The impact of service-learning on secondary school students’ social and civic competencies, and engagement and motivation in school - perspectives from Europe

This study investigated the impact of the service-learning PLACE model on the social and civic competencies, and motivation and engagement in secondary school students. The methodological design was quasi-experimental with a nonequivalent control group. With the data collected from 232 secondary school students from five European countries, the following hypothesis was tested: students who engage in service-learning will have more developed social and civic competencies, higher motivation and engagement in school, and a lower tendency to drop out. Before and after the intervention, the measurement showed statistically significant differences between the groups in several traits and attributes related to social competency measures, social responsibility, personal values, academic perseverance, learning mindset, and overall student engagement and motivation. The results confirmed that service-learning can work effectively on social and civic competencies, to prevent social exclusion risks.