Civic And Community Engagement Is A Current Focus At St. Pet

Civic/community engagement is a current focus at St Petersburg

Topic: Civic/community engagement is a current focus at St Petersburg College. How engaged are students at St Petersburg College? Create a Survey Identify the topic, and write one research hypothesis to test based on the topic which is Civic/community engagement is a current focus at St Petersburg College. How engaged are students at St Petersburg College?. You will use the data collected from your survey to test the hypothesis.

You must also include the null hypothesis. Write a survey that includes at least 4 questions. Use the following to guide your survey development: The survey must include at least one of each type of question: factual, behavior, opinion, motive, and knowledge. You must include at least one demographic question, one open-ended question, and one close-ended question. *Write an appropriate introduction and identify the question order. 3, For each question on the survey, describe how you will summarize the information. You will need to use frequency tables, summary statistics (mean, median, mode, standard deviation, etc.), and graphs (pie charts, bar graphs, histogram, boxplot, time plot, etc.).

4. Identify the question on the survey that you will use to test the hypothesis identified in Question 1. Will you use a chi-square test, t-test, regression equation, etc.? Identify the alpha level. 5.

Identify the population and the target population. Be as clear as possible. What is the sampling frame? What is the desired sample size? Note: Sample size must be at least 35.

Paper For Above instruction

Introduction

Community engagement plays a vital role in fostering active citizenship among college students, promoting social responsibility, and enhancing community development. At St. Petersburg College, understanding the level of student engagement in civic and community activities can inform policies to enhance these efforts. This study aims to assess the current state of civic engagement among students at St. Petersburg College by developing a survey to measure various aspects of engagement, including behaviors, opinions, motives, and knowledge related to civic activities. A hypothesis will be tested based on the collected data to evaluate whether the college's focus on civic engagement influences student participation levels.

Research Hypothesis and Null Hypothesis

The primary hypothesis (H1) posits that "St. Petersburg College students who perceive the college emphasizes community engagement are more likely to participate in civic activities." The null hypothesis (H0) states that "There is no significant relationship between students' perception of the college’s emphasis on civic engagement and their actual participation in civic activities." This hypothesis is testable through survey data and statistical analysis, aiming to clarify whether institutional focus correlates with student engagement.

Survey Development

The survey includes at least four questions, each representing different question types:

  1. Factual Question: "How many civic or community service activities have you participated in during the past year?" (Numerical response)
  2. Behavioral Question: "Have you attended any college-organized community service events in the last semester?" (Yes/No)
  3. Opinion Question: "To what extent do you agree with the statement: 'My college encourages civic engagement among students'?" (Likert scale from Strongly disagree to Strongly agree)
  4. Motive Question: "What motivates you to participate or not participate in civic activities? (Open-ended)

Additionally, the survey includes:

  • Demographic Question: "What is your class standing? (Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior)"
  • Open-ended Question: "Please describe any civic engagement activities you have been involved in."
  • Close-ended Question: "Do you believe that student involvement in community activities is important? (Yes/No)

Question Order

The survey begins with demographic questions, followed by factual and behavioral questions to establish participation levels. Opinion and motive questions come next to assess perceptions and motivations. The open-ended question is placed after these to gather detailed responses about personal experiences. The survey concludes with the closing opinion question to gauge overall beliefs about civic importance.

Data Summarization

Each question's responses will be summarized using different statistical tools:

  • Frequency tables: For categorical responses such as Yes/No and class standing.
  • Descriptive statistics: Mean, median, mode, and standard deviation for numerical responses like the number of activities participated in.
  • Graphs: Pie charts for categorical questions, bar graphs to compare frequencies, histograms for numerical data, and boxplots to visualize the distribution of participation counts.

Testing the Hypothesis

The key survey question to test the hypothesis is: "To what extent do you agree with the statement: 'My college encourages civic engagement among students'?" This Likert scale response will be dichotomized for analysis. A chi-square test will be employed to assess the association between perceptions of college encouragement and actual participation in civic activities. The significance level (alpha) will be set at 0.05.

Population and Sampling

The population comprises all students enrolled at St. Petersburg College. The target population is the subset of students enrolled during the current academic semester. The sampling frame includes registered students from the college’s enrollment records. To achieve adequate statistical power, a sample size of at least 35 respondents is necessary, with a preference for a sample size of 50-100 to improve the generalizability of results.

Conclusion

By deploying this survey and analyzing the data through appropriate statistical methods, the study seeks to determine the extent of civic engagement among students and the influence of college initiatives. The findings will provide insights into how educational institutions can better foster community involvement and civic responsibility among their students.

References

  • Bringle, R. G., & Hatcher, J. A. (2009). Innovative Practices in Service-Learning and Civic Engagement. Journal of College & Character, 10(4), 1–11.
  • Kahne, J., & Westheimer, J. (2006). Teaching Democracy: What Schools Need to Do. Phi Delta Kappan, 87(1), 81–92.
  • Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Simon & Schuster.
  • Yates, M., & Youniss, J. (1996). Participatory citizenship: Theory and practice in American youth. Educational Psychology Review, 8(4), 181–208.
  • Hart, D., Donnelly, T. M., Youniss, J., & Atkins, R. (2007). A Civic Development Model: Deliberation, Civic Identity, and Civic Action. Political Psychology, 28(1), 89–108.
  • Sherrod, L. R., Torney-Purta, J., & Flanagan, C. A. (2010). Civic education: What makes students learn? American Journal of Education, 116(4), 479–503.
  • Ehrlich, T. (2000). Civic Responsibility and Higher Education. Greenwood Publishing Group.
  • Branson, M. S., et al. (2012). College students' civic engagement and social responsibility. Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement, 16(3), 15–30.
  • Miller, S. (2000). Civic responsibility: Promise and challenge. Applied Developmental Science, 4(2), 131–137.
  • Delli Carpini, M. X., & Keeter, S. (1996). What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters. Yale University Press.

Related Assignments