Session Information
SES B 11, Paper Session
Paper Session
Contribution
Community service is an integral part of society. Therefore, there has been increasing interest in community service experiences of prospective teachers’ in teacher education programs (Bachar & Ofri, 2009; Cashel, Goodman, & Swanson, 2003; McClam, Diambra, Burton, Fuss & Fudge, 2008; McMahon, 1998; Schaffer & Peterson, 1998). Community service experience is described as a practical and effective method that provides undergraduate students opportunities to learn from community through active participation (The National Community Service Trust Act, 1999; The National Service Learning Clearinghouse, 2005). Indeed, community service is a valuable experience for pre-service teachers. It helps pre-service teachers to notice problems of society and think about solutions. Furthermore, teacher candidates are encouraged to plan voluntary job in projects in various frameworks. These experiences not only enrich academic learning and teaching progress of individuals but also their professional confidence. Additionally, community service experiences foster teacher candidates’ both personal and civic responsibilities and also their personnel outcomes such as self- esteem, self efficacy and self awareness. (Astin & Sax, 1998; Lake& Jones, 2008; McClam, Diambra, Burton, Fuss & Fudge, 2008; McMahon, 1998; Markus, Howard & King, 1993; Miller, Dunlap &Gonzales, 2007; Sax, 2004; Wade, 1995).
Moreover, in the literature, it is referred that integration of community service in the curriculum enhances the teacher training programs making students more involved in their studies (Bachar & Ofri, 2009). McClam et. al. (2008) proposed that there is huge need of pre-service teachers to practice community- based experiences since these kinds of practices foster their understanding of children and community. In addition, they find opportunity to learn how to collaborate with children’s environment to enrich their development (Miller, Dunlap & Gonzales, 2007)
In the light of discussions above, the current study aimed to explain prospective preschool teachers’ reflections on their community service experiences and to evaluate contribution of this process on their personal development. The research questions that are formulated for the current study are as below.
1) What are pre-service preschool teachers’ experiences and perceptions related to community service training?
2) Does community service training course make differences in their perceptions of community service in progress?
3) What do pre-service teachers learn from community based service learning?
4) What is long-term effect of community service training on pre-service preschool teachers’ perceptions?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Astin, A., & Sax, L. (1998). How undergraduates are affected by service-participation. Journal of College Student Development, 39(3), 251-263. Bachar, P. & Ofri, V. (2009). Art student perceptions of the role of community service in Israeli teacher education. International Journal of Education & the Arts, 10(2). Retrieved [date] from http://www.ijea.org/v10n2/. Cashel, M. L., Goodman, C., & Swanson, J. (2003). Mentoring as service learning for undergraduates. Academic Exchange Quarterly, 7(2), 106–110. Markus, G. B., Howard, J. P. F., & King, D. C. (1993). Integrating community service and classroom instruction enhances learning: Results from an experiment. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 15, 410-419. McClam, T., Diambra, J.F., Burton, B., Fuss, A., Fudge, D. (2008). An analysis of a service learning project: students’ expectations, concerns, and reflections. Journal of Experiental Education, 30(3), 236- 249 McMahon, R. (1998). Service learning: Perceptions of pre-service teachers. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Mid- South Educational Research Association in New Orleans. Miller, K., Dunlap, C.Z., Gonzales, A. (2007). The ımpact of a freshman year community based service-learning experience on the achievement of standards articulated for teacher candidates. The School Community Journal, 17( 2), 111-121. National and Community Service Trust Act (1999) /http://www.maineservicecommission.gov/resources/cncs_statute.pdfS National Service-Learning Clearinghouse (2005). Retrieved December 5, 2005 from http://www.servicelearning.org/ Sax, L. J. (2004). Citizenship development and the American college student. New Directions for Institutional Research 2004, (122), 65-80. Schaffer, M. A., & Peterson, S. (1998). Service learning as a strategy for teaching undergraduate research. Journal of Experiential Education, 21, 154–161. Lake, V., Jones, I. (2007). Service-learning in early childhood teacher education: Using service to put meaning back into learning. Teacher Education 24 (2008), 2146– 2156. Wade, R. (1995). Developing active citizens: Community service learning in social studies teacher education. Social Studies 86(3), 00377996, Educational Research Complete.
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