Resumen de Impacto del aprendizaje-servicio en la personalidad y las competencias clave para el empleo
Service-learning has emerged as an effective pedagogical approach for the development of fundamental personal, social and professional competencies in higher education. Despite this, research on service-learning continues to present weaknesses, making evident the need to design, implement, and evaluate service-learning programs. The present study aimed to evaluate the impact of a service-learning program on the personality and key competencies for employment of 22 university students in primary education. The data were analysed using the Wilcoxon z-test to establish the differences between the pre-test and post-test. The results showed statistically significant differences in employment behaviour, specifically in action orientation, indicating that service-learning causes university students to take action about their future employment. Statistically significant differences were also found in social skills (i.e., social intelligence, sociability, influence, and teamwork), as well as in all variables pertaining to psychic structure (i.e., emotional stability, work capacity, and self-confidence). Therefore, participationin the service-learning program seems to generate some improvement in the personality and key competencies for the employment of university students or future teaching professionals in initial training.
