Teaching and learning through civic engagement: prospects for sustainability in teacher education
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Date
2010Author
Boland, Josephine
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Boland J. (2010) Teaching and learning through civic engagement: prospects for sustainability in teacher education. Issues in Educational Research, Special Issue on Service Learning Vol 20 (1) pp. 1-20
Abstract
This paper considers the prospects for sustainable service/community based learning as an element of a civic engagement strategy within the context of teacher education. It
draws on findings of a study of the policy, process and practice of embedding civic
engagement in the higher education curriculum in Ireland and the author's experience
implementing service learning in initial teacher education. The significance of underpinning rationale, as exemplified in academics' orientation to civic engagement, is
explored. The benefits to be gained from strategic alignment with institutional and
national policy developments are highlighted. A typology of organisational arrangements
for service/community based learning is offered to help explore the relationship between
complexity, sustainability and potential for reciprocity. Certain features of the context of
teacher education the focus on development of values and dispositions, the centrality
of civic values to the profession and teacher educators' familiarity with the practice of
reflection bode well for the prospect of a sustainable pedagogy which reflects the
values associated with reciprocity, diversity and social justice. The inherent challenges
associated with developing and maintaining collaborative partnerships, however, may
limit the potential for mainstreaming service/community based learning within the
curriculum for all student teachers.