Analysis of Evaluation Dimensions of Public Service Motivation of Chinese College Students—Qualitative Study Based on Grounded Theory
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. Understanding of Public Service Motivation
2.2. PSM of Different Study Subjects
2.3. Research on PSM among College Students
3. Research Process
3.1. Introduction of the Research Object
3.2. Research Methods Based on Grounded Theory
3.3. Sampling Interview Process
3.4. Interview Materials Coding
4. Coding Results Induction Analysis
4.1. Attraction to Policy Making
4.2. Commitment to the Public Interest
4.3. Compassion
4.4. Self-Sacrifice
4.5. Collectivist Tendency
4.6. Self-Improvement
4.7. Evidence from Word Frequency Statistics
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Open Coding | Axial Coding | Selective Coding |
---|---|---|
Proactive understanding of national events and public social events (18) Proactive attention to school policies, activities, and student rights (32) Take the initiative to improve or make suggestions on policies and measures (23) | Attraction to policy making (73) | Public Service Motivation (592) |
Responsible and committed to work (54) Able to take initiative for public service (46) The perceived value of public service to others (24) | Commitment to the public interest (124) | |
Focus on the difficulties of vulnerable groups (26) Have a strong sense of helping people (34) Ability to empathize and put yourself in the shoes of others (31) | Compassion (91) | |
Willingness to sacrifice personal interests to help others (36) Serving others without regard to reward (14) Dare to take risks and be willing to suffer for the public good (31) | Self-sacrifice (81) | |
Prioritizing the collective good over the individual (33) Have a strong sense of collective honor and belonging (22) Happy to contribute to the collective and the country (52) Willingness to emulate the actions of civilian heroes (18) | Collectivist tendency (125) | |
Expanding interpersonal relationships (23) Enhancement of personal overall quality (41) Valuing the sense of achievement and honor in public service (19) Perceiving public service as self-fulfillment (15) | Self-improvement (98) |
Open Coding | Example of Interview Content |
---|---|
Proactive understanding of national events and public social events (18) |
|
Proactive attention to school policies, activities, and student rights (32) |
|
Take the initiative to improve or make suggestions on policies and measures (23) |
|
Open Coding | Example of Interview Content |
---|---|
Responsible and committed to work (54) |
|
Able to take initiative for public service (46) |
|
The perceived value of public service to others (24) |
|
Open Coding | Example of Interview Content |
---|---|
Focus on the difficulties of vulnerable groups (26) |
|
Have a strong sense of helping people (34) |
|
Ability to empathize and put yourself in the shoes of others (31) |
|
Open Coding | Example of Interview Content |
---|---|
Willingness to sacrifice personal interests to help others (36) |
|
Serving others without regard to reward (14) |
|
Dare to take risks and be willing to suffer for the public good (31) |
|
Open Coding | Example of Interview Content |
---|---|
Prioritizing the collective good over the individual (33) |
|
Have a strong sense of collective honor and belonging (22) |
|
Happy to contribute to the collective and the country (52) |
|
Willingness to emulate the actions of civilian heroes (18) |
|
Open Coding | Example of Interview Content |
---|---|
Expanding interpersonal relationships (23) |
|
Enhancement of personal overall quality (41) |
|
Valuing the sense of achievement and honor in public service (19) |
|
Perceiving public service as self-worth (15) |
|
Words | Frequency | Supported Dimensions |
---|---|---|
Student union | 377 | APM&CT |
Volunteers | 222 | CPI |
Selfless dedication | 168 | SS |
Sense of responsibility | 113 | API |
Communist Party members | 101 | APM&CT |
Be helpful | 52 | COM |
Immortality | 37 | SI |
Sense of values | 30 | API&SI |
Forum | 19 | APM |
Heroism | 19 | SS |
Stand up bravely | 18 | SS |
Put yourself in others’ shoes | 13 | COM |
As possible as they can | 6 | COM |
Same ambition | 6 | CT |
Perry Four Factor Scale | Yang Sinicization Scale | This Article Summarizes the Results | |
---|---|---|---|
Attraction to policy making | Politics is a dirty word (Reversed) | ||
The give and take of public policymakers don’t appeal to me (Reversed) | I would love to be involved in the public policy-making process | Take the initiative to pay attention to school policies, activities, and students’ rights; take initiative to improve or make suggestions on policies and measures | |
I don’t care much for politicians (Reversed) | I am happy to share my views on public policy with others | Proactively learn about national events and social public events | |
