1 Global service-learning in institutions of higher education: Concerns from a community of practice Benjamin J. Lough Cynthia Toms Abstract In order to better understand and determine priorities of global service-learning in higher education, this study used an empowering evaluation processes to assess the strategic trajectories needed for growth in this field. Researchers organised 36 focus groups during an international summit to map the strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for global service-learning in higher education. These focus groups generated 121 summary statements, which were qualitatively coded and analysed to assess common themes. Participants identified six main needs that could strengthen the practice of global service-learning. These needs highlight common priorities and current dilemmas faced by the emerging field of global service-learning, and illustrate the priorities needed to move this field forward in the coming years. Introduction Attention to global service-learning (GSL) is growing across colleges and universities as administrators and educators prioritise internationalisation and global learning outcomes (Gao 2014). As one indication of this trend, more than 314,000 students from the United States travelled abroad in 2015 as part of their education—a 60% increase over the past decade (Institute of International Education 2016). While many students participate in service-learning during their studies abroad, other students are drawn into service-learning as a result of on-going institutional priorities of research and teaching (Waghid 2002; Brown-Luthango 2013). In addition, engagement and service as part of their educational experience is increasingly prioritised by students (Zepke 2014). Accordingly, interest in global service-learning is on the rise at institutions of higher education, and is now at a critical point in its development and evolution. This increased attention has led to rapid growth within the field of GSL, which is now accompanied by an increasing demand for accountability and demonstration of positive community impact and global learning outcomes. Global learning here refers to growth in the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that help students understand and appreciate cultural differences—allowing them to live more effectively in a global society (Braskamp, Braskamp, and Merrill 2009). It includes components such as: global awareness or the ‘knowledge of the interrelatedness of local, global, international, and intercultural issues, trends, and systems’; global perspectives or the ‘ability to develop a multi-perspective analysis of local, global, international, and intercultural problems’; and global engagement or the ‘willingness to engage in local, global, international, and intercultural problem solving’ (Florida International University 2010, 1). Despite continued momentum across colleges and universities to enhance global learning, systematic research evidence and scholarly knowledge within the field continues to evolve and relatively few systematic assessments have significantly advanced theory (Whitley 2014), research evidence (Sherraden, Lough, and Bopp 2013; Eyler 2011), or scholarly knowledge within the field (Giles and Eyler 2013). Practitioners and scholars have called for a body of