ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TOWARDS COMMUNITY SERVICE

ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TOWARDS
COMMUNITY SERVICE
BY
JAMES ABROKWAH
STELLA EFUA BEDUA MENSAH
PAUL KWETEY TEYE
2010

ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION TOWARDS COMMUNITY SERVICE
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST
ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TOWARDS
COMMUNITY SERVICE
JAMES ABROKWAH
STELLA EFUA BEDUA MENSAH
PAUL KWETEY TEYE
2010

ABROKWAH, KWETEY AND MENSAH
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ABSTRACT
The development of any country is greatly dependent on her human resources. But almost
all these human resources are paid or remunerated. However if any country will indeed
progress in development, the willingness of her citizens to engage in regular voluntary or
community service cannot be relegated to the background.
For this reason, it is of crucial importance to investigate the attitude and
perception of university students towards community service. The study area was
University of Cape Coast. The simple random technique was used to select 200 students
from the university community from almost all faculties using frequency and percentage
tables in the analysis of the data.
The researcher observed from the findings that students are altruistic towards voluntary
activities and that previous knowledge and experience influences their attitude and
perception towards community service. In spite of this revelation students do not usually
join voluntary associations
Therefore researchers are hopeful that this work will lead to further research into the
reasons why students do not join voluntary associations on campus though they have
good community service experience and participation.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Overview
This study is geared toward assessing the perception and attitude of university
students towards community service. In this chapter however, the background to the
study, problem statement, the purpose or objective of the study, the significance and
delimitation would be discussed. The research questions and the organization of the study
would also be hashed out.
Background to the study
The fundamental reason why a lot of resources are invested in the training of
university students is for them to be well positioned for the betterment of the entire
community. For this reason most communities in the world subsidize the cost of
education in order to absorb as many students as possible into our universities and other
tertiary institution. According to (www.barackobama.com), Barack Obama and Joe Biden
will make college affordable for all Americans by creating a new American Opportunity
Tax Credit. This fully refundable credit will ensure that the first $4,000 of a college
education is completely free for most Americans, and will cover two-thirds the cost of
tuition at the average public college or university. Recipients of this credit will be
required to conduct 100 hours of public service a year, either during the school year or
over the summer months

5
For Barack Obama, public service has not been just the slogan of a campaign; it
has been the cause of his life. Obama began his career by moving to the South Side of
Chicago to direct the developing Communities Project. Together with a coalition of
ministers, Obama set out to improve living conditions in poor neighborhoods plagued by
crime and high unemployment. After graduating from law school, Obama passed up
lucrative law firm jobs to head Project Vote, which helped register 150,000 new African
American voters in Chicago, the highest number ever registered in a single local effort.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden have influenced their campaign supporters and together
have performed more than 6,400 community service events such as tutoring, building
playgrounds, and volunteering at shelters. Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe public
service is transformative, helping both the individuals that serve and the communities that
benefit. (www.barakobama.com).
One of the biggest advances in community service has been the call for students
to take part and get involved. In many universities for example, it is a requirement to
complete a certain number of hours in order to graduate. The prime minister of Britain,
Gordon Brown for instance, made a statement requiring all young people to do 50 hours
of community service. (BBC report 2009) Students of the Central University College
(CUC) in Ghana are required to undertake community service to help the less privileged.
According to Professor Victor Yaw Gadzekpo, the president of CUC, the service would
enable the students to develop love for their country as well as prepare them for service
as it would inculcate good and responsible citizenship into them. The students under the
programme would help academically less endowed pupils of communities to do their
homework as well as impart skills to people living in disadvantaged communities.

From the above it is obvious that the need for community service is undisputable.
However some people associate community service with punishment, probably because it
is often offered to small-time offenders as an alternative to fines or jail term. However,
community service with regards to this work is altruistic, and it is a vital part of many
small communities.
Examples of community service students can undertake include activities such as
support for important local project, tutoring children, building homes in low income areas
with Habitat for Humanity, assisting the elderly, being a museum docent, performing
habitat restoration, contributing to the operations of volunteer fire departments and
emergency services, or helping with civic beautification. In all cases, community service
work is performed by volunteers who are not paid for their time. But how many students
are prepared to serve their community without remuneration and without compulsion or
coercion?
Problem statement
In Ghana, the only direct way students compensate for the lots of investment made in
them is through the National Service Scheme which was introduced by the National
Redemption Council (NRC) under General Ignatus Kutu Acheampong, and later repealed
and replaced by the Ghana National Service Scheme Act (Act 426) of 1980. This act
mandates every students, whether willing or not to serve their community. Unfortunately
however, it is becoming clearer by the day, that the scheme is no longer a call to national
duty, but an opportunity to make money and possibly gain employment after the service

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period. That is why there is that mad scramble for juicy places in the towns and cities
where national service duties are least needed, as against the rural communities and other
deprived sectors of national development which are drained of human resources.
Some students upon graduating, renounce the rural areas of Ghana where their
services are most needed in favour of Accra, Cape Coast, Kumasi and other capitals and
urban cities while others also wants to be posted to private institutions, companies and
industries where they would be paid for their National service. Others even wish they
would not do their National service at all. The motivation and enthusiasm to volunteer in
order to help the less privileged in our communities have waned among university
students as participation in voluntary activities like community service has not been
encouraging on campus.
In spite of this general problem, the researchers have observed from voluntary
associations in which they are members that most students exhibit lackadaisical attitude
towards community service activities. For instance, the Campus Chapter of Habitat for
Humanity University of Cape Coast organizes trips to some communities in the Central
Region for a day’s working visit: a programme organized to promote students
participation in volunteerism. This program is expected to help the less privilege who
cannot afford simple and decent accommodation in our communities. Although some
students have been quite active in some trips, on the whole, participation has not been as
successful as originally anticipated.
It has been realized that despite all the arrangements made to boost students
participation most students do not embark on trips. The membership drive keeps on

declining for the past few years. For instance, students who participated in 2007, 2008,
and 2009 trips were 36, 25 and 22 respectively (source, habitat for humanity UCC
Chapter, 2010).
All attempts made by the Campus Chapter, the Affiliate Co-Coordinators as well
as the National Office to promote participation among the students have proven futile.
Some of these efforts include seminars, distribution of newsletters, announcements on the
media, free transportation to sites and refreshment. Also, the trips which are usually
organized once a semester on Saturdays (when lectures are less intensive) was thought to
be an effective approach to reaching large numbers of students to participate in the
community service but was ineffective.
Purpose of the study
In the light of the above pertinent problems, the researchers aim at discovering:
Whether university students do participate in community services
The primary motivation of students towards participating in community service
activities
The attitude and perception toward community service among university students

