Service Learning as a Multidisciplinary Pedagogical Framework: Civic Competency, Academic Achievement, and Social-Emotional Learning in Secondary Schools of Punjab

Abstract

Service learning is a structured pedagogical approach that integratesmeaningful community service with curriculum-linked academic learning andguided reflection, deliberately connecting students' civic action with thecontent knowledge, analytical skills, and values addressed across multiplesubject disciplines. This study employs a quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design to compare three outcome domains — civic competency, academic achievement, and social-emotional learning — between 108 Class 10 students participating in a 14-week multidisciplinary service learning programme and 108 matched students in conventional instruction across six government secondary schools in Chandigarh and Ludhiana. The service learning programme engaged students in an environmental sanitation project in their local community, integrating Social Studies, Science, and English academic content with community service activity and structured reflection journals. The service learning group showed significantly larger gains than the comparison group on all three outcome domains: civic competency (+14.6 pp DiD, p < 0.001), academic composite (+8.6 pp, p < 0.001), and social-emotional learning (+12.2 pp, p < 0.001). Teacher and student reflective journal analysis identified authentic community need, structured reflection, and subject-teacher co-ordination as the three most critical implementation quality dimensions. These findings provide Punjab-specific evidence for service learning as a multidisciplinary school practice that advances civic, academic, and social-emotional outcomes simultaneously.  KEYWORDS: Service learning, Multidisciplinary education, Civiccompetency, Social-emotional learning, Secondary schools, Punjab,Community-based learning, Reflective pedagogy