This study compared moral reasoning of first year college students who chose to take the service learning section of a required general education course with students who took the non service learning section of the same course using the Visions of Morality Scale. This study hypothesized that students who chose to take the service learning section of the course would have a higher level of moral reasoning compared to those students who chose to take the non service section. Data was collected from 24 respondents via the Visions of Morality instrument and was joined to data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP). The study found that students in the service learning sections of the course scored lower on the Visions of Morality Scale than those in the non service learning sections. Based on CIRP data taken from respondents at the beginning of their freshman year, this study also found a statistically significant difference between students who chose service learning courses and those who chose the non service learning courses in respondent desire to participate in community based action programs. The implications for this study include insight into the reasons why students decide to participate in service courses and subsequently, why some service courses might be more effective than others.
","abstract_html":"<p>This study compared moral reasoning of first year college students who chose to take the service learning section of a required general education course with students who took the non service learning section of the same course using the Visions of Morality Scale. This study hypothesized that students who chose to take the service learning section of the course would have a higher level of moral reasoning compared to those students who chose to take the non service section. Data was collected from 24 respondents via the Visions of Morality instrument and was joined to data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP). The study found that students in the service learning sections of the course scored lower on the Visions of Morality Scale than those in the non service learning sections. Based on CIRP data taken from respondents at the beginning of their freshman year, this study also found a statistically significant difference between students who chose service learning courses and those who chose the non service learning courses in respondent desire to participate in community based action programs. The implications for this study include insight into the reasons why students decide to participate in service courses and subsequently, why some service courses might be more effective than others.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Nathanson, Abigail M."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (M.A.)","degree_level":"Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted","degree_discipline":"Educational Administration and Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Joanna Royce-Davis"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2006-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:36:35Z","subjects":["Service learning","Moral development","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/637","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Joanna Royce-Davis"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Nathanson, Abigail M."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2006-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Administration and Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Service learning","Moral development","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/637"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This study compared moral reasoning of first year college students who chose to take the service learning section of a required general education course with students who took the non service learning section of the same course using the Visions of Morality Scale. This study hypothesized that students who chose to take the service learning section of the course would have a higher level of moral reasoning compared to those students who chose to take the non service section. Data was collected from 24 respondents via the Visions of Morality instrument and was joined to data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP). The study found that students in the service learning sections of the course scored lower on the Visions of Morality Scale than those in the non service learning sections. Based on CIRP data taken from respondents at the beginning of their freshman year, this study also found a statistically significant difference between students who chose service learning courses and those who chose the non service learning courses in respondent desire to participate in community based action programs. The implications for this study include insight into the reasons why students decide to participate in service courses and subsequently, why some service courses might be more effective than others.
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"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/637"],"dc:rights":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:source":["48"],"dc:subject":["Service learning","Moral development","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership"],"dc:title":["A comparison of college student moral reasoning and tendency toward choosing service learning courses"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Administration and Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Pacific Access Restricted"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (M.A.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:36:35Z"}