How, where, when and by whom is Service-Learning assessed? A systematic review

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.9781/rep.2025.391

Keywords:

Service-Learning, evaluation, assessment, higher education, university, systematic review

Abstract

This research was prompted by the need to develop sounder, more consistent assessment systems to effectively assess Service-Learning (SL hereinafter) interventions at higher education institutions, with a view to training professionals committed to the transformation and well-being of society. To address this need, the study presents a systematic review of the assessment systems used to assess learning outcomes in SL interventions in university settings. A total of 56 papers are analysed, selected from the WoS, Scopus and ERIC databases according to the criteria set out in the PRISMA statement. Our findings provide insight for the educational community as to how SL interventions are being assessed in a university context. They also serve to orient future teaching actions by highlighting elements that refer to the learning outcomes, criteria, techniques, actors and types of assessment used in such interventions. Different learning outcomes are assessed through SL interventions and a variety of instruments are used for that purpose. Some assessment systems are found to be incomplete and some contain inconsistencies, so it is concluded that in spite of the efforts observed in most of the papers reviewed, there is still considerable room for improvement in assessment SL systems.

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Author Biographies

Ariane Díaz-Iso, University of Deusto

Ariane Díaz Iso holds a PhD in Education from the University of Deusto and a Master’s degree in Advanced Studies in Language, Communication and its Pathologies from the University of Salamanca. She is currently a lecturer in the Department of Education at the Faculty of Education and Sport at the University of Deusto, where she teaches undergraduate courses in Primary Education and Physical Activity and Sports Sciences. She is also a member of the university’s Educational Innovation Unit. Her research focuses on teaching innovation, the development and assessment of competences in higher education, and teaching and learning methods related to humanism and sustainability. 

Luana Ferreira-Lopes, Universidad de Deusto

Luana Ferreira-Lopes is a member of the Faculty of Education and Sport and the Teaching Innovation Unit at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain. Her research interests include innovative teaching-learning methodologies, the development of intercultural competence, COIL/virtual exchange, and competence-based learning. She holds a PhD in Education from the University of Deusto, a Master’s degree in Lifelong Learning from Aarhus University and the University of Deusto, a postgraduate diploma in Business Management from the São Paulo School of Business Administration (EAESP), and a bachelor’s and licentiate degree in Pedagogy from the University of São Paulo. 

Marian Alaez, Universidad de Deusto

Marian Alaez is an Associate Professor at the University of Deusto. She holds a PhD in Economics and Business Sciences. She teaches at the Faculty of Law, where she delivers courses such as Introduction to Economics in the Law degree and Strategic Management in the Economics major. She has served as Vice-Dean for Students and Identity and Mission, and as Head of Quality Assurance in the same Faculty. She has been a member of the University’s Quality Committee and the Identity and Mission Committee, as well as part of the Teaching Innovation Unit. She currently serves as Deputy to the Vice-Rector for Research and International Relations, overseeing the area of International Relations. Her research focuses on innovation in education. 

María José Bezanilla, Universidad de Deusto

María José Bezanilla holds a PhD in Education from the Institute of Education at the University of London and is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education at the University of Deusto. She is currently the coordinator of the PhD in Education programme at the Faculty of Education and Sport. As a member of the eDucaR research team, she participates in research projects and has numerous publications on critical thinking, the use of ICT in higher education, and the development and assessment of competences. She combines her teaching and research work with management responsibilities in the University’s Teaching Innovation Unit, with a special focus on publications and the development of transversal competences. 

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2025-10-06
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Díaz-Iso, A., Ferreira-Lopes, L., Alaez, M., and Bezanilla, M. J. (2025). How, where, when and by whom is Service-Learning assessed? A systematic review. Revista Española de Pedagogía, 83(292), 571–589. https://doi.org/10.9781/rep.2025.391

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