Online publication date: 11 October 2010 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Transcription

1 This article was downloaded by: [George Mason University] On: 10 February 2011 Access details: Access Details: [subscription number ] Publisher Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: Registered office: Mortimer House, Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Teaching of Psychology Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: Required Volunteers: Community Volunteerism Among Students in College Classes Terry A. Beehr a ; Kimberly LeGro a ; Kimberly Porter a ; Nathan A. Bowling b ; William M. Swader a a Central Michigan University, b Wright State University, Online publication date: 11 October 2010 To cite this Article Beehr, Terry A., LeGro, Kimberly, Porter, Kimberly, Bowling, Nathan A. and Swader, William M.(2010) 'Required Volunteers: Community Volunteerism Among Students in College Classes', Teaching of Psychology, 37: 4, To link to this Article: DOI: / URL: PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Full terms and conditions of use: This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

2 Teaching of Psychology, 37: , 2010 Copyright C Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: print / online DOI: / Required Volunteers: Community Volunteerism Among Students in College Classes Downloaded By: [George Mason University] At: 15:32 10 February 2011 Terry A. Beehr, Kimberly LeGro, and Kimberly Porter Central Michigan University Nathan A. Bowling Wright State University William M. Swader Central Michigan University Volunteering implies free choice, but people in some situations can feel compelled to volunteer. Hypotheses about students volunteer work focused on self-determination and sufficiency of justification for their behavior. We examined required versus nonrequired volunteerism, internal and external motivation for volunteering, and attitudes of student volunteers toward their university. The sample was 273 college student nonvolunteers, required volunteers, and nonrequired volunteers. Nonrequired volunteers reported stronger commitment to and satisfaction with their university as well as stronger internal and weaker external motivation to volunteer than did required volunteers. Nonrequired volunteers experienced greater time demands than nonvolunteers did. It might be important to manage service learning programs to enhance students experience of freedom in their choice to volunteer. Some college courses require community volunteerism or service learning. Service learning is practical, experiential education in which students learn from engaging in community volunteer work and in which tasks are related to course topics. Some of the learning comes from reflecting about volunteer experiences in relation to course content (Hatcher & Bringle, 1997; Marchel, 2004; Miller & Yen, 2005; Osborne & Renick, 2006). Aside from disciplinary learning, two other goals are to develop students senses of responsibility and to meet community needs (e.g., Kogan & Kellaway, 2004; Pezdek, 2002). We examined potential side effects of such volunteer activities. Voluntariness of Student Volunteering By definition, volunteerism is usually nonobligatory helping (e.g., Penner, 2004). When universities actively encourage their students to volunteer in the community, however, the nature of volunteerism can become altered. There is a continuum of how much volunteering is encouraged, and at the extreme, the oxymoron of required volunteerism makes sense (Stukas, Snyder, & Clary, 1999). Courses in which service learning is required are near the required end of this continuum. This study addressed two major issues: potential effects of courses requiring community service and the potential effects of volunteerism on attitudes toward the university. Students Internal and External Motives for Volunteering Students external motivation is represented by behavior that is due to externally administered outcomes, rewards from an external source. Rewards can be tangible (e.g., résumé enhancement or 276 Teaching of Psychology

