Mandatory academic service learning and continual civic engagement : which learning outcomes matter?

Abstract

Using survey results from 805 alumni of a large public university in Hong Kong, this paper examines how alumni’s self-reported learning outcomes from a mandatory academic service learning program relate to their continual civic engagement in a multiple logistic regression framework. The findings reveal that more than two years after graduation, alumni maintained positive views of their experiences from the service learning program. They also reported having learned a fair amount or more in various domains, including intellectual, social, civic, and cross-cultural competency. Importantly, alumni who reported higher gains in civic learning were more likely to engage in post-graduation charitable donations and volunteering, while other learning outcomes were insignificant predictors. These findings remain robust even after controlling for alumni’s community service activities during college and views toward their service learning experience. This study underscores the importance of not assuming civic learning as an automatic outcome of service learning. Instead, civic learning should be explicitly and deliberately incorporated into students’ experiences for service learning to be an effective vehicle to increase and sustain civic engagement among university graduates.