Enhancing Chinese college students’ transfer of learning through service-learning

Service-learning (SL) is a form of experiential education which promotes student learning through community service and critical reflection. This study aims to examine the effect of SL on Chinese college students’ transfer of learning and to explore the psychological mechanism of such effect. In Phase 1 with 186 Chinese college students, the SL group performed better in the quality of transfer but worse in the quantity of transfer than the traditional group. In Phase 2, survey data from the SL group demonstrated that constructive cognitive conflict had positive effects on behavioral engagement and transfer of learning; behavioral engagement fully mediated the relation between cognitive conflict and transfer of learning; and gender moderated the relation between cognitive conflict and behavioral engagement. This study answered whether and why SL could promote Chinese college students’ transfer of learning. It has significant implications for promoting SL in reforming current teaching practice in China.