At the conclusion of a three-year grant cycle (2003-2006), educators and
administrators as well as the general public in the state of Texas are questioning whether
or not service-learning is indeed a powerful means of preparing students to become more
caring and responsible parents and citizens. This study was designed to measure
teachers’ perceived effectiveness of service-learning. The Texas Center for Service-
Learning provided a list of districts participating in the K-12 School-Community
Partnership Grant Project and contact information for district grant coordinators.
Coordinators in participating districts were then contacted by phone and e-mail to submit
names and contact information for teachers participating in the service-learning program.
Teachers whose districts are located in central and southeast Texas were
interviewed during the spring 2006 on their campuses, and teachers from more remote
parts of Texas were interviewed in Austin during the Summer 2006 Institute. The
sample that was used in this study includes six elementary, four middle, and two high
school teachers who have been involved in the development and implementation of
service-learning programs in their districts. In addition to targeting teachers at the elementary and middle school level, both male and female service-learning teachers
were interviewed as well as teachers who also assumed the role as campus and/or district
service-learning coordinator.
Data collected from the service-learning teachers interviewed was analyzed to
generate a composite picture of teachers’ perceptions and attitudes toward servicelearning.
Once interviews were completed, data were transcribed, coded for audit trail
purposes, printed onto separate sheets, and those sheets that apparently related to the
same content were categorized into provisional categories.
Five important salient themes emerged as conclusions of the study. The first
conclusion relates to service-learning work and competing priorities. The second
conclusion illustrates service-learning as having a higher purpose for the teachers who
have chosen to become involved in it. The third conclusion was reached by examining
the role of grant funding. The fourth conclusion was drawn from situations where
teachers and communities are promoting a culture of service, and the fifth and final
conclusion stresses the importance of teacher leadership in the success of servicelearning
programs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-1092 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Bludau, Jo Ann |
| Contributors | Skrla, Linda, Zellner, Luana |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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