The Link between Students’ Community Engagement Activities and their Academic Achievement

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 3 Sayı: 1, 61 - 84, 28.06.2024

Yitagesu Belete

https://doi.org/10.58650/educatione.1358541

Öz

The study aimed to test the hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between students' community engagement practice and their academic performance. The study covered 284 students in total. Data were gathered with the help of the questionnaire. The participants were divided into two groups based on their questionnaire responses: "community-engaged students" and "no community-engaged students." Based on average scores, standard deviation, descriptive statistics, t-tests, and the chi-square test of independence, the data were then examined using SPSS 25. According to the study's findings, students actively involved in their communities received higher grades than those not at all involved. Moreover, while community engagement may have been believed to affect academic achievement, it is statistically significant in this study. Besides, there was a statistically significant association between gender and community engagement in the study. In addition, the study found that students' geographical backgrounds and community engagement were significantly associated. Based on the study's findings, it has been concluded that community engagement and students’ academic success, gender, and geographical background have significant associations.

Anahtar Kelimeler

community engagement, students’ academic achievement, gender, geography

The Link between Students’ Community Engagement Activities and their Academic Achievement

Öz

The purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between the community engagement practice of students and students' academic performance. The study covered 284 students in total. With the help of the questionnaire, data were gathered. The participants were divided into two groups based on their questionnaire responses: "community-engaged students" and "no community-engaged students." On the basis of average scores, standard deviation, descriptive statistics, t-tests, and the chi-square test of independence, the data were then examined using SPSS 25. According to the study's findings, students who were actively involved in their communities received higher grades than those who were not at all involved. Moreover, while community engagement may have been believed to have an effect on academic achievement, it is statistically significant in this study. Besides, there was statistically significant association between gender and community engagement in the study. In addition, the study found that students' geographical backgrounds and community engagement were significantly associated. Based on the findings of the study, it has been concluded that community engagement and students’ academic success, gender and geographical background have significant association.

