experiencing the other - education resources … (1994; 1998) to conceptualize what we were trying...

Barri Tinkler & Alan Tinkler

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Teacher Education Quarterly, Fall 2013

Experiencing the Other:The Impact of Service-Learning

on Preservice Teachers’Perceptions of Diversity

By Barri Tinkler & Alan Tinkler

InresponsetotheincreasingdiversityinAmericanpublicschoolsandconcernsoverinequitiesinopportunityandachievement,manyteachereducationprogramsareinfusingmulticulturaltopicsandcourseworkintotheirprograms(Akiba,2011;Hollins&Guzman,2005).WhilesomeprogramsutilizewhatO’Grady(2000)calledtheHumanRelationsapproachtomulticulturaleducationwithanemphasison “reducing prejudice and getting along with others” (p. 11), other programsdrivethingsfurtherandseektofosterasocialjusticeorientationintheirstudents(Zeichner,2003).O’Grady(2000)haslabeledthissocialjusticeapproachasSo-

Barri Tinkler and Alan Tinkler are assistant professors in the Department of Education of the College of Education and Social Services at the University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont.

cialReconstructionistMulticulturalEducationsinceit“teachesdirectlyaboutoppression,discrimination,social justice,andhow to takeactionagainst theseinequities”(p.4).Fosteringasocialjusticedisposi-tion can be a challenging endeavor when workingwith white, middle-class pre-service teachers whohave grown up in rural or suburban environmentswithverylimitedexperiencewithdiversity(Causey,Thomas,&Armento,2000).Becauseofthis,teachereducatorshavetoconsideranapproachthatallowsanopeningofstudents’mindstoideasofdiversityand

Experiencing the Other

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socialjustice.Thisstudyexploresourattempttoinitiatethisprocessthroughtheuseofaservice-learningexperience. This interpretivestudyelucidates theexperiencesofagroupofpreserviceteachers(n=37)participatinginaservice-learningprojectasacourserequirementforasocialfoundationsofeducationcourse.Thepreserviceteacherswererequiredtocompletetenhoursofservice(withatleastsixvisits)atalocalJobCorpsCenter.TheytutoredJobCorpsstudentsseekingtocompletetheirhighschooldiplomaorGeneralEducationalDevelopment(GED)highschoolequivalencydiploma.Thisexperience required thegroupofpredominantlywhite,middle-classpreserviceteacherstointeractone-on-onewithadiversegroupofstudentsprimarilyfromurbanareas.Thepurposeofthisstudyistoexploretheimpactthatthisexperiencehadonthepreserviceteachers’perceptionsofandreceptivenesstodiversity.

Review of Literature Thereisagrowingneedforanemphasisondiversitywithinteachereducationprograms.Thereareseveralreasonsforthis.Firstofall,asBrown-JeffyandCooper(2011)pointedout,America’sschoolsarebecomingincreasinglydiverse.Thegrow-ingpopulationofEnglishLearnershascreatedchallengesforteachersandschoolswhoarenotpreparedtoprovidethesupportrequiredtohelpallstudentsreachtheiracademicpotential.Anotherconcernisthepersistentachievementgapforstudentsofcolor(Hollins&Guzman,2005)andstudentsinpoverty(Murphy,2009).Agrow-ingbodyofresearchhaspointedtopovertyasthemostimportantfactorinfluencingacademicachievementinU.S.schools(Berliner,2006),particularlygiventhatlowsocioeconomicstatusstudentstendtobeconcentratedinschoolswithlessexperi-encedteachersandfewerresources,thusreinforcingtheopportunitygap(Carter&Welner,2013).Asimportantasanemphasisondiversityistosupportthesuccessofstudentsofcolor,EnglishLearners,andstudentsinpoverty,attentiontodiversityisalsoimportantinsupportingthesocialandmoraldevelopmentofWhiteyouthwhoarelivinginincreasinglysegregatedcommunities(Ladson-Billings,1994)andattendingincreasinglysegregatedschools(Garland,2012). SincetheteachingpopulationcontinuestobepredominantlyWhite(Assaf,Battle,&Garza,2010),tacklingissuesofdiversityandsocialjusticewithinteachereducationcanbeachallengingproposition.Preserviceteacherswithlittleexperiencewithdiversityareoftenresistanttoacriticalexaminationoftheseideas(LaDuke,2009).AstudyconductedbyGaine(2001)foundthatstudentsweredefensiveandangryduringexplorationsoftheseissuesandresistedthediscussionofthesetopics.GayandKirkland(2003)describedstrategiesthatpreserviceteachersusedtotrytoavoidorshutdowndiscussionsaboutrace.LaDuke(2009)describedtheuseofsilenceasoneformofresistance. Someteachereducatorssuccessfullyutilizeinstructionalstrategiestotrytoaddressthisresistance.McFallsandCobb-Roberts(2001)utilizedcognitivedis-


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sonanceinstructiontoaddressresistance.Studentswereintroducedtoreadingsthatchallengedtheirideasaboutraceandwereaskedtoanalyzetheirreactionstothereadingsusingthelensofcognitivedissonancetheory.Theauthorsfoundthatusingthismetacognitiveprocessreducedstudentresistance.Brown(2004)positedthatteachereducatorscanimproveculturaldiversityawarenessbyutilizinginstructionalpracticesthatrequirestudentstoexaminetheirownculturalidentityasafirststepinexaminingculturalissues.AninitialassignmentusedbyBrown(2004)askedstudentsto“researchtheirheritageandcomepreparedtointroducethemselvesina‘culturalpuzzle’thatdescribedtheinfluencesthatmadethemwhotheyare”(p.331).Theauthorfoundthatfocusinginitiallyonself-awarenessledtodecreasedresistancetocoursecontent. However,researchhasalsobeenconductedthatpointstotheideathatcoursecontentalonemaynotbeenoughtochangestudentbeliefsaboutdiversity.AstudybyCockrell,Placier,Cockrell,andMiddleton(1999)foundthatamulticulturalfoundationscoursehadlittleimpact.Theauthorsfoundthattheabilitytochangestudent beliefs was impacted by prior experience, political beliefs, and beliefsaboutschools.ResearchbyJohnson(2002)demonstrated that racialawarenesswasdeterminedbyprevioussignificantexperienceswithdiversity.Whatdowedoforstudentswhohavenothadpreviousexperiencewithdiversityandwhoareresistanttocoursecontentalone? Someteachereducatorshavesoughttosupplementmulticulturalcourseworkwithfieldexperiencesindiversesettings(Hyland&Noffke,2005;Sleeter,2001).Melnick and Zeichner (1998) pointed to the value of immersion opportunitiesforincreasingawarenessofdiversity.BurantandKirby(2002)conductedastudylookingatpreserviceteacherswhocompletedafieldexperienceinurbanschools.Inadditiontothepracticum,thepreserviceteachersalsocompletedacommunityprojectfortenhours.Almosthalfofthestudentssaidthattheexperiencedeepenedortransformedtheirunderstandingofdiversityandurbanschools. Inadditiontoutilizingdiversefieldplacements,thereisalsoagrowingmove-mentinteachereducationtoincorporateservice-learningexperiencesintoteacherpreparationprograms.Thoughtherearemultipledefinitionsofservice-learning,thedefinitionweemployinconceptualizingandconstructingservice-learningexperi-encesisthedefinitiondevelopedbytheNationalService-LearningClearinghouse(n.d.).Thisdefinitionstates:

