Does Service-Learning Increase Cultural Competency, Critical Thinking, and Civic Engagement?

Abstract

To prepare for community engagement and partnerships with diverse communities, nursing students must understand the principles of service-learning, as well as the essential skills needed to work within a democracy. The purposes of these two pilot tests were to develop a 15-hour service-learning intervention; refine the 15-hour service-learning intervention; and explore whether participation in the intervention made a difference in the critical thinking, cultural competence, and civic engagement of nursing student participants. Although the sample was small (n = 14), results of paired t tests found that, after the intervention, critical thinking scores measured by the California Critical Thinking Disposition Inventory were significantly lower (t = -2.23, p = .04), particularly on the self-confidence subscale (t = 2.29, p = .039); cultural competence scores measured by the Inventory for Assessing the Process of Cultural Competence Among Healthcare Professionals were significantly lower (t = 4.83, p = .000); and civic engagement scores significantly increased (t = -3.54, p = .004).