ERIC Number: EJ1137464
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1076-0180
EISSN: N/A
The Counter-Normative Effects of Service-Learning: Fostering Attitudes toward Social Equality through Contact and Autonomy
Brown, Margaret A.; Wymer, Jared D.; Cooper, Cierra S.
Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, v23 n1 p37-44 Fall 2016
Power dynamics are implicated in intergroup prosocial behavior (Nadler & Halabi, 2015). This research investigated two factors that influence the effect of intergroup prosocial behavior on views of social equality: amount of direct intergroup contact and type of helping. Students in a social psychology course (N = 93) were randomly assigned to a service-learning group or to a control group. The service-learning group was further subdivided into an autonomy-oriented helping group or a dependency-oriented helping group. After participating in approximately 19 hours of community service over nine weeks, service-learners had more positive views of social equality compared to the control group. This effect was strongest in autonomy-oriented helpers who had high levels of direct intergroup contact. The implications and mechanisms of service-learning as a form of counter-normative intergroup prosocial behavior are discussed.
Descriptors: Service Learning, Social Justice, Power Structure, Prosocial Behavior, Experimental Groups, Control Groups, Comparative Analysis, Experiential Learning, Student Attitudes, Attitude Change, College Students, Surveys, Hypothesis Testing, Statistical Analysis, Predictor Variables
Edward Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning, University of Michigan. 1024 Hill Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-3310. Tel: 734-647-7402; Fax: 734-647-7464; Web site: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/mjcsl
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A