Measuring Social Capital as an Outcome of Service Learning
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Measuring Social Capital as an Outcome of Service Learning Maria J. D’Agostino
Published online: 15 May 2010 # Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract Service-learning has been put forth as one of the proposed solutions to increasing social capital. However, service-learning research has not significantly addressed the impact of service learning on social capital. Unlike most previous studies, this research used quantitative analysis to measure the effect of university service-learning programs on social capital by examining the question: What impact do service-learning programs have on social capital post-graduation? This study showed that service learning addresses the civic engagement problem by providing evidence suggesting that service learning predicts social capital post-graduation. Key words social capital . service-learning . citizen engagement Decreased social capital (Ostrom 1996) is identified as a cause of the erosion of democratic civic culture and civic engagement and a corresponding growth in civic apathy (Barber and Battistoni 1993). Social capital refers to resources that individuals and groups access in social networks and mobilize for purposive action (Bourdieu 1985; Lin 2001; Paxton 1999; Putnam 1993, 1995). Coleman (1988), Putnam (1993, 1995, 2000), Fukuyama (1996), and others have identified the decline of social capital as the cause of this erosion; and they have argued for the “urgent need of reinventing community” (Portes and Landolt 1996, p. 18). The quandary of declining civic engagement has spurred an extensive literature that addresses how best to reengage citizens in the decision-making process. One of the solutions advocated is service learning (Barber and Battistoni 1993; Baxter 2008; Corporation for National and Community Service et al. 2002; Putnam 2000).
Maria J. D’Agostino is an Assistant Professor of Public Administration in the Department of Public Management at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. She holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Rutgers University. Her research interests include public service, citizen involvement, gender and public administration and service-learning. She can be contacted at: [email protected], or at John Jay College, 445 West 59th Street, New York, New York 10019. M. J. D’Agostino (*) John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, New York, NY, USA e-mail: [email protected]
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Innov High Educ (2010) 35:313–328
A review of the relevant literature confirms that high levels of social capital contribute to the revitalization of civic engagement. Understanding the relationship between service learning and increased social capital can contribute to developing civic education programs that directly seek to increase social capital as a means of decreasing civic erosion. Servicelearning research should also focus on measuring the impact of building social capital. Therefore, the overall purpose of this study was to use quantitative analysis to measure the effect of university service-learning
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