ABSTRACT
ACADEMIC SERVICE-LEARNING AS PEDAGOGY: AN APPROACH TO
PREPARING PRESERVICE TEACHERS FOR URBAN CLASSROOMS
Teacher education struggles with multifaceted and increasingly complex issues surrounding preparing majority (White) teachers to work effectively with minority (non-White) students, families and communities. Novice teachers entering the workforce need to be culturally responsive. What are the benefits to students, community, and university when academic service learning (AS-L) is a course component? How does AS-L impact the personal intellectual growth of preservice teachers?
This phenomenological qualitative study examined dispositions of 177 preservice teachers engaged in literacy and multicultural education courses with AS-L components. A nesting design was selected for this study situating preservice teachers in the center, surrounded by university teacher education coursework, which in turn, is surrounded by a larger circle encompassing local K-12 public schools and the community at large, where all are located.
Data were collected over the course of five consecutive semesters, using four different data sources, with written reflections the primary source. Ethnographic techniques of participant observation, informal and formal interviewing were also used to collect data. Artifacts and field notes resulting from observations and interview transcripts were considered when triangulating reflection data, comparing evidence from different sources and using multiple perceptions to clarify meaning. Using different data sources permitted examination of the same phenomena through different lens.
Data were analyzed using open coding, an inductive content analysis, and the constant comparative method, both systematic yet dynamic approaches. Comparing different data sources allowed for the comparison of views, situations, actions, and experiences of different individuals. Data analysis led to four significant categories: displacement, transformation, acceptance, and moving from negative, judgmental attitudes to positive, non-judgmental attitudes.
This investigation suggested that AS-L components improved and strengthened teacher education courses in terms of adequately preparing preservice teachers to teach successfully in urban environments. This study resulted in preservice teachers whose dispositions and appreciation of diversity and culturally responsive teaching increased.
Academic Service Learning as Pedagogy: An Approach to Preparing Preservice Teachers for Urban Classrooms