Anahtar Kelimeler

community engagement, academic achivement, geography, gender

Kaynakça

• Adamu, A. Y., & Balsvik, R. R. (2017). Students’ participation in and contribution to political and social change in Ethiopia. In What Politics? (pp. 265–284). Brill.
• Angima, S., & Gaebel, K. (2018). Collaborative community engagement: Experiential learning opportunities for college students via extension. Journal of Extension, 56(7). https://doi.org/10.34068/joe.56.07.17
• Bardus, M., Nasser AlDeen, K., Kabakian-Khasholian, T., Kanj, M., & Germani, A. (2022). Teaching social marketing using e-service learning amidst health and humanitarian crises: A case study from Lebanon. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12696. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912696
• Butin, D. W. (2010). Service-learning in theory and practice: The future of community engagement in higher education (1st ed). Palgrave Macmillan.
• Destriani, D., Destriana, D., Victorian, A. R., Hartati, H., Bayu, W. I., Yusfi, H., & Alwin, O. P. (2022). Improved service learning outcomes using d’volleyball learning application. Altius: Jurnal Ilmu Olahraga Dan Kesehatan, 11(2), 294–302. https://doi.org/10.36706/altius.v11i2.19346
• Eric Heidel. (2023). Scale Statistics. https://www.scalestatistics.com/chi-square-assumption.html Ethiopian National Volunteer Community Service Programme | United Nations Development Programme. (n.d.). UNDP. Retrieved February 8, 2023, from https://www.undp.org/ethiopia/projects/ethiopian-national-volunteer-community-service-programme
• Evans, S. Y. (Ed.). (2009). African Americans and community engagement in higher education: Community service, service-learning, and community-based research. State University of New York Press.
• Fu, E. Y., Ngai, G., Leong, H. V., Chan, S. C. F., & Shek, D. T. L. (2023). Using attention-based neural networks for predicting student learning outcomes in service-learning. Education and Information Technologies, 28(10), 13763–13789. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-023-11592-0
• Gibson, H., Canfield, J., & Beamish, A. (2020). Understanding community perceptions of service-learning. Journal of Service-Learning in Higher Education, 11, 5–20. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1267634
• Giles Jr, D. E., & Eyler, J. (2013). The endless quest for scholarly respectability in service-learning research. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 20(1), 53-65.
• Giles, D. E., & Eyler, J. (1994). The impact of a college community service laboratory on students’ personal, social, and cognitive outcomes. Journal of Adolescence, 17(4), 327–339. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.1994.1030
• Greenberg, M., London, R. A., & McKay, S. C. (2020). Community-initiated student-engaged research: Expanding undergraduate teaching and learning through public sociology. Teaching Sociology, 48(1), 13–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X19875794
• Grubisich, K. (2017). The Relationship Between Participation in Community Service and Students Academic Success. [Master’s Thesis]. Retrieved from: https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/2620/
• Haque, S., Krawec, T., Chu, J., Wong, T., Chowdhury, M., & Chowdhury, T. T. (2021). Undergraduate students' perceptions of community engagement: A snapshot of a public research university in Canada. Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 14(1), 1-9.
• Hernández, S. E., Orozco, P. G., & Yellamelli, N. (2023). Faculty-driven student engagement in community-engaged projects: An undergraduate perspective. Journal of Community Research and Engagement, 15(2), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.54656/jces.v15i2.509
• Jurgens, I. M., Baumgaertner, F., Underdahl, S. R., Hurlbert, J. L., Bochantin, K. A., Sedivec, K. K., Kirsch, J. D., Dorsam, S. T., Menezes, A. C. B., Diniz, W. J., Ward, A. K., McCarthy, K. L., Caton, J. S., & Dahlen, C. R. (2022). PS-6 Nutrition during early pregnancy impacts offspring ovarian characteristics. Journal of Animal Science, 100(Supplement_4), 19–19. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skac313.027
• Karnawati, D., Wilopo, W., Setianto, A., Suharman, S., & Fathani, T. F. (2013). Student community service program for landslide disaster risk reduction in Indonesia. In C. Margottini, P. Canuti, & K. Sassa (Eds.), Landslide Science and Practice (pp. 317–323). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31313-4_42
• Leary, M. P., Leary, B., & Sherlock, L. A. (2022). Evaluating 5% Healthier: An e-service-learning teleexercise program for undergraduate and graduate students in exercise physiology. Education Research International, 2022, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/2889945
• Lemos, S. L. L., Cavalcante, C. E., Caldas, P. T., Vale, S. C., & Alves, J. A. G. R. (2019). “I’ve fallen in love and I want to meet you”: A longitudinal study on new volunteers` motivation. RAM. Revista de Administração Mackenzie, 20(4), eRAMG190173. https://doi.org/10.1590/1678-6971/eramg190173
• Li, Y., Yao, M., Guo, F., Yao, X., & Yan, W. (2019). Student knowledge construction in service-learning: The role of varied experiences. Instructional Science, 47(4), 399–422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-019-09489-y
• Marissa Popma and Kora Tushune. (2012). The community-engaged university: The case of universities in Ethiopia. International Journal of Business Anthropology, 3(2), 36-53. https://doi.org/10.33423/ijba.v3i2.1163
• Martínez-Campillo, A., Sierra-Fernández, M. D. P., & Fernández-Santos, Y. (2019). Service-learning for sustainability entrepreneurship in rural areas: What is its global impact on business university students? Sustainability, 11(19), 5296. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11195296
• Mwangi, J. P. (2013, June). Community service driven student senior project and back to community for implementation. In 2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition (pp. 23-305). https://doi.org/10.18260/1-2--19319
• Novak, J. M., Markey, V., & Allen, M. (2007). Evaluating cognitive outcomes of service learning in higher education: A meta-analysis. Communication Research Reports, 24(2), 149–157. https://doi.org/10.1080/08824090701304881
• Ortega Torres, W. E., Vahos Anaya, M. A., & Sánchez Medina, J. A. (2020). School and community. The Colombian experience with student social service projects. IJERI: International Journal of Educational Research and Innovation, 14, 304–323. https://doi.org/10.46661/ijeri.4986
• Rahim, A., Saleem, S., & Noman, M. (2023). A case study on the effectiveness of a college civic engagement program in Gulmit Gojal Hunza, Pakistan. International Journal of Social Science & Entrepreneurship, 3(2), 19-34.
• Furco, A., & Root, S. (2010). Research demonstrates the value of service learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(5), 16-20.
• Robinson, J. W., & Green, G. P. (Eds.). (2011). Introduction to community development: Theory, practice, and service-learning. SAGE.
• Turney, S. (2022, May 23). Chi-Square (Χ2) Tests | Types, Formula & Examples. Scribbr. https://www.scribbr.com/statistics/chi-square-tests/
• Tamrat, W. (2019, May 3). Re-engaging with community service in universities. University World News. https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190501082547889