The Impact of Community Service in College on Volunteerism in Saudi Arabia: An Interpretive Case Study

This study investigated the impact of college students’ volunteerism and the lasting effect their community service experiences had on post-graduate attitudes toward volunteerism. The research employed an interpretive case study approach of undergraduate female college students’ participatory experiences during their service learning programs. The study participants were students and graduates from two private nonprofit schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The study included three participant groups: female college students and graduates, college staff members, and the students’ family members and close friends. Data was collected through semi-structured, open-ended face-to-face, and Skype interviews. Post-interview data analysis identified emergent themes regarding the students’ past and current experiences with volunteerism, as well as their attitudes toward future volunteerism. Major themes that emerged from this study were: There is a major transformation among young women in Saudi schools and colleges, and relationship is imperative in Saudi culture for gaining research participants’ trust