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Research questions
In order to unravel the perception of university students towards community service,
some questions that would be asked to the aid in the research work include the following
Do university students participate in community service activities?
What are the primary reasons why university students participate in community
service?
What are the attitudes and perceptions of university students toward community
services?
The Significance of the Study
Although, some studies have already been conducted by other researchers on
community service, further research becomes necessary in assessing the attitude students
have towards community services.
The findings of this study will help the government, non-governmental
organizations, and academic institutions (especially, the universities) to promote
education on the need to participate in community service activities since, as future
leaders, students need to inculcate the spirit of volunteerism into themselves in order to
help persons, communities, societies and the nation as a whole.
This study will also help the government, non-governmental organizations and the
local communities to know the attitude of the youth and students towards certain local

developmental projects before initiating them. This will eventually help them decide
whether to subsidize the cost of education as well as offer scholarships to students since
students will come back and steer the affairs of the local communities.
Lastly, the study will help understand why students do or do not participate in
community service.
Delimitation
The scope of the study would be limited to the University of Cape Coast. The
total number of students that would participate in the study is 200 comprising only
University undergraduate students
Organization of the Study
The study is divided into five chapters. Each chapter tries to deal with a particular
aspect of the whole study. The first chapter which is the introduction of the study consists
of the background to study, the statements of problems, purpose of the study, research
questions, significance of the study, delimitation and organization of the study. Chapter
two deals with the review of literature whiles chapter three discusses the method of the
study. The collection and analysis of the data is described in chapter four. The last
chapter which is chapter five contains the summery, conclusion and recommendation.

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Summary
Apparently community service is a crucial aspect of human service which would
help develop every country especially developing countries. We have identified the
nature of the problem associated with community service, the purpose and significance of
the study, the delimitation of the study, research questions as well as the organization of
the study. The next chapter will focus on the review of related literature.

CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, we will review related literatures on this problem. Our focus will be
to review the relevant literatures under two broad headings namely:
Conceptual and theoretical review, which deals with the views of other
researchers about the topic as well as several concepts and definition of crucial
variables relating to our topic.
Empirical review, which deals with the actual researches conducted by other
researchers on the topic.
PART 1
Conceptual and Theoretical Framework
This part of the chapter sets theoretical base for our research. Attempts will be
made to define the parameters of the theoretical search which includes the definition of
attitude, formation of attitudes, the nature of a profession and the meaning of teaching.
Other issues to be discussed include theories of perception and theory of planed
behaviour. These will clarify the perspective or conceptual framework to be used as the
foundation of our empirical review.
The Concept of Community Service
Community service is defined as an unpaid work for community betterment
(Putnam, 2000; Stukas& Dunlap, 2002). When someone performs an action which

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benefits his or her community, it is known as community service. Some people associate
community service with punishment, since it is often offered to small-time offenders as
an alternative to fines or jail time. However, community service canalso be altruistic, and
it is a vital part of many small communities. Getting involved in your community makes
it healthier and livelier, and numerous organizations around the world support community
service activities.
Things which could be considered community service include tutoring children,
building homes in low income areas with Habitat for Humanity, assisting the elderly,
socializing animals at animal shelters, being a museum docent, performing habitat
restoration, contributing to the operations of volunteer fire departments and emergency
services, or helping with civic beautification. In all cases, community service work is
performed by volunteers who are not paid for their time. In some instances, the work
would not be accomplished without the work of such volunteers, and many small
organizations rely on people with community spirit to survive.
For people who are given community service as a punishment or sentence, it can
be an opportunity to atone for a crime. Others engage in community service out of a spirit
of altruism, or a desire to connect with their communities by helping out. For people who
are new to a community, community service can be a great way to learn more about the
place in which they live and the people they live with. Community service may also be
required for things like high school graduation or membership in an organization, in
which case the school or organization often helps to organize community service
opportunities.

For people who are not affiliated with an organization, finding community service
opportunities are easy. In many cases, an organization which needs the assistance of
volunteers has a volunteer coordinator. Contact the organization you are interested in to
ask about volunteers, or check bulletin boards around town for organized community
service activities. You may find anything from a group of birdwatchers performing
habitat restoration in local wetlands to an association of businesses sponsoring graffiti
cleanup.
Many people engage in community service because they believe that it carries
rewards beyond the obvious and tangible. Clearly, engaging in things like environmental
restoration and civic beautification will make your life enjoyable by making the world
around you more pleasant. But community service can also help to ensure that important
services like meals for the elderly and volunteer fire departments continue to run. It also
helps to build a rich and supportive community of people who know each other and lend
each other a hand when it is needed.
Sense of Community
Sense of community (or psychological sense of community) is a concept in social
psychology (or more narrowly, in community psychology), as well as in several other
research disciplines, such as urban sociology, which focuses on the experience of
community rather than its structure, formation, setting, or other features. the
psychological approach asks questions about the individual's perception, understanding,
attitudes, feelings, etc. about community and his or her relationship to it and to others'
participation - indeed to the complete, multifaceted community experience.

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In his seminal 1974 book, psychologist Seymour B. Sarason proposed that
Psychological Sense of Community become the conceptual center for the psychology of
community, asserting that it "is one of the major bases for self-definition." By 1986 it
was regarded as a central overarching concept for Community Psychology (Sarason,
1986; Chavis& Pretty, 1999).
Theories of Attitude and Perception
Why do people think the way they do? How do they change their minds? These
and similar questions have long been asked by epistemologists and more recently by
social psychologists. The fundamental question—Why do people hold particular
attitudes?—may be answered in a number of ways. The answer proposed in this article is
an exposition of the theory of Daniel Katz which involves a functional approach to
attitudes. The second part of the article concerns the allied but distinct topic of the
processes of opinion change.
What are Attitudes and Opinions?
Green states that any attitude is a hypothetical or latent variable rather than an
immediately observable variable. It is, in other words, an abstraction. According to
Green, the concept of attitude does not refer to any one specific act or response of an
individual, but it is an abstraction from a large number of related acts or responses. When
we state that a certain individual, A, has a less favourable attitude towards community
service than another individual, B, we mean that A's words and deeds are consistently
less favourable to community service than B's words and deeds. So we conclude that

there is an underlying attitude which mediates between the stimuli (e.g. community
service activities which evoke comment or behavior) and the response (favourable or
unfavourable comments, etc.).
Opinion is, according to Katz, the verbal expression of an attitude.
Formation of Attitude
People can develop or adopt an attitude based on a number of factors. Schools in
psychology in the quest of knowing these factors made various attempts at studying or
observing individuals and finally come out with these factors. Holloram (1967) has
identified three factors that influence the formation of attitude in people. These are:
Direct experiences with objects and situations
Learning implicitly or explicitly from others
Personality development.
According to Holloram (1967), basic attitudes one learnt from infancy through interaction
with parents. He finally pointed out that the formation of attitudes by individuals occurs
when one learns the reasoning of a concept through interaction. The nature of information
at the disposal of a group or an individual serves as attitudes formation. Attitudes are also
affected by direct experiences, ―obvious attitudes formation seems so reasonable and
objective that its importance tends to be exaggerated‖ (Mehrens & Lehmann, 1991).
From the above factors, it can be inferred that attitudes are developed through
one’s interaction with his or her environment. The evidence also suggests that interaction

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between people initially intensifies pre-existing attitudes; amiably disposed people
become even friendly while those with disquiet confrontation grow hostile.
The Concept of Perception
In philosophy and psychology, perception is the process of attaining awareness or
understanding of sensory information. The word ―perception‖ comes from the Latin word
perception and means ―receiving, collection, action of taking possession, or apprehension
with the mind or senses‖ (Robert Fludd’s, 1619)
Perceptual Set
As everyone knows, to see is to believe. As everyone also knows but not fully
appreciates, to believe is to see. Our experiences, assumptions and expectations may give
us a perceptual set, or mental predisposition that greatly influences what we perceive
(Myers, 2002). Thus what one perceives is as a result of interplays between past
experiences, including ones culture and the interpretation of the perceived. If the percept
does not have support in any of these perceptual bases, it is unlikely to rise above
perceptual threshold.
Self-Perception Theory
According to Daryl Bem’s (1972) self-perception theory, we make inferences
about our attitudes in much the same way: by observing how we behave. To this theory,
if we see someone campaigning for a political candidate, we will likely assume that this
person has a positive attitude towards the candidate. If we see someone exerting great
effort to achieve a goal, we will logically judge that the goal is important to that person.