Service-learningcombinesserviceobjectiveswithlearningobjectiveswiththeintentthattheactivitychangeboththerecipientandtheprovideroftheservice.Thisisaccomplishedbycombiningservicetaskswithstructuredopportunitiesthatlinkthetasktoself-reflection,self-discovery,andtheacquisitionandcomprehensionofvalues,skills,andknowledgecontent.(WhatisService-Learningsection,para.1)

Basedonthisdefinition,thegoalistoachievechangeforboththestudentsparticipat-ingintheservice-learningexperienceaswellastherecipientsoftheservice.While


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thisdefinitionfocusesattentionontheneedtoaffectchange,researchersarefindingitnecessarytodifferentiatebetweendifferentformsofservice-learningsincedifferentformsengenderdifferentoutcomes.MarulloandEdwards(2000),forinstance,havedistinguishedbetweencharityservice-learning,whichfocusesprimarilyontheserviceitselfandthebenefitstouniversitystudents,andsocialjustice(orcritical)service-learningwhichfocusesontheideaofunderstandingunderlyingsocialproblemsandseekingtocreatechangeforandwiththecommunity(Mitchell,2008). Agrowingbodyofresearchdemonstratesthebenefitsofservice-learningforpreserviceteachers.Someofthesebenefitsincludeincreasedself-esteemandself-efficacy(Root&Furco,2001;Wade,1995),improvedproblemsolvingandautonomy(Root&Batchelder,1994),andenhancedacademicdevelopment(Root&Furco,2001).AccordingtoSwick(1999),anotherbenefitisstrengthenedperspectivesofcaring.Thisisimportantsincetheliteratureonculturallyrelevantpedagogypointstocaringasacentralaspectofthisteachingstance(Garcia,2000;Pang,2001). Anotherbenefitthatisofparticularinteresttoteachereducationprogramsistheimpactofservice-learningonpreserviceteacher’sperceptionsofandreceptive-nesstodiversity.Multiplestudieshaveshownthatmulticulturalservice-learningexperiencesprovideagreaterawarenessofdiversity(Anderson,Swick,&Yff,2001;Baldwin,Buchanan,&Rudisill,2007;Bell,Horn,&Roxas,2007;Boyle-Baise,2005;Stachowski&Visconti,1998;Wade,2000)aswellashelpingpreserviceteacherstodevelopamorecomplexunderstandingoftheirownethnicity(Bollin,1996).Inadditiontoincreasedawareness,astudybyBoyle-Baise(1998)demonstratedthatservice-learningcanalsoimprovepreserviceteachers’receptivenesstomulticulturalissues.Boyle-Baise(1998)foundthatamulticulturalservice-learningexperiencepromptedgreateracceptanceofstudentsofcolorintheK-12classroomandawill-ingnessonthepartofpreserviceteacherstotrytochangetheirownpedagogyandcurriculumwhileastudybyConner(2010)demonstratedthataservice-learningexperiencechangedpreserviceteachers’perspectivesabouturbanstudentsofcolor.Brown(2005),inastudyofamulticulturalservice-learningproject,foundthatinadditiontoincreasedawarenessandreceptivenesstodiversity,theservice-learningexperiencealsoraised“thelevelofcommitmenttowardsocialjustice”(p.67). Thoughmulticulturalservice-learningexperienceshaveshownpromiseintermsofpreserviceteachers’responsivenesstodiversity,therecanbeunintendedeffects.Boyle-BaiseandLangford(2004)utilizedaservice-learningexperienceworkingwithlow-income,urbanyouth.Thoughstudentscameawayfromtheexperiencewithanincreasedawarenessofsocialproblemsandacommitmenttosocialchange,theservice-learningexperiencedidnotpromptawarenessofthepreserviceteach-ers’ownprivilegeandfosterednegativeperspectivesofcommunitymembersandparentsforsomestudents.Bell,Horn,andRoxas(2007)conductedastudyofamulticulturalservice-learningexperiencecompletedbypreserviceteachersworkingwithyouthinanafterschoolprogram.Theauthorsfoundthattheservice-learningexperienceencouragedamorecomplexunderstandingofdiversity.However,there


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waslimitedevidencethatthepreserviceteachersdevelopedknowledgeofhowtoapplythisenhancedunderstandingofdiversitytotheirclassroompractice.Theseresultspointtotheneedtoconstructcoursecontentusingacriticallensinordertosupportsocialjusticeoutcomes. Thisstudyseekstoaddtothegrowingbodyofresearchthatlooksattheimpactofmulticulturalservice-learningexperiences.Theresearchquestionwhichguidesthisstudyis:Canaservice-learningexperienceimpactpreserviceteachers’percep-tionsofandreceptivenesstodiversity?

Conceptual Framework Whenconsideringhowtoarticulatewhatwewerehopingtoachievewithourstudents,weturnedtophilosophy.WeusedthewritingsofthephilosopherAlphonsoLingis(1994;1998)toconceptualizewhatweweretryingtoachievethroughtheuseoftheservice-learningexperience.LingisisacontemporaryphilosopherwhoseworkhasbeengreatlyinfluencedbybothKantandLevinas.Hisworkisgroundedintheconstructoftheimperative.Lingisdefinestheimperativeasthedrivewithinustoprovidemeaningandordertoourworld.Thisdriveisbothphysiologicalandpsychological.Itisthisdrive,thisimperative,whichdirectsourthought.Lingis(1998)stated:

Theimperativeitselfisnotaconcept,withwhichwerepresentsomecontent.Itisacommandthatweconceptualizecorrectly.Itisnotaprincipleoralaworanorder.Itisacommandthattherebeprinciplesandthatourthoughtrepresentorder—orthatwerepresenttheunprincipledandthechaoticcorrectly.(p.179)

Itisthisimperativewhichdrivesourthoughtsandperceptions,andinturn,influ-enceshowweviewtheworld. Lingisacknowledgesthatone’simperativeisinfluencedbythecodingoftheculturetowhichonebelongs.Hewrote:

Thepostureandmovementsoftheother,asoneperceivesthem,donotonlyshowpositionanddisplacementcodedbyphysicalandphysiologicallaws;theyalsoshowaculturalcoding…Whentheotherspeaks,itiswiththetongueofanation,theintonationofaclass,therhetoricofasocialposition,theidiomofasubculture,thevocabularyofanagegroup.(Lingis,1994,p.24)

Bothourknowledgeandourculturalsystemsaremanifestationsofindividualimpera-tives.Howweviewothers,includinghowweconceptualizebeauty,areconstructsthatareculturallydeterminedandthus,inturn,aresubjecttotheimperative. Itcanbedifficulttorecognizeone’sownimperative;infact,therecognitionoftheselfusuallycomesthroughexposuretotheother.Mostwriterswhousetheterminologyof“theother”aredescribingthosewhoareverydifferentthanoneself;however,Lingisdescribestheotheraseveryoneoutsideofoneself.ForLingis,com-ingintocontactwiththeotherallowsanindividualtobecomeawareoftheirown


