Can Service-Learning Help Students Appreciate an Unpopular Course?: A Theoretical Framework

A theoretical model is presented that proposes a mechanism through which service-learning can improve students' attitudes toward a course. The model suggests that service-learning projects have an effect on students' perception of the course material's usefulness, and that higher perceived usefulness, along with higher perceived ease of subject, leads to more favorable attitudes toward the course and stronger intentions for future use of its material. In order to test the model, a longitudinal study involving undergraduate students enrolled in a business statistics course was conducted. The results of the study provided full support for the proposed model and suggested that students involved in service-learning projects experienced significantly higher increase in their perception of the course material's usefulness relative to a comparison group, which resulted in improved attitudes toward the course and in stronger intentions for future use of the course material.