In short, we infer what other people’s attitudes must be by watching how they behave
(Passer & Smith, 2008).
Theory of Planned Behavior
According to the theory of planned behaviour and similar models (Ajzen, 1991),
our intention to engage in a behaviour is strongest when we have positive attitude toward
that behaviour, when subjective norms (our perception of what other people think we
should do) support our attitudes, and when we believe that the behaviour is under our
control. Researchers have used this theory to predict successfully whether people will
become smokers, exercise regularly, drive safely, donate blood, and perform much other
behaviour (like participating in community services for example, clean up exercise)
Victoir et al., (2005).
PART 2
Empirical Review
The empirical review surveys actual studies previously done or the research
problem and evaluates what the studies have and have not accomplished in addressing the
problems at hand. In the empirical review, the researcher is expected to point out the
similarities and differences between what he reviews and his current studies.
Reviewing the Work of Gerda Bender and Rene Jordaan, 2007, in South Africa
These researchers conducted a study on Student perceptions and attitudes about
Community Service-Learning in the teacher training curriculum

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Problem Statement and Aim of Study
Previous research and surveys have examined the effects of Community Service-
Learning on outcomes and learning experiences (Eyler & Giles, 1999; Moely,
McFarland, Miron, Mercer & Ilustre, 2002; Myers-Lipton, 1996) but little has been
written about students' attitudes to and perceptions of Community Service-Learning
before it is incorporated into the curriculum of, for example, a module or course of an
academic learning programme. Black (1999:215) states that investigating what attitudes,
beliefs and opinions groups of subjects with common traits hold, is of value because
these attitudes will influence behaviour.
Uninformed students who participate in Community Service-Learning
programmes may develop negative attitudes and participate unwillingly. Information
about preconceived ideas gained by surveying the attitudes and perceptions students have
concerning Community Service-Learning and community service could shed light on
how best to integrate Community Service-Learning into learning programmes, so as to
ensure successful integration. Kraft (1996:131) notes the possible meaning of and views
people have of community service: Those familiar with the criminal justice system
recognize the punitive aspects of its current meaning, whereby thousands of adolescent
and adult offenders are sentenced each year to picking up trash or doing other menial
tasks in the community in exchange for jail time. This negative interpretation could have
extremely detrimental effects on Community Service-Learning, which should by rights
be a highly positive pedagogical practice instead. For this reason, this study could add
value by giving an insight into the students' understanding of the concept of Community

Service-Learning. The research problem investigated was the following: What are the
attitudes and perceptions among third-year teacher training students about Community
Service-Learning and its integration into the curriculum of a teacher training
programme?
The main aim of the study was to provide information to lecturers about student
teachers in teacher training programmes regarding the attitudes and perceptions students
have about Community Service-Learning, which could be of value for curriculum
development and the inclusion of Community Service-Learning in teacher training
programmes
Research Design and Methodology
The research was of a quantitative nature and followed a descriptive design, using
a survey to collect the data. The survey instrument was in the form of a questionnaire on
perceptions and attitudes regarding Community Service- Learning. The questionnaire was
divided into three sections: Section 1: demographic information; Section 2: factual items
about previous experience and knowledge of community service and Community
Service-Learning, and Section 3: attitudinal and perception items. A five-point Likert
scale was used to measure the responses to the items on the questionnaire in Section 3.
The responses varied from I strongly agree — (1) to I strongly disagree — (5).
A purposeful or non-probability sampling strategy was used whereby all teacher
training students currently in their third year of study at a research university were

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selected for the study. Students enrolled for the module OPV 352 (Multi-cultural
Education) were selected. The selection was based on the following facts: that the module
OPV 352 is a compulsory module for all students enrolled for any of the undergraduate
teacher training courses/ modules and would therefore be a good reflection of the teacher
training student population at the university; that the module OPV352 was recommended
as a possible and appropriate module for integrating Service-Learning into the
curriculum, and that more time is available in the third year of the teacher training
programme.
The study was conducted on a relatively small group (n = 168) over a limited time
and in a limited context and consequently the generalization value of the study was
limited.
Results
The information derived from Sections A and B, demographic and factual
information, of the questionnaire: Student survey on perceptions and attitudes regarding
Community Service-Learning, was coded and recorded on the SAS® (SAS Institute Inc.,
2004) database. All statistical calculations were done with the aid of SAS® (SAS
Institute Inc., 2004). A frequency analysis was done using the data obtained from
Sections A and B to obtain a demographic profile of the student sample.

Demographic Profile
The demographic profile of the respondents included their age, gender, race and
the academic programmes for which they had registered. The demographic profile of the
student sample was shown as frequencies and percentages.
Previous Experience and Knowledge of Community Service-Learning
Meaningful and important results were derived from Section B (previous
experience and knowledge of Community Service-Learning) and C (attitudes to and
perceptions of Community Service-Learning) on the questionnaire, with the significant
information being that a majority of 73% of the students indicated that they would like to
do community service related to their teacher training programme and with 67% of
students indicating that they would enroll for a module which included community
service (curricular). Only 21% of the students had been previously enrolled in a
course/module that included community service and 53% had not heard of Community
Service-Learning before the survey.
On being asked for the primary reason that would motivate them to enroll for a
course/module which included community service, the majority indicated career/future
plans (33%)

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Respondents' Attitudes to and Perceptions of Community Service-Learning
and its Integration into the Teacher Training Curriculum
Section C of the questionnaire measured responses to the questions on a five-point
Likert-scale. Responses were coded accordingly and recorded on the same database as
those from Sections A and B. A factor analysis was done on the responses to this section
of the questionnaire, with the data collected from a larger group of teacher training
students in another similar study on 1st,2nd, 3rd and 4th-year teacher training students (n
= 883), using the same questionnaire. The following four factors were identified from the
items in this section:
Factor 1: Self: personal and social development (Intra- and interpersonal development)
Factor 2: Career development (Teacher training for social responsibility)
Factor 3: Attitude to the integration of Service-Learning in teacher training
Factor 4: Commitment to social responsibility
The statistical technique ANOVA (analysis of variance) was used. ANOVA is a
nunivariate procedure used to assess group differences on a single metric dependent
variable (Hair, Anderson, Tatham & Black, 1998:327).
Significant results were obtained by using the CSLAPS (Community Service-
Learning Attitudes and Perception Scale) (Bender, 2006) for the data from Section C:
Attitudes to and perceptions of Community Service-Learning.