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imperative.Oneusuallyrecognizesthisdifferenceasculturesinceimperativesaremanifestedinculture.Byrecognizingdifference,onerealizesthateachindividualisoperatingfromadifferentimperative. Itisasdifficulttounderstandone’sownimperativeasitistounderstandtheimperativeoftheother.But,itisthroughinteractionsthatweareabletomorefullyunderstandourownimperativeaswellastheother’simperative.ForLingis(1994),“torecognizetheotheristorespecttheother”(p.23).Therespectfortheotherinvolvestherecognitionthattheotherisruledbyhis/herownimperativewithoutmakinganyvaluejudgmentsabouttheother’simperative.ForLingis,asidefromabuse,thereisnorightorwrong,onlydifference.Unlessanindividualrecognizesandrespectsthesedifferences,thatindividualholdshis/herimperativeinauthorityovertheimperativeoftheother. Lingisbelievesthatindividualsneedtoexperiencetheotherface-to-faceinordertoapproachanunderstandingoftheother’simperative.Interactioncannotbemerelyanintellectualprocess,norcanoneaccesstheotherthroughreading.Lingis(1994)wrote,“Itiswiththenakednessofone’seyesthatoneexposesoneselftotheother,withone’shandsarrestedintheirgripsonthingsandturnednowtotheother,open-handed,andwiththedisarmedfrailtyofone’svoicetroubledwiththevoiceofanother”(p.11). Thisface-to-faceinteractionwaswhatwehopedtoprovidetoourstudents.Wewantedthemtobegintorecognizetheirownimperative,andformanyofourstudents,thiswasanimperativecharacterizedbywhite,middle-classculturalnorms.Wealsowantedourstudents tobegin to recognizeanddevelop respect for theimperativeoftheotherinordertogaintheawarenessthatweareallinfluencedbytheculturalmanifestationsofourimperative.InastudyconductedbyStachowskiandMahan(1998),theauthorsfocusedontheimpactofculturalimmersionexperi-encesonpreserviceteacherswhospenttimeonaNavajoreservation.Onestudentreflectingontheexperiencewrote:

IhadachancetolearnalotabouttheNavajoworld,andpeopleherelearnedmoreabouttheAngloways.Whetherwelikecertainaspectsofoneanother’scultureisirrelevant.Culturalimmersionallowsonetorealizethatpeoplearethewaytheyareforvalidreasons,nojudgmentattached.(p.157)

Thisquoteexemplifiestherespectthatweareseekingtopromoteinourownstu-dentsbecausewefeelthatitisthisrespectthatisanimportantstepinfosteringadispositionthatseekstocreatechange.

Methods

Participants and Pedagogical Context Theparticipantsofthisstudywere37preserviceteachers(twostudentschosenottoparticipateinthestudy)enrolledintwosectionsofasocialfoundationsof


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educationcoursetaughtbythefirstauthorinasmall,public,Mid-Atlanticuniver-sity.Thefoundationsofeducationcourseiscompletedasthesecondcourseintheteachereducationsequence.Moststudentscompletethecourseduringtheirfirstorsecondyearofcollege.Theteachereducationprogramseekstofosteradispositionthatisopenandreceptivetoissuesofdiversityandsocialjustice.Inordertoplaceanemphasisontheseideas,theprogramhaschosentoweavethesetopicsthroughouteverycourseintheprogramratherthancreatingonestand-alonecourse(Hollins&Guzman,2005).ResearchbyMcGuireandSchiller(2003)demonstratedthatthisinfusionapproachcanbesuccessfulinincreasingstudents’awarenessofmulticul-turalism.Thefoundationscourseexploresmanyofthetraditionaltopicscoveredinasocialfoundationscourse,suchasthehistoryandphilosophyofeducation,butalsospendsaconsiderableamountoftimeexploringissuesrelatingtodiversity.Coursecontentandreadingsarechosenwiththeintenttopromotedialogueandexplorationofissuesrelatingtopower,privilege,andoppressionwithinAmericansociety. Inordertobringtheseissuesaliveforthestudentsparticipatinginthecourse,thedepartmentchosetoimplementaservice-learningcomponentaspartofthecourse.AllofthepreserviceteachersinthecoursearerequiredtocompletetenhoursoftutoringatthelocalJobCorpsCenter.Theserviceexperiencewasinitiatedatthebeginningof thesemesterwhen theacademicmanager fromJobCorpscame tocampustointroducethepreserviceteacherstoJobCorps.Aspartoftheorientation,severalJobCorpsstudentstalkedabouttheirgoalsandaspirationsforthepartnershipandhowthepreserviceteacherscouldsupportthesegoals.ThepreserviceteachersthenattendedanorientationattheJobCorpscenterwithatourledbyJobCorpsstudents.Aftertheorientation,thepreserviceteacherswererequiredtoconductatleastfivetutoringvisitsforaminimumoftenhours.Sincemosttutorsandtuteeshadtutoringsessionsofonetooneandahalfhours,mosttutorsmadeatleastsevenvisitstotheJobCorpsCenterinadditiontotheorientationatthebeginningofthesemester,providingasustainedexperienceoverthecourseofthesemester. ThestudentsattheJobCorpsCenter,afederallyfundedprogram,rangeinagefrom16-24.WhilethereisamixtureofethnicitiesandsocioeconomicbackgroundsrepresentedatJobCorps,themajorityofthestudentsarestudentsofcolorfromregionalurbanareaswhocomefromeconomicallydisadvantagedfamilies.Thepopulationofstudentsisconsistentlyaround78%African-Americanmales.MostJobCorpsstudentshavecomevoluntarilyseekingoutnewopportunitieswhileasmallpercentagearerequiredtocompletetheprogrambecauseofacourtmandate.TheJobCorpsstudentsareworking tocompleteahighschooldiplomaor theGeneralEducationalDevelopment(GED)highschoolequivalencydiploma.AftercompletingtheirhighschooldiplomaorGED,theJobCorpsstudentstypicallycompletetrainingforatrade. WhentheJobCorpsstudentsfirstarriveatthecenter,theyaregivenatesttodeterminetheirbasicskilllevels.AccordingtotheacademicmanageroftheJobCorpsCenter,itisnotunusualtoseestudentstestingatthe3rdor4thgradelevel


