Cultivating Public Service Motivation through AmeriCorps Service: A Longitudinal Study

• Date: 01 January 2014
• Author: Kevin D. Ward
• Published date: 01 January 2014
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/puar.12155

Kevin D. Ward is assistant professor

in the Institute of Public Service at Seattle

University, where he teaches public man-

agement and policy. His current research

focuses on national service programs, public

service motivation, and nonprof‌i t boards

of directors.

E-mail: wardke@seattleu.edu

114 Public Administration Review • January | February 2014

Public Administration Review,

Vol. 74, Iss. 1, pp. 114–125. © 2013 by

The American Society for Public Administration.

DOI: 10.1111/puar.12155.

Kevin D. Ward

Seattle University

 e public service motivation literature has helped schol-

ars and practitioners better understand who is attracted

to public service and why. However, little is understood

about how public service motivation in individuals may

be cultivated or how it changes over time.  is article

uses panel data collected by the Corporation for National

and Community Service to track the longitudinal ef‌f ects

of participation in the AmeriCorps national service pro-

gram on participants’ public service motivation. Findings

reveal that participation in AmeriCorps programs had

positive ef‌f ects on participants’ levels of commitment to

the public interest and civic awareness immediately after

the program; many of these program ef‌f ects were sustained

seven years later. However, when observed in isolation,

the comparison group showed signif‌i cant declines in levels

of commitment to public interest and civic awareness

over an eight-year period, suggesting that public service

motivation may initially decline upon entry into a public

service career.

As members of the baby boomer cohort con-

tinue to become eligible for retirement over

the next 15 years, human capital managers are

being forced to strategically plan for their succession

(GAO 2009). To address this impending exodus from

the workforce, it is necessary to better understand

who is attracted to service in the public and nonprof‌i t

sectors. Some public sector labor scholars have gener-

ated worker prof‌i les to help hiring managers under-

stand who is attracted to public service (Lewis and

Frank 2002). Other researchers have explored what

motivates individuals to pursue public and nonprof‌i t

sector careers (Perry and Hondeghem 2008a; Perry,

Hondeghem, and Wise 2010). By better understand-

ing these motives, managers can attract and retain

top talent while also improving

organizational performance.

However, little is understood

about how public service work

itself af‌f ects individual motiva-

tion or changes an individual’s

motivation over time. To

aid that understanding, the

public service motivation (PSM) literature is used to

investigate the longitudinal impact of participation

in AmeriCorps programs on individuals’ motives

and behaviors.  is research investigates several key

questions: Does PSM in individuals change over

time? Can PSM be cultivated? And if so, are changes

sustained over time?

AmeriCorps and Service

To understand this study, it is impor tant to brief‌l y

consider the nature and history of the AmeriCorps

program. Housed within the Corporation for

National and Community Service (CNCS),

AmeriCorps is a federally funded national service

program that began in 1994.  ough AmeriCorps

positions vary in length and commitment, typically,

AmeriCorps members agree to perform 1,700 hours

of service in exchange for a modest living stipend

and a $5,500 education award. Annually, more than

15,000 nonprof‌i t organizations, schools, and public

agencies are served by AmeriCorps members, includ-

ing organizations such as the American Red Cross,

Boys and Girls Clubs of America, and Habitat for

Humanity. Since its inception, 800,000 people have

served in AmeriCorps programs, providing more than

1 billion hours of service (CNCS 2013).

Regarding the program as a tool with many func-

tions, advocates of AmeriCorps generally use a “Swiss

army knife” metaphor to describe its many purposes.

AmeriCorps provides an opportunity for Americans to

serve their country in a nonmilitary manner, leverages

volunteers in the nonprof‌i t sector in a cost-ef‌f ective

way, bridges social classes, cultivates a civic ethic in

young people, produces valuable outcomes in com-

munities, creates positive ef‌f ects

in program participants, and

helps develop the next gen-

eration of civic leaders (Perry

and Katula 2001; Perry and

 omson 2004; Perry et al.

1999; Tschirhart et al. 2001;

Waldman 1995).  is article

Cultivating Public Service Motivation through

AmeriCorps Service: A Longitudinal Study

Little is understood about

how public service work itself

af‌f ects individual motivation or

changes an individual’s motiva-

tion over time.