This study examined the experiences of elementary education teacher candidates in a servicelearning literacy methods course in which they were placed in two public school settings-- one urban elementary school and one urban laboratory school. This was teacher candidates initial field experience in elementary classrooms. Teacher candidates explored…

Beginning teachers face a wide array of challenges in today's PreK-12 classrooms. These challenges are magnified for beginning special education teachers who must meet the needs of an extremely diverse student population. To prepare beginning special education teachers for classroom realities, teacher educators must recognize and use high-leverage…

As a best practice, community-engaged courses should benefit students, community, and faculty through centering the needs and goals of each entity. Ensuring reciprocity and centering sustainable authentic relationships requires great care, intention, time, and a clear strategy to execute. We describe how our intercollegiate and co-instructed…

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on all levels of education has been well documented. In this article, the authors drew on self-study methodology to explore how one member of the research team applied principles of democratic pedagogy in response to COVID-19 enforced changes to a service-learning course in a three-year undergraduate degree. The…

Previous studies have demonstrated that using guided, targeted, reflections in service-learning (SL) courses can increase student engagement and learning. However, little research has been conducted on how these reflective models can be adapted for faith-based institutions to help students to better integrate faith into their learning experience,…

Although reflection is a critical component of service-learning experiences, few studies explore the learning outcomes associated with various types of reflection activities. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore what photo journals and structured narrative reflections reveal about learning outcomes for graduate preservice teachers…

Service-learning is a community-based method of education in which students fulfil the academic goals of their courses and simultaneously contribute to the welfare of the community. The purpose of this study is to interrogate a course-embedded service-learning project in a physical education teacher education programme to provide a broader,…

This article reports on a service learning project in a South African primary school teacher education programme, as experiential and practice-based pedagogy in a social studies methods course. We aimed to broaden understanding of service learning as a form of non-placement work-integrated learning for the development of teacher professional…

Becoming a reflective practitioner is a crucial skill for educators. This article discusses the use of voice-recorded reflections in a teacher education service-learning course using a web 2.0 tool called Voicethread. Guided by Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle, this study explores how pre-service teachers can conceptualize their field of…

When integrated into pre-service education programs, service learning has the potential to influence teacher candidates' pedagogy, professional dispositions, commitment to teaching, and sensitivity to student differences. Teacher candidates may make biased assumptions about an individual with a particular disability label based upon what they…

This case presents a study of elementary pre-service teachers in the School of Education at Louisiana State University where the majority of the elementary education candidates are White, female, and from middle-income households, but are preparing to teach in public school districts that enroll students who are overwhelmingly poor and Black. This…

Service-learning is a pedagogical approach with documented effectiveness for building civic engagement and promoting awareness of social justice issues. Little attention is given in the literature to the design processes that undergird the development of effective service-learning projects. In this case study, authors report on their application…

This article describes an interprofessional service-learning initiative to address the educational and psychosocial needs of grandparent-headed families. This qualitative study explores the perceptions and experiences of the preservice teacher education students involved in implementing this project. Findings suggest that there are numerous…

Service-learning environments are complex learning contexts that generate a level of disequilibrium or anxiety that may or may not result in transformative learning. This phenomenological study examined student reflective writings from an Honors service-learning course at a medium-sized mid-western university for evidences of transformative…

This study examines the effectiveness of service-learning as a pedagogical approach that seeks to bridge the gap of understanding between predominantly White undergraduate preservice teachers (PSTs) and diverse students at a local elementary school. Analysis of "before" and "after" reflective papers and surveys from 23 PSTs…