Using a Focus Group to Analyze Students' Perceptions of a Service-Learning Project.

A semi-structured focus group prompted interaction among 23 human service undergraduates prior to a unique service-learning experience that involved completing a horticultural project and case management tasks with at-risk youth living in a locked psychiatric residential treatment center. The focus group provided an opportunity for university students to voice expectations and concerns, clarify roles, and build cohesion prior to beginning the project. Researchers analyzed the focus group discussion transcript for content. Several themes emerged: excitement/ anticipation (e.g., personal growth, learning and contribution), anxiety/apprehension (e.g., professional-client relationship, academic challenges and personal emotions), and mixed feelings specific to the horticultural aspect of the project. The focus group helped faculty create a reassuring climate, reduced student anxiety and facilitate group cohesion. ********** Service learning provides students with unique opportunities to connect classroom learning with the realities of an actual human-service setting. This experience engages learners by linking theory and practice, a purposeful combination that can be a transforming experience for students. A 1999-2000 survey of 324 U.S. colleges and universities found that 82 percent of these institutions offered over 7000 baccalaureate level courses that involved service learning (Elmer, 2002). Additional studies have documented the benefits of service learning for students which include an understanding of course concepts (Greenberg, 2000; Ikeda, 2000; Joiner, 2000; Quezada & Christopherson, 2005; Schaffer & Peterson, 1998; Turner, 2002), improved cognitive skills (Jones & Abes, 2004; Vogelgesang, 2000), satisfaction of helping others (Kraft & Kielsmeier, 1995), personal and professional growth (Anderson, 2003; Dreuth & Dreuth-Fewell, 2005; Kraft & Kielsmeier, 1995), heightened civic engagement (Corporation for National and Community Service, 2003; Kansas State University, 1995; Ward & Wolf-Wendel, 2000), enhanced appreciation of social problems (Garman, 1995; Warren, 1998; Werner, Voce, Openshaw, & Simons, 2002), and career exploration (Jones & Abes, 2004; Kraft & Kielsmeier, 1995). These studies demonstrate the effectiveness and popularity of service learning in a multitude of educational forums. Conducting a focus group in the early stages of service learning may positively impact the experience by allowing students to gain clarity, ask questions, share feelings and concerns, and express opinions. A recent analysis of students' reflections following participation in a service-learning project supports its usefulness in preparing students for a positive experience (McClam, Diambra, Burton, Fuss, and Fudge, in press). The purpose of this article is to briefly review focus groups, introduce the service-learning project, and discuss the role, importance, and benefits of using a focus group at the beginning of the process. Focus Groups Focus groups are a commonly used qualitative method for gathering data and an accepted tool that is particularly useful with a multitude of groups (Carnaghi, 1992; Leedy & Ormrod, 2005). Focus groups are often described as similar to group interviews although the leader or researcher functions more as a facilitator who prompts discussion among the group members. This technique was used in the social sciences as early as 1931 when concern arose over the structured interview as a data-gathering tool. Specifically, the concern was that the established set of usually closed-ended questions might reflect the interviewer's bias and opinions rather than those of the interviewee (Carnaghi, 1992). Focus groups have evolved since that time into a recognized method or tool that allows for a carefully planned discussion among the members of a group that is facilitated or moderated by a skilled interviewer (who may or may not be the researcher). …