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The purposes of this study were to determine students’ perceptions of human trafficking before and after completing a human trafficking course, and to describe the lived experience of participating in a service learning project.
Methods:
A mixed methods study was conducted using a researcher developed human trafficking survey and an open-ended interview question about the experience of participating in a service learning human trafficking course. The population for the study was adult female and male students with majors in the colleges of Nursing, Arts and Sciences, and the Law School. A convenience sample of 30 students over the age of 21was recruited from two classes. After obtaining Institutional Review Board approval and each individual participant’s consent, the collection of the demographic data, the pre-test survey and post-test survey occurred in the college classroom. The data collection procedure encompassed the students being voluntarily surveyed at the beginning of the course, then surveyed and interviewed at the end of the course. The interviews were audio-recorded in a private, reserved, conference room. Thirty students completed the pre-test and post-test course surveys, and 20 participated in the interviews. The transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological methodology.
Results:
The study findings indicated an increase in student knowledge and realistic perceptions about the issue of human trafficking. The t-test indicated that there was a significant difference in the pre and post-test scores (t = 2.36; p = 0.012). All the students rated their service learning experiences as positive and believed that their projects made a difference. There was recognition of the need for education, the economic and political issues related to human trafficking and the identification of the diverse needs of human trafficking victims. Four themes were identified from the qualitative data: 1) human trafficking happens here and everywhere, 2) awareness occurs through education, 3) everyone has a slavery footprint, and 4) solutions and victim services need to be developed. The students addressed how their projects enabled them to make a difference. Additional findings revealed students’ reactions to their naivety about human trafficking in the United States.
Conclusion:
University students were stunned to discover this modern day slavery in their communities. After they began this course, they recognized how little they knew about the complexity of human trafficking. This service learning course raised the students’ consciousness and motivated them to create strategies for raising public awareness, form a student against human trafficking campus group, and educate health care professionals, law enforcement officials, and legislative aides.