Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2015

Publication Title

International Journal of Research on Service Learning in Teacher Education

Abstract

Founded on experience as a practitioner and teacher action-researcher in an elementary school setting, the author shares this study as a validation for introducing the methodology of service-learning in teacher preparation programs. Multiple methods were used in this action research to analyze the effects of participating in a service-learning experience on the self-effi cacy for self-regulated learning of a class of third-grade music students as they participated in an intergenerational project—sharing music and writing with residents in a local nursing home.

The quantitative data included the results from the Children’s Self-Effi cacy Scale (Bandura, 2006) and progress rating scales administered by the teacher-researcher. These data were analyzed using independent samples t-tests and regression analyses. The qualitative data included observation and fi eld notes, students’ refl ective journals, student and teacher interviews, classroom artifacts, and informal discussions with the homeroom teacher. Emergent coding of these qualitative data revealed recurring themes, and the results supported the fi ndings of the quantitative analyses. The analyses revealed that the students who participated in the service-learning experience improved their self-effi cacy ratings for self-regulated learning signifi cantly more than the students who did not participate in the project. These fi ndings provide support for teacher education programs to introduce their pre-service teachers to service-learning in order that they will be prepared to implement meaningful experiences in their future classrooms.

Comments

Authors retain copyright and can distribute journal's published version of the work in an institutional repository.

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