The effects of volunteer service on Chinese college students’ social responsibility

Purpose - Growing involvement by Chinese college students in volunteer service has been greeted as a sign of the rising social responsibility among the young. While commitment to volunteer service is growing, there is limited evidence of its impact on participants. There are even some misinterpretations or controversy on the effect of volunteer service. The purpose of this paper is to answer the question: can volunteer service experience of limited intensity and duration have an impact on the development of Chinese college students’ social responsibility? Methods - College student volunteers, who served for approximately one month, were administered a pre- and post-test assessment to determine if a student’s social responsibility would increase as a result of their volunteer service. Some interviews were done to collect information about the changes of volunteers. The final sample included 130 students. Among them, 107 students participated in voluntary teaching in rural areas in China and 27 students participated in the Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales (AIESEC) international volunteer service organization. The Scale of Social Responsibility Development (SSRD) was chosen as the instrument for this study. Findings - Based on the survey and interview data, the results show that students’ social responsibility increased significantly after volunteer service regardless of the service type. The length and the service experience have significant impact on the development of college students’ social responsibility. No significant effects were found in gender or parental education level.