From Awareness to Intent: Nursing Students' Service-Learning Attitudes Across Academic Levels

Background: Service-learning (SL) addresses social determinants of health through immersive, community-based experiences. Schwartz's model of altruistic helping behavior guided this study to examine nursing students' attitudes toward SL. Method: A cross-sectional survey using the Community Service Attitudes Scale (CSAS–Brief) was completed by 113 prelicensure, advanced practice, and doctoral nursing students at a private urban Jesuit university in the northeastern United States. One-way ANOVA and one-sample t tests evaluated differences across demographic and program variables. Results: The mean CSAS–Brief score was 5.34 ( SD = 0.74; Cronbach's α = .918). Significant program differences were found for perceived seriousness and intent among doctoral students, who had lower scores compared with all other students. Prior SL participation and years of RN experience predicted higher intent to engage in SL activities. Conclusion: Intentional curricular integration of SL and scaffolding opportunities can strengthen socially responsive practice and long-term community involvement among students at all levels.