Can Volunteering Cultivate Non-Cognitive Abilities of College Students?—A Causal Analysis Based on Longitudinal Survey Data and a Difference-in-Differences Method

Abstract

Based on personality trait theory and experiential learning theory, lots of studies have revealed a reverse causal relationship between volunteering and the non-cognitiveabilities of college students. Using data from a longitudinal survey of college students in Hunan Province, China, this study employed the difference-in-differences method to examine the causal relationship between volunteering and non-cognitive abilities, aiming to determine whether volunteering screens or cultivates the non-cognitive abilities of college students. The findings confirmed the screening effect of volunteering on extraversion and conscientiousness and the cultivating effect on agreeableness. However, there was neither a screening effect nor a cultivating effect on emotional stability and openness. It is indicated that volunteering during college primarily screens the non-cognitive abilities of students through personality trait mechanisms, with a limited cultivating effect on non-cognitive abilities. This highlights the necessity to prompt a re-evaluation of how volunteering fulfills its educational function.

Keywords

volunteering / non-cognitive abilities / causal relationship / difference-in differences (DID) / longitudinal survey

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