Abstract
Despite recent recommendations urging stronger connections between teacher education programs and their communities, few studies have examined the potential of community service learning (CSL) within science teacher education. The paper aims to: understand how CSL is conceptualized in preservice science teacher education contexts; identify the various ways that CSL is integrated within courses; examine stated outcomes for preservice science teachers, and; explore how research on CSL has been carried out in science teacher education. To better inform science teacher education, the authors embarked upon a research synthesis of relevant articles within preservice science teacher education. Six main findings emerged from the synthesis: 1) different science teacher education programs define CSL similarly, 2) preservice science teachers’ engagement with CSL is primarily reported as being beneficial, 3) mixed outcomes are reported in preservice teachers’ self-efficacy, confidence, and attitudes toward teaching science, 4) challenges, if reported, tend to be from the perspective of preservice teachers, 5) several common teaching strategies are employed to support the CSL experience, and 6) case study is the most typical research methodology for studying CSL, where the researchers are the instructors of their own CSL courses. These findings are significant for the ongoing development of science teacher knowledge and programmatic directions for the integration of community in science teacher education.
Highlights
This study offers a qualitative synthesis of the research on community service learning within preservice science teacher education programs (Minner et al, 2010)
The authors’ primary research aims are to inform science teacher education by: addressing how community service learning (CSL) is conceptualized in preservice science teacher education contexts, identifying the various ways that CSL is integrated within courses, examining stated outcomes for preservice science teachers, and exploring how research
Since preservice teachers begin teacher education programs with strong, and sometimes erroneous, beliefs about teaching and learning that they gained by being students for many years (Darling-Hammond, 2006), field experiences have been conceptualized as necessary components of the development and validation of knowledge about teaching (Coffey, 2010)
Summary
This study offers a qualitative synthesis of the research on community service learning (hereinafter referred to as CSL) within preservice science teacher education programs (Minner et al, 2010). In this background section, the authors describe briefly the history of CSL in university and teacher education in general and its entry into preservice science teacher education. The findings of this research synthesis could point to possible directions for future research on CSL, preservice science teacher education and STEM education Of note to this special issue are findings related to preservice science teachers attempting to further their intercultural sensitivities and teaching competencies. CSL experiences for preservice science teachers are not without risks in amplifying the deficit model (Tilley-Lubbs, 2011) but they appear to hold potential for advancing sensitivity, equity, and diversity in the classroom (Baldwin et al, 2007)
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