Research Question
Do the students at Aspiro value service and desire more opportunities to serve?
Literature Review
While a social work intern at Aspiro, I had the opportunity to organize service projects. Many of the students at Aspiro come from backgrounds where others continuously serve them. In creating service projects, they learn to think outside of themselves and do something for others without expecting a reward. In the past, these service projects were done, however no one ever asked the students if they liked the service projects or wanted more incorporated into their activities. If they would like more service projects that could be arranged. Hence, the reasoning for my research questions.
Methodology
Sampling
My sample is comprised of 13-17 year old, male and female students currently attending Aspiro. They were selected from the Vantage Point Aspiro group because it is a mixed gender group.
Instruments
A survey was
administered to students asking three questions.
A copy of the survey follows:
Please circle your answer to the questions below:
1. Is serving others important to you? Yes or No
2. How often do you do service at Aspiro?
a. Less than once a week
b. Once a week
c. 2-4 times a week
d. 5-7 times a week
e. More than 7 times a week
3.
Would you enjoy more opportunities to do service
projects while you are at Aspiro? Yes or
No
Processing
The answers from students were put into an Excel document for further analysis and the creation of a pie chart. After discussion, question 2 was thrown out as it was not relevant to the research purpose.
Results
It was
found that 75% of the students at Aspiro value service. 25% of students do not value service. 
50% of students would enjoy more opportunities to do service while at Aspiro. The other 50% did not want more opportunities to do service.
Implications
According to the research numbers, the majority of the students value service. However, they are divided as to wanting more service opportunities. There is a discrepancy between student’s personal value of service and their desire for more service opportunities. Some would like more; others are either satisfied with the amount or want less service opportunities. This may be because they feel there are enough service opportunities at Aspiro. Or it may be that they say they value service yet do not desire to do it themselves. In addition, the wording asks if serving others is important to them. The participant may not see that as something they personally value.
Limitations
There were 12 surveys were administered yet only 4 were returned. Therefore, the results are skewed. The study would benefit from a larger sample size.
Recommendations
Further research is required to assess the reasons for the gap between feeling service is important and more opportunities to do service while they are at Aspiro. Also, a larger surveyed sample would be beneficial in assessing the general consensus of the students. Until further research is completed, I recommend continuing with the amount of service projects currently performed.