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inreadingandwriting,andmanyofthestudentstestatlowerlevelsinmathematics.Someofthestudentshavelearningdisabilities,sometimesdiagnosed,sometimesnot,whileothershavejustbeenpassedthroughthesystemwithoutdevelopingtheneededknowledgebase.AnissueofparticularfrustrationfortheacademicmanageriswhenastudententersJobCorpswithahighschooldiploma,yetstilltestsatlowlevelsonthebasicskillstest.Eventhoughthesestudentscantrainfortheirtrade,theacademicmanagerpushesthemtoexpandtheirknowledgebaseinthebasicskillsofreading,writing,andmathematicswhiletheyarecompletingtheirtraining. Incontrast,thepreserviceteacherswhoparticipatedinthisstudywereprimar-ilyWhite(reflectingthepopulationoftheuniversitywhichis91%White).Mostofthemcamefromruralorsuburbanareasintheregion;onlyafewcamefromurbanareasorhavelivedinurbanareasinthepast.Someofthepreserviceteachersidenti-fiedthemselvesinwrittenreflectionsascomingfromlowersocioeconomicstatushomes,andtherewereafewfirstgenerationcollegestudentsinthegroup;however,mostofthepreserviceteachersinthissamplecamefrommiddleclassbackgrounds(onlyabout22%oftheuniversitypopulationiseligibleforfederalPELLgrants).Thepreserviceteachersrangedinagefromtheirlateteenstotheirearlythirties,butthemajoritywere18-19yearsold.Inthisgroupof37students,therewere28femalestudentsandninemalestudents.Onesectionofthecoursewascross-listedwithagraduatefoundationscourseintheMATprogram.Therefore,threeofthestudentsinthesampleof37weregraduatestudents.Thetwosectionsofthefoundationscourseincludedamixtureofelementary,secondary,andK-12preserviceteachers.

Data Collection and Analysis Inordertopursueourresearchquestion,wedesignedaninterpretivestudysince“interpretiveresearchseekstoperceive,describe,analyze,andinterpretfeaturesofaspecificsituationorcontext,preservingitscomplexityandcommunicatingtheperspectivesoftheactualparticipants”(Borko,Whitcomb,&Byrnes,2008,p.1025).Wecollectedavarietyofdatatoexploretheimpactthatthisservice-learningexperiencehadontheparticipantsinthecourse.Oneoftheprimarysourcesofdatathatweutilizedinthestudywasreflectionpapers.Throughoutthesemester,thestudentswereaskedtowritebriefreflectionpapers(onetotwopages)ontheirexperiencestutoringatJobCorpsandtheconnectionstheyweremakingtothetopicswewerestudyinginthecourse.Forexample,whenexaminingschoolfund-ing,thepreserviceteacherswererequiredtotalkwiththeirJobCorpstuteeabouttheresourcesavailableintheschoolstheyattendedpriortocomingtoJobCorps.Manyof theJobCorps tuteesdescribedovercrowded,dilapidatedschoolswithinsufficientordatedclassroommaterials.Attheendofthesemester,thestudentswereaskedtowriteacomprehensivereflection(fivepages)ontheservice-learningexperiencethatsynthesizedwhattheyexperiencedatJobCorpsandwhattheyfelttheylearnedfromtheexperience.Weanalyzedthreesetsofreflectionpaperswrit-tenthroughoutthesemester(111papers),andweanalyzed37finalreflections.


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In order to provide creditability for the study, we utilized methodologicaltriangulation (Creswell&Miller,2000). Inaddition toanalyzing the reflectionpapers,wealsoadministeredabrief,anonymousquestionnairethatallowedthestudentstoprovidefeedbackontheexperience.Thisquestionnaireincludedbothopen-endedandclosed-endedresponseitems(Creswell,2002).Thequestionnaireaskedstudentswhattheylearnedfromtheservice-learningexperienceingeneral,whether theservice-learningsupported theirunderstandingofwhatwewere instudyinginclass,andwhethertheservice-learningexperienceprovidedthemwithabetterunderstandingofhowtoworkwithstudentsfromdiversebackgrounds. Usinganopencodingprocess,wecodedthereflectionpapersandquestion-naireslinebyline.Wethenidentifiedmajorthemesthatemergedthroughthecodingprocess.Ouranalysiswasaniterativeprocessofmovingbetweencloseanalysisofindividualcodesandbroadercategoriesandthemes.Wethengroupedthemesusingaprocessofaxialcoding(Charmaz,2006)whichallowedustoidentifythreebroadoverarchingcategoriesorthemes.Toprovideanexampleofthecodingprocess,someofthecodesthatemergedduringtheinitialcodingprocessincluded:“firstexperiencewithdiversity,”“experienceofculture shock,”and“feelinguncom-fortableintheJobCorpssetting.”Thesecodesweregroupedintothecategoryof“recognizingtheselfasother”whichisacategorywithintheoverarchingthemeof“theselfasother.” Aftercodingthereflectionpapersandresponsesfromthequestionnaire,weconductedinterviewswithsixstudentsseekingtoconfirmordisconfirmtentativethemesthathademergedfromthesedata.Weinterviewedfivefemalesandonemalestudentwithstudentsrepresentedfrombothsectionsofthecourse.Wese-lectedstudentsbasedontheirpreviousexperienceswithdiversityasdescribedintheirfinalwrittenreflections.Wesoughttoincludestudentswithdifferentlevelsofexperiencewithdiversityintheirownschoolingexperience,rangingfromextensiveexperiencetonopreviousexperience. Duringtheinterviews,weusedasemi-structuredinterviewprotocol(Rubin&Rubin,1995).Wehadspecificquestionsthatweaskedineachinterviewtosupportcross-interviewanalysis(Patton,1990),butwealsoallowedtheconversationtoflowinwhateverdirectiontheintervieweechose,andweusedprobingquestionstoexplorethesemeanderingsmorefully.Theinterviewprotocolincludedquestionsthataskedparticipantstoreflectonwhattheylearnedfromtheservice-learningexperience, todescribewhat they learnedaboutworkingwithdiverse learners,tomakeconnectionsbetweentheexperienceandcoursecontent,andtocomparetheexperiencetoothermoretraditionalfieldexperiencestheyhadcompletedintheteachereducationprogram.Theinterviewsweretranscribedverbatimandweusedasimilarcodingprocessthatwasusedforthereflectionpapersandquestion-naires.Inadditiontoconfirmingthemesthathademergedthroughtheanalysisofthereflectionpapersandquestionnaires,theinterviewsalsoaddeddepthtotheseemergingthemes.Asaformofmemberchecking,thefindingsweresharedwith


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courseinstructorsteachingtheothersectionsofthefoundationscourseaswellastheacademicmanageratJobCorps.

