Civic Service in Later Life: Pathway to New Engagements

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By Nancy Morrow-Howell, Stacey McCrary, Yung Soo Lee, George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University

Research on outcomes of volunteering in later life largely focuses on the physical and mental health of volunteers in contrast to studies on youth, where attention is directed toward the effects of volunteering on life trajectories and subsequent productive and civic behaviors. It is likely that participation in civic service programs also influences subsequent activities of its older participants.

We examined the effects of civic service on subsequent social and civic activity of older volunteers in the Experience Corps^® program (EC).  EC brings older adults into public elementary schools to improve academic achievement of students through one-to-one tutoring, small group academic help, and assisting teachers. The data was derived from a longitudinal study of older adults who were new EC volunteers in fall of 2006 and 2007. Telephone interviews were conducted with 338 volunteers in fall 2010.

Pathways. Since joining EC, 84% of EC members reported that participation in the program changed their lives for the better, with almost half reporting that it changed their lives “a lot.”

Subsequent to joining EC:

• 16% started a new job
• 53% started another volunteer position
• 40% started a social/community activity
• 39% took a class/started educational program

Nature of EC influences. Most respondents listed more than one way that EC participation played a role in their life trajectories. Below are mechanisms and the percent of respondents who endorsed them:

• Made a connection (40.9%)
• Increased motivation (53.6%)
• Increased skills/knowledge (70.3%)
• Increased confidence (71.5%)
• Increased realization regarding importance of organized activities/daily structure (75.6%)
• Increased desire to do things outside of the home (78.3%)

Changes in attitudes regarding public education. Eighty-six percent of EC members reported that involvement in public schools changed their views on public education.  Over 60 percent reported that they were more likely to vote in favor of funding, more interested in public education, and more informed about the needs of the children, the roles of the teachers, and educational policy.

EC members said that involvement in public schools:

• “Made me an advocate of younger people in the public school system”
• “Gave true perspective of challenges of educating kids in the inner city”
• “Gave me insight on conditions of school; how in need the children really were
• “Made me realize how hard elementary school teachers with large classes have to work”

Conclusions. Although the study design does not allow us to conclude that participation in EC directly led to these activities, these findings suggest that participation in civic service is a pathway to other productive and civic activities. These findings also suggest that participation in volunteering motivates and enables older adults to become more engaged in work and community activities. Further, engagement can raise awareness about public issues, like education, and activate older adults to be more civically involved.  In sum, these data suggest that civic service among older adults can be viewed as a means as well as an end, just as it is for young people.

Download a pdf of the full report here.

This work was funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies.

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