3 money) or intangible (e.g., praise). Internal motivation refers to rewards administered only by the students themselves, without accompanying rewards from others. Students often undertake volunteer service with the unselfish motive of doing something for a worthy purpose. Being required to volunteer (i.e., external motivation) might reduce internal motivation to volunteer, however (Stukas et al., 1999). A set of theories related to the concept of control explain why: the overjustification hypothesis about internal and external motivation, as noted in both laboratory and classroom studies (Pearce, 1983; Smith & Weber, 2005; Staw, 1976); self-determination theory (e.g., Ryan & Deci, 2000); and cognitive evaluation theory (e.g., Gagné& Deci, 2005). Therefore, we hypothesized that required student volunteers would report greater external motivation and less internal motivation to volunteer than nonrequired volunteers. Students required to volunteer might be more likely to believe that volunteering is an imposition that takes away a valuable resource: time. Their external motivation is associated with resentment regarding the amount of time given to volunteering, an activity they would be less likely to freely choose than would the nonrequired volunteers. This attribution results in their perception that their time has become limited. Therefore we hypothesized that required student volunteers would report more perceived time demands than nonrequired volunteers. Attitudes About the University When students volunteer, benefits to the university can include a student body that is more committed to and satisfied with a university that is civic-minded. In one study, students who were members of university volunteer organizations and who volunteered to work telephones to raise funds for the university endowment (and cash prizes for their own organization) became more committed to their university (Schaubroeck & Ganster, 1991). This situation was different from most community volunteering situations, but it suggests a volunteerism university commitment link. In contrast to these studies, universities requiring students to volunteer might receive fewer benefits than they would otherwise expect in the form of favorable student attitudes. Thus we hypothesized that nonrequired student volunteers would report greater university commitment to and satisfaction with the university than required volunteers. Method Participants were Midwestern university undergraduates. Nonrequired volunteers (n = 66) were from the university s volunteer center. Nonvolunteers (n = 125) were in abnormal psychology, psychology of advertising, and stress courses. Required volunteers (n = 82) were in courses with service learning requirements in childhood education, education technology, and workshop courses. All participants averaged 20 years old, 69% were upperclassmen, 80% were women, and their average course load was 15 hr. All response scales ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to7(strongly agree). Rational and empirical methods resulted in six internal motivation items (α =.93). Each researcher wrote five items describing intrinsic motivation and five items describing extrinsic motivation to volunteer. We evaluated the items for clarity, meaning, and redundancy and accepted, rejected, or revised them, resulting in seven items. Examining item-total correlations and reliabilities resulted in elimination of one item. A sample item was I volunteer because I enjoy it. We developed nine external motivation items (α =.86) in a similar manner. The initial stages resulted in 10 items; item analysis resulted in elimination of one item. A sample item was I volunteer because people expect me to do it. Confirmatory factor analysis tested a two-factor model with intrinsic motivation items loading onto one factor and extrinsic items loading onto the other. It yielded excellent fit, χ 2 (39, N = 138) = 46.57, p =.19; root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA) =.03; comparative fit index (CFI) = 1.00; goodness-of-fit index (GFI) =.96. We developed eight items assessing perceived time demands (α =.92). A sample item was I seem to have less free time than most other people have. Eight items assessing students commitment to the university (α =.75) were adaptations from Allen and Meyer s (1990) affective organizational commitment scale. University replaced organization in the original items. A sample item was I really feel as if this University s problems are my own. Four items adapted from Bowling (2002) assessed satisfaction with the university (α =.91). A sample item was All in all, I am satisfied with the university. Vol. 37, No. 4,

4 Table 1. Correlations Among Motivation Types, Attitudes Toward the University, and Time Demands Scale Internal motivation 2 External motivation.02 3 University commitment Satisfaction with university Time demands Note. N = 121. The two motivations for volunteering were not measured among nonvolunteers. Listwise deletion was used. p <.05. p <.01. Results Correlations among variables appear in Table 1. Table 2 contains analyses of covariance, showing the relation of the type of volunteer to internal and external motivation, commitment to the university, satisfaction with the university, and perceived time demands, holding constant students sex, age, year in school, and number of current semester hours. Table 2 indicates that required volunteers reported less intrinsic motivation than nonrequired volunteers, F (1, 128) = 6.07, p <.05; M = 5.94 and M = 6.39, as hypothesized (d = 0.48). Also as hypothesized, required volunteers reported more extrinsic motivation than nonrequired volunteers, F (1, 128) = 8.42, p <.01; M = 3.94 for required volunteers and M = 3.31 for nonrequired volunteers (d = 0.54). A1 3 ANCOVA indicated significant differences among the volunteerism groups on perceived time demands, F (2, 250) = 5.08, p <.01. Nonvolunteers reported fewer perceived time demands than nonrequired volunteers (M = 4.51 vs. M = 5.15, p <.05, d = 0.49). There was no significant difference between required and nonrequired volunteers, however, failing to support the hypothesis. University commitment differed based on volunteer status, F (2, 236) = 16.41, p <.01. Nonrequired volunteers had significantly greater university commitment than both required volunteers (M = 5.21 vs. M = 4.36, d = 0.68) and nonvolunteers (M = 5.21 vs. M = 4.20, d = 0.87). Nonrequired volunteers also had greater satisfaction than required volunteers, F (2, 256) = 5.20, p <.01 (M = 5.51 vs. M = 4.84, d = 0.56) and nonvolunteers (M = 5.51 vs. M = 5.04, d = 0.42). Therefore, the hypotheses about volunteers reactions to the university were supported. Although not hypothesized, nonrequired volunteers had greater commitment and satisfaction than nonvolunteers. Discussion Consistent with cognitive theories of internal and external motivation (e.g., Ryan & Deci, 2000; Staw, 1976), courses requiring volunteer work might affect motives behind volunteering. Promotion of volunteer work ensuring students are aware of the extrinsic benefits virtually always accompanies class requirements of service learning, with grades as the most obvious extrinsic benefit. There are implications for instructors communications about experiences in courses requiring volunteering. More favorable attitudes might result if information emphasizes internal rewards such as Table 2. ANCOVAs of Motivation Types, Attitudes Toward the University, and Time Demands by Nonvolunteers, Required Volunteers, and Nonrequired Volunteers Nonvolunteers Required Volunteers Nonrequired Volunteers M SD n M SD n M SD n F Internal motivation 5.95 (5.94) (6.39) External motivation 3.88 (3.94) (3.31) University commitment 4.21 (4.20 a ) (4.36 a ) (5.21 b ) University satisfaction 5.04 (5.04 a ) (4.84 a ) (5.51 b ) Perceived time demands 4.40 (4.51 a ) (4.58 ab ) (5.15 b ) Note. Age, gender, current number of semester hours, and year in college were controlled in these ANCOVAs. Adjusted means are in parentheses. These covariates effects were minimal and are not reported here to save table space. Means are significantly different where the superscripts (a or b) are different. p <.05. p < Teaching of Psychology

