Developing teacher identity through Service Learning

Teacher education is found to be enhanced by real world experiences in community agency settings. Service Learning (SL) provides unique experiences for pre service teachers to explore the subtleties and nuances of working with small groups of individuals. Through guided reflection and informal mentoring by agency staff, pre service teachers explore their developing teacher identity in relation to working with children from diverse backgrounds. Six themes emerged- ways of thinking about diversity, empathy and trust for supportive learning environments, social cohesion amongst students and the wider community, the importance of positive role modelling, teaching skills and knowledge, ongoing reflection for inclusive teaching and " I see myself as being a teacher who...' These themes highlight the value and importance of integrating relevant community based learning experience with teacher education as a way of reflecting on emerging teacher identity that caters for the needs of diverse learners.