Service-learning in preservice teacher education

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. ********** 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 questions: 1) What is the extent of service-learning in preservice teacher education? 2) How is service-learning included in the preservice curriculum? 3) What types of institutional support are provided to facilitate the use of service-learning? and 4) What are the goals for service-learning use in preservice teacher education and to what degree are these goals perceived as being achieved? Literature Review Root and Furco (2001) estimated that 200 teacher education programs across the U.S. incorporate service-learning. Despite this increasing use of service-learning, Furco and Ammon (2000) report that service-learning was not widely understood by teacher educators in the state of California. …