Innovative practices in service learning : engaging the community and university in an alternative professional experience program

Service learning has been described as a pedagogical technique combining community service with integrated academic outcomes (Erickson & Anderson, 1997) or re-engaging students in their own learning (Frederickson, 2000; Roschelle et aI., 2000), or establishing linkages with universities with their local communities (Vickers, Harris & McCarthy, 2004). McCarthy (2003) has stated that service learning "links academic instruction with community service guided by reflection" (p.131). The introduction of service learning into the Bachelor of Teaching Secondary Professional Experience Program at the University of Western Sydney was developed to enable student teachers to graduate with some understandings and experiences gained from broader educational settings in their local communities other than secondary schools. The program was introduced in 1999 and has over time provided increasing opportunities for both the university and the local community to engage in opportunities that benefit all parties. This paper discusses the concept of service learning as a strategy to develop meaningful relationships with the university and the wider community. The paper draws on data derived from the student teachers who participated in the 2005 program. The data examined the written reflections of student teacher experiences of the program. The level of reflective practice was examined in terms of van Manen's three levels of reflection. The key argument put forward in this paper is that reflective practices need to form an inherent component of any service learning program to make the learning meaningful