Findings Thisstudysoughttodeterminewhetheraservice-learningexperiencecouldimpactpreserviceteachers’perceptionsofandreceptivenesstodiversity.Allofthedatacollectedprovideevidencethatthisservice-learningdidhaveanimpactonthisgroupofpreserviceteacherstovaryingdegrees.Studentswhobeganthecoursewithanopennesstodiversityfoundthattheexperiencefurtherbroadenedtheirunderstandingofthesetopicsandideas.Forstudentswhowerelessopen,theexperiencecreatedsomeawarenessthatunderstandingandaddressingdiversitywasimportanttotheircontinuedgrowthasfutureteachers. Thereflectionpapersthatthestudentswroteattheendoftheexperiencewereoverallverypositive;thestudentsexpressedthattheyfelttheyhadgrownthroughtheexperience.Thefirstauthorestablishedearlyinthecoursethatstudents’gradeswouldnotbepenalizediftheywerecriticaloftopicswewereexamininginthecourse;theessaysweregradedbasedoncompletenessnotcontent.OneofthereflectionsstudentswroteearlierinthesemesterrequiredthattheyrespondtothearticlebyPeggyMcIntosh(1990)titled“WhitePrivilege:UnpackingtheInvisibleKnapsack.”Studentswhowereverycriticaloftheessaywerenotpenalizedintheirgradeforthereflection,andthestudentsrecognizedthis.Wemaintainedanopenandcriticaldialoguethroughoutthecourse,andthefirstauthorencouragedstudentstoexpresstheirownopinionsregardlessofwhattheythoughttheinstructor’sopinionmightbe.Datafromtheanonymousquestionnairealsosupportthethemesthatemergedinthereflectionpapers.Onlytworespondentsexpressednegativefeelingstowardtheexperienceandfelttheydidnotlearnfromtheexperience. Thethemesthatemergedfromthereflectionpapersandquestionnairesandthatweresupportedingreaterdepththroughtheinterviewstiedirectlytothephilo-sophicalframeworkofAlphonsoLingis.Thethreebroadthemesthatemergedare:seeingtheselfasother,recognizingtheimperativeoftheother,andmovingtowardsocialjustice.Thoughweexploretheseasthreestagesorlevels,studentsdidnotnecessarilyexperiencetheseasalinearprocess.However,wepresentthesestagesinalinearwaybecausewebelievethateachstagemustatleastbetouchedupon,whetherornotitisrealizedindepth,aspartoftheprocessofmovingtoagreaterlevelofawareness.

The Self as Other During thefirst stage,whichwe titled “TheSelf asOther,” thepreserviceteachersrecognizedthemselvesastheotherandtheybegantoexaminetheirownimperatives.

Recognizing the self as other.Manyofthestudentsrecognizedthemselvesas


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theotherforthefirsttimewhentheywentouttoJobCorps.Onthequestionnaire,12participants (32%)described thisas theirfirstormostextensiveexperiencewithdiversity.Onestudentwrote,“IthinkIcameintocontactwithmorediversityinmytenhoursandtwentyminutesatJobCorpsthanIhavemyentirelife.”Thislackofexperiencewithdiversitywasechoedbymanystudentsinthereflectionpaperandinterviews.Onestudentstatedduringtheinterview,“I’llbecompletelyhonestwithyou;inmyschooldistrictwehadnoAfrican-Americanstudents.” Formanyofthestudents,thiswasaneye-openingexperience.SomeofthemusedthetermcultureshockwhendescribingtheirfirstvisittoJobCorps.Onestu-dentstatedonthequestionnaire,“ItwasacultureshockatfirsttogotoJobCorps.”Someofthestudentsalsocommentedonthefactthattheyweretheminorityforthefirsttime.Onestudentwrote:

HavingtheopportunitytotutoratJobCorpsplacedmeinasituationIhadneverbeeninbefore.Thetableswereturnedonme;insteadofbeingthemajorityIwastheminorityandputinanunfamiliarenvironment.

Theexperienceofbeinginanunfamiliarenvironmentcausedfearandnervousnessforsomeofthestudentsandmanyfeltthattheywerepushedoutoftheircomfortzones.AsWade(1993)hasstated,studentsareoftenapprehensivewheninitiatingaservice-learningexperiencewiththosewhoaredifferentthanthemselves.Onestudentstatedintheinterview,“Itwasfaroutofmycomfortzone,andfromwhatI’velistenedtofromotherpeople,alotofotherpeople’scomfortzone.”InastudybyGaine(2001),thestudentsinGaine’scourseexpressedthatinordertochangeattitudesaboutrace,peopleneededtobemadetofeeluncomfortable.Asoneofourstudentspointedout,“Itmakesyouuncomfortable,andwhenyou’reuncomfortableyou’remorelikelytoadapt.”

Recognition of own imperative.Pushingstudentsoutoftheircomfortzoneandallowingthemtoseethemselvesastheotherhelpedthemtobegintorecognizetheirownimperative.Formanyofthem,thisimperativewasoneofwhite,middle-classnorms.Onestudentstatedintheinterview:

IwasatfirstalittlebitnervousaboutitbecauseIknewthatIwasn’tusedtothatdemographic, being primarilyAfrican-American students from the inner city.AndsoIwasconcernedabouthowtheywouldrespondtomebeingaveryWhiteboyfromthecountry.

Wetriedtosupportourstudents’awarenessoftheirownimperativethroughtheuseofcoursecontentwhichrequiredthemtoexaminewhatitmeanstobeWhiteandthecorrespondingbenefitsofWhiteness. Intheearlystagesoftheservice-learningexperience,thestudentswereaskedtoreadPeggyMcIntosh’s(1990)essay,“WhitePrivilege:UnpackingtheInvisibleKnapsack.”Thefirstauthoraskedthestudentstowriteareflectionpaperrespondingtotheessay,andtheywerealsoaskedtowritethreediscussionquestions.Weused


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thesediscussionquestionsasthebasisforaclassdiscussion,andinbothclassesthedebatewascontentious.Somestudentsagreedwiththeideas,somestudentsexpressedconfusionaboutwhattothink,tenstudents(27%)expressedthattheybelievethatraceisnolongeranissuetoday,particularlyifyouworkhard,fivestudents(14%)feltthattalkingabouttheseissuesmakesitworse,andtwostudentsexpressedangerabouttheideasintroducedinthearticle.Solomon,Portelli,Daniel,andCampbell(2005)describedsimilarresponsestousingtheMcIntosharticleinafoundationsclass. TheseresponsestotheMcIntoshessaypointtothechallengesteachereduca-torscanfaceinmovingWhitepreserviceteacherstowardamorecomprehensiveunderstandingofracethatisinclusiveoftherecognitionofWhitenessandtheat-tendantprivilegesofbeingWhite.ThepreserviceteachersinthisgroupwhostatedthatraceisnolongeranissueifyouworkhardareworkingfromtheconfinesofthemythofmeritocracyratherthanrecognizingtheroleofsocialreproductioninadvantagingWhiteyouth(Bourdieu&Passeron,1990).Teacherswhofullyascribetothisbeliefarenotlikelytomodifytheircurriculumandinstructiontorespondtoindividualstudents’needsandinterests.Likewise,preserviceteacherswhothinkthattalkingaboutracecreatesmoreproblemsareworkingfromacolor-blindperspectivethatdoesnotallowforstudentdifferenceandmakesstudentsofcolorinvisible.Bonilla-Silva(2006)reframedthenotionofcolor-blindnessascolor-blindracism.Bonilla-Silva’sreframingputspressureonWhite,preserviceteacherstorecognizeinactionbasedontherefusaltoacknowledgedifferenceasaformofracismthatreinforcesthestatusquo. ThoughthisexaminationofWhiteprivilegemayhaveplantedsomeseedsofawarenessinthestudents’minds,theexaminationofWhitenessisanintellectualprocessandonecannotgainanunderstandingofone’sownimperativethroughintellectualmeansonly;onemustexperience theother.For somestudents, theservice-learningexperiencedidenhancetheirunderstandingoftheirownimpera-tive.Onestudentwrote,“ThestudentsIworkedwithexposedmetomanyhiddenwhiteprivileges that Iwasnot awareof.”Another student,whohadexpressedangerabouttheMcIntoshessayearlierinthesemester,attheendofthesemesterwrote,“Ilearnedhowimportantitistocontinuetoencourageanunderstandingofdiversityineducation.”

