Service learning for sustainability in the practicum phase of initial teacher training

Abstract

Service-learning is an educational practice that promotes learning processes of eclectic and thorough contents, competences and values through a community service and its critical review with the help of reflective tools. Its implementation is necessary, particularly in teacher training, in order to foster change in the education system and to progress towards sustainability. In this paper we describe and analyse three projects involving the use of service-learning related to sustainability in the practicum phase of initial teacher training. In order to obtain the results, we have analysed outputs generated by the teacher trainees under the Rubric for the Self-Assessment and Improvement of Service-Learning (RSAISL) projects (Rubio-Serrano, Puig-Rovira, Martín-García and Palos-Rodríguez, 2015). The results show that the trainees are capable of leading and executing successful service-learning projects at schools, despite the limiting factors, such as time constraints or the lack of consolidation of some of these projects.

Service-Learning as an Approach to Educating for Sustainable Development

“…When this occurs, it is because there is a process of empowerment and transfer, in which service-learning serves as a vehicle between institutions and society [77,78]. When all this takes place, service-learning is an effective tool for sustainable development [79].…”