Subsequent to this, the interactions with variables from Section B: Previous
experience and knowledge of Community Service-Learning, using the CSLAPS, were
compared. The only significant results (p < 0.05) derived were found in the comparisons
between previous enrolment and knowledge of Community Service-Learning with Factor
1 Self: Personal and social development (p =0.0543) and Factor 2 Career development of
the CSLAPS (p = 0.0364).
These significant results indicated that the students, who had previously enrolled
for a course which included Community Service-Learning and who also had knowledge
about it, had a more positive attitude toward doing Community Service-Learning because
they felt they would benefit from it in terms of personal and social development and that
it would also be of value for their career development.
These results highlighted the fact that students are career-oriented and would like
to take part in activities that would benefit them personally and socially and also benefit
their career development. The results also showed that previous knowledge or experience
regarding community service would be of value in terms of positive student attitudes
towards enrolling for a course/module which included Community Service-Learning in
the curriculum of their teacher training programme.
Further specific differences were identified when using the statistical technique
LSMEANS, a multiple comparisons technique (SAS Institute Inc., 2004:1820-1823) of
the variables (Factors 1 and 2) and previous enrolment and prior knowledge about
Community Service-Learning. These results indicated that previous enrolment and prior

25
knowledge influenced the students' attitude to doing Community Service-Learning for
personal and social development and career development, respectively.
After obtaining the above results showing that students had a greater focus on the
factor Self: personal and social development with career development, a decision was
taken to investigate two other variables, using the Community Service-Learning Attitude
and Perception Scale (CSLAPS). The two variables taken from Section 2 of the
questionnaire probed whether the students would like to take part in Community Service-
Learning related to their current teacher training programme and whether they would like
to do community service for academic credit. Previous experience was again taken into
consideration and also used in the comparison.
The results indicated that the students had a more positive attitude to Community
Service-Learning, indicating a greater willingness to do community service related to
their current teacher-training programme (p < 0.0001)and for academic credit (p =
0.0005), if it would add value to their teacher training and enhance their career
development. It was also clear that these two variables had a far greater significance than
Factor 2 as regards enhancing their career development or teacher training for social
responsibility on the Community Service-Learning Attitude and Perception Scale
(CSLAPS).

Discussion
The literature review of previous research on Community Service-Learning in
different disciplines revealed that there has not yet been a study on students' attitudes to
and perceptions of Community Service-Learning before this component is integrated into
the curriculum of an academic programme at higher education institutions. This has a
definite bearing on future research in that the field has not yet been explored. All the
existing studies have focused on students' attitudes to and perceptions of Community
Service-Learning after it had been integrated into the curriculum, or on the value of
Community Service-Learning for teaching and learning (Abourzek & Patterson, 2003,
Cepello, Davis & Hill-Ward, 2003, Erickson & Anderson, 1997, Swick, 1999).
It is therefore believed that the current study filled a gap in the existing research,
as it was the first study of its kind and will probably lead to further studies on attitudes to
and perceptions of Community Service-Learning, and its integration into a curriculum.
The findings of the study indicated that many of the students (slightly more than half —
53%) had gained previous experience of community service as part of volunteerism, but
the majority (88%) were not currently participating in a volunteer community service
project (non-curricular community engagement).
Results were generated by using the CSLAPS, showing that the students who
participated in the survey were more focused on intra- and inter-personal development as
well as on career development. As regards the students' attitudes to the integration of
Service-Learning in teacher training and their commitment to social responsibility, the
scale indicated no significant result. This was an indication that the students were more

27
focused on personal gain than on a sense of commitment to social responsibility.
Therefore, students would probably give a higher rating to a course/module which
included Community Service-Learning if it gave students opportunities for personal
growth and social development, and opportunities for career development that might
emanate from it. The results obtained from the use of the CSLAPS as part of the study,
indicated three important conclusions about students' attitudes to and willingness to
participate in Community Service-Learning:
• First conclusion: Students are career-oriented and would want credit for doing such a
course/module.
• Second conclusion: Students have a desire to grow and develop personally and socially.
• Third conclusion: Prior knowledge about Community Service-Learning should be
regarded as important when considering the integration of this component into a
course/module, as it has an identifiable influence on students' attitudes to Community
Service-Learning and their willingness to do Community Service-Learning as part of
their teacher training.

CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY
This chapter discusses the procedures used in carrying out the research work. It
takes into consideration the research design, the instrument used for the study and it
administration, population, sample and sampling technique, procedure for data collection
as well as limitations of the study.
Research Design
The research was designed to involve non-experimental, non-laboratory, but
qualitative and descriptive research study of the variables of interest. Unlike experimental
research, non-experimental research does not deal with the manipulation and control of
variables.
According to Gay (1992) research design indicates structure of study, the nature
of the hypotheses and the variables involved in the study. The research is a quantitative
nature and followed a descriptive design, using a survey to collect the data. According to
Passer & Smith (2008), the most basic goal of science is to describe phenomena and in
psychology, descriptive research seeks to identify how humans and animals behave,
particularly in natural settings. Survey is chosen because in survey research, information
about a topic is obtained by administering questionnaires or interviews to many people.
Surveys also ask about participants’ behaviour, experiences, and attitudes on wide-
ranging and sometimes sensitive issues. The strongest advantage of survey research is
that when a representative sample is surveyed, we can be confident that the findings

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closely portray the population as a whole. In scientific research, surveys are an efficient
method for collecting a large amount of information about people’s opinions,
experiences, and lifestyles, and they can reveal changes in people’s beliefs and habits
over many years.
But there also are several major drawbacks to surveys: survey data cannot be used
to draw conclusions about cause and effect. They rely on participants’ self-reports, which
can be distorted by factors such as social desirability bias, a tendency to respond or
behave in a way that is perceived as socially acceptable, rather than respond as one truly
feels. Also, unrepresentative samples can lead to faulty generalizations about how an
entire population would respond, and sometimes, simply by chance, a sample that is
randomly chosen will turn out not to be representative of the larger population.
Qualitative research focuses on understanding and on meaning by way of verbal
narratives and observations rather than on numbers. It is usually based on perceptions of
the subjects of study. The qualitative design was used to study the views and attitudes of
the students. Steinbeck and Steinbeck (1981) in contrasting qualitative and quantitative
methodologies indicated, among other things, that the procedures employed in qualitative
methodology were flexible, explanatory and discovery oriented. In contrast, the
procedures used in quantitative methodologies are highly structured and designed to
disprove predetermined hypothesis, which is unsuitable for our type of study.