The Imperative of the Other Thesecondstage,whichwetitled“TheImperativeoftheOther,”includestwoaspects:(1)recognitionandrespectfortheother’simperative,and(2)recognitionofacommonhumanity.

Recognition and respect for the other’s imperative.Responsestothequestion-naireprovidedevidencethattheservice-learningexperiencefosteredarecognitionandrespectfortheimperativeoftheother.Onthequestionnaire,25participants


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(68%)madestatementsthatdemonstratedthattheyviewedtheserviceexperienceasreciprocal.Inotherwords,theyrecognizedthattheygainedsomethingfromtheexperience.Oneofthequestionsonthequestionnaireasked:Ingeneral,whatdoyouthinkyoulearnedfromthisservice-learningexperience?Whencodingtheseresponses,wefoundthat22respondents(59%)mentionedtopicsdirectlyrelatingtodiversity.Anotherquestionasked:DoyoubelieveyourexperienceatJobCorpsprovidedyouwithabetterunderstandingofhowtoworkwithstudentsfromdi-versebackgrounds?Theresponsesdemonstratedthat81%oftheparticipants(30respondents)feltthattheyhaveabetterunderstandingofhowtoworkwithstudentsfromdiversebackgrounds.Twoofthestudentsthatresponded“no”tothisquestionexpressedthattheyhadpreviousexperiencewithdiversity. Thismovetowardrecognitionandrespectfortheotherbeganwiththerealiza-tionofdifference.Onthequestionnaire,26respondents(70%)wrotecommentsthatwerecodedasrecognizingdifference.Manyofthestudentspointedoutthesedifferenceswhileacknowledgingthatdifferenceisnotnegative.Onestudentwrote,“ThetotalexperienceintheclassroomandwithJobCorpshasreallyopenedmyeyesup tohowdifferentwe reallyall are.”Acceptanceof thisdifference isanimportantsteptowardrespectingtheimperativeoftheother.Onestudentstatedintheinterview,“Ijustthinkofnotsomuchthefactthatwe’redifferentbutthefactthatwerealizeandacceptwe’redifferent.”Thisrealizationofdifferenceisonefacetofseeingtheother’simperative.Theservice-learningexperienceallowedthestudentstocomeface-to-facewiththeimperativeofanother.Onestudentstatedinaninterview,“Theservice-learningforcedyoutonotjustgoandlookattheworldthroughaglassmirror,buttoactuallygoin.” ThedescriptionsthepreserviceteachersprovidedintheirreflectionpapersofworkingwithJobCorpsstudentsdemonstratedthatsomeofthepreserviceteacherswereabletoseetheimperativeoftheother.Onepreserviceteacherwrote,“DuringmytimetutoringthestudentsatJobCorps,Icametoknowthesestudentsasindi-viduals.”ThisprocessofseeingtheotherallowedanotherstudenttorecognizesomeofthechallengestheJobCorpsstudentswerefacing.Thisstudentwrote,“AllofthestudentsIencounteredhadonetraitincommon:fearofvulnerability.”Throughseeingtheotherthisstudentwasabletorecognizehertutees’vulnerability. Thewrittenreflectionsalsodemonstratedarespectfortheimperativeoftheother. One student wrote, “While I hope that the Job Corps students I tutoredlearnedfromme,Ialsolearnedagreatdealfromthem.”Onestudentdescribedanimportantexperiencewithhistutee.Hewrote:

Oneofmystudentsneverseemedtohavehadateacherortutorallowhertowriteaboutwhatinterestedherorsomethingshecouldrelateto.AssoonasIallowedhertopickthetopicandwebeganworking,sheswitchedfromguardedhostilitytoopeninterestinhowIwouldhelpherwriteaboutherfavoritemovie.

Thisanecdotedemonstratesthatsomestudentslearnedthattheirwillingnessto


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acceptandrelateinapersonalwaytotheirtuteeallowedthemtomakeaconnec-tionthatsupportedtheirtutee’slearning. Theprocessofbeginningtoseeandrespecttheimperativeoftheotherre-quiredmanyofthepreserviceteacherstorethinkstereotypesthattheyheld.Onthequestionnaire,14respondents(38%)madestatementsthatwerecodedasrethink-ingstereotypes.Onerespondentwrote,“IwasexposedtoaverydiversegroupofstudentsatJobCorps,andeachstudentIworkedwithhelpedbreakthestereotypesIhadpreviouslyheld.”Thisrecognitionofstereotypesalsohelpedsomepreserviceteacherstorealizethatthoughstudentsmaycomefromsimilarbackgrounds,theyarenotallthesame.Onestudentwrote:

ItwouldbeeasyforonetoassumethatstudentsatJobCorpsareallgatheredfromasimilargroupofpeople.Thisismostcertainlynotthecase,andthebackgroundsofhundredsofhighschoolstudentsarelikelytobeevenmorediverse.

Thisrealizationisanimportantstepinrecognizingtheparticularityofeachperson’simperative.

Realization of common humanity.Anaspectof recognizing the imperativeof theother isunderstanding that thoughwearedifferent,wehaveacommonhumanity.Thisrecognitionofacommonhumanitystemsfromtherealizationthatweareallworkingfromanimperative.Weallhaveanimperativethatdrivesourneedtosurviveandtoconnectwithotherhumanbeings.Sinceeveryimperativehasaculturalcontext,therewillbesomesimilaritiesacrossimperativesthatwillberecognizablejustastherearesimilaritiesacrosscultures.Manyofthepreserviceteacherspointedoutthesecommonelements.Onestudentstatedinthequestion-naire,“Thosestudents,BlackandWhite,arethesameasme.”Anotherstudentwrote,“IrealizedquicklythattheysimplywantedthesamethingsIdid.” Thoughthisrecognitionofacommonhumanityisastepforsomestudentsinmovingbeyond stereotypes, there is the concern that for someof them thisrealizationmightreinforcethetendencytowardacolor-blindapproach.Thisissuedidseemtobethecaseforoneofthestudentsweinterviewed.Hestatedintheinterview,“Sowhenyou’rethereandyou’reworkingwiththekids,thecolorsjustdisappearandit’sindividuals.”AsIrvine(2003)haspointedout,someteachersviewthecolor-blindapproachasawaytobefairandnon-biased.However,thisapproachdoesnotgetatissuesofinequalityinoursocietybecauseit“ignorestherealitiesofracisminthiscountry”(Irvine,2003,p.xvi).

The Move toward Social Justice Inthefinalstage,thestudentsbeganthemovetowardsocialjustice.Thisin-volvedarecognitionofinjustice,anacknowledgementoftransformationorchangeinself,andtherealizationoftheneedtocreatechange.

