Conference Agenda

Community Engaged Service Learning Pedagogy (CESLP) has the potential to foster democratic competences among higher education students. Yet CESLP is a complex pedagogical intervention whose outcomes depend on interactions between students, community partners, institutional structures, and broader societal conditions. This contribution addresses the conference question: How can service-learning projects be designed to specifically strengthen students’ democratic competences?

This presentation reports on a realist synthesis examining how, why, for whom, and under what contextual conditions CESLP contributes to the development of democratic competences that underpin civic and political engagement (CPE). Realist synthesis seeks to uncover the causal mechanisms through which CESLP works, while identifying contextual features that enable or constrain these mechanisms. This approach is particularly suited to CESLP, where learning processes, community engagement, and institutional expectations intersect in complex and dynamic ways.

The synthesis draws on empirical research, theoretical literature, and practitioner reflections to develop and refine context–mechanism–outcome (CMO) configurations. The initial program theory proposes that CESLP enables students to engage with diverse community actors and experience societal issues firsthand. Through structured reflection, lived experiences, and collaborative work, students develop awareness of their personal and professional roles and the value of collective efforts for social change. These processes are expected to foster civic responsibility, civic and political awareness, participation in civic and political activities, and ultimately civic and political engagement as an enduring attitude.

Findings indicate that mechanisms such as recognizing the potential for positive social change through collaboration, understanding underlying social and political complexities, developing a sense of personal and professional ownership, and engaging in perspective-taking, are central to activating democratic learning. These mechanisms are triggered in contexts where the civic positionality of the higher educational institute is clearly conveyed. As also in contexts were students encounter authentic real-life situations, engage with diverse (non)academic partners, and participate in local challenges through structured CESLP activities.
Early results also suggest that CESLP contributes to CPE indicators, including civic responsibility, active participation in community-based organizations, increased understanding of relevant social issues, and the ability to understand people with different values and backgrounds.

This contribution aligns with Track A by offering a theoretically grounded explanation of how CESLP can be intentionally designed to strengthen democratic competences as a foundation for CPE. The resulting program theory and underlying CMO configurations provide actionable insights for educators, curriculum designers, and institutions seeking to enhance the democratic impact of CESLP initiatives across higher education.

In the context of increasing societal polarization, higher education is called upon to strengthen students' democratic competencies. Service-Learning (SL) offers a promising pedagogical approach to connect academic learning with civic engagement, promoting reflection, participation, and social responsibility (Ash & Clayton, 2004; Otten et al., 2022; Laven & Paudel, 2025). This study examines how interdisciplinary SL enables not only participation and reflection but also furthers the critical gap between expressing ideas and influencing decisions. This gap, conceptualized as the divide between participation and agency, is central to understanding SL’s democratic efficacy.

This study considers how SL fosters democratic competences through reflective practice and collaborative engagement, contributing to understanding how higher education can support active citizenship, dialogical learning, and equitable participation.

Building on the analysis of students’ individual reflections, this contribution reframes participation, voice, belonging, and civic awareness as indicators of democratic engagement in SL contexts. The study is based on four editions of the interdisciplinary elective course Z-Tec – Preparing Generation Z (Gen Z) Beyond Technology, involving 137 students from engineering and non-engineering backgrounds and different academic levels. Data were collected through individual reflections structured according to the articulated learning framework developed by Ash and Clayton (2004).

A qualitative analysis was conducted using a coding framework focusing on participation, voice, belonging, and civic engagement. These dimensions were reframed as indicators of democratic competences, enabling the examination of how students experience and enact participation within team-based SL projects.

The findings show that student participation in team processes is active, yet a persistent gap between expressing ideas and influencing decisions remains central. This critical finding emphasizes that participation alone is insufficient for true agency, highlighting a known challenge in achieving equitable participation and voice in SL contexts (Natarajarathinam et al., 2021). The study also reveals that reflections foster greater civic awareness of social issues, responsibility toward community partners, and the development of team-oriented skills (Laven & Paudel, 2025).

The study highlights that interdisciplinary SL environments support democratic engagement not only by fostering participation but also by creating opportunities for reflection, inclusion, and civic responsibility. However, achieving an equitable voice remains a challenge, often influenced by team dynamics and role distribution.

These findings underscore our main argument: to reinforce higher education’s democratic role, SL experiences must be intentionally designed to advance not just participation but meaningful agency. Addressing this challenge helps position higher education as a transformative space for democratic learning and civic development (Resch & Schrittesser, 2023).

In the context of service-learning and civic engagement in higher education, digital tools are increasingly discussed as means to support the development of democratic competences. In particular, AI-based tools such as chatbots offer new opportunities to foster critical thinking, perspective-taking, and responsible participation in digital environments. This study aims to examine pre-service teachers’ perceptions of chatbot technologies in relation to democratic competences and critical digital engagement.

The theoretical framework is based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, 1989) and the Value-based Adoption Model (VAM; Kim et al., 2007). Accordingly, pre-service teachers’ perceptions of chatbot use are analyzed through dimensions such as perceived usefulness, perceived value, perceived risk, and enjoyment. In addition, the study adopts a broader perspective by linking technology use to democratic competences, particularly critical thinking, risk awareness, and responsible digital participation.

The study is designed using Q methodology to systematically explore subjective viewpoints. A total of 25 pre-service teachers from the University of Bamberg participated in the study. A Q-set consisting of 23 statements was developed based on the General Chatbot Acceptance, Enjoyment, Perceived Risk, and Value Scale (G-CAVS) scale (Polat & Renner, 2026), covering the dimensions of technology acceptance, perceived value, perceived risk, and enjoyment of use. Data were analyzed using KADE software.

The findings reveal three distinct profiles of chatbot perception. The first group primarily views chatbots as functional tools that save time and effort. The second group demonstrates a highly positive orientation, emphasizing both learning and pedagogical benefits. The third group acknowledges the benefits of chatbots while expressing critical concerns regarding cognitive impacts and data security risks.

These findings indicate that pre-service teachers exhibit differentiated profiles of technology engagement, ranging from instrumental use to critically reflective perspectives. In particular, the third profile reflects a balanced and critical stance, aligning with key components of democratic competences such as critical thinking, risk awareness, and responsible participation.

In the context of service-learning, chatbots can be understood as digital tools that facilitate reflection, perspective-taking, and critical discussion of socially relevant issues.

The structured integration of such tools into higher education may support the development of democratic competences, especially by enhancing students’ critical thinking, perspective-taking, and responsible participation in digital environments.