Framing a Theory-Grounded Research Agenda Related to

STUDENTS

Julie Hatcher, Peggy Fitch, Jay Brandenberger

IUPUI Series on Service Learning Research

Research on Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Assessment

Vol 2A: Students & Faculty Vol 2B: Communities, Institutions, &

Partnerships (Stylus 2013)

Theory

Design

Practice

Measurement

Focusing on theory“Bringle (2003) has advocated for theory from cognate areas to be clearly used as a basis of research. These could include theories from psychology about motivation, interpersonal relationships, and cognitive and moral development; from business about interorganizational relationships, leadership, and change management; from philosophy about value systems and decision-making; from political theory about individual and collective action; from history about social movements; from communication about conflict resolution.”

Focusing on theory

“The theory or conceptual framework might precede the data collection, or it might emerge from or be modified based on data analysis and interpretation. Procedures for measuring quantitative or qualitative aspects of attributes do not stand alone, and their meaningfulness is often a function of how solidly they are situated in theory.”

Research on Service Learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Assessment

• I. STUDENTS• II. FACULTY• III. COMMUNITIES• IV. INSTITUTIONS• V. PARTNERSHIPS

Section: STUDENTS• Cognition• Academic learning• Civic learning• Personal development• Intercultural competence

Chapter template• Theoretical / conceptual frameworks• Critical review of past research• Measurement approaches and instruments• Implications for practice• Future research agenda• Recommended reading

Lets do some of this same thinking together ….

Critical review of research to date: STUDENTS

(+) ( )Δ

Participants?Authors?

Cognitive Outcomes of Service

LearningPeggy Fitch, Pam Steinke & Tara Hudson

Intellectual DevelopmentCognitive Processes Related to Critical Thinking

Metacognition Problem Solving Transfer

Relationship between intellectual development and cognitive processes related to critical thinking.

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Intellectual Development: Perry’s Scheme

• Dualism

• Multiplicity

• Contextual Relativism

• Commitment within Relativism

• Knowledge is “black & white”

• Gray areas exist; all just opinion

• Knowledge depends upon context

• Can never really know, but must make commitments anyway

(Perry, 1968/1999)

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Predictive Modeling Design

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Developmental DesignRQ: How does level of intellectual development mediate or moderate students’ interpretations of, and responses to challenges and supports encountered in the service learning experience?

Developmental Instruction Variables:» Structure» Diversity» Personalism» Experiential learning

(Knefelkamp & Widick, cited in Moore, 1994)

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Conversation

Other research questions?

Implications of the theory?

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Investigating Personal Development Outcomes in

Service Learning: Theory and Research

Jay Brandenberger, University of Notre Dame

Personal Outcomes of Service Learningself-understanding autonomy locus of control emotional intelligence character courage political efficacy political behavior civic understanding spiritual/religious orientation attitudes toward social issues conceptions of fairness & justice openness to diversity moral judgment identity development sense of integrity & purpose motivation interdependence wisdom

well-being flourishing leadership skills personal ways of knowing

Most of these have a moral or prosocial component.

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Personal Outcomes Salient

Bringle, Phillips, and Hudson (2004)

majority of scales listed assessed personal outcomes, constructs

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Personal Outcomes of LearningAre common but often implicit goals of service learning, if not much of higher education . . .

Consider: "You don't go to Notre Dame to learn how to do something, you go to learn how to be someone."  — Lou Holtz

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APB: Theory Gone MissingService-learning scholar-practitioners are often better than other faculty at identifying learning outcomes, though we still often leave the personal outcomes unstated or assumed and address constructs in an atheoretical manner

Much is known in developmental theory that can enhance understanding of how service-learning may or may not facilitate growth and student development

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nothing is so practical as a good theory

Theory Matters

Begin with a Developmental Perspective

Draw from well-developed knowledge of human learning and development

Do we want change,

Development suggests enhanced complexity (differentiation and integration) and suggests greater mastery or environmental fit

or development?

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Theoretical Frameworks for Personal Outcomes (Development)

Cognitive-Developmental Framework (Piaget, Kohlberg, Rest, Gilligan, Vygotsky…)

Moral Development Theory

Psychosocial and Identity Development Theory

Positive Psychology

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The Swiss Watch Maker: Piaget• Knowledge is not a ‘‘passive copy’’ of reality;

rather, ‘‘to know is to transform reality’’ and to construct ‘‘models among which experience can enable us to choose’’ (Piaget, 1970, p. 15).

