Developing social responsibility and political engagement: Assessing the aggregate impacts of university civic engagement on associated attitudes and behaviors

Universities have become increasingly interested in incorporating civic engagement into undergraduate education with the goal of enhancing leadership skills and creating socially responsible global citizens. What is unclear is which educational experiences are most effective in achieving this goal. In this study, we seek to determine the impact of three types of educational experiences—curricular civic engagement, extra-curricular civic engagement, and participation in a living-learning community on social responsibility and political engagement (two components of civic engagement) attitudes and behaviors. Using a survey of 1240 undergraduates, our findings indicate that while all three types of experiences are positively related to civic engagement attitudes and behaviors, extra-curricular civic engagement has the most impact. Furthermore, student civic engagement attitudes are already relatively high; so instructors should focus on behaviors. The greatest potential for growth is in political engagement behaviors. We identify what this means for higher education and how implementations in the university can lead to increases in aggregate student development.