A Study on the Impact of a Four-Week Elderly Volunteer Service on the Level of Conscientiousness of High School Students
Abstract
This study aims to explore whether there are measurable changes in the sense of conscientiousness (including the awareness of completing tasks on time and attention to the needs of others) of high school students after participating in community elderly assistance volunteer activities around them, compared to before the activities. Existing research has not focused on this age group and has not explored the impact of short-term volunteering on specific dimensions of conscientiousness, so this study can fill this gap. The study adopted a pre- and post-test experimental design, taking students in grades 10 and 11 from three local high schools as the subjects. Those who had volunteered for more than 20 hours in the past half year were excluded and randomly divided into an experimental group (participating in a four-week fixed-duration volunteer) and a control group (without a volunteer). Data were collected through the standardized sense of conscientiousness scale (measured one week before and after the activity), the attendance and task reports of the experimental group, with self-efficacy as the mediating variable and voluntary engagement as the moderating variable. The predicted conscientiousness score of the preset experimental group was higher, self-efficacy played a partial mediating role, and the improvement was more obvious in those with high engagement. This research can provide a basis for schools and communities to cultivate teenagers' sense of conscientiousness and enrich relevant theories. However, the sample only covers local ordinary high schools, which may limit its promotion.
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