Carvalho, M. Carmo

Fonseca, António M.

Negrão, Mariana

Resende, Cristina

Trigo, Luísa Ribeiro

Veiga, Elisa

English

Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Community Service at Catholic University of  PortugalA personal, social and academic development program for Psychology StudentsLuísa Ribeiro Trigo, M. Carmo Carvalho, Mariana Negrão, Elisa Veiga, Cristina Resende & António M. FonsecaFaculty of Education and Psychology , Catholic University of Portugal  - PortoContact:   mtrigo@porto.ucp.ptConceptual FrameworkThe Community Service Program (CSP) has been developed since 2004 at the Faculty of Education and Psychology (FEP) atPorto, northern Portugal. In this program first cycle psychology students are challenged to get involved in volunteer work atcommunity organizations, tutored by FEP team. The Program is based on the definition of volunteerism as a long-term,planned, pro-social behavior that takes place in an organizational context (Penner, 2002). Community service has beenconsidered an integral component to universities’ mission (Hellman, Hoppes, & Ellison, 2006). Through community service,students have the opportunity to prepare themselves to adulthood and citizenship (Shiarella, McCarthy, & Tucker, 2000), beingattentive to community needs. Additionally, recent literature emphasizes the fact that volunteerism lead to the development ofmany skills (Bartel, Saavedra, & Van Dyne, 2001).Testimonials“The volunteer donates his/her energy and creativity.But gets in return all the human bonding, the contactwith different people, the opportunity to acquire newknowledge, the feeling of worthiness and usefulness…”“With this volunteering opportunity I was able to developmy communication skills, knowledge on how to interactwith children, and values like supportiveness to others,team work, humbleness, authenticity… These skillsmade me grow not only as a person, but also as afuture psychologist.”“Volunteering facilitated for me enormous personal growth. It taught me that it’s never about the desire to help the other one and wanting to change their world, but mostly about wanting to be part of that world.”TOPICS FOR DISCUSSIONResults from systematic evaluation of the program show us that Community Service participants believe that they have improvedsignificantly their personal and social competences and understanding about different and new realities. Some ingredients seem to beparticularly important in designing community service programs: providing high quality experiences, where students can performchallenging and meaningful tasks, and the existence of moments of individual reflection and collective discussion, with the support ofinstructors and supervisors. It is important to provide opportunities for effective learning, combining service with reflection (Menezes,2003; Harré, 2007). Our experience show us also a strong positive impact in participants’ role as a student, as a person and as a futurepsychologist. Community Service program is constantly searching for the best adjustment between it’s strategies and the changing needsand interests of students and partner institutions. In this sense the program is particularly interested in further developing it’s impact onfuture psychologist’s integral training, promotion of student centered learning, exploring the program’s potential on teaching activity andit’s impact on surrounding community.PROGRAM GOALS To promote  student’s personal and social development To strengthen values To allow a first contact of students with professional world To contribute to the satisfaction of needs of local institutionsWhatWhoWhereHowWhyPERSONAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ACTIONVolunteerism in an institution  REFLECTIONTraining, supervision, monitoring and evaluation SUPPORTInstrumental and emotional supportTHE PROCESS  Minimum required of 48h hours Weekly basis/intensive mode Monthly training and regular supervision EvaluationPARTICIPANTS Psychology students (1st cycle) from the Catholic University  of Portugal –Porto Community organizations  ORGANIZATIONAL SETTINGS  Foster care Schools Hospitals Elderly residential care Prisons Nurseries Special needs Program Dynamic Community Service Program REFERENCESBartel, C. A., Saavedra, R., & Van Dyne, L. (2001). Design conditions for learning in community service contexts. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22, 367-385. Harré, N. (2007).Community service or activism as an identity project for youth. Journal of Community Psychology,35(6), 711-724. Hellman, C. M., Hoppes, S., & Ellison, G. C. (2006). Factors associated with college student intent to engage in community service. The Journal of Psychology, 140(1), 29-39. Menezes, I. (2003). Participation experiences and civic concepts, attitudes and engagement:Implications for citizenship education projects. European Educational Research Journal, 2(3), 430-445. Penner, L. A. (2002). Dispositional and organizational influences in sustained volunteerism: An interactionist perspective. Journal of Social Issues, 58(3), 447-467. Shiarella, A.H.,McCarthy, A. M., & Tucker, M. L. (2000). Development and construct validity of scores on the community service attitudes scale. Educational & Psychological Measurement, 2, 286-300.

Community Service at Catholic University of Portugal: A Personal, Social and Academic Development Program for Psychology Studentss

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Community Service at Catholic University of Portugal: A Personal, Social and Academic Development Program for Psychology Studentss

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