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Teacher Education and Special Education - The Journal of The Teacher Education Division of The Council For Exceptional Children-2012-Santos-49-63
Teacher Education and Special Education - The Journal of The Teacher Education Division of The Council For Exceptional Children-2012-Santos-49-63
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What is This?
Abstract
This article provides a description of service learning implemented in an introductory spe-
cial education course focused on the culture of disability. Collaborating with liaisons from five
community service organizations, students provided services to individuals with disabilities in
a variety of projects across two semesters. Communication and collaboration at all phases of
the project were essential to ensuring that service learning was salient to the organization and
meaningful to the students. The students presented a final report about their service-learning
project and individually submitted a paper reflecting on their experience. Pre- and post-ratings
of students’ perspectives of the culture of disability were gathered. Students reported increased
knowledge related to course content, and all participants reported satisfaction with the proj-
ects. Strategies that proved successful in assisting students accomplish their project goals are
discussed. Recommendations for the use of service learning in personnel preparation of future
special educators are presented.
Keywords
special education, service learning, teacher preparation practices and outcomes
Mayhew and Welch (2001) asserted that into the curriculum of teacher education,
service learning may influence preservice teachers were more likely to implement ser-
teachers to be reflective and encourage criti- vice learning in the future. Because of this
cal thinking about prevailing educational potential impact of service-learning projects,
practices. The authors described that stu- Anderson and Erickson (2003) cautioned that
dents in a Human Exceptionalities course teacher educators must understand service-
responded more positively to items related to learning principles and theories to achieve
citizenship and course content than other stu- positive outcomes.
dents participating in service-learning activi- As an early, applied learning experience
ties throughout the university. Carrington related to the lives of people with disabilities,
and Saggers (2008) likewise described how a service learning has the potential to influence
service-learning project developed preser- the perspectives of future teachers. Students
vice teachers’ early attitudes about inclusion may develop positive attitudes toward people
and designing inclusive instruction. Results with disabilities, may view inclusive practices
of the students’ reflections indicated that more favorably, and may be more likely to use
they increased their knowledge about col- the practice in their own classrooms. In addi-
laboration, values, and respect; developing tion, creative application of service learning
relationships with community partners; and can give students opportunities to interact
cultural diversity. This suggests that service with individuals with disabilities in a variety
learning may reinforce the principles of col- of ways, allowing them to serve an authentic
laboration, inclusivity, and respect in teacher need while meeting their own learning goals.
education. In these ways, service learning can be a valu-
An advantage of inclusive service learning able addition to a teacher education program.
is that it provides an opportunity for students The purpose of this article is to describe
with and without disabilities to work together how service learning was implemented within
in equal roles. College students may have few an undergraduate course in special education
opportunities to interact with peers with dis- at a large Midwestern Research University-
abilities, and when they do, it is typically in a Extensive with an additional Carnegie desig-
“helping” role (Gent & Gurecka, 2001). nation of Community Engagement (http://www
Inclusive service-learning projects have been .carnegiefoundation.org/). We also examined
found to result in more favorable attitudes the extent to which service learning influ-
toward people with disabilities than those in enced the students’ attitudes toward the dis-
which students without disabilities provided a ability culture and their perceptions of their
service to people with disabilities (Burns knowledge related to individuals with dis-
et al., 1999; Gent & Gurecka, 2001). When abilities. To this end, we evaluated the impact
students with and without disabilities work of service learning on students and the partici-
together on a service-learning project, each pating community organizations. Results and
group of students can address their own goals implications of our findings will be described.
and participate in equal roles. In this way, col- Finally, we will highlight one team of students
lege students can acquire the skills to treat (i.e., humane society service-learning group)
students with disabilities as peers, and stu- to provide examples and additional detail on
dents with and without disabilities have the the service learning as applied in the course.
opportunity to build relationships.
The use of service learning in teacher edu-
cation may also influence teachers’ decision Program Description
on whether to use service learning in their In this section, we provide the context in
future classrooms. Wade et al. (1999) found which the project we describe was developed,
that when service learning was incorporated implemented, and evaluated.
(32%) indicated that they did not have any vol- phases of the project was essential to ensuring
unteer or paid experiences working with indi- that the service learning was salient to the orga-
viduals with disabilities prior to enrolling in the nization and meaningful to the students
course. enrolled in the course.
