Community-based learning and the nontraditional student: What’s age got to do with it?

1. Community-based learning and the nontraditional student: What’s age got to do with it? Helen Rosenberg University of Wisconsin-Parkside Susan Reed DePaul University Anne Statham University of Southern Indiana Howard Rosing DePaul University

2. Working with nontraditional students in CBSL classrooms • Growing proportion of adult and working students on college campuses • Challenges of juggling busy schedules with community-based learning • Affinity of “nontraditional” students for experiential and problem-based learning • Need for research into these students’ experiences

3. Previous Scholarship Previous scholarship inconclusive: • Students who work are just as satisfied with CBSL as students who don’t work (Sather, Reed-Bouley and Fair, 2008). • Adults are just as likely to be involved in service learning as younger students (Holland and Robinson, 2008). However… • Largent and Horinek (2008) analyzed the satisfaction of students and found that adults were less positive about their service learning experiences but found no age differences after adjusting for service learning practices.

4. Previous Scholarship (cont.) Rosenberg, Reed, Statham and Rosing, 2008 • Previously, we compared students’ perceptions of their CBSL experiences at our three universities and found that age predicted less satisfaction at DePaul but not the two other schools. • We redesigned the study to use the same survey questions; and regression to control the effects of each variable.

5. Methods • Three schools used the same survey with CBSL undergraduate students in spring, 2009 • Sample sizes vary, but preliminary analyses showed significant differences among schools. • We analyzed each school separately, in addition to examining independent variable contributions across all schools combined.

6. Demographic Description Comparing Three University Undergraduate Populations for students who Participated in Community-Based Learning Spring, 2009

7. University of Southern Indiana The University of Southern Indiana is a public regional university established in 1965. Currently there are 11,000 students enrolled in one of the 66 majors and 11 graduate degrees. The university recently instituted a Doctorate of Nursing Practice. The university serves as a regional center for a rural tri-state area that includes more that 20 counties in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. University of Southern Indiana has the highest percentage of white students (94%) and women (84%) in CBSL classes.

8. University of Wisconsin-Parkside The University of Wisconsin-Parkside has the highest percentage of adult students (22%) among all campuses, with more full time working students (58%), fewer full time students (58%) and the fewest percentage of students who have volunteered before (54%). The University of Wisconsin-Parkside is a comprehensive undergraduate university serving 5,000 students. Ninety-two percent of students come from counties in Kenosha or Racine, Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. UW-Parkside offers 34 majors and has Master’s Degree Programs in Business and Microbiology

9. DePaul University DePaul University is a 4 year comprehensive University in Chicago that is the largest Catholic institution in the United States with an enrollment in 2009 of 25,072 students. • DePaul University has the highest percentage of students with parents who have a college degree (62%) who take CBSL classes

10. Factors Conducted factor analysis on each dependent measure (n=27) and came up with 4 factors that best reflected significant outcomes for individual items in the survey. Community projects… • Enhance learning content • Develop personal skills • Provide career preparation • Promote the value of community involvement

11. Four factors for civic engagement

12. SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS FOR THREE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRDUATE POPULATIONS FACTOR 1: COMMUNITY PROJECTS ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNING *p<.05

13. SCALE MEANS FOR THREE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRDUATE POPULATIONS FACTOR 1: COMMUNITY PROJECTS ENHANCE STUDENT LEARNINGScale Range = 2 - 9 Mean Differences across schools are not significant

14. SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS FOR THREE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRDUATE POPULATIONS FACTOR 2: DEVELOPS PERSONAL SKILLS *p<.05

15. SCALE MEANS FOR THREE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRDUATE POPULATIONS FACTOR 2: DEVELOPS PERSONAL SKILLS Scale Range = 3-12 Mean Differences across schools are significant

16. SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS FOR THREE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRDUATE POPULATIONS FACTOR 3: PROVIDES CAREER PREPARATION *p<.05

17. SCALE MEANS FOR THREE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRDUATE POPULATIONS FACTOR 3: PROVIDES CAREER PREPARTION Scale Range = .5 - 3 Mean Differences across schools are significant

18. SIGNIFICANT PREDICTORS FOR THREE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRDUATE POPULATIONS FACTOR 4: VALUES COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT *p<.05

19. SCALE MEANS FOR THREE UNIVERSITY UNDERGRDUATE POPULATIONS FACTOR 4: VALUES COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENTScale Range = 1 - 5 Mean Differences across schools are not significant

20. Summary: Comparison of three schools and overall samples • There are important similarities and differences among campuses that should be highlighted, e.g., the effects of class standing, parents’ degree and previous volunteer experience in predicting factors. Yet, campuses are different in size, culture and application of civic engagement. • In general, age does not have a strong effect on whether a student will perceive the benefits of CBSL. However, older students are less likely to report that their learning was enhanced by their community project and that they developed personal skills from their community project. • Students 26 years and older were just as likely as younger students to report that the project enhanced their career preparation and that they value community involvement.

21. Summary: Comparison of three schools and overall samples (Cont’) • Students who work the most hours are less likely to agree that CBSL has helped them develop personal skills; and these students were less likely to agree that CBSL enhances their career preparation. • Female students on all three campuses are more positive than male students about the value of community involvement. • Students who have volunteered in the past are consistently positive about the benefits of CBSL. • Students whose parents have a college degree were less likely to perceive the benefits of CBSL than their counterparts who are first generation college students.

22. Conclusions: What’s age got to do with it? • There is some indication that non-traditional students are less enthusiastic than traditional aged students about the benefits of CBSL to their development. • For the most part, non-traditional students ARE seeing the benefits of CBSL classes and value community involvement as much as any student. • The benefits of CBSL may build with experience.

23. Recommendations for future work • Collect qualitative data from non-traditional students to learn more about what types of placements might enhance their learning, develop their personal skills and aid with career preparation • Conduct longitudinal study of cohorts of students rather than relying on cross-sectional data