Impact of Service-Learning on Leadership and an Interest in Social Justice

Many articles describe how service-learning has been implemented, but few studies have demonstrated its effectiveness.

A service-learning component was added to a course in a registered nurse-to-baccalaureate degree (RN-to-BSN) completion program. The service-learning component included a 5-hour service requirement and class discussions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate service-learning's impact on postlicensure RN-to-BSN students' self-evaluation of their leadership skills and their interest in social justice. This study used a quantitative, pretest-posttest control group design and a Likert scale survey.

Variations in precourse and postcourse responses of the control group did not demonstrate a measurable effect; responses of the service-learning group revealed a small effect size for both the leadership construct and the social justice construct.

This study was unique in that it addressed nontraditional RN-to-BSN students in an accelerated program, 70% of whom were taking the course in an online format.