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Civic Engagement and Community Service at Research Universities pp 143–163Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Modeling the Influence of Service-Learning on Academic and Sociocultural Gains: Findings from a Multi-institutional Study

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Abstract

Data from the Community and Civic Engagement Module of the 2010 multi-institutional Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey were used to develop and test two structural equation models that estimated the potential direct and indirect effects of service-learning involvement on undergraduate students’ (n = 20,426) perceived gains in academic and sociocultural development. Service-learning was found to have a positive association with students’ citizenship/civic behaviors, both in- and out-of-class, but no statistically significant effect on students’ perceived gains in academic skills was found. The structural equation model also revealed statistically significant positive direct relationships between service-learning and student perceptions of sociocultural gains as well as between service-learning and students’ civic-oriented behaviors (both in- and out-of-class). Students’ citizenship and civic behaviors (both in- and out-of-class) were found to play a mediating role between service-learning and sociocultural outcomes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Minneapolis, USA

    Andrew Furco, Daniel Jones-White, Ronald Huesman Jr & Laura Segrue Gorny

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  1. Andrew Furco
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  2. Daniel Jones-White
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  3. Ronald Huesman Jr
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  4. Laura Segrue Gorny
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Institutional Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Krista M. Soria

  2. College of Education & Human Development, University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA

    Tania D. Mitchell

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© 2016 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s)

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Furco, A., Jones-White, D., Huesman, R., Gorny, L. (2016). Modeling the Influence of Service-Learning on Academic and Sociocultural Gains: Findings from a Multi-institutional Study. In: Soria, K., Mitchell, T. (eds) Civic Engagement and Community Service at Research Universities. Palgrave Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55312-6_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55312-6_8

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-55311-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-55312-6

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

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