Developing Social Justice Through Service-Learning: The Potential of University-School Partnerships for Fostering Justice-Oriented Dispositions Among Students of Color and Males Through Service-Learning Opportunities in Urban Schools

Abstract

This article explores the impact that a liberal studies education course with an embedded service-learning component had on preparing pre-service teachers to teach in urban schools. Using a combination of descriptive and narrative analysis, college students’ reflection journal entries and class discussion notes were examined to determine whether deficit perceptions about urban schooling and students could be transformed over the duration of the course. Findings suggest that students of color and males, primarily those with non-urban schooling experiences, exhibited the greatest transformation in justice-oriented dispositions toward culturally and socioeconomically diverse students. Given this new insight, curriculum recommendations for teacher education programs are offered to help better prepare educators to teach in increasingly diverse school settings.