Toward Inclusive Digital Service-Learning: Opportunities, Vulnerabilities, and Strategies Identified by European Educational Stakeholders

Abstract

Background and Aims: Digital technologies increasingly mediate service-learning, creating both opportunities for participation and risks of exclusion. This study examines how educational stakeholders perceive the opportunities, vulnerabilities, consequences, and enabling strategies associated with digital empowerment in service-learning. It aims to identify conditions that support meaningful and inclusive participation in digitally mediated service-learning contexts. Study Design: A qualitative exploratory study using the World Café method. Place and Duration of Study: Two World Cafés involving educational stakeholders from multiple European countries were conducted, one in person and one online. Methodology: The study involved 72 teachers, trainers, and educational leaders from multiple European countries. Data were generated through two World Cafés and comprised recorded harvest summaries, transcripts, tablecloth and whiteboard notes, sticky notes, drawings, and visualisations. The resulting multimodal material was systematically examined using qualitative content analysis. The analysis focused on participants’ perceptions of opportunities and vulnerabilities related to digital participation, their consequences for service-learning, and strategies for fostering inclusive digital engagement. Results: The analysis identified three interrelated dimensions: (1) conditions for digital participation, (2) tensions of digitally mediated engagement, and (3) strategies for inclusive digital service-learning. Participants perceived digital technologies as enabling connectivity, knowledge sharing, societal participation, and innovative pedagogical practices. At the same time, unequal access to technology, differences in digital competence, risks of exclusion, overstimulation, and reduced face-to-face interaction were identified as potential barriers to equitable participation. The findings highlight that the educational value of digital technologies depends on the conditions under which they are implemented and on the extent to which diverse participation needs are considered. Conclusion: Digital empowerment in service-learning should be understood as a condition for meaningful participation rather than as an end in itself. A reflective and inclusion-oriented approach is required to ensure that digital technologies expand opportunities for engagement without reinforcing existing inequalities or creating new forms of exclusion.