In this article, service learning is viewed as a means to better prepare students for the realities of work life. Service learning is a way in which abstract concepts can be applied in a real world setting to improve student learning.

In this study, the authors present peace education as a new model for twentyfirst century educators that embraces both pedagogical changes and practical relationships between teachers and students and fosters universal human rights. This case study recounts the lived experience of one novice teacher in a classroom on the US-Mexico border. Her middle school students' lives are embroiled in unprecedented violence in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, located only a few miles from El Paso, Texas. The case study underlines the need for redefining identity in the teacher-student relationship; focusing on teacher agency in students' lives; seeing teachers as peace educators in terms of listening, caring, being non-judgmental, and engaging in reflective practice. In light of the growing need for peace education in an era of increased transnationalism in preK-12 education, institutional change is a necessary component, including redefinitions of the roles of principals and counselors. New models for professional development for teachers are also considered. Future implications for practitioners and policymakers, building on the work of Dewey (1900;1938), Freire (1970, and Giroux (2005), among others, are discussed that include helping students adjust and flourish as they cross both geographic and metaphorical borders between existing and new homes and classrooms.

Paso's field-based program of studies for future teachers provides opportunities for powerful learning through a dialectical union of reflection and action. Methods courses in academic disciplines are linked with seminars and coursework on community partnerships, dual language education and culturally responsive education. This article illustrates the processes of planning, implementation and evaluation of this approach, highlighting the impacts of forging connections among schools, communities and university personnel to improve education on the U.S./Mexico border and in communities with culturally/linguistically diverse student populations. Parents, students and future teachers interact in bilingual workshops that center on pupil achievement and conceptually correct science education. Preliminary outcomes indicate that two-way dual language (TWDL) bilingual programs (i.e., validating native language literacy along with English language acquisition) with a strong parental engagement component provide a strong framework for teaching/learning that can help improve educational outcomes for ELL/immigrant children and deepen future teachers' skills and knowledge. Focusing on academic enrichment for all students, these field-based experiences enable future teachers to learn strategies that integrate students' and families' linguistic and cultural experiences as a resource for learning. The co-authors highlight qualitative data findings from the Science in Our Homes-Ciencia en Nuestras Casas field-based project in a multilingual, multicultural K-8 school on the U.S./Mexico border, providing insights for educators in diverse communities whose efforts focus on closing the achievement gap for English language learners and/or immigrant students.

With funding from Hewlett Packard, the Colleges of Engineering and Education at The University of Texas at El Paso have developed an inter-disciplinary research project to measure and analyze the outcomes of reformed processes of teaching and learning. The targeted course is a required sophomore level course for electrical engineering and computer science majors. It had been taught using a traditional lecture mode yielding low pass rates and effectively functioning as a gatekeeper. The reform process included revision of the pedagogical framework, implementation of new policies and practices, and evaluation of these reform efforts utilizing quantitative/qualitative methodology. Initial analysis has generated insights about the potential for educational research methods to clarify key issues in improving engineering education for diverse undergraduate student populations.