In researching for my proposal, I came across an article examining the reasons why students are involved in community service. This is relevant to my proposal, as I am researching if being involved in community service has a positive influence on struggling students’ academics. The article is “Understanding Patterns of Commitment” by Jones and Hill (2003). This study had many guiding research questions. The overarching research question of this article, and the question I feel is most relevant to my research, is: “What are students’ reasons for participation in community service in high school?” (Jones & Hill, 2003). The type of data needed to answer this question is reports of acts, behaviors, and events, as students are giving reasons for  involvement in community service. To collect this data, the researchers performed in-depth interviews with select students that were nominated by the Community Service Directors at the participants’ schools. The researchers analyzed the data through what they call “constructivist ground theory” (Jones & Hill, 2003). In this method, the authors look for patterns and themes within their data and continuously look back at their data with new questions until a narrative emerges. Jones and Hill found that high schoolers involved in community service often were influence by external factors, such as family, friends, or school community service requirements (2003). Despite these influences, the participants usually felt good after volunteering, but the participants did not think much about why they were engaging in community service, unless they were involved in service because of their church or religion (Jones & Hill, 2003). This will be important to think about in regards to my own research as to the reasoning of students who participate in community service. If I am interested in the effects community service has on students who are struggling academically, then it will aid my research to know why students get involved in the first place.

Jones, S.R., & Hill, K.E. (2003). Understanding patterns of commitment: student motivation for community service involvement. The Journal of Higher Education, 74 (5), 516-539.