popular day by day. An interview provides researchers, the actual voices and precise words of the interviewee. This data collection tool helped researcher to provide validity of the data. During the study, the researcher scheduled Semi -Structured interviews. As Hitchcock and Hughes (1995) understood about semi structures interview that it allows depth to be achieved by providing the opportunity on the part of the interviewer to probe and expand the interviewees’ responses. It also creates a relationship between interviewees and interviewer to create a room for negotiation, expansion and discussion of interviewees’ responses. While individual interviews are stress free to conduct and the interface is on one to one basis, on the other hand, this qualitative research tool has always been criticized by the researchers as it does not permit secrecy which effects in narrow view of the interviewee.

In addition to this, focus group interviews were also important to explore the perceptions of students about the impact of community service learning on the social skills of students. The focus group interviews of beneficiaries provided an in-depth analysis of the impact and influence made by the volunteer students on

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them and beneficiaries experience of the program. Ten students from two parent ’ schools (welfare schools) where O-Level students went for community service were selected randomly to ask five open ended questions related to their experience and observations.

Reliability and Validity of the Instruments In research whether it is qualitative or quantitative, to know reliability and validity of study tools are essential for decreasing the risk of errors that might sometimes arise while measuring the data. Thorndike (1997) said that reliability and validity denote to accurateness and exactness of a data in research study during the measurement process. In the study, the instrument/research tool which was used to collect quantitative data is reliable and valid because it has been used in various other researches and theses on community service learning.

Data Collection Procedure Two stages of data gathering and data analysis were chosen to describe statistical results. Five private sector O-Level schools having co-education system situated in middle class socioeconomic locality was the main sample for this mixed method study. Five students were randomly chosen from each school to evaluate their experience and perception of community service. Besides, twenty students were randomly selected from two parent schools to evaluate the experience of community service program on them. Quantitative data was collected through Community Service Self-Entitlement Questionnaire (CSSEQ) developed by August Hoffman and Julie Wallach (2007). Demographic statistics was also collected through a separate section in a questionnaire bearing five

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necessary items on the basis of gender, age, qualification, academic grades and hours devoted for voluntary service per week. In addition, ten students from each recipients’ schools were also interviewed in a focus group.

In order to gather the data, the researcher went to all five main participant and two recipients’ schools in person. As the schools were located in middle class socioeconomic locality and most of the students studying in those O-Level schools did have sufficient exposure to understand the English language and fill in the questionnaire given to them on their own, so the researcher had no difficulty with the students at all the schools when they were filling their survey. Though the researcher had to explain very clearly the purpose of the research study. For collecting qualitative data, as per the availability and convenience of the students, focus group interviews were conducted McCracken (1988) emphasized that in qualitative research design interviews itself are very rewarding but then challenging methods of measurement in research study as they incline to define the main and key themes which are one of the important stage of data analysis.

Hence, interviews in the research are very helpful to describe experience into words and narrate the story behind a research participant’s understanding.

Data Analysis The data process was begun by collecting the data to gain an understanding about the research process. The data analysis was done by transcribing focus group interviews. Then these recorded notes were given codes, and related codes were integrated to form themes in order to later recognize. This procedure allowed the researcher to extract evolving views and ideas from

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qualitative data later, which became the key findings of this research study. This technique also helped the researcher to analyze and gather the data in a systematic manner, which allowed the qualitative data to inform itse1f and not being enforced to give researcher’s anticipated findings (Strauss & Corbin, 1998).

However, to analyze the quantitative data, Statistical Software SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) version 17.0 was used. Simple T test was applied to assess the significance level of community service learning on social skills.

Entry Negotiation To conduct this research study, first the researcher approached the head teachers of the schools and briefed them about the research study and its purpose and then requested them through a proper consent form to allow to conduct a research. Once the head teachers gave the permission then the researcher negotiated with them about the time and handed them the consent form to sign.

