Moral Jogging, Leadership, and Optimism in an Intergenerational Physical Activity Program

Background/Purpose

Arman and Scherer (2002) espouse that service learning methodology used by universities promotes “moral jogging”, or the ability of future professionals to participate in activities which instill optimism in their career paths. A modern critique of institutions of higher education engaged in this type of work is a lack of authentic assessment, particularly in regards to the civic inclinations, emotional states, advanced duties and negotiations of those selected as student leaders. This study examines the aforementioned experiences of 12 service learning leaders (SLL's) in an urban Midwestern intergenerational community based physical activity (PA) program.

Analysis/Results

Analysis of the data indicates that 1) SLL's need clearer guidelines regarding their roles as leaders, 2) empowerment of SLL's was heavily influenced by experience and site placement, and 3 ) discourse on equitable practices is needed along with, knowledge of the community and a definition of the purpose of service learning specific to the community based program.

Method

Content analysis was used to explore interviews and open-ended surveys from service learning leaders over the course of two academic years. Constant comparison (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) identified thematic perspectives related to SLL's dispositions and their responses to critical incidents.

Conclusions

The results of this study identify a need for a strategic and ethical focus on preparing SLL's for the rigors of promoting community based physical activity. Of consideration is a new, innovative and relevant model for SLL's for similar community-based PA programs.