This paper presents the research evidences on the participation of teacher education university students as volunteers in successful educational actions, by means of the experience of a Spanish university in the initial training of teacher education, contributing to receive a training of excellence as well as improving the context in which the voluntary work takes place.

With this purpose, the main aim has been to demonstrate how the participation of university students in successful educational actions internationally recognized contribute to an initial academic training of greater quality at the same time that improves the academic results of the school students and the coexistence in the educational centres in which they have participated.

Theoretical framework

The importance of initial teacher education

Research demonstrates that teachers and their training decisively influence on the learning and the academic results of students (Cochran-Smith & Zeichner, 2005; Darling-Hammond, 2010) having greater effects on the students, than, the socio economic status. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that it is a quality experience and pursue a pre-service teacher training of excellence.

Korthagen, Loughran and Russell (2006) show how the new century has revealed the importance of the research on initial teacher education. In the last Education, Youth, Culture and Sport council meeting on effective teacher education (Council of European Commission, 2014) it was reaffirmed the importance of achieving a high quality initial teacher education.

Recent research (Hobjilă, 2012; Korthagen et al., 2006) express the gap between theory and practice, highlighting the need to establish connections between the two. International reports (OECD, 2011) highlight the initial teacher education as a path to enter the profession and the platforms for teacher development; and highlight the need to improve the relationship between the training institutions and the schools with the aim of providing to future teachers a more integrated experience.

Therefore, research is key to learn which type of initial teacher education provides better results and has the largest social impact, since in some cases teacher education students have a perception on the meaning of what is to be a good teacher based in their own previous experiences as students; experiences that may not be objectively examined (Stenberg, Karlsson, Pitkaniemi and Maaranen, 2014).

Initial teacher education based on successful educational actions

Research demonstrates the need to offer both a training of high quality, based on scientific evidences (Flecha, Racionero, Tintoré, and Arbós, 2014) as well as that teacher education students have to be able to observe and participate in schools that are developing practices of quality (Darling-Hammond, 2010).

The international scientific community has the knowledge and information on which are the actions that are achieving a greater success in promoting learning for all students, independently of their background or context; these are the successful educational actions which are universal and transferrable, after the study of successful schools around Europe (INCLUD-ED Consortium, 2009).

Therefore, the participation of the teacher education students in the educational centres that are implementing such successful educational actions signifies an improvement in their training and in the academic results of the students of the given educational centres.

In addition to the benefits denoted for the teacher education students training, the participation of these individual in the school classroom, signify interactions that enrich the learning of children, given that the social context is a key element for the cognitive development (Vygotsky, 1980). As stated by Darling-Hammond (2010), there is a close relationship of reliance between students’ learning, knowledge and actions developed by teachers.

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