However, in one of the schools the head teacher was not much enthusiastic therefore the researcher replaced that school with an other nearby school. As a researcher, she learned from this experience that it is very important for a researcher to be open and patient, because such circumstances are part of research process and one needs to be very open and ready for it.

Ethical Consideration Ethical concerns were considered at every stage of the research study. In context with the purpose and procedure of the research study, the authorization for conducting research study was attained from the research participants (see Appendix D). However, the research study was carried in a normal and natural

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social setting; further the topic and investigation did not fall in complex and sensitive categories. The focus group interviews of the research participants were recorded but prior to that process too, informed consent was taken.

With the survey questionnaires, an informed consent form was also attached declaring that the research participants would be assured with certain rights that, they come to an understanding and agree to take part in the research study and accept that their rights would be kept on protected during the course of the research study. The anonymity and privacy of research participants was assured by statistically coding each survey questionnaire in order to keep the responses confidential. However, the focus group interviews with the selected research participants, were assigned false names for confidentiality and then it was analyzed.

Summary The reason for using mixed method research design was to assure validity and to broaden researcher’s paradigm .The awareness gained from this research design and methodology was later used to conduct the study of impact of community service learning on the social skills of students, which was presented in this chapter. Sample of the research study, data collection process and tools/instrumentation were also discussed and explained. Two stages of data analysis were verbalized as well as the research strengths and limitation. To analyze the quantitative data, Statistical Software SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science) version 17.0 was used. Simple T test was applied to assess the significance level of community service learning on social skills. To analyze the

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qualitative data collected from focus group interview, themes were extracted from the interviews’ transcripts. To validate both quantitative and qualitative data, they were integrated which helped the researcher to broaden the research problem paradigm.

In this chapter data collection process, explanations of the chosen process and the method of authentication and reliability were presented. In this study mixed method was used because it proposes the comprehensive perspective of psychosocial phenomena (John et. al., 2005). Though the mixed method research is comparatively a new arena of study, it has been suggested by the researchers because of its benefits; in terms of applying both qualitative and quantitative approaches of gathering the data make it reliable and also shows its validity.

Hence, to make sure that the research methods were acceptable the researcher worked thoroughly and closely with the assigned supervisor. The analysis of approaches and data handling techniques stated in this chapter provided a description of the nature and importance of the research problem. In chapter four study findings and data analysis are discussed.

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Chapter Four Results and Discussion Overview In order to test the hypotheses and answer the research questions and complete the research study, it is essential to analyze the data that is collected during the study. This chapter presents the findings of the study as scrapped from the results of the research using mixed-methods approach (quantitative and qualitative methods). The analysis of the data is divided in two fragments. The first fragment deals with analysis of quantitative data which was conducted through a questionnaire whereas the second fragment is based on qualitative data analysis that is thematic analysis of interviews. The chapter also examines the key results in relation to the intended research questions which are the base of this research study.

The research study was conducted to evaluate the impact of community service learning on the social skills of O-Level students. John Dewey (1916) encouraged the connections between education and learning within the community. He supported that the community is important to get educational experiences, and said that learning by doing within the society or community, people could be tested to go beyond the customary rote learning, at that time it was the model in classrooms. Dewey emphasized that if learners could apply their knowledge within the society, they would not only grow themselves on an individual level, but also give back to their communities (VanWynsberghe & Andruske, 2007). Cooks and Scharrer (2006) supported, affirming that

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community service learning programs in their true sense. They also promote the notion of community involvement that produces positive change for social betterment. Thus, this research study primarily focused on students’ social skills improvement through community service learning programs. To define whether community service learning programs have an influence on students social skills, the researcher surveyed 100 students, asked them to fill the questionnaire and twenty five students out of those 100 research participants, the researcher conducted focus group interviews with in five groups. The researcher organized qualitative data into the same cluster constructs identified in quantitative data. The similar constructs from both the data are as follows: social responsibility, motivation to continue community service, problem solving skills, improvement in academic result, improved self-confidence and self-esteem, moral and social development, etc. Though, not all constructs are characterized in the qualitative data.

