Forward! Perspectives from the
U.S.A. on Service-Learning in
Teacher Education
Kassel, Germany
18 Oktober 2012
Jeffrey Anderson, Ph.D.
Professor of Education and Senior Faculty Fellow
Seattle University
janderso@seattleu.edu
Service-Learning (SL) in the USA - 2012
• 93% of higher education institutions offer SL
opportunities and 37% of students do SL
• More than 1,100 institutional members of
Campus Compact
• SL is one of only four practices to positively
impact retention rate of undergraduates
• Growing number of departments and
universities have initiated a SL graduation
requirement
Undergraduate Students’ Views
on the Importance of Contributing
to the Larger Community
1st year
2nd year
3rd year
4th year
Should be a major
focus of college
55%
57%
58%
59%
Is a major
focus of college
45%
42%
41%
38%
(American Association of Colleges and Universities Survey, Dey et al, 2009)
Service-Learning (SL) in Teacher
Education in the USA
• In 1998 225 of 1,200 teacher educations
programs included SL (19%)
• By 2003, 708 of 1,200 included SL (59%)
• Preliminary results of a national 2012 survey
suggest that this number (708) has remained
stable while the quality of SL has continued to
improve
• In 2010 the National Council for the Accreditation
of Teacher Education (NCATE) included SL in its
standards as a recommended practice
Service-Learning in Teacher Education
in the USA
1. Rationales and benefits
2. SL in teacher education contributions to higher
education
3. Models of SL integration
4. Foundational issues
5. Research-based moderators of positive
outcomes
6. Recommended improvements for the next
generation of SL
Rationales for the Use of ServiceLearning in Teacher Education
• Knowledge and understanding of the community in which
their potential K-12 students live (68%)
• Understanding and appreciation of human diversity (66%)
• Personal and social development (62%)
• Teaching self-efficacy (59%)
• Civic responsibility and commitment to democratic
citizenship (51%)
• Clarification of their career goals (43%)
• Use of service-learning as a pedagogy (37%)
• Understanding of content and skills required by state and
national standards (21%)
Research on the Impacts of ServiceLearning on Preservice Teachers
• Academic learning (5)
• Understanding of students and communities (7)
• Development of capacities needed to provide
equitable, caring instruction (6)
• Knowledge of the teaching profession and
development of professional skills (8)
• Understanding and acceptance of diversity (26)
• Knowledge and skills needed to implement
service-learning (7)
What Teacher Education Brings to
Strengthen Service-Learning in Higher
Education
• Deep community-university relationships
• High quality placements
• Students well-prepared for engaging other
communities (intercultural competence)
• Faculty adept at facilitating reflection
High Quality SL Placements (Eyler &
Giles, 1999)
Teacher candidates:
• perform challenging tasks
• are active rather than observers
• perform a variety of tasks
• feel that they are making a positive contribution
• have important levels of responsibility
• receive input and appreciation from supervisors
Teacher Candidates are Well Prepared
Possess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes
needed for success
– Intercultural competence
•
•
•
•
Empathic listeners
Non-judgmental
Seek multiple viewpoints
Build on strengths
“TED TALK” Chimananda Adichie
“The Danger of a Single Story”
http://prezi.com/vfwivdpqsak8/winter-2011seattle-university-service-placement-siteexpectations/
Scenario
• A group of five Muslim girls, recent immigrants
from Bosnia, ages 14-15, have been regularly
attending your class and participating in the class
service-learning project for the past four months.
The last two weeks they have not been to school
even one day and the school has not been able to
communicate with their parents by phone or email.
• How would you handle this situation?
Most Frequently Identified Moderators
• Reflection
• Service directly related to teaching or course
goals
• Teacher candidate voice
• Interaction with diverse cultures
• Teacher candidates well-prepared
• Teacher candidates well-supported
• Service took place in a “third space”
• Variety of service experiences
Limitations to the Research
Qualitative Studies
• Often involve a single class
• Instructor serves as researcher/evaluator
• Fail to control for faculty members’ potential
influence and bias
• Limited generalizabiltiy
Limitations to the Research
Quantitative Studies
• Rarely use experimental or quasi-experimental
research design (infrequent use of control groups
or random assignment)
• Usually asses global changes in participants
without examining the role played by differences
in teacher candidates, programs, or service sites
in moderating outcomes
Models for the Use of SL in Teacher
Education
Integrated Model
1. Introduction to Teaching course (tutor
children in schools)
2. Social Foundations of Education or
Multicultural Education ( tutor in “third
space”)
3. Educational Psychology course (present
theories, research, rationales for SL)
4. Instructional Methods Courses (teach the
pedagogy of SL)
5. Assessment Course (teach methods to
assess SL outcomes)
6. Capstone Student Teaching Internship
(teacher candidates design and conduct a SL
project in a school setting)
Pros and Cons of the Integrated Model
Pros
– Doesn’t take too much time from any one course
– Clearly connects SL to the core of the program as a
central instructional strategy
Cons
– Easier for uncommitted instructor to reduce emphasis
on SL
– SL experiences can be shallow since they are of
limited duration
Stand Alone Model
Develop a separate course focused only on SL that
incorporates all the experiences of the six courses
in the integrated model into one course.
Pros
– Insures that all teacher candidates will receive
focused, consistent instruction in SL
– Difficult to eliminate from program
– Usually provides deeper SL experience of greater
duration and intensity
Cons
– Difficult to find room in crowded curriculum for
another course
– Teacher candidates may see SL as a separate
strategy, not central to their role as a teacher
– Other teacher education faculty may avoid SL
since it is already being done “over there”
Distinctions Among Teacher Education
Field Experiences (adapted from Furco, 1996)
Recipient---------------------------- Beneficiary -------------------------Provider
Service-Learning
Volunteerism
Service--------------------------------
Student
Teaching Internship
Focus
-----------------------------Learning
Service-learning’s Needed
Improvements
1. Deeper community-university partnerships
2. Adjust the role of the university service-learning
center
3. Use more diverse forms of service-learning
4. Develop a service-learning or community
engagement major
5. Get serious about community impact
6. Increase student voice
7. Revise promotion and tenure requirements
International Center for Service-Learning in
Teacher Education
educationprogram.duke.edu/ICSLTE
International Journal for Research on ServiceLearning in Teacher Education
• April 1, 2013 deadline for next issue
• Submit to janderso@seattleu.edu
“Bildung ist nicht einen Eimer zu fullen, sondern
ein Feuer zu entfachen.”
--- W.B. Yeats