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Service-learning in preservice teacher education.

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Abstract

This national study was designed to gain an understanding of the status of service-learning in teacher education programs. Results indicate that service-learning is introduced to preservice teachers in the majority of teacher education institutions (59%), while 37% prepare their teacher candidates to use service-learning as a teaching method. Although service-learning exists in the language and curriculum of the majority of teacher education programs, it still resides largely on the periphery. The quality, depth, and integration of service-learning are very limited. Teacher educators need increased institutional support and a deeper understanding of service-learning theory and practice for it to become a more fully integrated component of teacher education.

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Teacher education programs across the nation are addressing the challenge of integrating service-learning into their curricula. Many teacher educators are becoming aware that successful service-learning activities in preservice teacher education can contribute to effective practice in P-12 schools when graduates enter the teaching profession with preparation in and commitment to implementing service-learning in their classrooms (Wade et al, 1999). They are also are focusing on the benefits that K-16 service-learning partnerships can bring to teacher education programs, K-12 schools, and the wider community (Anderson, Swick, & Yff, 2001). Numerous teacher educators and educational organizations, including the California Department of Education (1999), are recommending the inclusion of service-learning as a vital instructional strategy in teacher education programs (Swick, 1998; Erickson & Anderson, 1997, Council of Chief State School Officers, 1995).

Prospective teachers typically engage in service-learning by working with children in need through schools and community agencies, assisting P-12 teachers in the design and implementation of service-learning with their students, and developing service-learning activities for use during student teaching. Teacher educators offer a variety of reasons for integrating service-learning into their courses, ranging from preparing new teachers to use service-learning as a pedagogy to helping to socialize new teachers in the essential moral and civic obligations of teaching, including teaching with "care" and developing a commitment to advocate for social justice (Anderson, Swick, & Yff, 2001). There are also serious challenges to the successful use of service-learning in preservice teacher education--including the already overcrowded curriculum, the difficulties arranging successful P-12 and community service-learning sites, and lack of alignment of service-learning with institutional faculty roles and rewards (Anderson & Pickeral, 2000). In addition, service-learning is a complex teaching method that requires faculty to have a clear understanding of service-learning theory and principles of good practice in order to achieve desired outcomes.

In this study we wanted to gain a deeper understanding of the status of service-learning in the curriculum of U.S. preservice teacher education programs. Specifically, the study is designed to address the following...

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