Box 1
Humane Society: An Inclusive Service-Learning Experience
During one semester of the course, students had the option to engage in an inclusive ser-
vice-learning project at the local humane society. Five students from the course were paired
with four seniors with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities from a local high school.
Students from the course participated in verbal and written reflections throughout the
semester.
Features of the project:
• Throughout the semester, the two groups of students visited the humane society three
times. At each visit, students worked in teams of two or three to complete duties such as
laundry, folding newspapers for the animal cages, cleaning the walls, and washing the
food dishes.
• At the end of the project, the students held a pizza party hosted by the high school
students. The high school students took the college students on a tour of their school,
followed by an impromptu football game on the lawn.
• Features of the project that promoted inclusion were
○ The project was conducted at a community site rather than at the university or at the
high school
○ Equal roles for all participants
○ Facilitation of positive relationships between students with disabilities, the univer-
sity, and community partners
Following each meeting of the humane society group, the students enrolled in the course
completed written reflections, answering the following questions: (a) What have you learned
about people with disabilities as a result of your experience? and (b) Did anything surprise
you in your interactions with the students? Why or why not? Each student also met with the
project facilitator once during the semester for a verbal reflection.
Highlights from the reflections:
• Students from the course noted that the students with disabilities were skillful workers
and at times were better at the jobs than the students without disabilities.
• Students from the course expressed surprise at how easily conversation flowed between
the groups. One student commented, “They dislike chores as much as I do.”
• Students noticed differential treatment of themselves and the students with disabilities
by community members. One student explained that, because she noticed this, she was
even more careful to interact with the students with disabilities as peers.
• As the semester progressed, students expressed their embarrassment about not having
higher expectations for the skills of people with disabilities at the beginning. One stu-
dent noted that her partner with a disability “definitely has more work experience than
I do.”
• Students talked about the friendships that had developed and were surprised at how well
they were able to get to know one another in such a short period of time. The university
students were not expecting the students with disabilities to be so friendly and open,
and were pleasantly surprised by the relationships that had developed.
Criteria Points
1. Service-learning project—Grade is assigned by the community liaison and based on 100
the student’s reliability, professional behavior, work production, task completion, quality
of final product, ability to work independently and as a team member, creativity, and
initiative, using the following criteria (20 points each):
• Student was very reliable and took initiative in planning and completing the project
• Student demonstrated creativity and quality in his or her products
• Student completed his or her tasks on time and produced a high quality final product
• Student worked well independently and as a team member
• Student demonstrated professional behavior
2. Class Presentation—Grade is based on the individual contributions of team members, 25
organization of the presentation and overheads, quality of the content, completeness,
reflections, and thoughtfulness.
3. Reflection paper—Grade is based on the quality of the reflections, completeness, 25
neatness, spelling, grammar, and overall organization of the paper.
Total 150
described their group project and shared insights learned about disabilities based on their ser-
from their experience. Each presentation lasted vice learning experience.
15 to 20 minutes in length with each student
required to present using a team-developed
PowerPoint presentation. In their presentation, Evidence of Impact
each team was asked to describe their service In this section, we describe four tools and
learning and its contribution to the community measures we used to examine the impact of
organization. Specifically, students discussed the service learning on the students and the
the purpose of the project, their target audience, community organizations.
the major outcomes of the project, the team pro-
cess that was used to complete their service
learning, the roles and contributions of each Pre- and Postratings of
team member, and their methods of monitoring Student Perspectives of
their team’s progress over time. Students also Culture of Disability
shared their reflections on the project and their
general insights and overall impressions of the First, students completed a rating scale during
community resource, as an organization. Finally, the 1st week and on the final week of classes.
the liaisons were invited to attend class to listen The rating form was developed exclusively for
to the students’ presentations. the course with support from the campus survey
Finally, individual students submitted a research office. The rating form was not intended
three-page paper reflecting on their service- to measure student outcome based on the service
learning experience. Students were asked to learning outcomes but instead was developed to
reflect on their service learning in terms of the primarily provide an overall measure of student
content and process. Students also described perspectives on various topic areas related to the
their individual role and contributions toward culture of disability that were to be addressed in
the completed service learning and reflected the course. The first question asked students to
on how their team worked together. Finally, indicate their overall perspective of inclusion for
students reflected on important lessons they individuals with disabilities. The remainder of
Significance
Statement Mean difference SD T (two-tailed)
1. It is important to include individuals with –0.158 8.55 –1.138 .262
disabilities in all aspects of society.