Quantitative Analysis A total of 110 questionnaires were dispersed among five O-Level coeducation schools. The impact of community service on the social skills of 100 OLevel schools students were examined with the help of Community Service SelfEntitlement Questionnaire (CSSEQ) developed by August Hoffman & Julie Wallach (2007). Demographic information of O-Level school students was also collected with the help of demographic survey within the same form. Later the data collected through survey questionnaires were analyzed and evaluated by applying t-test using SPSS version 17. Data was analyzed using an Independent

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Samples t-test to measure the impact of community. Statistical significance was found on specific variables relating to gender difference and impact of community service learning and improvement in academic grades. Total sample of the study was N=100 including 44 males and 56 females. A result of t test of independent means indicated there is no significant difference on the variables of social skills of the students and understanding diversity who participate in community services (see Table 1 & 2). These findings also imitate a number of studies using different tools, research samples and methodologies. Astin and Sax (1998, 2004) found in their research study that community service learning is advantageous for students in the short and the long term both. Students who willingly contribute to community service learning programs may gain several benefits including enhanced social skills, community consciousness, and a desire to help others (Eyler & Giles, 1999). Community service learning programs engage students in an organized service that addresses community needs while improving the students’ educational skills and civic commitment (Heiselt & Wolverton, 2009).

However, the results of hypothesis three shows that majority students are undecided whether community service learning has its impact on academics or not (see Table 3). This result actually provided researcher another dimension to think and study about why students are undecided though they can measure from their grades but probably they think that the learning that they gain during community service program is not sufficient to improve their academic results.

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Hypothesis 1: There will be no significant gender difference on the variable of social skills of the students who participate in community service program.

Table-1 Statistics on the variable of social skills by gender

Overall social Skills

N

Mean

S.D

Female

56

4.15

.486

Male

44

4.22

.541

Table 1 shows that there is no gender difference on the variable of social skills of the students involved in community service program. Independent t-test was run to see the mean difference. Both the genders ranked on likert scale 4 that it is somewhat true that community service learning helped them to improve their social skills. However, slight difference was noticed that males view more than females community service as a mean to improve social skills. Thus the researcher failed to reject null hypothesis and conclude that there is no gender difference on the variable of social skills of student.

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Hypothesis 2: There will be no significant gender difference on the variable of understanding of diversity who participate in community services.

Table-2 Statistics on the variable of understanding diversity by gender

Understanding diversity

N

Mean

S.D

Female

56

4.18

.536

Male

44

4.13

.627

Table 2 indicates that both the genders ranked on likert scale 4 that it is somewhat true but slight difference was noticed that compared to males, females view community service as a mean to understand diversity. The researcher also failed to reject null hypothesis two and conclude that there is no gender difference on the variable of understanding diversity.

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Hypothesis 3: There will be no significant difference in academic grades of students participating in community service.

Table-3 Statistics on the variable of improvement in academic grades

Improvement in academics

N

Mean

S.D

Female

56

3.89

.725

Male

44

3.90

.680

Results of hypothesis three depicts that students are undecided whether community service learning really helped them to improve their results or not.

However, students did not rank it absolutely true or somewhat true neither absolutely untrue or somewhat untrue that shows students are not sure on this variable in terms of statistical outcomes. The mean for the variable 3.89 in female students and 3.90 in male students shows that both the genders have same perception on the variable of academic improvement.

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Reliability Table-4 Reliability Statistics for the Questionnaire Questionnaire

Cronbach’s Alpha

No. of items

Community Service Self-Entitlement Questionnaire

0.896

16

In this research study, Cronbach’s Alpha rialiability statistics (Table 4) for the questionnaire was 0.896 which indicates a high level of internal consistency.

Therefore the CSSEQ is a reliable measure to see impact of community service.

Collectively, all the students involved in community service learning program felt community service as an important activity in which everyone should participate, it helps them to improve social skills, makes them responsible citizens and it also provides them self-satisfaction.

