Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-24-1905
Abstract
This exploratory research examines the reasons that teachers are motivated to implement service- learning projects in a particular middle school. Service learning is defined as "a teaching and learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities" (National Commission on Service Learning, 2002). Because the use of service learning is not mandated or required by this school, some teachers are engaging in a behavior that goes beyond the basic requirements of their instructional role in the classroom without additional reward or monetary compensation. This research uses the subcategories of organizational citizenship behavior: altruism, conscientiousness, sportsmanship, courtesy and civic virtue (Organ, 1988) and compares them to the themes that emerge from a series of interviews with teachers who are willing to share their stories. It also considers some of the literature on service learning, experiential learning and volunteerism in the United States as it relates to the question of a teacher's choice to participate in implementing a service- learning project. It is based upon two surveys, on-site observations and thirteen transcribed interviews with individual teachers. In each case, the data gathering was focused on the teachers, their prior community service experiences and/or their reasons for choosing to participate in the school-wide initiative to implement service- learning projects. Studies of service learning often examine the outcomes for students. Less work has been done on service learning as it relates to teachers and their role. This work combines the teachers' community service experience and expressed interest in student success with their professional values and personal beliefs to describe the reasons that teachers are willing to choose to implement service learning projects.
Keywords
service learning--study and teaching (middle school), community and school--United States
Rights
© The Author(s). Kelvin Smith Library provides access for non-commercial, personal, or research use only. All other use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly reproductions, redistribution, publication or transmission, whether by electronic means or otherwise, without prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Department/Center
Design & Innovation
Recommended Citation
Mintz, Patricia J., "Implementing School Wide Service Learning in a Middle School: An Exploratory Study of the Teacher's Motivation" (1905). Student Scholarship. 251.
https://commons.case.edu/studentworks/251