Does How Students Serve Matter? What Characteristics of Service Programs Predict Students’ Social Justice Attitudes?

Abstract

Volunteering is often touted as a method to educate college students about social justice by providing students with an opportunity to apply classroom knowledge in a real-world setting. However, many critics have noted that service does not necessarily lead to social justice outcomes and that some forms of service may reinforce students’ negative misconceptions. This analysis estimated the relationship between different service program characteristics and changes in students’ attitudes towards social justice. It found that volunteer programs that were more time-intensive, included reflection, and had a social justice orientation exhibited a stronger relationship with students’ social justice attitudes than other types of volunteer programs. These findings suggest that college students who participate in these types of programs may develop stronger social justice attitudes than students who volunteer through other types of service programs.