To Serve or not to Serve? Student Leaders, Community Service, and Community Service Learning

Abstract

Community service is volunteer activities that require commitment to help others. This paper explores the knowledge and experience of community service activity among student leaders. It identifies the attitudes and perceptions of the student leaders on community service learning module as a requirement in their academic program. The Community Service—Learning Attitudes and Perception Scale (CSLAPS) was applied in this study. The findings show that the student leaders would participate in community services because of their interest in the program itself as well as for their career development. This research information could be used by the schools and academia to engage their student leaders in an academic-based community service as a way of learning and contributing back to the society. Having served both, the learning part and social purposes of the module, it could shape students into well rounded future leaders whose theoretical learning and real engagement of Community Service could benefit many.