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What Teacher Candidates Learned About Diversity, Social Justice, and Themselves From Service-Learning Experiences

Monmouth University, sbaldwin{at}monmouth.edu

Alice M. Buchanan

Auburn University

Mary E. Rudisill

Auburn University

This article examines how service-learning provides undergraduate teacher candidates opportunities to cultivate deeper understandings of diversity, social justice, and themselves. Participants were from a mid-Atlantic university and a rural southeastern university. Although from different regions, the teacher candidates shared predominantly White, middle-class backgrounds. Three themes framed the discussion—preconceived notions about teaching in diverse settings, how preconceived notions were overcome (or reinforced), and "learning about myself as a teacher." Findings suggest that service-learning, emphasizing multiculturalism and social justice, has the potential for empowering prospective teachers to confront injustices and to begin deconstructing lifelong attitudes and constructing socially just practices.

Key Words: literacy • physical education • qualitative research • service-learning • social justice • teacher candidates

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