Recognition of injustice.Manyofthestudentsexpressedsurpriseandanger


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atwhat theirJobCorps tuteeshadexperiencedwith teachersandschoolsbeforecomingtoJobCorps.ThepreserviceteachersrealizedthatmanyoftheJobCorpstuteeshadbeenshort-changedbythesystem.Onthequestionnaire,26participants(70%)includedresponsesthatwerecodedasdemonstratinganincreasedawarenessofeducationalinequalities.Thisrealizationofinjusticerelatedtomultiplefactors.Somestudentsspecificallywroteaboutissuesofrace.Onestudentwrote,“AllthreeofmystudentsattendedapredominantlyBlackschool,whichmademequestionhowfarwehavemovedsinceBrown vs. the Board of Education.”Anotherstudentstated,“Thisexperiencehasmademerealizethatthereisstillracisminthiscountry.Noteverypersonistreatedequally.”Manystudentsalsopointedtoeconomicinequalities.Onestudentwrote,“InmytimethereIworkedwithatotalofeightdifferentstudents.Outofthesestudentstherewasnotonewhohadbeeninaqualityschoolsystemwithaffluentsurroundings.”AccordingtoAyers,Quinn,andStovall(2009),thenotionofequityisanimportantpillarofsocialjusticeeducation.Fosteringanawarenessofissuesofequityisanintegralstepinadvancingasocialjusticeperspective. Anothertopicofconcernwastheattitudesofpastteacherswhodidnotseemtocareabouttheirstudentsandmadethemquestiontheirabilities.Onepreserviceteachersharedaparticularlydisturbingstoryabouthertutee.Shewrote:

Onestudenttoldmethatshequitgoingtoclass[atherpreviousschool]becausetheteachersonlycaredabouttheWhitekids.WhenIaskedwhatshemeantshesaidtheteacherwouldanswertheWhitekids’questionsbutmaketheBlackkidskeepaskingthequestionuntilshelikedthewaytheysaidit.

Thisanecdoteisanexampleofateacherforcinghis/herimperativeonastudentanddemonstratesthelackofpowerthatstudentsmayfeelinthesesituations. ConsideringtheobstaclesthatmanyoftheJobCorpsstudentshavehadtodealwith,thereistheconcernthatthepreserviceteachersmaybegintoviewtheJobCorpsstudentsasvictims.However,manyof thepreservice teachers recognizedthattheJobCorpsstudentswereseekingtomakeachangeintheirlives,andtheyrespectedthisdetermination.Onestudentwrote,“Iwassurprisedtoseehownearlyeachtuteedesiredtoimprovehisorherlifewithasolideducation.”Manyofthepreserviceteachersdescribedworkingwithtuteeswhohadgoalsforacareerorwhowereseekingtofindabetterwaytosupporttheirfamily.Onthequestionnaire,12respondents(32%)madecommentsthatwerecodedasdemonstratingtheirawarenessofthecapabilityoftheJobCorpsstudents.Oneparticipantwrote,“IlearnedthatthestudentsatJobCorpsarejustascapableanddeterminedtosucceedasIam.”

Acknowledgment of transformation or change in self.Manyofthestudentsconveyedintheirreflectionpapersandintheinterviewsthattheservice-learningexperiencehadbeentransformativeforthem;theyrecognizedachangeinthem-selves.Onestudentwrote,“Ithasbeeneyeopening,educational,andlifechang-ingtotutoratJobCorps.”Trulyexperiencingtheotherisoftenatransformativeexperience.Thisrecognitionofchangewasexpressedinmanyways,including:


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changesinknowledge,changesinoutlook,andchangesinperception.Inrelationtoknowledge,thequestionnaireasked—Doyoufeelthisservice-learningexperiencesupportedyourunderstandingoftheideasandissueswewerestudyinginclass?36respondents(97%)repliedyestothisquestion.Whenaskedtospecifyinwhatways,15participants(41%)gaveresponsesspecifictodiversity. Somestudentsfocusedontheirchangedperceptionsofschools.Onestudentwrote,“BeforegoingtoJobCorps,Ihadaparticularviewofeducationandteachersthathasbeenradicallyalteredafterthisexperience.”Anotherstudentwrote,“Theexperiencehashadaprofoundimpactonmyunderstandingoftheworldofeduca-tion.”Studentsalsodescribedhowtheexperienceimpactedtheirunderstandingofdiversity.Onestudentwrote,“InthetimespentthereIhavelearnedmoreabouteducationaldiversityandtheneedforitthanIcouldhaveeverhopedtolearninaclassroom.”Overallmostofthestudentsdescribedtheexperienceashavinganimpactontheirknowledgeandunderstandingofdiversity.

Need to create change.Thestudents’recognitionofinjusticeandrealizationoftheirchangeinthinkingalsoledmanyofthemtoacknowledgethattheywantedorneeded tocreatechange.On thequestionnaire,22 respondents (59%)madecommentsthatdemonstratedthattheyunderstoodtheexternalfactorsthatimpactachievementandthatneedtobechanged.Forsomeofthem,thiswaschangewithintheirownclassrooms.Onestudentwrote,“AsateacherInowknowmorethaneverthatIhavetobesensitiveandconsiderateofone’sbackgroundandchangemystyletoaccommodateit.”Anotherstudentsaid,“Itisuptoindividualteacherstofindacreativewaytolearnmoreabouttheirstudentsandthenpresenttheirsubjectinawaythatthestudentcanunderstand.”Thisinclinationtowardchangeisimportantsincechangebeginswitheachteacher,andasIrvine(2003)haspointedout,“thereisgrowingrecognitionamongtheeducationalresearchandpolicycommunitiesthatoneofthekeyvariablesrelatedtotheschoolachievementofculturallydiversestudentsistheteacher”(p.72). Some students focused not only on the need for change within their ownclassrooms, but also recognized the need for change on a larger scale. On thequestionnaire,fourrespondents(11%)madestatementsthatwerecodedasdesiringtochallengethestatusquo.Inthereflectionpapers,somestudentswrotethattheyseethemselvesasfutureadvocatesfortheirstudents.Onestudentwrote,“IthaschangedmyperspectiveonhowIviewstudents.Iwanttobetheiradvocatesonomorestudentsfallthroughthecracks.”Anotherstudentstated,“IwillnotbeshywhenIknowthatImustactonbehalfofthegoodofmystudents.”Onestudentsawherroleasanadvocateasextendingbeyondschoolsandchildrenandintothebroadersociety.Thisstudentwrote:

AsanoppressorinasystemIhelpedtocreate,albeitunconsciously,Iwillnowhaveheightenedawarenessandusemyinheritedempowermenttohelpstandagainstsocialinjusticesthatplaguemyimmediateworldandbeyond.


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Thisquoteexemplifies thegoalwewere seeking to reachwithour students: acommitmenttowardseekingchangeforsocialjustice.AccordingtoAyers,Quinn,andStovall(2009)themovetowardactivismisanotherpillarofsocialjusticeedu-cation.Ifpreserviceteacherscommittoactivisminsupportoftheirstudentsandcommunities,theyhavethepotentialtofosteranactivistorientationintheirownstudents.Thisisimportantasactivismisa“moveawayfrompassivity,cynicismanddespair”(p.xiv).

