The Ecology of Volunteerism Among College Women: Identifying Campus Environments that Inform Volunteering Behaviors

Abstract

This study explores the relationship between campus environments, female college student peer culture, and the tendency to volunteer while in college. The authors used Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of human development (1977, 2005) as a framework to (a) identify one multi-faceted campus environment that is linked to volunteerism among college women and (b) investigate the experiences of both those who do and do not volunteer in college. Findings suggest that females who participate in student clubs/groups, leadership training, and racial/cultural awareness workshops are over 10 times more likely to volunteer compared to students who do not engage in these three specific campus environments. The authors also show that the relationships between some academic and co-curricular experiences are vastly different between women who volunteer and women who do not volunteer. The results of this study not only shed light on the importance of using a more nuanced approach toward examining patterns of volunteerism but also offer a template for researchers and practitioners to apply the ecological model to their own unique campus populations and settings.