Service learning as a gateway to students’ sense of belonging in higher education: a case study of an international branch campus

Purpose This study aims to introduce a theoretical model to investigate students’ ratings of their sense of belonging (SB) following their experience of a service learning activity. Specifically, this study examines the relationship between individual service learning components (i.e. practical skills (PS), interpersonal skills, citizenship and personal responsibility (PR)) and students’ satisfaction and then their subsequent SB. Design/methodology/approach This study explores how service learning can lead to increased satisfaction among local and non-local students, which in turn creates an SB at the university. Based on experiential learning theory, the study surveyed 96 participants who participated in a service learning activity and found that participation in such activity contributed to students’ satisfaction, which in turn affected their SB. Findings The results revealed that participants valued PS and PR aspects of the service learning activity. However, the results also found that there was no difference between local and non-local students in how satisfaction translated into an SB. Practical implications The insights gained from this study are beneficial to international branch campuses and policymakers on how to foster an SB among students while also providing a foundation for further investigation into diverse educational contexts and disciplines to effectively validate the impacts of service learning. As a whole, this study contributes to developing effective strategies that foster a more supportive academic environment. Originality/value The study is novel in the sense that it is one of the pioneering studies that explored the underlying factors and how pedagogical approaches can influence students' SB. Meanwhile, this study also examined how an SB is developed among students enrolled at offshore campuses as well as differences between the experiences of local and non-local students. These areas are relatively underexplored in the existing literature.