Putting Pressure on Assumptions As we developed our findings, we sought to be aware of areas where theservice-learningexperiencemayhavefallenshortofourgoalsorinstanceswhenthe experiencemayhavebeenmiseducative.One areaof particular concern isthattheexperienceseemedtofosterdeficitperspectivesoftheJobCorpsstudentsforsomeofthepreserviceteachers.Onthequestionnaire,14respondents(38%)madestatementsthatwerecodedasreflectingadeficitperspective.Onewrote,“Ihadnoideahowfarbehindthekidswere.”ThisoutcomeisreflectedinresearchconductedbyTilley-Lubbs(2009)whofoundthataservice-learningexperienceunintentionallycreateddeficitperspectivesofthecommunity. Theservice-learningprogramhasprovidedbenefitsfortheJobCorpsstudents.TheacademicmanageratJobCorpsreportsthatsincethestartoftheservice-learningcollaboration,thetestscoresonthebasicskillstesthaveimprovedeverysemester.Inaddition,thepassratesfortheGEDandhighschooldiplomaprogramhaveim-proved.However,wehaveconcernsthatifourpreserviceteachersareworkingfromadeficitperspectivethattheymightnotpushtheJobCorpsstudentstoachieveathighlevels.Wehaveconcernsthatadeficitperspectivemightleadtolowexpecta-tions.Inordertocounteractthisperspective,wehavemadeaconcertedefforttoinfusethetenetsofcriticalpedagogyintothesocialfoundationscourse(Stenhouse&Jarrett,2012).WenowstartoffthesemesteraskingstudentstoreadanessaybyHerbertKohl(2007)titled“IWon’tLearnfromYou!”Intheessay,Kohldescribesthechoicethatsomestudentsmakenottolearn.Thearticlepromptsdiscussionaboutthechoicetonotlearnasanactofresistancewhenschoolsmakenoattempttoberesponsivetothecultureofthestudentsintheschool.Anotherchangewehavemadeinthecourseistoteachexplicitlyaboutwhatitmeanstoworkfromanassets-basedapproach.Weexaminehowschoolsmightapproachculturaldifferenceandexaminetheimplicationswhenschoolsworkfromaculturaldeficitapproach(Erickson,1987).Wehavealsoworkedtoselectreadingsandframeclassdiscus-sionsaroundstudentcapabilitiesratherthanstudentdeficits.Movingforward,wewillcontinuetoendeavortoemphasizeanassets-basedapproachaspartoftheservice-learningexperience. AnotherissuethatcameupinseveralpapersthatconcernedusrelatestodeficitperspectivesoftheparentsoftheJobCorpsstudents.SomeofthestudentsmadetheassumptionthattheJobCorpsstudentshadparentswhodidnotcareabout


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them.Onlyonestudentconveyedthatshewasactuallytoldbyhertuteethathehaduncaringparents.TherestofthemjustassumedthatthiswasapartofthereasonwhytheJobCorpsstudentsendedupinthesituationtheywerein.Werealizedthatweneedtocounteractthisassumptiondirectlythroughourcoursematerialsandsubsequentlyaddedcoursereadingsthatprovidedifferentviewsintoparentinvolvement(Finn,1998). AfinalconcernwasthatwefoundnoevidenceinthedatathatthepreserviceteachersrecognizedthatmulticulturaleducationisasimportantforWhitestudentsasitisforstudentsofcolor.TheydidnotseemtomaketheconnectionthatsincemanyofthemcamefrompredominantlyWhiteschoolsthatitisimportantthatteachersbegintothinkabouthowtheycansupportstudentsinpredominatelyWhiteschoolsinbecomingmoreaware.TheydidnotseemtorealizethatifWhiteteach-ersteachinginWhiteschoolsdonotinfusediversityinthecurriculumthattheyarejustperpetuatingthecycleofnon-awarenessthattheythemselvesexperienced.Wehavesubsequentlyfocusedonmakingexplicitconnectionsinthecoursetothevalueofmulticulturaleducationforallstudents.

Implications Ourprimarygoalforincludingaservice-learningexperienceinthesocialfounda-tionscourseistosupportthedevelopmentofasocialjusticeperspective.Wewouldlikeallofourpreserviceteacherstorecognizetheirroleaspotentialchangeagentsintheirfutureclassroomsandinsocietyasawhole.AsAyers,Quinn,andStovall(2009)havepointedout,“educationforsocialjusticeistherootofteachingandschoolinginademocraticsociety,therockuponwhichwebuilddemocracy”(p.xiv).Thisstudydemonstratesthatutilizingamulticulturalservice-learningexperiencealongwithcoursecontentcanbroadenpreserviceteachers’perceptionsofdiversity.Thisservice-learningexperienceforcedstudentsoutoftheircomfortzoneandallowedthemtoexperiencethemselvesandtoexperiencetheother.Throughcontactwiththeother,thepreserviceteachersbegantorealizetheneedtoaffectchange. Theneedtoaffectchangeisincrediblyimportantgiventhecurrentcrossroadsweareatineducation.Asacountry,wehavetodecidewhethertocontinuewithafocusonaccountabilityandsanctionsortotrulyembracethenotionofequaleducationalopportunity.Ourgoalistoimpactfutureteacherswhowillbecomeactivistsfortrueequityforallstudents.Wethinkthatincludingaservice-learningcomponentinthesocialfoundationscourseisastepinthisdirection.Thedatademonstratethatthisexperienceimpactedthepreserviceteachersinpositiveways.However,thequestionnowiswhetherornotthisservice-learningexperiencewilllead these future teachers tomakemeaningfulchanges in their future teachingpractice.Wequestionwhetherthesefutureteacherswillbeabletoresist“thepullofschooling-as-usual”(Michie,2009,p.705).Thisisanimportantquestionthatwarrantsfurtherstudy.Weareworkingtodevelopalongitudinalstudytofollow


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thestudentsastheycontinuethroughtheprogramandintoteachingtoseewhatlastingimpacttheexperienceinthefoundationscoursemighthave.AsHollinsandGuzman(2005)havepointedout,thistypeofresearchisgreatlyneededinthefieldofteachereducation. Manyteachereducatorswhoareusingservice-learningintheircoursesrecognizethemultiplebenefits that theseexperienceshave for their students.Multiculturalservice-learningexperienceshavethepotentialtoimpactstudentsbeyondwhatispossiblethroughcoursecontentalone.Itisimportantthatweexpandthebodyofresearchtodemonstratetoothersthetransformationsthatweseeinourstudents.Itisalsoimportantthatteachereducationprogramsbegintothinkabouthowtheycanprovidemultipleopportunitiesfortransformativeexperiences.Theseexperiencescanleadtogreaterawarenesswiththelong-termgoalofchangesinclassroompractice,andchangesinclassroompracticecanleadtobroaderchange.AsstatedbyAyers,Quinn,andStovall(2009),“Wechangeourlives,wechangetheworld”(p.xiv).

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