The Effects of Service Learning and Volunteerism Activities on University Students in Turkey

Abstract

The general purpose of this study is to determine the awareness and acquisitions obtained with service activities by the students studying on undergraduate level in Eskişehir Anadolu University in 2016-2017 education year and involve in service learning and volunteerism activities. The study was designed according to qualitative research method and the case study was used. The data of the study was collected with semi-structured interview technique. Descriptive analysis method was used in analysing the data. Consequently, in this study, 4 main themes, 9 sub-themes and 3 categories were found in accordance with the purpose of the study. Being the first purpose of the study, "the reasons of students' participation into service learning and volunteerism activities" was determined as the first theme of the study. The second purpose, "the effects of service learning and volunteerism activities on students' occupational developments" was determined as the second theme of the study. The third purpose of the study "the effects of service learning and volunteerism activities on students' personal development" was determined as the third theme. The fourth purpose "the effects of service learning and volunteerism activities on students' view about disadvantageous people of the society" was determined as the fourth theme. Sub-themes and categories were classified according to the themes determined.

Social Integration and Campus Internationalization Through Performing Arts Volunteerism

“…In our view, institutions with significant international student populations could benefit by fostering volunteer groups, by increasing awareness of the importance of diversity in campus organizations, and by adapting new social integration strategies. There is a perception that the U.S. has a special historical connection with volunteerism (Ogilvie, 2004), but our study depends on the view that the ethos of volunteerism is essentially international (e.g., Boru, 2017; Sarfson and Albini, 2017). We see volunteerism not as an essentially American activity, but as a cross-cultural activity that lends itself particularly well to campus internationalization.…”

Chapter 1. Fundamental Insights about Teaching Formats in the Area of Sustainability and Responsibility

“…Furthermore, various studies are investigating the effectiveness of implementing these pedagogies in teaching practice, often in the form of case studies (e.g. Ayers et al, 2020;Baden & Parkes, 2013;Boru, 2017;Heiskanen et al, 2016;Konrad et al, 2020Konrad et al, , 2021Mintz & Tal, 2013Molderez & Fonseca, 2018), but also in the form of more…”

Exploring key service-learning experiences that promote students’ learning in higher education

“…With its popularity, a substantial body of research on service-learning in higher education has suggested evidence of its positive impact on students’ cognitive and affective development. Previous studies have demonstrated that service-learning enhances cognitive development, such as students’ academic performance (Fredericksen, 2000 ; Markus et al, 1993 ) as well as personal and social development such as social responsibility (Kolenko et al, 1996 ), self-efficacy (Tucker & McCarthy, 2001 ), belongings to school and community (Soria et al, 2019 ), career development (Boru, 2017 ) problem solving, and communication skill (Tucker et al, 1998 ; Weiler et al, 2013 ).…”