Transformational Effects of Service- Learning on the University Teaching Practice

The aim of this paper is to study the effects of service-learning in the transformation of the university teaching practice when a service-learning programme is included in some ethics and political philosophy courses. Method: A qualitative study was carried out through the analysis of the content of a focus group of the faculty. Results: Three categories were identified, related to the professors' perception of how their own teaching activity is modified in each of the phases of (1) activating previous knowledge, (2) construction and application of knowledge, and (3) evaluation, with the purpose of enabling better use of the service-learning experience. Discussion: We highlight the potential of the service-learning experience but suggest that it is only truly educational due to the scaffolding that professors provide to address its challenges. We conclude that the extent to which students can benefit from this method depends on the faculty's ability to adapt their teaching practice to it by (1) using examples taken from the student's service experience, (2) guiding its articulation with theoretical knowledge and (3) prompting students to do specific structured reflection activities.