Service Learning and Volunteer Self-Efficacy: Working With People With Disabilities

Background/Purpose: Current practice in many health and physical activity disciplines incorporate service learning as a way to prepare health professionals for their future positions. Service learning experiences are incorporated based on the belief that practical experience will enhance an individual’s ability to be successful. One way that service learning could influence future success is by increasing the individual’s self-efficacy for completing tasks within their field. This increase in self-efficacy could be accomplished by providing a positive experience for individuals during which they are provided the opportunity to have mastery experiences, learn through vicarious experiences, and have positive interactions with current professionals. Through the incorporation of constructs of self-efficacy, a positive service learning experience may increase an individual’s self-efficacy. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an adapted physical activity based service learning experience that incorporated self-efficacy constructs on participant’s self-efficacy of working with people with disabilities as well as examining the factors that influence changes in self-efficacy.

Method: Fifty-eight college students were recruited to complete weekly surveys throughout their 8 week service learning experience to promote physical activity for individuals with disability. A baseline survey was administered after the first day of their service learning that included demographic information and a self-efficacy questionnaire. Seven weekly surveys were completed measuring the four constructs of self-efficacy (vicarious experience, mastery experience, verbal persuasion, and physiological response) with an additional self-efficacy questionnaire completed after the last day of their service learning. All survey responses remained anonymous through a coding system.

Analysis/Results: A paired t-test showed that there was a significant increase in self-efficacy scores from baseline to post service learning experience, t (57) = 3.24, p<.01. A multiple linear regression was used to examine factors affecting changes in self-efficacy scores. The results indicated that the model explained 10% of variance, and revealed that the participants attitude toward working with disabilities significantly predict changes is Self-efficacy (beta = 1.06, p <.05), but none of the four constructs of self-efficacy significantly influenced changes in self-efficacy scores.    

Conclusions: The results of this study support that idea that a service learning experience can increase an individual’s self-efficacy for working within their chosen field. However, the lack of findings establishing relationships between the self-efficacy constructs and changes in self-efficacy scores leaves room for future research to tease out aspects of a service learning experience that increase self-efficacy to inform better practice in the future.