Empowerment through pedagogy: positioning service-learning as an early childhood pedagogy for pre-service teachers

Abstract

Over the past decade early childhood education (ECE) teachers have faced increasing pressures to implement standardised tests in order to secure external validation and funding. In response, many teacher education programmes now focus heavily on positivistic training approaches, as opposed to more developmentally appropriate pedagogies [Winterbottom, C., & Lake, V. E. (2013) Cultivating leadership and responsibility in children. Exchange, 5, 36–39]. In this study, we examined the effectiveness of an alternative, service-learning training approach based upon constructivist principles in Ohio. Specifically, 120 students in a university teacher education programme participated in semester-long service-learning group-based projects. Post-project assessments indicated remarkably positive student reactions to their experience in ways that relate to important pedagogy-related goals. We conclude with a recommendation to incorporate service-learning methodology into teacher training programmes.

Keywords:

• early childhood
• teacher preparation
• service-learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Originally from Manchester, England, Christian Winterbottom is an Assistant Professor at The Ohio State University at Mansfield. He earned his BA in English at the University of Bedfordshire in England and his master’s degree and Ph.D. in early childhood education at the Florida State University. For four years, he taught preschool and elementary students in Japan and when he moved to Florida he worked extensively with preschools and head start programmes. While attaining his doctorate, Winterbottom was the director of child-care training and accreditation in Florida, where he ran a $1 million contract for the Department of Children and Families. He currently teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in early childhood education and in early/middle childhood social studies. His research is primarily focused on working with marginalised populations and on reconceptualising early childhood pedagogy through praxeological learning methodologies.

Philip Mazzocco is an Associate Professor of Psychology at The Ohio State University, Mansfield. He obtained his Ph.D. in Social Psychology at The Ohio State University, Columbus, in 2005. His research focuses primarily on social perceptions and opinions regarding the topics of race and poverty. He is also interested in the process by which such perceptions and opinions can be changed. His work has been published in numerous academic journals and books.