Instrumentation
Against the background that the respondents (students) were literates, we
employed questionnaire as a vital instrument for data collection. The use of the
questionnaire provides the benefit of an efficient means by which researchers can obtain
statistically quantifiable data. The questionnaire contains both open-ended and closed-
ended questions and had a section which spelt out the aims of the research and provided
assurance of confidentiality to the respondents. It was divided into three sections made up
of a total of 32 items.
In the first section (section A) factual items about experience and participation
were sought by the researchers in order to draw out their previous and current knowledge
and participation in community service and to also find out if they would wish to engage
in such activities in future. The student participants were expected to express their views
in the affirmative or negative by selecting ―yes‖ or ―no‖.
With the objective of discovering attitude and perception of the students, the
second section (section B) was constructed. A four-point likert scale was used to measure
the responses to the items on the questionnaire. The responses varied from ―strongly
agree‖-(1) to I strongly disagree-(4). Respondents were required to choose the most
appropriate answer and provide answers in writing where necessary. This part was hence
made up of two open-ended questions.
In the third and final section (section C) the items were set out to elicit
information on the background data of the respondents or demographic information. The
student respondents were made to indicate their gender, age, level, marital status, and

31
programme of study. Since these information are more personal, the researchers thought
it expedient to position it at the end in order to facilitate more and accurate responses to
them.
Population
A population consists of all the individuals who we are interested in drawing a
conclusion about (Passer & Smith, 2008). Our target group for this research was students
of university of Cape Coast. Gender population was possibly checked in this research.
Male students out-numbered female students. Attention was given to all students
regardless of their programme of study, level, marital status and age.
Sample and Sampling Techniques
A simple random sampling strategy was used whereby all students currently in
their years of study at the university were given equal probability of being chosen for the
study. The selection was done during lecture period and in the free time of students. The
size of the sample was 200 students (n=200).
Procedure for Data Collection
A visit was made personally by the researchers to lecture rooms, study rooms,
halls of residence and other places where respondents could be found at the University of
Cape Coast campus. It took the researchers four days to collect the entire data. On each of

these days when questionnaires were given to respondents, researchers waited and took
them immediately after their completion by the students. The questions were in simple
and plain language to the understanding of all the respondents. Out of the 200
questionnaires given out the researchers were able to collect 196 of them. This
represented a return rate of 98% after which the results were then analyzed.
Method of Data Analysis
The analysis was done base on the information collected from the respondents
through the questionnaire administration. The closed-ended items were analyzed
separately from that of the open ended-items. The analysis was done by developing
frequency and percentage tables.
Summary
This chapter dealt with the method of the study. It captured the Research Design,
Population, the Sample and sampling procedure, instrumentation, Data Collection
Procedure, method of data analysis and the limitations of the study. In the next chapter
we shall deal with the Results and Discussion of the finding.

33
CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS OF DATA
In this chapter, the data obtained from the study is statistically presented and an
analysis of the results is made. In the analysis of the data, frequency and percentage
tables were constructed to illustrate and support the results. The chapter is divided into
two major parts. The first part presents the background information of the respondents
and the second part presents detailed results on the research questions and discussion of
the results and findings of the study.
PART 1
Background Information of Respondents
A total of 196 under graduate students of the university of Cape Coast
participated in the study. Table 1 shows the distribution of number of respondents by
gender. Frequencies may not sum up to 196 because of non-responses.
Demographic Information
The fist part looks at the demographic data of respondents. The following tables represent
the demographic profile of the respondents.
Table 1: Gender Distribution of Respondents
Gender Frequency Percentage
Male 124 64.9
Female 67 35.1

Total 191 100.0
Source: Field work, 2010
It can be observed from Table 1 that majority of the respondents (64.9%) were males
whereas 35.1% were females. This therefore supposes that male respondents
outnumbered their female counterpart in the study. Thus presupposing that, there are
more male students on the University of Cape Coast Campus than female students.
Respondents were also asked to indicate their age range. The age distribution
obtained from the 193 under graduate students who responded to the questionnaire of the
study is represented in Table 2.
Table 2: Age Distribution of Respondents
Age Frequency Percentage
Below 20
20-29
30-39
40+
11
168
13
1
5.7
87.0
6.7
0.5
Total 193 100
From Table 2, it could be deduced that out of the total 193 respondents, majority
168(87.0%) were in the age range of 20-29 years and above. On the other hand, 13(6.7%)
were within the age range of 30-39 years, 11(5.7%) of the respondents fell with the age

35
range of 20 years and below and finally, 1(.5%) fell within the age range of 40 and above.
This therefore indicates that majority of the respondents for the study was within 20-29
age range and that majority of students on the University of Cape Coast Campus have
their age falling within this range. The level designation of the 193 respondents is
presented in Table 3.
Table 3: Level of Respondents
LEVEL FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
100 27 14.0
200 56 29.0
300 55 28.5
400 55 28.5
Total 193 100
It can be examined from Table 3 that few of the respondents 27(14.0%) were in level 100
whereas the distribution of respondents from the rest of the levels were 56(29.0%) from
level 200, 55(28.5%) from level 300 as well as 55(28.5%) from level 400. This therefore
signifies that out of the total (196) respondents, level distribution was fair across the
levels200, 300, and 400, except for level 100 which has a bit low respondents for the
study.
Respondents were also asked to indicate their marital status. The result obtained
from the 196 under graduate students who formed the sample for the study is represented
in Table 4.

Table 4: Marital Status Distribution of Respondents
STATUS FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
Married 9 4.7
Single 181 94.3
Divorced 2 1.0
Total 192 100.0
From Table 4, it could be deduced that out of the total 193 respondents,
181(94.3%) were single. On the other hand, 9(4.7%) are married, 2(1.0%) of the
respondents have divorced. These therefore indicate that majority of the respondents for
the studies were single.
Table 5: Faculties of Respondents
Faculty FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
Education 78 43.1
Science 42 23.2
School of business 33 18.2
Social science 15 8.3
Arts 13 7.2
Total 181 100

37
The above table indicates the faculties from which respondents were selected for
the study. Virtually, all the major faculties on campus were represented with 78 (43.1%)
form faculty of education, 42 (23.2%) from faculty of science, 33 (18.2%), 15 (8.3%)
from faculty of social science as well as 13 (7.2%) of the respondents form faculty of
arts. This reflects the general representation of student-faculty ratio of the University of
Cape Coast, with most of the entire students population in the faculty of education
PART 2
Research Questions and Discussion of Results
This part of the chapter discusses the results of the research questions that guided
the study. There are three research questions in all; first, do university students participate
in community service activities? what are the primary reasons for which university
student participate in community service activities?, and what are the attitudes and
perceptions of university students towards community service. Detail discussion of
findings as compared or as related to other studies were also presented under each
research question.
Research Question One
Do University Students Participate in Community Service Activities?
This research question sought to determine whether students get involve voluntary
activities, their knowledge of community service and whether they wish to participate
in any voluntary activities in the future. To answer this research question, the

researchers posed series of questions to the respondents. The results of their response
are shown in Table 6.
Table 6
Response to community service experience and participation by participants
Experience and participation Yes
Freq (%)
No
Freq (%)
1. Have you heard of community service before? 182 (92.9) 14 (7.1)
2. Have you ever participated in any voluntary activity (e.g. clean-
up exercise) in your community before?
148 (75.5) 48 (24.5)
3. Do you participate in any clean-up exercises in your school? 126 (64.3) 70 (35.7)
4. Do you currently belong to any voluntary association? 43(22.1) 152(77.9)
5. Would you like to participate in any community service activity
in the near future?
187 (95.9) 8 (4.1)
6. Would you like to enroll for course/module with community
service?
141 (72.7) 53 (27.3)
7. If your religion does not organize community service, will you do
it on your own?
144 (74.2) 50 (25.8)

