Treffer: Education Faculty's Perspectives on the Social Impact of Service-Learning in Teacher Education.

Service-learning in Physical Activity integrates academic instruction with community engagement, promoting student learning and social commitment. Although the educational benefits for students are well established, faculty perspectives on their roles in these initiatives remain insufficiently examined. This study explores how university faculty conceptualize their participation in service-learning projects and the perceived impact on communities. Methods: Employing an interpretative qualitative design, data were gathered through a 160-min narrative focus group with ten faculty members from seven Faculties of Education, complemented by individual interviews totaling 1,210 min. Participants reported between 3 and 6 years of experience, with several exceeding 6 years implementing service-learning in Spanish and Chilean universities. NVivo 15 software supported the thematic analysis of faculty narratives. Results: Participants highlighted that service-learning effectiveness depends on horizontal communication, collaboration, and sustainable partnerships with community organizations. They emphasized that community impact should take precedence over academic learning as the main evaluative criterion. While acknowledging the transformative potential of service-learning, faculty identified persistent challenges, including institutional limitations and the absence of robust methods to assess social impact. Conclusion: The findings emphasize the importance of deepening faculty engagement in service-learning, strengthening university–community alliances, and integrating long-term evaluation strategies. Reinforcing institutional support and establishing structured frameworks for impact assessment can optimize service-learning as a catalyst for meaningful social transformation. Implications: The study reveals that faculty engagement with students and communities shapes how social impact is defined and assessed, informing educators' understanding of community responsibility and sustained involvement beyond academic objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]