Two Decades of Academic Service-Learning in Chinese Higher Education: A Review of Research Literature

Abstract

Service-learning is globally recognized as an impactful pedagogical approach in higher education. This study reviews literature from the past two decades on university course-based, credit-bearing academic service-learning in the Chinese mainland. It reveals a steady growth in service-learning courses across all regions of the Chinese mainland since 2006, with fifty-two courses documented in the academic literature by 2023. The courses span various disciplines and service populations and have shown positive impacts on university students’ cognitive skills, peer and community connectedness, development of self, disciplinary, and career identities, as well as social responsibility. The study observes the presence of heterogeneous research designs, incomplete reporting of course information, variability in writing styles, structure, and content across different journals and disciplines, indicating an early stage in the field’s development. This underscores the need for systematic documentation of course designs and processes and outcome evaluation with research rigor. The paper discusses the implications for the local development of service-learning practices and the advancement of research in this domain in light of the growing global interest in this educational approach.