39
Meaningful and important results were derived from previous experience and
knowledge of Community Service with 182 representing 92.9% of the respondents
indicating that they have heard of community service before. This is contrary to the
research finding of Gerda Bender and Rene Jordaan (2007) in which 53% of the
respondents indicated that they have not heard of community service-learning before. 148
representing 75.5% of the respondents indicated that they have participated in voluntary
activity like clean up exercise before, 187 representing 95.9% of the respondents
answering that they would like to participate in voluntary or community service in the
near future and 141 representing 72.7% would like to enroll for courses on community
service. This finding is in concord with the findings of Bender and Jordaan (2007) in
which 67% of their respondents would like to enroll for a course on community service.
In soliciting the responses of students on whether they would do community service if
their religions do not organize, 144 representing 74.2% of the total respondents answered
yes. Only 43 of the respondents representing 22.1% indicated that they belong to
voluntary associations on campus meaning most of the respondents do not join voluntary
groups and associations on campus.
These clearly indicate that majority of the respondents have good community
service experience and have participated in community service activities before. But the
majority has not joined voluntary groups and associations on campus. This calls for
further research into why students do not join voluntary organization on campus (even
though their responses to the questions suggest that they have had or would want to have
good community service experience and participation).

Research Question Two
What are the Primary Reasons Why University Students Participate in Community
Service?
This research question sought to find out what actually motivates students to get
involve or participate in community services, thus, the motivation behind students’
participation. To answer this research question, the researchers have given the
opportunity to the respondents to express themselves through an open ended question.
The results of their responses are shown in Table 7. Frequencies may not sum up to 196
because of non-responses.
Table 7: Reasons for Students Participation in Community Service
Reason for Participation Frequency %
Recognition, motivation and reward for effort 41 23.4
Sense of civic responsibility to serve the community 53 30.3
Promote the wellbeing of the community 52 29.7
Because of love and need to help members of the community 10 5.7
To gain more experience and exposure 10 5.7
Team work/ communal labour 6 3.4
National service posting 2 1.1
Availability of the necessary tools and gargets 1 .6
Total 175 100

41
When asked for the primary reason that would motivate them to participate in
community service, the majority sited sense of civic responsibility to serve their
community as well as the need to promote the well being of the community as the major
motives behind their participation. Out of the total participants, only 41 representing
23.4% indicated that reward and motivation for their effort is the motive behind their
participation. In all, majority of the respondents (76.6%) are considering the benefits to
the community, the welfare of the community as well as love for their communities as the
major reasons behind their participation as compared to few 23.4% who will participate
in community service based on the rewards, motivation or recognitions they anticipate.
This finding is also in contrast with the findings of Gerda Bender and Rene
Jordaan (2007), who discovered that majority of their respondents, indicated that career
and future plans are the main reasons that would motivate them to enroll for a course or
model with community service. The reason for the difference could be that, the research
work of Bender & Jordaan (2007) was looking at the attitude and perception of students
in relation to their academic programme and the relevance of such to their curriculum.
Our finding on this research question indicates that students are enthused and positive
minded about community services.

Research Question Three
What are the Attitudes and Perceptions of University Students Toward Community
Services?
With this research question, the researchers aim at discovering the attitude of students
and the perceptions they hold about community service. To answer this research question,
the respondents were given series of closed ended items to respond to. Their views and
responses were presented in tables 8 and 9 represent attitudes and perceptions
respectively. Table 8 represents responses to attitudinal items. In table 9, the respondents
were given the opportunity to express their opinions about people who do community
service. Their opinions are expected to elicit their perceptions about community service.
Frequencies may not sum up to 196 because of non-responses.
The items on attitude pertain to personal values, social responsibility, relevance to
career choice, as well as personal developmental issues that was intended to unearth the
attitudes and perceptions of the respondents toward community service.
From the table, data obtained on whether respondents value and cherish
community service indicates that 100 representing 51.3% of the respondents strongly
agree that they value and cherish voluntary activities, 88 representing 45.1% agree, while
4 representing 2.1% disagree and 3 representing 1.5% strongly disagree that they value
and cherish community service.

43
Table 8: Responses to Attitude and Perception
Statements SA
Freq %
A
Freq %
D
Freq %
SD
Freq %
1. I value and cherish voluntary
activities
100(51.3) 88(45.1) 4(2.1) 3(1.5)
2. Community service participants
should be given priority for
employment.
81(41.5) 83(42.6) 26(13.3) 5(2.6)
3. Community service should be for
only people whose political parties
are in power
4(2.1) 3(1.6) 19(9.9) 166(86.5)
4. Government should fund all
projects in the community
34(17.6) 42(21.8) 81(42.0) 36(18.7)
5. If community service is rewarded
it will be a motivation for students
104(53.6) 76(39.2) 8(4.1) 6(3.1)
6. I am willing to bring my expert
knowledge to bear on my
community
92(47.4) 96(49.5) 6(3.1) 0(0)
7. I feel a sense of duty to participate
in voluntary community service
74(38.1) 109(56.2) 9(4.6) 2(1.0)
8. Community service broadens one’s
knowledge of diversity, career
choices and social awareness
95(49.0) 90(46.4) 6(3.1) 3(1.5)
9. Students should be allowed to do
National Service at places of their
choice
89(45.9) 36(18.6) 39(20.1) 30(15.5)
Source: Field work, 2010 SA= Strongly Agree; A=Agree; D= Disagree; SD= Strongly
Disagree

It could be deduced form the data that, 188 representing 96.4% of the total
respondents value and cherish voluntary activities. With responses to whether community
service participants should be given priority for employment, 81 representing 41.5 % of
the respondents strongly agree, 83 representing 42.6% agree while 26 representing 13.3%
and 5 representing 2.6% disagree and strongly disagree respectively. This shows that 164
of the total respondents representing 84.1% of the respondents believe that community
service participants should be given priority of employment while only 31 representing
15.9% believe that community service participants should not be given priority for
employment. The response to this item correlates with the findings by Bender and
Jordaan (2007) whose results highlighted the fact that students are career-oriented and
would like to take part in activities that would benefit them personally and socially and
also benefit their career development. Also, in concordance with Bender and Jordaan’s
findings above are the responses to an item that ask whether students should be allowed
to do national service (after school) at places of their convenience. From the table, a total
of 125 of the respondents representing 64.5% think students should be given opportunity
to do national service at places of their convenience.
From the literature review of Bender and Jordaan (2007), students, who had
previously enrolled for a course which included Community Service-Learning and who
also had knowledge about it, had a more positive attitude toward doing Community
Service-Learning because they felt they would benefit from it in terms of personal and
social development and that it would also be of value for their career development.
Similar to the above results, even though students have good community service

