A Common Outcome Measurement for Service-Learning in Hong Kong

Use of service-learning is burgeoning among higher education institutions in Hong Kong and expanding in Asia. The positive student outcomes that have been reported in Western society, however, are not as widely recognized in Asian society. Asian institutions of higher education need a standardized measurement of outcomes that will help refine the practice of service-learning, increase government funding for this pedagogy, and encourage cross-institution collaboration. This article describes the development, testing, and verification of the common outcomes measurement (COM), a tool for generating reliable data on student learning outcomes achieved through different service-learning initiatives. With nine domains and 34 items, the COM contributes to both theoretical and practical aspects of service-learning. As a verified means of measuring service-learning outcomes in Asian circumstances, the COM encourages development of quality education that can yield community impacts in Hong Kong.