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Qualitative Data Analysis An in-depth picture can be drawn about how do students perceive community service learning program and what motivates them to participate in it through qualitative data analysis. For that reason qualitative data analysis instrument was used to validate the findings and results obtained from the analysis of quantitative data and to understand why a specific response was given by the research study participants. From each of the five schools, five students who participated in community service program were randomly selected and interviewed as to investigate their experience about community service learning.

Besides, five students from each recipients’ schools were selected to know their experience of community service. Through semi structured interview protocol, the students were interviewed five open ended questions which were recorded and then transcribed for developing the thematic analysis to understand the data.

For the triangulation of the research study and to supplement the quantitative data examined in this research, researcher interviewed students who had participated in community service programs. To this end, the researcher conducted site visits to five O-Level schools and two parent schools where students were allowed to volunteer their services. At each O-Level school and at both the parent schools, the researcher interviewed a minimum of five students in a focus group. These students were randomly selected and focus group interview was guided by a semi-structured interview, tape recorded, and later transcribed.

The volunteer students focus group interviews gathered information about their experience, learning and perception about community service programs and the

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parent school students focus group interview gathered data about how the beneficiaries students interpreted the community service experience.

For Marshall and Rossman (1995) analysis of qualitative data is a quest and exploration of relationships among categories of data. During the data collection process of this study, the researcher organized the data from the beginning so she could categorize themes easily that were evolving from the data.

A description of the emerged themes from the focus group interview of volunteer students is described below.

Interviews (volunteer students) Community service learning as a source of self-satisfaction. This theme includes students’ perceptions about the community service experience. For them it gives them self- satisfaction and life time experience that enables them to learn many things, for example how to work with their class fellows, how to manage time for the voluntary work and for their studies, how to teach others, how to help others and abopve all to do something for humanity. Both the genders had almost same views while defining community service learning.

This theme revealed that students experienced community service learning as a source of self-satisfaction that also improve their relationships with their peers and with recipients. Students discussed about how these interactions impacted on their personality. This theme involves the various outcomes identified by research participants. Some of them stated that they were able to implement their learning and by sharing their knowledge they were able to understand the concepts more clearly.

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Increased sense of social responsibility. The most shared community service learning outcome identified by majority of the students in the focus group interviews was increased sense of social responsibility. This feeling of social responsibility is coupled with a keen sense of responsibility and a very important social skill, demonstrated in the following quote by one of the research participant: “From community service learning program, I learned about how to help others, leadership...and also, responsibilities of a good citizen. I realize that even one person like me can really make a difference”.

As the above extract illustrates, students discovered high self-esteem and socially responsible person can make a big difference. The students reported that the community service learning experience supported students’ personal value, which sometimes also translated into an improved sense of responsibility.

Another change that students identified as resulting from the community service experience was increased student awareness of the people around them and about society. (Related outcomes are reported in the research study of Astin & Sax, 1998). For example, many students discussed how community service impacted the way that they observed needy people of their society, which helped them reevaluate their previous beliefs. As one student states, “The important thing that I learned was what it is really like to being less privileged.” One more student: “When you come to know reality of something, you behave in a different way because you try to understand others from their perspectives”. Another student

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shared a very interesting point. He said at school we are so pampered by our teachers but when we go there we realize how difficult it is to pamper others Impact on social skills by gender. One more outcome of the community service learning that students identified in the focus group interviews was improved awareness of social skills and value change. Both the genders had similar opinions about learning social skills from the program. One boy, for example, spoke of how the community service experience influenced his approach towards understanding social skills and volunteering, as this statement illuminates: “I think this experience made a really big change in my attitude towards understanding social skills... I learnt how to respect others… Then from that, it just inspired me to be good with every one, help others and I should volunteer more and count it as my moral duty.” For one female student, participating in community service program as a part of their result caused them to understand that they did “I have time for it and I can do it… I am very happy that my school organizes such programs otherwise I would have not taken this initiative myself…really it helped me to socialize and also to be responsible… I had an amazing experience…” The above extracts show that community service made students responsible citizens.

