The impact of service learning supported by the ePortfolio on the development of professional competencies

Abstract

ABSTRACT The assessment of experiential learning, such as service learning, and its outcomes, tends to take time and effort. This paper examines how service learning and traditional learning activities help university students acquire both course-specific and key competencies that would be of value in their professional careers. The results show that students consistently indicated they were better able to acquire these competencies, especially key competencies, through the service learning supported by the ePortfolio experience. Furthermore, the responses were statistically significant in 15 out of 20 competencies. The implication arising from this research is any service-learning course should provide evidence of the competencies acquired by the students; otherwise, it might be considered as volunteer service or community work by educational institutions, especially by those with little or no experience incorporating service-learning projects in their programs.