Evaluation of Electronic Service‑Learning (e‑Service‑Learning) Projects in Mainland China under COVID‑19

The use of electronic service-learning (e-Service-Learning or e-SL) is valuable
under COVID-19 because we can provide the service without physical contact.
Unfortunately, evaluation of e-SL is not widespread and there is no known study
in different Chinese societies. Besides, there are many methodological limitations
of the existing studies in the field. In this paper, we evaluated e-SL projects implemented
in summer 2020 and 2021 in three sites in China. First, we examined service
providers’ changes based on pretest and posttest scores (i.e., objective outcome evaluation)
and their perceptions of the e-SL projects (i.e., subjective outcome evaluation
based on the service providers). Second, graduate student assessors in Chinese
mainland universities and teachers of primary school students (i.e., service recipients)
rated the SL program quality, service providers’ performance and benefits to
the service recipients after program completion (i.e., subjective outcome evaluation
of SL projects based on other stakeholders). Third, trained graduate student assessors
evaluated service quality during the implementation process (i.e., process evaluation).
We found that university students (i.e., service providers) showed higher
posttest scores in positive youth development attributes, leadership attributes and
life satisfaction relative to pretest scores. Besides, service providers showed positive
perceptions of their learning experience, own performance, benefits to the service
recipients and themselves in the SL projects. Similarly, other stakeholders also had
positive evaluation of the SL projects and related benefits. Finally, trained graduate
student assessors had positive assessment of the quality of program implementation.
The findings underscore the utility of e-SL involving both online teaching and learning
as well as online service, particularly in a Chinese context.