Teaching and Learning with Others: Situated Encounters in Service Learning among Pre-Service Teachers

ABSTRACT

Service learning, as a pedagogical approach, can offer situated encounters or critical incidents for pre-service teachers to make sense of their professional identity in relation to others and the wider community. However, additional research is still needed to ascertain how teacher identity can arise from these situated encounters. Hence, this ethnographic case study looks at the emerging teacher identities of pre-service teachers by examining their service learning experiences in a literacy programme for pre-school children from an urban poor community in the Philippines. Specifically, constructs of teacher’s roles, understandings of the goals of education, sense of self-efficacy, and identification to the teaching profession are explored from their situated encounters in a literacy programme. The relevance of reflection and mentoring during the teaching-learning process of service learning is likewise considered. Thematic analysis of observation notes, submitted portfolios, and interview transcripts revealed how pre-service teachers can learn more about themselves and their pivotal role in society particularly when their service learning is deliberately oriented towards social justice. Such findings on these situated encounters in service learning can provide valuable insights as to how a social justice approach to service learning is important to curriculum design and implementation of teacher education.

KEYWORDS:

• Service learning
• teacher education
• teacher identity
• reflective practice
• mentoring

Ethics statement included in body of manuscript (if relevant)

This study obtained ethics clearance from University of Hong Kong (reference number EA240514).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Genejane Adarlo

Genejane Adarlo is the Program Director of the Health Sciences Program at Ateneo de Manila University. She completed her Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Hong Kong.

Mary Francis Therese Pelias

Mary Francis Therese Pelias is a Product Design Specialist at Rex Book Store, Inc. She was the Chairperson of Early Childhood Education at Miriam College.