Relationships Among Community Service, Civic Engagement Attitudes, Self-esteem, and Social Competence

Abstract

The following paper is the second of our Best-Of Student Research. Papers considered for publication must be researched, including all data collection, by a student in the School of Business at Utah Valley State College. The paper must also be accepted and presented at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research (NCUR) or another academic conference. This paper was supervised by Dr. Susan R. Madsen.
Civic engagement and service are societal elements that help sustain and support community needs. In recent years, emphasis has been placed in institutions of higher education to instill service-learning programs that give students structured learning experiences in the community. These experiences are expected to enable students to develop academic and leadership skills, self-esteem, social competence skills, tolerance for others, and empathy regarding the need for community service. The purpose of this study is to determine if students who participate in service-learning or community service have a higher sense of self-esteem and social competence than students who do not.