Predictors of student participation in voluntary community service and environmental action: Evidence from NELS:88

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which student performance in four school subjects (English, math, science, and social studies), student participation in extracurricular activities, student academic aspirations, and the time a student spent on part-time employment predicted student participation in voluntary community service and environmental action, controlling for demographic characteristics of the student as well as some basic characteristics of the school the student attended. The conceptual framework for the study was rooted in several theories, namely Dewey's theory of community, socialization theory, social capital theory, social exchange theory, and Adlerian theory. Based on these theories and a review of related literature, I formulated and tested 10 hypotheses. The data for the study came from NELS:88 dataset. I used logistic and multinomial logit regression models to test the hypotheses using a sample of 4,790 cases. The main findings of this study suggest that: (1) student performance in social studies (measured using average grades, Carnegie units, and centiles) is the most consistent positive predictor of student participation in community service and environmental action in comparison with student performance in English, math and science; (2) student involvement in extracurricular activities is a strong predictor of student engagement in community service and environmental action; (3) the time a student spends on part-time employment is negatively associated with student participation in community service and environmental action; and (4) a student who intends to finish college is more likely to participate in community service and environmental action than one who does not intend to finish college. On the basis of the study findings, I came up with several recommendations for practitioners and researchers involved or interested in community service policy making and implementation, environmental education as a strategy for environmental action, and program planning (environmental studies/environmental education) in higher education.