Awareness of future avenues. In one of the focus group interviews the students response really made the researcher think in depth the benefits of this service program when one of the students shared, “After completing this service program I have decided that now I will study Sociology so I can know more about society”. Another student agreed with this opinion and discussed that how the

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community service caused him to think about the possible career options he might make. He spoke of how this amazing experience exposed him to the awareness of working for a non-profit organization. “This experience turned on the light that I never thought… The non-profit agency… where we can work for others… and make a difference in our society”. Some of them felt that this experience gave them the chance to determine something they might want to do in the future while other students denied this and said that this experience simply gave them awareness about service oriented fields.

Increased level of engagement. Overall, majority of the students shared that community service engages us in useful task. As one of them enthusiastically states: “Initially I didn’t like this program.. it was hectic for me… but when I started this journey time, passed so fast and we worked so much without thinking about our tiredness… Now I have started going for community service on every weekend”. Another student said, “We were keenly involved in something rather than sitting in our regular classrooms”.

CSL and academic skills. When asked the students, “Do you think this experience helps you to improve your academic skills?” some students stated that there is a connection between community service and academics. They said “whatever we learn in classroom, we get a chance to teach others; by this we also understand many things and we also get an opportunity to understand our communities’ issues”. Some students felt that the community service experience offers an avenue to apply the theories that they are learning in the school. One student shared participating in community service learning as putting “theories

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into practice.” However, some of them said that their level is different from the level of the students to whom they teach therefore they are not learning anything new rather they just get an opportunity to review their own concepts.

Awareness of social issues. Students repetitively provided examples of how involvement in community service program increased their consciousness of problems in the community. Few students said that they had stereotypes beliefs about the students they would come across but during the service they were able to see the reality that they had never thought or viewed in the particular perspective. One student discussed, “Those kids really need our help, they don’t have sufficient basic necessities of lives that we take for granted… Now we are able to understand the challenges that those students have in life for example absolute poverty, low profile life…”

The interviews with volunteer students also enabled the researcher to understand to suggest that community service learning can help students to breakdown stereotypes and to realize that before making judgments one should look for further information and for reality. One student reported that she used to consider the needy people as of low moral values but now she is able to know reasons behind those low moral values.

To summarize, students believe that community service helped them to understand the world around them, learn how to be responsible in order to to have good social skills. It also heightened the students’ own values and views by helping them to challenge and encounter their predetermined notions and opinions about society and its issues. It builds a sense of responsibility in students who

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participate in this service program. It also develops a personal effectiveness and a keen sense of civic responsibility. The focus group interviews made it clear that student view community service program an effective activity. In fact, a few students clearly stated that this program should be mandatory for all the students.

Thus it appears that students’ view community service learning very important activity.

Interviews (students of parent schools) Two short focus group interviews were conducted in the schools where volunteer students attended the community service program. This interview was conducted in Urdu as the recipients were not comfortable in English.

Experience from the volunteer program. Recipients shared that they had very good experience with the young volunteers; volunteer students were very friendly with them, and they used to motivate them for studies and did not scold them for making mistakes during the task. One recipient student stated: “Humey in baji aur bhai ke saath bara maza aya kun ke ye humaey pyaar se parhatey hain… hamari baat ko suntey hain aur hamein jab ye shabaash kehtey hain tou hamein bohat acha lagta hai”. One more student said, “ hamey ye volunteers bohat ache se sabaq sikhatey hain… hamey ache se samajh aa jata hain aur school mai maza bhi aata hai… itni saari games hum ne kabhi nahi khelein class mai…

Hum har haftey in ka intazaar kartey hain…” However, one student said that his mentor scolded him once for not bringing the books. Overall, majority stated that they had good time with these volunteers. They all were in the favor that such programs should be continued in the future too. Another student expressed, “Jab

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in volunteers ka program khatam ho jata hai tou hamey ye bohat yaad aatey hain‌� The above brief extract shows that recipients enjoy their studies when volunteers come and teach them.

