Impact of the e-Service-Learning Methodology in University Students during COVID-19: Does It Encourage Teamwork and Innovation?

• Published in: Revista electrónica de investigación psicoeducativa y psicopedagógica Vol. 20; no. 58; pp. 613 - 634
• Main Authors: Andrés-Romero, Magdalena P, Fernández-Torres, Mercedes, Salvador-Ferrer, Carmen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Almeria, Education & Psychology I+D+i 2022
• Subjects: COVID-19; Electronic Learning; Foreign Countries; Learner Engagement; Pandemics; Service Learning; Student Attitudes; Student Motivation; Teamwork; Undergraduate Students; Spain
• ISSN: 1699-5880
• DOI: 10.25115/ejrep.v20i58.5987

Introduction: This paper aims to determine whether e-Service-Learning, as a methodology that encourages learning based on student action and reflection on a social need, has a positive effect on an innovation-oriented teamwork competency, and to specify which areas of teamwork are affected, and any type of causal relationship that may exist between these areas, student's motivation and student's work engagement. These types of competencies are in high demand in the workplace. Method: A quasi-experimental design was proposed, with 298 students enrolled in an undergraduate degree in Tourism, Psychology or Teacher of Early Childhood Education, at the University of Almería (Spain). One group had contact with e-SL (198 students), and a second group did not (100). The instruments used were the Team Climate Inventory (TCI-14) (adapted by Boada-Grau et al., 2011) and the student version of the Cuestionario de Aprendizaje y Servicio para entidades educativas [Learning and service questionnaire for educational institutions] (Fernández-Torres et al., 2017). Results: Statistically significant between-group differences were shown in the variable support for innovation; and statistically significant, positive relationships were found between all the variables in the experimental group. Likewise, the data indicate that innovation, which was acquired through the practice of teamwork in e-SL, helped to increase academic motivation, which in turn affected student interest in working toward the best outcome, with the latter acting as a mediating variable between the two. Discussion and conclusions: These results show the need for socially engaged universities to take steps to consolidate these practices in university degree programs, because they further the development of transversal competencies.