2. My knowledge of the following topics (within the context of disabilities as a culture) is
a. Laws and litigations related to disability 1.605 1.104 8.965 .000
b.Inclusion of people with disabilities in society 1.342 1.047 7.903 .000
c. Civil disability rights movement 2.026 1.305 9.575 .000
d. Families of people with disability 1.054 1.224 5.240 .000
e. Universal design 2.297 1.222 11.438 .000
f. Athletics and people with disabilities 1.474 0.893 10.178 .000
g. P ortrayal of people with disabilities in 1.395 1.054 8.160 .000
the media
h. Advocacy for people with disabilities 1.842 1.175 9.667 .000
i. Employment of people with disabilities 1.474 1.202 7.557 .000
j. Transitions for people with disabilities 1.649 1.136 8.830 .000
k. Politics and people with disabilities 1.895 1.008 11.590 .000
l. Leisure activities for people with disabilities 1.368 1.101 7.662 .000
m. Quality of life of people with disabilities 1.632 1.025 9.816 .000
n. Independent living for people with 1.868 1.018 11.314 .000
disabilities
o. Technology and people with disabilities 1.737 1.155 9.269 .000
p. Ethical issues and people with disabilities 1.842 1.242 9.145 .000
q. Cross-cultural views of disability 1.632 1.303 7.717 .000
In the form, students indicated whether disabilities. One of the most important
they strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed, or lessons I will take away from this expe-
strongly disagreed with each statement in the rience is that people with disabilities
questionnaire. Across all the items, students really are just normal people like me.
also had an option to indicate whether the
statement was not relevant to their service- Overall, the project was a very enrich-
learning experience. ing and interesting experience. I feel
Overall, the majority of the students posi- like I learned a lot about the culture of
tively rated their satisfaction with their disability through this project. Now that
service-learning experience. Notably, all of I am aware of the fight for equal rights
the students indicated that they were able to for people with disabilities, I feel I can
link the concepts covered in the course with make a better impact on the world that
the practical experiences they gained from I live in.
their service learning (Items 13 and 14).
Throughout the entire project, I have
gained a greater understanding about
Students’ Reflections on disabilities. I learned the importance of
Their Service-Learning organizations like the special recre-
Experience ations and how vital they are in every
community. In fact, they are essential
Third, as part of their course requirements, for not only people with disabilities but
each student submitted a final reflection everyone else as well . . . When people
paper related to their service learning. with disabilities think they belong
Students were provided guiding questions to nowhere, groups like special recre-
organize their reflection focusing on two ations prove that they are mistaken.
areas. First, students were asked to reflect on
the content and the overall process for com- The majority of the students reported that
pleting their service. Specifically, they their team worked together collaboratively
addressed their individual roles and contribu- and effectively. Each one also described their
tions and reflected on their team process. individual contributions to the team. The stu-
Second, students reflected on lessons they dents also felt they received adequate support
learned about disabilities based on their from their liaison. Access to additional
service-learning experience. resources such as a vehicle to travel around
All of the students had overwhelmingly town seemed to be an important factor for the
positive reactions to their service-learning team. As one student noted, “Driving worked
experiences. They recognized the importance out for the most part because S, in our group
of the organizations they worked with and the had a car, so we could all pile in her car.”
value of their service and gained a deeper Typical group dynamics issues did arise for
understanding of disability issues in the com- some of the student groups (e.g., “It is diffi-
munity. The following are three representa- cult with seven people to keep in contact and
tive excerpts from student reflections: since we split our group into two for the last
part of our project, our group has been trying
My experience with my community orga- to make sure the other three guys were on task
nization this semester was amazing. I with the last part. Therefore, we just have to
have learned so much about disabilities trust them to complete their part.”). In the end,
working with them. I am definitely it appeared that the students were able to work
more comfortable around people with through the issues.
