Peer Support Factors on Community Service Experiential Learning among Undergraduates in Shandong, China

Abstract

This study examines the extent to which peer support factors predict Community Service as Experiential Learning (CSEL) among undergraduate students. The research was a quantitative cross-sectional survey. 950 students from 10 universities in Shandong Province, China were asked to complete a structured questionnaire. Five first-order peer support constructs were analyzed include Cooperative Tasks and Guidance, Cultural Tools and Language, Cognitive Apprenticeship, Identification and Belonging, and Positive Social Comparison. The direct effects of these peer support constructs on Community Service as Experiential Learning were analyzed by using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4. The findings revealed that all five peer support constructs significantly and positively predicted Community Service as Experiential Learning. Identification and Belonging emerged as the strongest predictor (? = 0.146, p < .001), followed by Cognitive Apprenticeship (? = 0.144, p < .001), Positive Social Comparison (? = 0.106, p = .006), Cultural Tools and Language (? = 0.089, p = .020), and Cooperative Tasks and Guidance (? = 0.078, p = .043). The structural model explained 48.8% of the variance in Community Service as Experiential Learning (R² = 0.488). The study found out that peer support played significant roles in fostering students’ involvement in community services and experiential learning activities. Positive learning environment which has features of collaboration, guidance, belongingness, cognitive apprenticeship and positive peer interaction with each other encouraged students’ involvement in meaningful community-based experiential learning activities. Research into the factors which affect students’ experiential learning within and outside of educational institutions would be useful in order to construct peer learning environments within schools which promote positive learning environments and go on to foster students’ experiential learning through community services.