Beyond Retention: Community Service for Leadership and Social Change

Abstract

This presentation examines the relationship between participation in community service and the development of leadership values among a random sample of 1,107 undergraduates who took the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL) survey at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. The MSL is an annual, national survey of leadership development among college students. It explores the role of higher education in developing leadership capacities with a special focus on specific environmental conditions that foster leadership development. The MSL is developed under the Social Change Model (HERI, 1996), which describes leadership as a purposeful, collaborative, values-driven process. Its central principles—social responsibility and change for the common good—are assessed through eight core values that describe students’ level of self-awareness and ability to work with others.

Using the framework of the Social Change Model (HERI, 1996) and Astin’s (1993) Input-Environment-Output model, multiple regression was used to examine the relationship between participation in community service and the eight core values when controlling for demographic factors, precollege participation in activities, and precollege leadership antecedents. This presentation highlights these findings and demonstrates an effective partnership between institutional research and student affairs.