title: Training socially responsive health care graduates: is service learning an effective educational approach?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health care educators strive to train graduates who are socially responsive and can act as "change agents" for communities they serve. Service learning (SL) is increasingly being used to teach the social aspects of health care and develop students' social responsiveness. However, the effectiveness of SL as an educational intervention has not been established.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the evidence for the effectiveness of SL.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven electronic databases were searched up to 2012 and included all articles on SL for pre-professional health care students. Hand searching was also conducted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1485 articles were identified, 53 fulfilled the search and quality appraisal criteria and were reviewed across six domains of potential SL effects: (i) personal and interpersonal development; (ii) understanding and applying knowledge; (iii) engagement, curiosity and reflective practice; (iv) critical thinking; (v) perspective transformation and (vi) citizenship.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While SL experiences appear highly valued by educators and students the effectiveness of SL remains unclear. SL is different from other forms of experiential learning because it explicitly aims to establish reciprocity between all partners and increase students' social responsiveness. Impact studies based on the interpretative paradigm, aligned with the principles of social accountability and including all stakeholder perspectives are necessary.
authors.affiliation: National University of Ireland , Ireland.
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mc Menamin
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mc Grath
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cantillon
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mac Farlane
mesh_terms: D002983:Clinical Competence; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006281:Health Occupations / Q000193:education*; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D024382:Professional Role; D012941:Social Responsibility; D014838:Volunteers