Refining Understanding of Beneficial Service-Learning Experiences in Teacher Preparation

• In Event: Service-Learing as Innovative Practice for Building Teacher Efficacy and Understanding

Abstract

This mixed methods study builds upon previous research in delineating more clearly how service-learning fosters confidence and factors that seem to play a role as prospective teachers worked with marginalized youth through an after-school soccer program. Quantitative findings of the fifth year of the project revealed that prospective teachers experienced substantial gains in efficacy beliefs, but differences existed across semesters. At the completion of the service-learning project, prospective teachers shared perceptions of their participation through oral and written reflections. Qualitative analysis of the reflections yielded understanding of gains in efficacy and uncovered sources of efficacy, providing guidance for planning service-learning in teacher preparation.

Authors

• Kathleen Tice, The University of Texas - Arlington

• Larry Nelson, The University of Texas - Arlington