45
experience and participation, their attitudes are linked to motivation, knowledge of
diversity, career choices and social awareness.
Table 9: Response to Perception about People Who Do Community Service
RESPONSE FREQUENCY %
Loyal, kind-hearted, patriotic and selfless people 102 57.6
They are people without permanent employment 5 2.8
People with integrity and sense of responsibility 22 12.4
They have the welfare of the community at heart 29 16.4
They do it for favour and recognition 1 .6
They must be motivated and rewarded handsomely 16 9.0
They want experience and exposure 2 1.1
Total 177 100.0
Source: Field work, 2010.
Table 9 represents opinion of respondents about people who do community
service. This question is intended to unearth the perception of respondents about
community service. 102 respondents representing 57.6% think people who do community
service are loyal, kind-hearted, patriotic and selfless, a total of 51 representing 28.8%
think such people have integrity and sense of responsibility as well as the welfare of the
community at heart. Thus, majority (153 representing 86.4%) of the respondents have
positive perception towards those who participate in community service as compared to
24 representing 13.6% think people do community service for favour, recognition, and
because they are unemployment.

CHAPTER 5
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter will look at summary of the study, conclusions as well as recommendations
of the study.
Summary of the study
In chapter one, the background of the study talks about the fact that, the
fundamental reason why a lot of resources are invested in the training of university
students is for them to be well positioned for the betterment of the entire community. The
lives of Barack Obama and Joe Biden provide good examples for students to emulate.
The statement of the problem is about the low patronage of voluntary activities by
students on the campus of University of Cape Coast. The purpose of the study was
therefore to find out the attitude and perception of the students towards community
service. In line with this, the following research questions were asked: ―do university
students participate in community service?‖, ―what are the primary reasons that would
motive university students to participate in community services?‖, and the last is ―what
are the attitudes and perceptions of university students towards community service?‖
With the significance of the study, it is hoped that the study will be useful to university
administrators, policy makers, and researchers who are interested in learning more about
the antecedents and outcomes of community service. The delimitation indicated that the
study will focus on students in the universities of Cape Coast alone.

47
Chapter two looks at two parts. The first part of was the theoretical review and the
other part was the empirical review. The theoretical review dealt with what others have
written about community service, attitude and its relation to social group work, concept
of perception, and theory of planned behavior. In the empirical review part, the works of
Gerda Bender and Rene Jordaan, (2007) were reviewed. The review was conducted
under the following headings: purpose of the study, methodology, and findings, as well as
conclusion of the study.
Areas considered under chapter three were the population, sample and sampling
procedure, research instruments, administration of research instruments, and limitations
of the study. The population used for the study comprised 200 undergraduate students of
the University of Cape Coast. The sample was selected using the simple random
technique to provide a fair representation of the population. Questionnaire was the
instrument for data collection. The administration of the questionnaire was personally
done by us and covered a period of two weeks. Among the limitations in data collection
were poor co-operation from respondents and the fact that there was not 100% return rate
for questionnaires administered.
Chapter four focused on the results and discussions of the findings of the study.
This was put into two main parts. The first part presents and discusses demographic
information of the respondents. In the second part (main data), the discussions were done
in the light of the research questions. Tables of frequencies and percentages were used in
discussing the findings.
It can be found in table 6 that majority of the students have good community
service experience and participation. 182 representing 92.9% of the respondents indicated

that they have heard of community service before, 148 representing 75.5% of the
respondents indicated that they have participated in voluntary activity (like clean up
exercise) before, 187 representing 95.9% of the respondents answering that they would
like to participate in voluntary or community service in the near future and 141
representing 72.7% would like to enroll for courses on community service. Also, from
table 7, majority of the respondents (76.6%) are considering the benefits to the
community, the welfare of the community as well as love for their communities as the
major reasons behind their participation as compared to few 23.4% who will participate
in community service based on the rewards, motivation or recognitions they anticipate.
These findings are equivalent to the findings of Gerda Bender and Rene Jordaan, (2007).
These show that majority of the respondents are very altruistic in participation in
voluntary community activities. From table 8 and 9, results indicated that the students
had a more positive attitude toward doing voluntary community activities because they
felt they would benefit from it in terms of personal values, social responsibility and
development, and that it would also be of value for their career development.
These results highlighted the fact that students are career-oriented and would like
to take part in activities that would benefit them personally and socially and also benefit
their career development. These findings are parallel to that of Gerda Bender and Rene
Jordaan, (2007).

49
Conclusion
As Henry Ford (founder of Ford Motor Corporation) wrote, ―Coming together is
the beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success‖ (Ferrett, 2000),
community engagement has a great implication for this statement. Community
engagement finds expressions in a variety of forms, ranging from informal and relatively
unstructured activities (like communal labour and clean-up activities) to formal and
structured academic programmes (community service learning) which address particular
community needs (Council on Higher Education, 2004: 24, South Africa)
The results obtained from the study, indicated three important conclusions about
students' attitudes to and perceptions about Community Service:
These clearly indicate that majority of the respondents have good community
service experience and participation, but the majority has not joined voluntary
groups and associations.
First conclusion: Prior knowledge and experience about voluntary activities has
influence on students' attitudes and perception to community Service.
Second conclusion: students are altruistically oriented in their engagement in
community service.
Third conclusion: Students have a desire to grow and develop personally and
socially.
Students have good attitude and perception about community service but will
participate more when motivated.

Learning from experience gives students the opportunity to put theory into practice and
also gain insight into the expected tasks and community issues that they could face when
entering the workplace
Community Service activities, as described in the literature review, is essential
learning experience which is both personally meaningful to the students and beneficial to
the community
Community Service is of a reciprocal nature, since the student and the community
both have to invest in, and simultaneously benefit from, the activities included in a
Community Service.
Community Service activities is also noted as an important feature of Community
Service-Learning, as it gives students an opportunity to reflect on their experiences and,
in this way, determine their value for their learning
Citizenship is described in the relevant literature (Constitutional Assembly, 1996;
Parker, 1996; Rhampele, 2001; Rhoads, 1998) as bringing with it not only democratic
rights but also a responsibility to help solve problems in the community through active
participation in community matters. Positive community service attitude, perception,
experience and participation will offer students the opportunity to recognise the role they
can play as responsible citizens while they are students and also after they have
completed their studies, by bringing their future career to the community to help solve
problems or add value (Eyler & Giles, 1999).

51
Recommendation
Students are important participants in a community and their voice and actions
ought to be recognized in community building. After conducting the study, the following
recommendations were made to all educators, researchers, and policy makers to help
develop positive attitudes and perceptions toward community service among the
Ghanaian youth and particularly university student.
With further research, it is hoped that the findings presented here will be useful to
university administrators and faculty, policy makers, and researchers who are interested
in learning more about volunteerism among students and conduct further research into
why students do not join voluntary organizations.
Further, this research project will help inform and increase researchers’ and
educators understanding of students’ attitude towards community service projects
performed for college credit, or as a course requirement. It is hoped that educators,
researchers, and policy makers will find it useful to understand students’ attitude towards
community service. In this light, it will help them
• Introduce students by means of an orientation process to the concept and practice of
Community Service-Learning before they embark on such a course/module.
• Allow students the opportunity to ask questions and discuss any uncertainties they may
still have after the introduction and orientation.
• Arrange visits to the intended service agencies and community sites as part of the
introduction and orientation.

