Educational action research bridges the gap between theory and practice; where the learning design is the proposed hypothesis and the classroom is where it is field-tested by the teacher as researcher (McKernan, 2007; Stenhouse, 1975). Through this lens we see inquiry as a deepened understanding of one's own practice. The purpose of this study was…

Background: The theory and practice divide is a persistent conundrum in teacher education. Moreover, foundation phase literacy teacher education is no exception because such graduates are expected to acquire knowledge and skills to address the challenges of the classroom. Objectives: This article focuses on the application of an integrated…

This study explores ways in which TESOL graduate students were engaged in service-learning at a public university in the midwestern United States. It describes the experiences of both domestic and international students with service-learning that was incorporated into a hybrid graduate-level TESOL course. Data were collected throughout the…

The social influence role of teachers and their awareness of their responsibilities towards society are as important as their subject matter and pedagogical knowledge. As a multilevel learning environment, teacher colleges should place significant emphasis on enhancing teacher candidates' social responsibility attitudes, knowledge, and skills. To…

Engaging students in valuable undergraduate research can be an arduous task to craft outside of the regular schedule of both staff and students. This paper describes a successful research experience that was part of an ongoing methods class for undergraduate pre-service education students. Participants simultaneously engaged in community service…

Developing good citizens is an historic role for higher education (Sullivan & Rosin, 2008) and the emergence of service-learning as a pedagogical strategy has heightened attention to the intentional educational objectives to be addressed in higher education. This article examines the role of service-learning in developing philanthropic values…

The purpose of this research is to assess the process of establishing, implementing, and evaluating an international service-learning (ISL) partnership between an American university and a foreign government. The partnership is between North Carolina Central University and the Civil Service Agency of Liberia. In order to facilitate an in-depth…

This paper discusses the effects of the use of service learning in pre-service teachers (PSTs). This methodology has been applied for two academic years at a Spanish university, providing a direct service for children with special educational needs (SEN) through motor and expressive games. We used Butin's model for the analysis of data collected…

Faced with the facts of economic inequality, the wealthy are confronted with a particular set of moral, social, and political questions, not least of which is the question of how to preserve a sense of being a "good" human being. In the case of justifying privilege, the problem becomes how to position oneself as being uniquely able to enact a…

Mark Van Doren, the noted literary scholar, once remarked, "The college is meaningless without a curriculum, but it is more so when it has one that is meaningless." Many current critics of undergraduate curricula in America assent to the crucial need for programmatic renewal in our colleges and universities. They bemoan the cookie-cutter…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate final projects in a freshman leadership course (combining grounding in leadership theories with a service-learning component) to determine what students learned about leadership, themselves as developing leaders, and leading in the civic community, and how deeply they learned these concepts. Students found…

This paper discusses Service-learning within an Australian higher education context as pedagogy to teach about inclusive education. Using Deleuze and Guattari's (1987) model of the rhizome, this study conceptualises pre-service teachers' learning experiences as multiple, hydra and continuous. Data from reflection logs of pre-service teachers…

Insects are ideal models for demonstrating an array of biological and ecological concepts and the application of biology to solve real-world problems. Integrating service-learning, a pedagogy bridging theory and practice, into the entomology curriculum at the University of Georgia provides students an opportunity to participate in developing and…

This paper provides an introduction to this symposium issue on participatory action research in geographic teaching, learning and research. It introduces the themes of the symposium and contributions from the participating authors, and also offers additional discussion of the attendant benefits and challenges of using participatory action research…

Adult volunteers who work as experiential educators in Public Achievement (PA) told us about their experiences, and we contrasted these with the stated aims of Public Achievement, young peoples' experiences, and what it is like to be an adult volunteer. PA coaches reflected that there was a significant disjuncture between the official aims of PA…