Measuring Effectiveness of Civic Participation at the University Level in Turkey: A Case Study of the Civic Involvement Project at Sabanci University

Sabanci University, located in Istanbul, Turkey, launched the Civic Involvement Project (CIP) in 1999 for students at the university level. This study examines the effectiveness of CIP, with the principle goals of measuring participants’ perceptions and identifying the program’s strengths and weaknesses. In addition, this research seeks to better understand how CIP compares to other youth involvement/participation programs. The impact of service-learning on several civic education variables (i.e., social awareness, social networking, political awareness, critical thinking, and personal development) and the effects of characteristics of service-learning experiences on the development of students are also explored.