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Implementing the service-learning methodology in nursing education: A case study
Manuel Jesús Pérez-Baena1, Francisco Josué Cordero-Pérez2, Marina Holgado-Madruga3
1Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular del Cáncer (IBMCC-CIC), Universidad de Salamanca/CSIC, 37007 Salamanca, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Biosanitaria de Salamanca (IBSAL), 37007 Salamanca, Spain.
Introduction:
Nurses play a crucial role in global health promotion, and innovative teaching strategies are vital to addressing modern educational challenges. Service-learning, a credit-based approach, integrates community service with academic learning, enhancing students' understanding of course content while fostering civic values. Although established in the United States of America and growing in Europe, most studies on service-learning focus on student learning outcomes, often overlooking its impact on the communities served.
Aims:
The purpose of this study is to test whether the service-learning practice of nursing students teaching a pharmacology curriculum topic to school children promotes knowledge of the topic in both the nursing students and the school children.
Design:
This research involves two pretest-posttest quantitative analyses and two satisfaction surveys.
Participants:
Seventy-six nursing students participated during the 2022-2023 academic year, and 69 primary school pupils received the service-learning intervention.
Results:
Post-test scores of nursing students were significantly higher than pre-test scores (p = 0.0009). The percentage of correct answers post-intervention was significantly higher than pre-intervention (p < 0.0001). Additionally, 98.7 % of nursing students found the service-learning experience beneficial for learning, and 94.7 % reported increased social awareness. For the school children, the percentage of correct responses after the service-learning experience was statistically significantly higher than before the activity (p < 0.0001). The percentage of correct answers from pupils in each primary grade (fourth, fifth, and sixth) was statistically significantly higher after the application of the learning experience compared to before (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, and p < 0.001, respectively). The satisfaction survey indicated high acceptance of the methodology among both nursing students and school pupils.
Conclusions:
Service-learning enhances knowledge of the pharmacology topic in both nursing students and school children.
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