Summary Both the quantitative and qualitative data of this study revealed that students perceive community service as an important activity, it helps them to improve their social skills, makes them socially responsible, enables them to understand diversity and understand societal issues. However, in quantitative data the researcher found that students are not sure whether community service program helps them to improve their academics skills or not whereas a few students of the focus group interview stated that it helps them clear their own concepts that they had learnt in their classes. On the other hand recipients also learnt from this program by enjoying their studies and having a strong bond with volunteers.

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Chapter Five Conclusion and Recommendations Currently, though, CSL is being used to define an extensive array of pragmatic learning activities from volunteer service ventures to field studies and practicum and CSL takes place when between learning and service outcomes there is equilibrium (Furco, 1996). One more aspect of CSL is the exchange of benefit between the volunteers and the recipient (Gomez, 1999). It is a program in which students, without material compensation accomplish service with the intention to beneďŹ t the community. Sometimes it is non-curriculum based; compulsory or voluntary, does not generally include obvious learning goals and may have activities that take place in school or outside school. A CSL is based on community service in which sometimes service is incorporated into academic outcomes or in co-curricular activities. In spite of some significant dissimilarity between service learning and community service, this literature review did not differentiate between them, since the terms are frequently used interchangeably. In addition, CSL participants improve basic social and citizenship skills for instance capability to express feelings, ability to understand issues of community, develop leadership skills, etc (Gomez, 1999).

Since different theorists and researchers of the same field have different views of what community service learning in reality is, the researcher explaining in this study, community service learning as any voluntarily or unpaid community service that is mainly dedicated to improving the situation of community.

Community service activities are planned under the supervision of school

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administrations or adults who help students to become socially sound and who educate and train other members of the community who work in more or less some way to develop the society and improve the environment and living conditions of society.

The findings and results of the research study suggest that community service learning increases student insights of the importance of community work, understanding of diversity, social skills as well as sense of responsibility.

Furthermore, students extracts suggest that once students understand others then they are able to improve their social skills also. According to a student, “The community service program itself was interesting and rewarding for me... working with others made me more humble and more helpful�. Few students who developed good relationship with their colleagues were really satisfied with the program.

CSL should be part of school curriculum instead of having this activity as an option. Curriculum setters and school administration should design integrated program for it. Besides, parents’ involvement can be made mandatory and once school finishes this project, students should be asked to engage themselves in CSL independently.

The research conducted has its limitations as only O-Level schools were taken into consideration. For a more holistic understanding of the suject, other school systems also need to be taken into consideration whereas, a larger sample size will be able to confirm the results of this research.

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For further research study addressing community service learning, the researcher suggests to study the types of activities that volunteer students initiated during the program besides, volunteers students’ teachers can also be interviewed for investigating the change in their students who participate in the program. A second suggestion is for comparative study of two groups; of those who participate in community service and then compare with those who do not participate in order to see the difference in their attitude and perception.

Moreover, for future studies longitudinal effects of community service learning can be studied. For example, the researchers have not yet studied that changes in attitudes after completing community service program and volunteer work have short term or long term effects. A long term effect study may help understand its impact on the entire society in the long run. The era in which we live is the era of self-centeredness and egoistic behaviors; everyone seems to be running after materialistic goals and self-benefits. In such a fast pace world, the importance of helping others and community work can be awarding for individuals to realize their role in society. Further research on the same paradigm can help educationists and school administrators to make community service program a mandatory part of their curriculum, not only at higher grades but from the elementary level.

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Community Service Self-Entitlement Questionnaire (CSSEQ) (Questionnaire made by August Hoffman & Julie Wallach, 2007) Section A Age: _____(14 - 15 years) _____(15 - 16 years) _____(16 - 17 years) Gender:

_____ (Male)

_____ (Female)

Grade/Class:

_____ (IX) ________ (X)

_____ (XI)

Academic grades improved after attending voluntary service program: ______ YES ______ NO Community Service Program attended for: 10 hours

10-20 hours

20-30 hours

More than that

Section B Please answer the following questions by using tick mark in the boxes given below.

