A meta-analysis on the effects of service-learning on the social, personal, and cognitive outcomes of learning

Why this paper matters

Quantifies social, personal, and cognitive effects across service-learning studies.

Evidence reviewed

Design: Meta-analysis
Full-text status: Indexed PDF/full text reviewed

Principal finding

Service-learning was positively associated with all three outcome families; structured reflection was among the design features examined.

EntrSL interpretation

This paper informs the design or evaluation of service-learning and experiential-learning work. Its findings should be interpreted within the reported design and context, not treated as universal or necessarily causal evidence.

Limitations and boundary conditions

Primary studies were heterogeneous and business-education evidence was limited.

Scoring rationale

• EntrSL relevance: 5/5. Directness to service-learning, experiential learning, higher education, entrepreneurship, reflection, reciprocity, or institutional practice.
• Evidence quality: 5/5. Based on design transparency, sample or review breadth, analytical fit, and inferential limits.
• Journal standing is separate. OpenAlex two-year mean citedness and h-index are descriptive source metrics and do not increase this paper’s evidence score.

Citation

Patrick L. Yorio; Feifei Ye (2012). “A meta-analysis on the effects of service-learning on the social, personal, and cognitive outcomes of learning.” Academy of Management Learning & Education. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2010.0072