Voluntary Contributions to Society: The Impact of School Systems

Abstract The question of how much religious schools contribute to the preparation of their students for citizenship has long been debated and empirical evidence has been mixed. A national Australian survey, Contributing to Australian Society, conducted in 2016 by the Christian Research Association, provided the opportunity for a quantitative study comparing the graduates of government, Catholic, independent high-fee, and low fee Christian school systems in their patterns of informal and formal adult volunteering as expressions of active citizenship. The survey found that the graduates of non-government secondary schools displayed higher rates of both formal and informal volunteering. However, stronger factors in graduate volunteering were parental volunteering and volunteering at school or in religious organizations.