1 = Absolutely Untrue 2 = Somewhat Untrue 3 = Undecided 4 = Somewhat True 5 = Absolutely True

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1. I feel that participating in volunteer or community work is an effective activity that all people should be involved in.

1

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3

4

5 2. When I participate in volunteer work and community service learning work, I feel better as a person because I engage myself in helping others.

1

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3

4

5 3. When I participate in volunteer and community service learning work, I feel as though I am contributing to make society better for all people.

1

2

3

4

5 4. People around me start respecting me when I involve myself in voluntary work.

1

5

2

3

4

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5. When I participate in volunteer or community service learning work, I feel as though I am more capable of accomplishing my academics goals in life.

1

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4

5 6. When I participate in volunteer or community service learning work, I feel as though my relationships with other people also improve.

1

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3

4

5 7. When I participate in volunteer or community service learning work, I like working outside and enjoy the activities with others.

1

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5 8. I feel that participating in volunteer community service learning work has also improved my academic performance.

1

5

2

3

4

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9. When working as a volunteer in the community, I feel that my sense of pride for the community and my school has also increased.

1

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5 10. I feel that community service learning work has helped me to understand other people and to understand different cultures.

1

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5 11. I feel myself more responsible citizen while I engage in community service work.

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5 12. When working as a volunteer I feel myself as a problem solver.

1

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4

IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING 100 13. I feel that community service learning work has increased my patience level.

1

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5 14. Community service learning helped me to apply my academic learning in a practical setting.

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5 15. I get to know and understand people from different background.

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5 16. I learn how to care for people when doing voluntary work.

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IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING 101 Appendix B FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FROM VOLUNTEERS

4. What do you mean by community service learning program? Or how do you perceive CSL? 5. Discuss the experience that you got from CSL. / Or what you learnt from it?

6. Have you seen any change in your personality (in terms of improved social skills) and in academics after completing CSL? If yes please discuss what change?

7. What are the activities that you initiate to participate in CSL? 8. What motivated you to join this program?

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FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FROM RECIEPIENTS (Parent School Students)

1. How do you feel when these young volunteers who are students themselves come here and teach you?

2. Do you think these programs are beneficial for you? If yes then how?

3. What do you learn from them (volunteers)?

4. Would you like to have such kinds of program in future also?

5. What are the differences when your teachers teach you and when these volunteers teach?

IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING 103 Appendix C Informed Consent Form Title of study: The impact of community service learning on the social skills of students Principal investigator: Azmina Afzal Institute: Institute of Business Management Dear Participant, I (Azmina Afzal) would like to invite you to participate in an MPhil research project on ‘Impact of Community Service Learning and its Impact’. I will use the data gathered during this research for my MPhil thesis.

Purpose of the Research study The purpose of carrying out this research are to explore the impact of community service learning on the social skills of students. The objectives are: 3. Study the experience of students after participating in community service.

4. Investigate the impact of community service learning on the areas of social skills of O-Level students.

As the participants are O level students who are in a school and already participated in community service learning program, they can assess the impact of community service learning on them.

Process Participants shall be required to fill the survey questionnaire and return it to the researcher herself. Participants can feel free to request for further clarifications

IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING 104 whatever is incomprehensible to them while filling the form. They may refuse to participate or opt out from the research study at any time without any hesitations.

There is no penalty for withdrawn.

Possible Benefits and Risks There is also no risk involved in this research study except the research participants’ valuable time. Please note that there is no direct benefit for them as the study is to provoke an awareness of the importance of community service learning programs at school level.

Privacy and Confidentiality All data or information research participants supply throughout the study will be held in confidence. Participants’ anonymity is assured and their names shall not appear in any document or publication of the research study. Data collected through survey questionnaires shall remain very confidential and shall be used for this research only. Participants’ information will be allocated a code number. When the research study is finished and the information and data has been analysed and consumed for the research study, the list will be discarded.