the brochures the students created were well wished to continue to explore ways to pair
done, the business mailings that students sent university students with community members
that offered accessibility studies were with disabilities served by their organizations
researched effectively, and the after-school and hoped to devise projects that were even
program for teens with disabilities was well more meaningful and would have long-lasting
planned and executed by the students. Positive positive effects on the students.
community response to the projects high-
lighted the ability of service learning to move
classroom knowledge into the community at Conclusion
large. In a unique result of one service learn- The service learning was designed to provide
ing, a group of students conducted surveys of students opportunities to apply their knowl-
families and individuals with disabilities and edge and skills gained from the course and at
found a strong desire from interviewees to the same time make a lasting and positive
direct their own services and a need for social impact on individuals with disabilities and
support from other families of individuals local organizations serving individuals with
with disabilities. A parent support group was disabilities. Through a variety of projects,
subsequently formed and they explored new students had an opportunity to work in col-
models of service delivery. The parent group laboration with each other as well as people
formed a human service cooperative which with disabilities to provide a service while
became incorporated and certified as a home- simultaneously advancing their own knowl-
based services provider. edge. Similar to the findings of Jenkins and
The liaisons suggested that improvements Sheehey (2009), all of our students reported
are needed on effectively dividing the stu- increased knowledge about people with dis-
dents into service-learning groups. The origi- abilities. In reflections, students reported that
nal sign-up process appeared to provide they felt more comfortable around people
choices to only the first students to register, with disabilities and were more likely to
with few options left for the remaining stu- advocate for people with disabilities. This
dents. A more recent system allowed students finding echoes those of Novak, Murray,
to register at different tables of the organiza- Scheuermann, and Curran (2009), who found
tions in which they were interested. The liai- that special education preservice teachers
sons also suggested that service organizations came to view the abilities of students with
could prepare a draft of the service projects, disabilities positively as a result of their
with the number of students requested, before engagement in a service-learning project.
the first liaisons–students meeting. In this Community partners likewise reported satis-
way, each organization would be able to proj- faction with the projects, and communication
ect their needs and they would be able to between community partners and student
fairly divide the surplus of students that groups was considered essential for the suc-
seemed to occur in some semesters. The liai- cess of the projects. The description of our
sons suggested continued improvement on project adds to the growing body of literature
linking in-class material and learning to the validating the use of service learning as a
experiences in the community. pedagogical tool in special education teacher
Flexibility and growth on the part of the preparation.
liaisons were evidenced when they were able There were several unique features of our
to scale down their original projects to accom- project. First, the service-learning projects
modate the students’ schedules and skills. The were designed to supplement students’ learn-
partners approved the concept of ongoing par- ing by immersing them in a project with local
ticipation in the service-learning projects community organizations. Because students
where research done in one semester could were engaged with individuals with disabili-
be implemented in the next semester. They ties and their families, this experience served
to broaden student perspectives about disabil- evaluating the impact of the service learning
ities as a culture. In addition, students’ was to begin to develop an understanding of
engagement with community partners allowed the viability of using service learning projects
students to learn about local programs and on student learning. This is not by any means
services serving individuals with disabilities. an empirical investigation of the effects of
The college freshmen, most of whom were service learning components on student out-
new to the area, gained an introduction to dis- comes. However, the description provided in
ability services and culture of the local com- this article can serve as a foundation for other
munity. Likewise, community partners were researchers to examine components of service
introduced to the students and viewed their learning on student outcomes. To conduct an
service and work in the community positively. empirical investigation would require devel-
Collaborations with community organizations oping appropriate instruments that are valid
allowed for the creation of projects with mea- and reliable. The tools described in this article
surable, ongoing community impact by con- can useful as a starting point for researchers to
tributing some human and financial resources develop tools that are reliable and valid mea-
to accomplish the tasks. This exemplifies the sure of student outcomes.