5 feelings of satisfaction rather than external rewards. In addition, some service learning courses offer volunteer work as an option, along with assignments such as doing interviews and writing a paper (Kretchmar, 2001; Lundy, 2007). Students choosing the service learning volunteer option might perceive the volunteer work as more volitional. A limitation of the study concerns students all being from the same university. In addition, random assignment was impossible for nonrequired volunteers and nonvolunteers. Researchers cannot force students to volunteer freely nor prevent students from volunteering. Types of volunteerism could result in different student attitudes, a proposed causal direction based on self-determination theories and on empirical studies such as the one with students doing volunteer phone work (which employed methods allowing stronger inference about causality; Schaubroeck & Ganster, 1991). It is equally plausible, however, that the attitudes and cognitions caused differential volunteering. For example, students university commitment might cause them to use the university s volunteer center services, thereby becoming nonrequired volunteers. A second issue concerns context. The required and nonrequired volunteer groups were enrolled in different courses, and the types of volunteer experiences and the lengths of time in volunteer activities could have been different between the groups. Regarding time spent volunteering, there was no measure of it in the study, but nonrequired volunteers reported more time demands than did nonvolunteers. One interpretation of this finding is that nonrequired volunteers are more active people in general, and volunteering is only one such activity. Courses With Volunteering Components This study offered a unique comparison between students who were voluntary volunteers, required volunteers, and nonvolunteers. Teaching a course that requires volunteer work might influence students motivation in undesirable ways. There are ways of teaching courses with volunteer experiences that are likely to overcome this potential problem, however, such as emphasizing the intrinsic rewards of volunteering and making community volunteer work a course option. References Allen, N. J., & Meyer, J. P. (1990). The measurement and antecedents of affective, continuance and normative commitment to the organization. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 63, Bowling, N. A. (2002). Opponent process theory and negative affectivity (NA): An integrated approach to the stability of job satisfaction. Unpublished master s thesis, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant MI. Gagné, M., & Deci, E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 26, Hatcher, J. A., & Bringle, R. G. (1997). Reflection: Bridging the gap between service and learning. College Teaching, 45, Kogan, L. R., & Kellaway, J. A. (2004). Applied animal behavior course: A service-learning collaboration with the humane society. Teaching of Psychology, 31, Kretchmar, M. D. (2001). Service learning in a general psychology class: Description, preliminary evaluation, and recommendations. Teaching of Psychology, 28, Lundy, B. L. (2007). Service learning in life-span developmental psychology: Higher exam scores and increased empathy. Teaching of Psychology, 34, Marchel, C. A. (2004). Evaluating reflection and sociocultural awareness in service learning classes. Teaching of Psychology, 31, Miller, K. K., & Yen, S.-C. (2005). Group differences in academic achievement: Service learning in a child psychology course. Teaching of Psychology, 31, Osborne, R. E., & Renick, O. (2006). Service-learning. In W. Buskist & S. F. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of the teaching of psychology (pp ). Malden, MA: Blackwell. Pearce, J. L. (1983). Job attitude and motivation differences between volunteers and employees from comparable organizations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 68, Penner, L. A. (2004). Volunteerism and social problems: Making things better or worse? Journal of Social Issues, 60, Pezdek, K. (2002). Teaching psychology in the context of a university community partnership. Teaching of Psychology, 29, Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, Schaubroeck, J., & Ganster, D. C. (1991). Beyond the call of duty: A field study of extra-role behavior in voluntary organizations. Human Relations, 44, Smith, R. A., & Weber, A. L. (2005). Applying social psychology in everyday life. In F. W. Schneider, Vol. 37, No. 4,

6 J. A. Gruman, & L. M. Coutts (Eds.), Applied social psychology: Understanding and addressing social and practical problems (pp ). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Staw, B. M. (1976). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Morristown, NJ: General Learning Press. Stukas, A. A., Snyder, M., & Clary, E. G. (1999). The effects of mandatory volunteerism on intentions to volunteer. Psychological Science, 10, Notes 1. We thank Thomas Kromer, Shawna Ross, Robert Siltzer, Nathan Weed, and Karen Wickes-Ortega for their help in data collection. 2. Send correspondence to Terry A. Beehr, Psychology Department, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859; Teaching of Psychology