Service-learning+as+a+strategy+for+raising+pre-service+teachers’

Lynn Pelco, Director, Service-Learning Office, Virginia Commonwealth University lepelco@vcu.edu] Kimberly Dell, Doctoral Candidate, Virginia Commonwealth University dellkr@vcu.edu] Beth Bader, Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University babader@vcu.edu] Susan McKelvey, Adjunct Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University mckelveysp@vcu.edu]
 * Service-learning as a strategy for raising pre-service teachers’ awareness about disability**



** Keywords: **Disability awareness, special education, pre-service teachers

** Track: **Student development and learning

** Format: **Poster presentation


 * Date & time: **Thursday 3:20 - 4:30


 * Location: **Salon 4 / Salon 9

** Summary: ** Although general education pre-service teachers may receive coursework in special education, it is often not until their student teaching that they may have direct experience working with children with disabilities or children at risk for school failure. The U.S. is experiencing a critical shortage of special education teachers, yet many pre-service teachers do not consider special education as a career path. Afterschool programs that serve children with disabilities and children at risk for school failure are often severely understaffed. Service-learning may increase university students’ awareness of and interest in working with this population and can help meet a community-identified need.

This poster describes an experimental study of service-learning’s impact on pre-service teachers’ awareness of and interest in working with children with disabilities and children at-risk for school failure. Fifty university students in a teacher-preparation program registered for two identical sections of the same introductory special education class offered at different times during spring 2011 semester. After registration was completed, one section was randomly selected to include service-learning while the other was taught as a traditional lecture class. A multi-method, pre-post assessment plan was implemented to evaluate student and community impacts. Results and implications are presented.

This study is important because it uses a randomized-assignment design to test the efficacy of service-learning pedagogy. The study is also important because of the pressing need to (a) find more effective ways to prepare general and special education teachers to work with students with disabilities and (b) establish university-community partnerships that serve at-risk students enrolled in afterschool programs.

** References: ** Adams, G. R., & Marshall, S. (1996). A developmental social psychology of identity: Understanding the person-in-context. //Journal of Adolescence//, //19//, 429-442.

Goossens, L., & Phinney, J. S. (1996). Identity, context and development. //Journal of Adolescence//, //19//, 491-496.

Luyckx, K., Goossens, L., & Soenens, B. (2006). A developmental contextual perspective on identity construction in emerging adulthood: Change dynamics in commitment formation and commitment evaluation. //Developmental Psychology, 42//(2), 366-380.

Pelco, L. E., Dockery, D., Lockeman, K. & McKelvey, S. (under review). First-generation and second-generation college students: A comparison of their service-learning experiences. //Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning.//

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