Youth Voices on Community Engagement as Part of Student Learning in Hong Kong

Studies indicated a declining volunteerism in the USA, and other Western countries globally. In particular, the college student group has lower volunteering rate than the high school students. Similar situations are encountered from my own experiences and other voluntary work instructors locally in Hong Kong. Investigations with focus on college students may have been conducted to examine the volunteering rate of community engagement in Hong Kong, but the results are not widely available.

This action research further carried out a series of community service programs after the preliminary study during pandemic situations, we investigate and connect the local and global challenges in volunteering of community engagement as part of student learning. The process entails similar results as before with two seemingly contradictory dimensions of motives: values (expressing and acting humanitarian or altruistic tendencies) and social (being with friends and doing something that important others view favorably). Smith and Lewis (2011:382) define paradox as “contradictory yet interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time.” As one’s volunteering values might not be consistent or being viewed favorably by others under a fluid community situation.

Studying 32 college volunteers,102 care receivers and care givers in 2 supervisory teams, we jointly address the effects of values and social in youth volunteers. Results indicate that students’ responses are varied towards the intended service-learning outcomes of the projects, and the feedback has its significance. This paper will illustrate the answers through the data and comments collected from the respondent feedback forms, formal and informal qualitative interviews, and discussion meetings, and summarize the implications on how college students the future work force can gain from community engagement at the same time be able to discover their major obstacles which can influence their willingness to deliver voluntary contributions. Scholars have argued that if without volunteers, many social programs would come to an end (Burns, Reid, Toncar, Anderson, & Wells, 2008; Burns, Reid, Toncar, Fawcett, & Anderson, 2006), therefore implications for research and practice are discussed to sustain youth volunteering contributions.