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At many universities, there is a growing realization that the university owes a social responsibility to the community. Society invests in its citizens through the university, and the university empowers its students to realize their potential, both as competent professionals and as responsible citizens. This requires the cultivation of attributes such as social awareness, ethical leadership, and social responsibility, which are generally recognized as being difficult to teach in a classroom setting. Service learning is a form of active learning that integrates meaningful service to the community with academic study and reflective learning. In service learning, the learning goals of the students are as important as the benefits of the service that is rendered to the community; in addition, the two are interlinked and mutually reinforcing. Research has shown that service learning contributes positively to the attainment of many of the aforementioned desired graduate attributes for university students. However, there is much controversy about whether service learning should be mandated. There is a need to examine whether and to what extent students’ learning and development from completing a mandatory service learning subject are influenced by their initial inclination. Data described in this article were collected from 756 students via an online post-experience survey. Results show that students’ total learning experience from service learning had a much stronger impact on their learning and development than their initial inclination or even interest in the subject.

International service-learning (ISL) is conceptualized as an intersection of three educational components: service-learning, study abroad, and international education. Its potential benefits include increases in students’ intercultural competence and sense of global citizenship. Arguably, through immersion in a cross-cultural context, students can learn to appreciate diverse values and cultures while enhancing their social responsibility and bringing benefit to a community in need. However, most existing empirical studies of the impact of ISL utilize small samples drawn from a single program, which restricts the generalizability of the findings. This study, using a large sample from multiple courses, aims to bridge the gap by examining the relationship between an ISL experience and university students’ global citizenship and intercultural effectiveness. The findings suggest that skills such as intercultural effectiveness and global competencies are more easily enhanced than attitudinal values such as social responsibility and global civic engagement. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.

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Background: Educators have divided and often strongly held views on whether service-learning should be required of all students. However, studies examining students’ view on mandatory service-learning are limited in the literature. Purpose: This article contrasts and examines students’ views toward a service-learning requirement at a Hong Kong university before and after attending a mandatory service-learning course, and any resulting changes. Methodology/Approach: This is a retrospective qualitative study using semistructured interviews. Participants were 49 students who completed a service-learning course in the 2013–2014 academic year. They were selected according to the nature of their performance in their completed course. Findings/Conclusions: Results show that students’ perspectives toward service-learning are not static but rather change dramatically as a result of their experiences. Most students, even those who recalled being initially negative or resigned, reported positive views toward service-learning after completing the course. Implications: Students’ initial resistance alone is not a reason for making service-learning optional. Some students have a negative view due to a lack of information or misinformation. Making it compulsory gives these students an opportunity to decide for themselves based on true experience, which, if implemented effectively, has the potential of nurturing initially hostile or inert students into more civic-minded citizens.