Mutual Respect and Confidence Accomplishment of the research project be subject to the level and nature of confidence and rapport build and continued between the researcher and the participants. Therefore, in order to make the discourse meaningful, we esteem each others’ ideas, feelings and opinions. In this regard, the principles of equal participation, using mutually familiar language and commitment to share important

IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING 105 and relevant information’ would be followed by the researcher and the research participants.

Withdrawal of Consent As mentioned before participation in this research study in completely voluntarily and therefore, you have the right to withdraw at any point without giving any particular reason. However, it will be appreciated if the research participant informs the researcher about their decision in writing.

Participants may contact If research participants have any queries they may contact the researcher by email at azminkot@hotmail.com.

Participant's Consent Declaration By endorsing below, I hereby admit that I have read and comprehend the above information and guidelines. I am also aware that I may withdraw my participation in the research study at any time without ant consequences. .

Participants’ name and signature _____________________________________ Researcher’s name and signature _____________________________________ Date :

________________________

IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING 106 Appendix D Focus Group Interview Consent Form Title of study: The impact of community service learning on the social skills of students Principal investigator: Azmina Afzal Institute: Institute of Business Management Dear Participant, I (Azmina Afzal) would like to invite you to participate in focus group interview conducted for my MPhil research. The interview will be audio recorded. The data will then be used for writing my MPhil thesis. The thesis or part of it may also be published and disseminated through various channels.

Purpose of the Focus Group Interview The purpose of the focus group interview is to gain understanding of the experience that students get from community service learning programs.

Confidentiality Anonymity and confidentiality of all the participants and the data collected from them will be ensured by using identity codes or pseudo names where ever needed.

Withdrawal of Consent The participation in this research study in completely voluntarily and therefore, you have the right to withdraw at any point without giving any particular reason.

Participants’ Comments I have read and understood the consent form and I agree to participate in the focus group interview.

Participants’ name and signature _____________________________________ Researcher’s name and signature _____________________________________ Date :

________________________

IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING 107 Appendix E Permission Letter to Principal/Head Teacher To The Principal/Head Teacher Subject: Request for permission to conduct research study in your school Respected Sir/Madam, I am Azmina Afzal student of MPhil in education from Institute of Business Management Karachi. Area of my specialization in Education. Thesis is an essential part of the IoBM MPhil program. I want to conduct a study titled ‘Impact of community service learning on the social skills of students’. For this purpose five schools have been requested to participate in the study and your school is one of them. Students will be asked to fill a questionnaire. Therefore, it is kindly requested you to allow me to carry out the study in your school.

The significance of the study is manifold. Firstly, the study would provide contextual knowledge about impact of community service learning on students which has not been explored in our O-Level system yet. Secondly, the questionnaire will allow students to think about the learnings and experience that they gained from the CSL program. Thirdly, results might also be helpful for school management to reflect on the existing practice of the program.

I hope I will be given permission to undertake the study in your school under your kind authority.

With best wishes, Azmina Afzal Institute of Business Management, Karachi, Pakistan.

IMPACT OF COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING 108 Appendix F Table 5: Descriptive Statistics

Descriptive Statistics Item wise Maximu N

Range Minimum

Statistic

m

Statistic Statistic Statistic

Mean Statisti

Std.

c

Error

Std.

Varianc

Deviation

e

Skewness

Kurtosis

Std. Statistic Statistic Statistic

Error

Std. Statistic

Error

social_skills

100

2.88

2.13

5.00 4.1825

.05101

.51013

.260

-.572

.241

1.409

.478

diversity

100

3.25

1.75

5.00 4.1625

.05756

.57557

.331

-1.010

.241

2.192

.478

academics

100

3.00

2.00

5.00 3.8967

.07022

.70224

.493

-.652

.241

-.353

.478

Valid N (listwise)

100