Community service learning in undergraduate nursing education:A scoping review

• Community service learning has a positive impact on students, staff, and community. • Community service learning deepens students’ learning experience. • It is important to implement community service learning in nursing curricula. Community service learning supports undergraduate nursing students to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems. To understand the impact of using community service learning in undergraduate nursing education. Our scoping review used guidelines developed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005), and the steps in this review process were aligned with Peters et al. (2020). Our review was limited to peer-reviewed studies written in English and published between 2014 and 2024. Peer-reviewed articles were identified using nine scholarly databases. Studies were selected based on their titles and abstracts in the initial stage, followed by a full-text evaluation. Initially, 1024 studies were identified from the databases. 14 studies met the criteria for inclusion. Three key themes were identified in this review: (a) s tudents as educators and leaders; (b) service learning as mutually beneficial—many hands make light work ; and (c) social inclusion—open minds and hearts. Community service learning is an important educational strategy for undergraduate nursing students as it allows them to support underserved populations. Community service learning in education provides undergraduate nursing students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills, address community needs, and enhance their personal learning.

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Publication Details

Journal
Teaching and learning in nursing
Published
2026-04-01
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2026.03.015
Primary Topic
Service-Learning and Community Engagement
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
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article

Community service learning in undergraduate nursing education:A scoping review

Louise Ward, Jennene Greenhill, Katrina Austen, Donna Wilson et al.
Teaching and learning in nursing
Service-Learning and Community Engagement
article

Community service learning in undergraduate nursing education:A scoping review

Louise Ward, Jennene Greenhill, Katrina Austen, Donna Wilson, dima nasrawi, Bernadine Romero, Madeleine Mill, Kaylene Barchetta
article en

Abstract

• Community service learning has a positive impact on students, staff, and community. • Community service learning deepens students’ learning experience. • It is important to implement community service learning in nursing curricula. Community service learning supports undergraduate nursing students to apply their knowledge and skills to real-world problems. To understand the impact of using community service learning in undergraduate nursing education. Our scoping review used guidelines developed by Arksey and O'Malley (2005), and the steps in this review process were aligned with Peters et al. (2020). Our review was limited to peer-reviewed studies written in English and published between 2014 and 2024. Peer-reviewed articles were identified using nine scholarly databases. Studies were selected based on their titles and abstracts in the initial stage, followed by a full-text evaluation. Initially, 1024 studies were identified from the databases. 14 studies met the criteria for inclusion. Three key themes were identified in this review: (a) s tudents as educators and leaders; (b) service learning as mutually beneficial—many hands make light work ; and (c) social inclusion—open minds and hearts. Community service learning is an important educational strategy for undergraduate nursing students as it allows them to support underserved populations. Community service learning in education provides undergraduate nursing students with an opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills, address community needs, and enhance their personal learning.

Teaching and learning in nursing
Southern Cross University (AU)
Reduced inequalities
Openalex Percentile: Top 22%
Service-Learning and Community Engagement
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