Understanding the Social Variations of Nursing Students’ Service-Learning and its Effect on Development of Vocational and Social Responsibility

Abstract

Aim: The study carried on to define the effectiveness of the service-learning approach was realised with 2nd year nursing students of the faculty of health sciences of a state university operating in Turkey during the fall semester of the 2022-2023 academic year (14 weeks). Method: In this study in which a qualitative and quantitative combined method was adopted, 132 students made the sample group of the quantitative research (experimental and control group). For this purpose, “Personal and Social Responsibility Questionnaire and Service-Learning Scale”, validity and reliability of which was proved, was used. In the quantitative research it was aimed to find out if there was a significant difference between the pre and post-test performances of the students participating in the service-learning activities and to compare the results with the students who did not participate in the service-learning activities and to see if the service-learning activities had any contribution to social responsibility skills of the students. The qualitative part of the research was realised with 10 participants who participated in the whole process of the study and a semi-structured questionnaire was used. In the qualitative part of the study, it was aimed to gain profound knowledge through the experiences that participants gained during the service-learning process. Results: The results of the research indicate that the service-learning approach contributed positively to the development of participants' insights into the importance of community work, helped them understand social diversity, helped the development of their social skills and increased sense of responsibility. Conclusion: Service-learning positively affected students’ knowledge of vocational and social responsibility and their self-assessment of knowledge-skill-attitudes. It is recommended that the service-learning approach be used to teach nursing vocational and social responsibility.