Service learning and academic commitment in higher education

Abstract

As a result of the university reform, the challenge for universities is to promote the quality of teaching, for which it is necessary to implement student-centered teaching methodologies. These methodologies require the commitment of students to their studies, which is not always present. To date, work on the relationship between service learning (SL) and academic commitment (AC) has been scarce. The aims of this paper are two-fold: to validate the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-S-9) and to evaluate the effect of the SL-based methodology on the AC of university students. A quasi-experimental design of repeated pretest-postest measurements with control group was carried out. The sample consists of 342 students, 168 experimental students who participate in SL practices and 174 control students who had not participated in SL. Both groups complete the UWES-S-9 in pretest and postest. The baseline hypothesis was that students who participated in ApS practices would achieve higher levels of AC with their studies. The results verify the existence of signi¿cant differences, in favor of the experimental group, in three of the factors that compose the AC: vigor, dedication and absorption. The discussion focuses on the potential value of the SL methodology for improving the AC of university students and paves the way for rethinking the implementation of active teaching methodologies as a key issue for optimising the quality of teaching at university.