Revista de Educación nº 407. January-March 2025

The Service-Learning methodology at the university offers professional training related to the development of formative, academic and civic
competencies linked to university studies. Its implementation makes it possible to bring the university closer to society by providing a service to the community.
However, it is necessary to establish strategies in its application, to enhance the contributions that this methodology can offer to the educational field. In this context, the aim of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of the Service-Learning methodology from the perception of university students, analysing the existing differences between the sociodemographic variables: studies, gender,
age, course and ownership of the centre, identifying, in turn, student profiles that show the level of applicability of University Service-Learning. Through a non-experimental exploratory study, information was collected from a total of 304 students from public and private universities in Spain. Within the Service-Learning methodology, three dimensions of the applied instrument (Formative, Learning and Service) are analysed. The results obtained suggest a greater approach to service in entailment with the learning obtained at the university.
The differential studies show the lack of recognition in the students of the bachelors degree in social education, as well as the scarce response of the experience to their formative and academic expectations. Women show greater reflection and social sensitivity than men. Regarding the ownership of the centre, students from private universities show a greater sense of service development.
In addition, three student profiles are obtained with a variety of characteristics regarding the way in which the methodology is applied. The study concludes with the detection of the need to generate strategies to improve the Service-Learning methodology, with emphasis on favouring a more conscious learning about the competencies acquired in university degrees.

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