They can also be used to evaluate and predict the multitude of outcomes that have
been purposed, such as the impact of community service experience on students’
academic achievements, social growth, character development, civic responsibility,
career, skill development, and moral and ego development, intellectual development,
self-concept, and on the broader community (Kraft & Krug, 1994; Markus, Howard &
King, 1993).
The research has also revealed that majority of students will engage in voluntary
community activities. This can be a good opportunity for the government, particularly at
the district levels to engage the youth, especially university students, in certain projects
which will end up reducing the cost of financing those projects. This can be done when
students are on vacation and little incentives may be given in order to sustain majority of
the volunteers in the activities since about 23.4 percent of them would prefer certain
rewards and reinforcements.
NGOs can also seize the opportunity to involve university students in some of
their activities especially those that are voluntary and can also offer employment to some
of these students after completion of school. It is also recommended that in cases of
voluntary services, certain rewards may be given to participant in order to reinforce their
continued stay with the NGO. This recommendation is by virtue of the fact that about
92.8 percent of our participants agreed to the question, ―If community service is rewarded
it will be a motivation for students‖.
The various universities can also mount community service-related courses as
stated above, to enhance, sustain and sharpen students love and commitment for
voluntary community activities after school. This recommendation is supported by the

53
evidence that 141 representing 72.7 percent of our respondents were willing to enroll on a
course or module with community service. The university can also use findings of this
research to engage students in a lot of activities including clean-up exercises and other
voluntary activities on campus.
The entire community, through findings from this research, can now know that
their members in the university have sense of civic responsibility, love and willingness to
help promote the wellbeing of the community. This statement can be implicated in a lot
of areas, but in general it means that their members especially those within the
universities are willing to help with the progress of the community and hence must be
involved in all spheres of community’s endeavors, from planning to involvement in
voluntary activities.
Finally, this research will help to integrate the various perspectives stated above
into a comprehensive theory of volunteerism and community service.

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1995): 178–84.Page 58 |
Robert D. Putnam, ―The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life,‖
The American Prospect 4, no. 13 (spring 1993): 35–42; Putnam, ―The Strange
Disappearance of Civic America,‖ The American Prospect 7, no. 24 (1996): 34–
48;
Ross Gittell and Avis Vidal, Community Organizing: Building Social Capital as a
Development Strategy (Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage, 1998).
Putnam, ―The Prosperous Community,‖ 1993; Putnam, Bowling Alone: The
Collapse and Revival of American Community (New York: Simon and Schuster,
2000).
Putnam, quoted by Marion Orr, Black Social Capital: The Politics of School
Reform in Baltimore, 1986–98 (Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kans.,

1999), p. 4; the Putnam source is, ―The Prosperous Community,‖ 1993, pp. 39–
41.
Susan Saegert and Gary Winkel, ―Paths to Community Empowerment:
Organizing at Home,‖ American Journal of Community Psychology 24 (August
1996): 517–50;
Xavier de Souza Briggs, Elizabeth J. Mueller, and Mercer Sullivan, From
Neighborhood to Community: Evidence on the Social Effects of Community
Development (New York: New School for Social Research, Graduate School of
Management and Urban Policy, Community Development Research Center,
1997):139–171;
Gittell and Vidal, Community Organizing; 1998, and Kenneth Temkin and
William M. Rohe, ―Social Capital and Neighborhood Stability: An Empirical
Investigation,‖ Housing Policy Debate 9, no. 1 (1998), for notable exceptions
http://www.barakobama.com
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57
APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE
UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
QUESTIONAIRE ON ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF UNIVERSITY
STUDENTS TOWARDS COMMUNITY SERVICE
This questionnaire is part of a study aimed at discovering the ATTITUDE AND
PERCEPTION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TOWARDS COMMUNITY
SERVICE. Your objective response will constitute a strong empirical basis upon which
decision makers will better acknowledge the attitude of students towards certain local
developmental projects before initiating them.
You are humbly requested to provide objective and dispassionate answers to the
questionnaire items. The information provided by you would be treated with
confidentiality.
SECTION A (COMMUNITY SERVICE-EXPERIENCE AND PARTICIPATION)
 Please tick [ √ ] the appropriate response to each item
1. Have you heard of community service before? Yes ( ) / No ( )
2. Have you ever participated in any voluntary activity (e.g. clean-up exercise) in your
community before? Yes ( ) / No ( )

3. Have you participated in any voluntary activity (e.g. clean-up exercise) in any other
community before? Yes ( ) / No ( )
4. Do you participate in any clean-up exercises in your school? Yes ( ) / No ( )
5. Do you currently belong to any voluntary association? Yes ( ) / No ( )
6. Do you have any previous community service experience? Yes ( ) / No ( )
7. Would you like to participate in any community service activity in the near future?
Yes ( ) / No ( )
8. Have you been enrolled for a course/module with community service? Yes ( ) / No (
)
9. Would you like to enroll for course/module with community service? Yes ( ) / No (
)
10. If your religion does not organize community service, will you do it on your own?
Yes ( ) / No ( )
Please Turn Over
SECTION B (ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION)
To what extent do you agree or disagree to the following statements
Key: Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD).
Indicate your choice by a tick in the appropriate box.

59
STATEMENTS SA A D SD
11. I value and cherish voluntary activities
12. Community service participants should be given priority for employment.
13. Community service would be an added advantage to my studies.
14. Government should provide the needs of those who do community service.
15. Community service should be for only people whose political parties are in
power
16. Students should be allowed to do National Service at places of their choice
17. Government should fund all projects in the community
18. I am willing to bring my expert knowledge to bear on my community
19. If community service is rewarded it will be a motivation for students
20. The allowance given to national service persons is not encouraging
21. I feel a sense of duty to participate in voluntary community service
22. community service broadens one’s knowledge of diversity, career choices and
social awareness
23. Community service is solely the responsibility of inhabitants of a particular
community
24. I have never been part of a team embarking on voluntary service
 Please write the appropriate response to each of the following item.
25. What primary reason would motivate you to participate in community service?

................................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................................
26. What is your perception about people who do community service?
………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………………………...………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………
SECTION C (DEMOGRAPHIC INFORMATION)
Gender: Male ( ) Female ( )
Age category: Below 20 ( ) 20-29 ( ) 30-39 ( ) 40 and above ( )
Marital status: Married ( ) Single ( ) Divorced ( ) Widowed ( )
Level: 100 ( ) 200 ( ) 300 ( ) 400 ( )
Program of study:
………………………………………………………………………………………………
……………………………………
Religious denomination: Islam ( ) Christianity ( ) African Traditional Religion ( )
Any other ……………….

ATTITUDE AND PERCEPTION OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TOWARDS COMMUNITY SERVICE

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