• Emphasis on processes of interaction and construction that are central to service learning

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Cognitive-Mediational ModelAnderson, 1989

Service Learning is consistent with new understandings of learning that focus on how the learner mediates understanding of the environment

Traditional learning assumptions • receptive-accrual model • focus on effects of external inputs,

accumulated

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Cognitive-Mediational Model]

We each construct our understanding of fairness, of justice, of liberty, of equality, of honesty, of community and the like no matter how long these constructs have existed, no matter how true or commonly held were earlier conceptions

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Action Development We learn cognitively and morally through active engagement

Cultural contexts shape development

Knowledge of world and self is co-constructed through relationships (See Santilli and Falbo, 1998)

Consistent with models of

service- and community-based learning

“… we learn to be just by doing just acts.” —Aristotle

Service Learning Outcomes in Personal Domain

• Agency and Identity

• Perspective Transformation and Ways of Knowing

• Moral Development [and purpose]

• Spirituality

• Sociopolitical Attitudes, Citizenship, & Leadership

• Career Development and Well-being

Moral and CivicD e v e l o p m e n t During the College Years

Cognitive readiness: Moral development improves with level of education

College environment provides cognitive and social challenge to prompt moral growth

Idealism strong: change the world, search for a faith and commitment worthy of ones time and talents (S. Parks)

Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire. — Yeats

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If higher education is to initiate the young adult into a conversation with the full force field of life, typically the student’s experience must be enlarged. The imagination must have plenty of experience to work upon if truth is to be appreciated. … This encounter is most powerfully achieved when the learner is not a detached observer but a responsible participant. (Parks, p. 143)

See also: Moral Imagination, M.

Johnson, 1993

Experience and Moral Development

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Moral Sensitivity

First we must notice moral issues in context:

“We must see, look about, interpret events.” (Lapsley)

Cognitive processes: Perception, appraisal, interpretation

Affective aspects: Anger, anxiety, empathy, apathy…

Community-based learning provides opportunities for moral notice and role-taking

The heart cannot feel what the eyes have not seen.

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Moral Reasoning/Judgment

Is enhanced via interactionwith people/environment

Is a constructive process: Individuals construct moral meaning

Service-learning can provide both challenge and support for the above, and foster post-conventional moral reasoning

Dewey, Piaget, Vygotsky—>

4(Wr)2 - 2(Wr)4

(x-y)2 + (y-x)

Post-Conventional Moral Reasoning Moral Reasoning Compliments of Gary Larson

Compliments of Gary Larson:

From The Far Side (Universal Press Syndicate)

= R

Post-conventional Moral Reasoning

• Separate self from social conventions

• See issues in multiple perspectives

• Use complex problem-solving skills

At higher levels of moral reasoning (stages 5-6), individuals are able to:

Cognitive disequilibrium & social disequilibrium led to significant advancement on measure of moral development (DIT) for participants in ethics courses (Research by Boss, 1994)

[consistent with goals of service-learning]

Moral Motivation

Moral IdentityErikson: key challenge of adolescence/youth is identity formation; must be understood in historical and cultural context …

Peer Autonomy “For Piaget … autonomy means collaboration in a spirit of generous mutual interest” by developing an attitude ‘that holds others’ values in esteem and asks for reasonable respect for one’s own values”

(Philibert in Brandenberger, 1999)

Service learning may foster:

[see work of Yates and Youniss]

Motivation to implement moral judgment, to take moral action

Those “who come to believe that their prosocial behavior reflects values or dispositions in themselves have internal structures that can generate behavior across

settings and without external pressures.” (Grusec

and Dix in Kohn, p. 92, 1990)

Moral BehaviorOr: The road to hell is paved with good intentions

Moral action requires courage, perseverance, ego strength, and competence (Lapsley, 1996)

Service learning can provide opportunities for action and self-reflection in moral contexts

Moral IdentityEnhanced:

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Future Research Directions• Grounded in (developmental theory)

• Focus on the process and trajectory of

development, not just end gain

• Holistic perspectives

• Personal development for whom:

justice or just us

• Modeling, moral elevation

• Skill development

• Will and purpose

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Discussion Dialogue

(Research) QuestionsCollaboration

Potentials

Contact info: jbranden@nd.edu

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