It gives me great satisfaction that others can benefit from the policies I am involved in | |||
Commitment to the public interest | It is hard for me to get intensely interested in what is going on in my community (Reversed) | ||
I unselfishly contribute to my community | I hope that through my efforts I can make a good impact on society | A sense of responsibility and mission for the work | |
Meaningful public service is very important to me | Public service that benefits the public is very meaningful to me | ||
I would prefer seeing public officials do what is best for the whole community even if it harmed my interests | The perceived value of public service to others | ||
I consider public service my civic duty | I consider it my civic duty to be actively involved in public service | A proactive approach to public service | |
Compassion | I am rarely moved by the plight of the underprivileged (Reversed) | I am concerned about the interests of the underprivileged | Focus on the difficulties of vulnerable groups |
Most social programs are too vital to do | |||
It is difficult for me to contain my feelings when I see people in distress | Ability to empathize and put yourself in the shoes of others | ||
To me, patriotism includes seeing to the welfare of others | I always put myself in the shoes of others in life | ||
I seldom think about the welfare of people whom I don’t know personally (Reversed) | |||
I am often reminded by daily events about how dependent we are on one another | |||
I have little compassion for people in need who are unwilling to take the first step to help themselves (Reversed) | Strong sense of helping others | ||
There are a few public programs that I wholeheartedly support (Reversed) | I am willing to share what I know with others | ||
Self-sacrifice | Making a difference in society means more to me than personal achievements | For me, making a good change for society is more meaningful than personal achievement | |
I believe in putting duty before self | |||
Doing well financially is more important to me than doing good deeds (Reversed) | |||
Much of what I do is for a cause bigger than myself | |||
Serving citizens would give me a good feeling even if no one paid me for it | I think it is much more important to give than to get | Serving others without regard for reward | |
I feel people should give back to society more than they get from it | |||
I am one of those few people who would risk a personal loss to help someone else. | Willingness to take risks and suffer for the public good | ||
I am prepared to make enormous sacrifices for the good of society | I am willing to sacrifice my interests for the public interest | Willing to sacrifice personal interest to help others | |
Social recognition and reputation | Whenever I think of people who have lived on throughout history, I feel excited and uplifted. | ||
I am particularly concerned about whether my behavior conforms to the general norms of society | |||
The sense of honor that comes from social recognition is very important to me | |||
Moral adherence | I think a character is very important to ensure community and social order | ||
I will stick to the right things in life, even though I may suffer from the cold eyes of others | |||
For the right thing, even if the probability of success is small, we should insist on doing | |||
Collectivism | Prioritize the collective good over the individual | ||
Have a strong sense of collective honor and belonging | |||
Happy to contribute to the collective and the country | |||
Willingness to emulate the actions of civilian heroes | |||
Self-improvement | Expanding interpersonal relationships | ||
Improving the overall quality of individuals | |||
Valuing the sense of achievement and honor in public service | |||
Believe that public service is the realization of self-worth |
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Zhang, H.; Zhang, Q.; Huang, G.; Ke, J.; Zhao, N.; Huang, W.; Zhang, J. Analysis of Evaluation Dimensions of Public Service Motivation of Chinese College Students—Qualitative Study Based on Grounded Theory. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 15084. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215084
Zhang H, Zhang Q, Huang G, Ke J, Zhao N, Huang W, Zhang J. Analysis of Evaluation Dimensions of Public Service Motivation of Chinese College Students—Qualitative Study Based on Grounded Theory. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(22):15084. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215084
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhang, Hongming, Qingya Zhang, Guoliang Huang, Jin Ke, Ni Zhao, Wanting Huang, and Jun Zhang. 2022. "Analysis of Evaluation Dimensions of Public Service Motivation of Chinese College Students—Qualitative Study Based on Grounded Theory" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 22: 15084. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192215084