reciprocal benefits for students and commu-
nity members, which is characteristic of ser-
vice learning. Implications for Personnel
The project resulted in positive outcomes Preparation
for the students and community partners as Findings from our survey indicate that students
well as the university. For students, engaging engaged in the service-learning projects
in service-learning projects provided opportu- reported increased knowledge in the goals of
nities to integrate the concepts and knowledge the course. Novak et al. (2009) found that spe-
that were covered in the course. This is criti- cial education teacher candidates engaged in a
cal in helping the students broaden their service-learning project gained content knowl-
understanding of the diverse individuals in edge as well as increased their comfort level
our society. For the community partners, the around people with disabilities. Engagement in
service-learning projects allowed them to service learning during pre-service teacher
extend their services to effectively and effi- education can also lead to the use of service
ciently meet the mission and goals of their learning as a teaching tool in the future (Wade,
organization. Likewise, the service provided Anderson, Yarbrough, Pickeral, Erickson, &
them with access to energy and resources that Kromer, 1999). As an early experience, service
may be otherwise limited, given the nature learning could be a useful means to provide
and structure of community organizations students with experiences working alongside
(e.g., nonprofit, volunteer dependent, limited people with disabilities as well as provide
staff). The service-learning projects also knowledge that will serve as the groundwork
served to strengthen ties between the univer- for their future learning.
sity and the community. The products that Early experiences with people with dis-
resulted from the service-learning projects abilities have been found to influence special
became a permanent part of the organizations education teachers’ belief systems, and beliefs
that participated in this project and thus a con- are known to influence behavior (Bandura,
stant reminder of the university’s commit- 1986; LePage, Nielsen, & Fearn, 2008).
ment to strengthening ties with grassroots Beliefs that are developed early are more cen-
community efforts. tral to an individual’s belief system and are
This article is a descriptive report of a how less likely they are to change over time
service learning was successfully applied to (Rokeach, 1968). Service learning imple-
an undergraduate course at a Research- mented early in preservice teacher education,
extensive institution. The main focus of therefore, can have an impact on students who
through their life span will have direct and With far reaching effect, service learning
indirect influence, professionally and/or per- in teacher education can benefit the teacher
sonally, in the lives of individuals with candidates, the community, and the univer-
disabilities. sity, strengthening ties between the three
groups. The practice is especially useful in the
preparation of special education teachers
Implications for Research because it can provide hands-on experience
Although the use of service learning for the and positive early experiences with people
preparation of special educators appears to be with disabilities. Implemented early in teacher
on the rise, there is little research addressing preparation, service learning promotes the
the implementation of service learning in spe- direct application of content knowledge and
cial education teacher preparation (Jenkins & fosters long-lasting positive attitudes toward
Sheehey, 2009). Although students in this people with disabilities. Service learning,
study reported increases in their knowledge therefore, may be a useful tool at many stages
about aspects of disability culture, the service of teacher preparation for special education
learning did not influence their attitudes toward teachers.
inclusion. Therefore, future studies should
examine how service-learning projects may be Declaration of Conflicting Interests
designed to improve students’ attitudes toward The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of
school and community inclusion. Although interest with respect to the authorship and/or pub-
one of our service-learning projects was inclu- lication of this article.
sive, the differential effects on the students
engaged in that project on inclusive attitudes Funding
are not known. Gent and Gurecka (2001) sug- The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following
gested that students with and without disabili- financial support for the research and/or authorship
ties should engage in service learning together, of this article: Development of this article was sup-
rather than positioning students with disabili- ported in part by a grant from the University of
ties in a “helping” role. Future research, there- Illinois at Urbana–Champaign Chancellor’s Task
fore, should examine the differential effects of Force on Civic Commitment in the 21st Century
inclusive versus helping forms of service and the Preparing Leaders in Access by Design
learning for people with disabilities as it relates (PLAD), a grant funded by the U.S. Department of
to attitudes and content knowledge. Although Education, Office of Special Education Programs
there is some indication that service learning in (H325D050066).
preservice education can improve attitudes
toward people with disabilities (Jenkins & References
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LePage, P., Nielsen, S., & Fearn, E. J. (2008). Her primary research interest focuses on develop-
Charting the dispositional knowledge of begin- ing culturally competent professionals who are
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Evidence from two preservice courses. Inter- students with severe disabilities.
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32-44. Laurie M. Jeans, Ed. M. is a doctoral candidate in
President’s Commission on Excellence in Special the Department of Special Education at the
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Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/inits/com- children with disabilities and their involvement in
missionsboards/whspecialeducation their home communities.