Abstract

Service-learning has not been a common feature of tertiary courses and this is no less the case in initial teacher education programs. Where service-learning has been included the motivation has been to broaden the experience of students with respect to the development of their personal and professional skills. The National Professional Standards for Teachers, introduced in Australia in 2012, defines the range of competencies that pre-service teachers must demonstrate by graduation.

This research investigated two aspects of a service-learning program within a secondary teacher education course. The first was the extent to which a service-learning program could promote the development of the graduate professional standards in pre-service teachers. The second was the manner in which the personal and professional skills of pre-service teachers can be enhanced through a service-learning experience. The results suggested that service-learning can impact preservice teacher development towards the graduate standards. The results also indicated that for the vast majority of pre-service teachers, their personal and professional skills were enhanced through participation in a service-learning program.

Keywords

teacher education, pre-service teachers, service-learning, practicums

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