More than just another course: Service learning as antidote to cultural bias

Tuba Gökmenoğlu
European University of Lefke, Northern Cyprus, Turkey

The social influence role of teachers and their awareness of their responsibilities towards society are as important as their subject matter and pedagogical knowledge. As a multi-level learning environment, teacher colleges should place significant emphasis on enhancing teacher candidates' social responsibility attitudes, knowledge, and skills. To explore how this might be accomplished, a community-service course was implemented through three semesters at two teacher colleges in Northern Cyprus. Changes in thoughts and feelings of 198 Turkish teacher candidates about their attitudes and expectations of the people and culture of North Cyprus are analysed through narrative letters and reflective assignments. Initial predominately negative attitudes towards the culture and people of North Cyprus changed to predominately positive attitudes by the end of service learning projects

Introduction

Today, many of the problems that teachers are being asked to solve in the classroom are more and more complex, requiring cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural interactions, with the potential for having lasting impacts on society for many generations (Oakes, Lipton, Anderson & Stillman, 2015). The research reported here has a complementary goal. The present study was designed to document the impact of an extended service-learning experience in transforming thoughts, attitudes and feelings towards joining a new cultural and social community.

Experiential learning and teachers of future

Vygotsky (1978) established a foundation for social constructivism by confirming that much transformative learning occurs during social activities. In social constructivism, knowledge is constructed socially and culturally, and it becomes especially meaningful when learners actively engage in social experiences (Ernest, 1998; Gredler, 1997). Dewey also stated that "Experience is better than a ton of theory simply because it is only in experience that any theory has vital and verifiable significance" (1916, p. 144). Following Dewey's approach and rooted in social constructivism, the concept of experiential learning includes numerous methods and strategies for embedding real-life experiences in teacher education programs. Among these strategies, service-learning is one of the most successful and authentic (Coffey, 2010). Scholars have also acknowledged the powerful effects of community-based field experiences in teacher education programs to help teacher candidates disrupt their own biases and to understand better a community's history, culture, and traditions (Anderson & Ericson, 2003; Sleeter, 2008). They benefit from the way of linking campus-based curriculum to experiential learning experiences in communities beyond the campus in developing social awareness, engagement and ethics (Cho, 2006) which will later help future teachers in raising young students as engaged citizens with high moral standards.

Student volunteering as a method for bringing classroom and real life together has a long and honored history (Mooney & Edwards, 2001). For many years, service-learning has been included as either a substantial part of foundations and pedagogy courses, or as a graduation project in teacher education programs. In a course, service-learning can help student teachers connect theory with practice by producing solutions to real social problems, using theoretical background gained in colleges (Speck & Hoppe, 2004). Service-learning and community engagements are designed to reach some desired outcomes like social and political involvement, well-being, and post-graduation employment (Kearney, Perkins & Maakrun, 2014; Kilgo, Pasquesi, Sheets & Pascarella, 2014; Matthews, Dorfman & Wu, 2015; Nicotera, Brewer & Veeh, 2015). These real world learning experiences also help to improve students' academic performance and improve their social, personal and moral development (Boss, 1995). Furthermore, Coffey (2010) who explored pre-service teachers' narratives, indicated that the experiences gained through service-learning embedded in a teacher education course offered powerful opportunities, like engaging with diverse communities and helping beginners to be prepared better for real classroom settings. Selmo (2015) found that two clusters of important topics developed through service-learning: "(1) awareness of social issues, awareness of others, self-awareness, and self-esteem; (2) participation and engagement in the community" (p.2). Therefore, the preponderance of literature supports the idea that the most important outcomes of service-learning are its contributions to developing a sense of identity, gaining social recognition, cultivating a sense of community, increasing active citizenship, and civic participation (Pritchard & Whitehead, 2004; Rocheleau, 2004; Speck & Hoppe, 2004; Waterman, 1997).

Service learning in Turkey

Although international literature implies that service-learning has some impact on finding a better job (Stoecker & Tryon, 2009), teachers do not need to reflect such strengths in their CV to be able teach in public schools in Turkey. However, the situation may differ in private schools, some of which seek qualified, presentable, and visionary teachers who can make a positive influence on parents as prospective customers. The Turkish Higher Education Council centralised teacher education programs of Turkish and Northern Cypriot universities. While offering community-service courses in each education faculty now mandatory, in pedagogical formation programs, which are alternative teacher education programs served also by the Higher Education Council, a community-service course is not required. Thus, not all Turkish teachers graduating from teacher education programs gain a service-learning experience.

Although the story of service-learning in teacher education started almost a century ago, Turkish experience is young and somewhat under-developed (Küçükoğlu, 2012). The bulk of the literature in Turkey has been devoted to determining teacher candidates' opinions about the service-learning course and evaluating teaching strategies of instructors (e.g. Gökçe, 2011; Kesten, 2012; Pirpir, et.al, 2014). The related literature showed that there are some problems in different components of the course in Turkey. The most important barrier in accomplishing service projects is the reluctance of institutions-partners in hosting teacher candidates (Ugurlu & Kiral, 2012). Other problems reported included financial problems, finding sponsors, transportation, inefficient support of university members and society (Kesten, 2012; Pirpir et.al, 2014).

Although there are some obstacles while carrying out the course, there are also benefits reported by teacher candidates and instructors. The course evaluation studies mostly showed that the course made significant contributions to teacher candidates' personal and professional development with respect to developing communication skills, self-efficacy, working with group skills, teaching skills and field experience (Arkun & Seferoglu, 2010; Kesten, 2012). Although the international literature clearly highlights the importance of developing the sense of belonging and being a part of a community (McKibben, 2007), the existing studies in Turkish context lack evidence showing fully the effect of this course in cultivating teacher candidates' community engagement, thoughts on diversity and adaptation to a different culture.

Within the light of this theoretical framework, the purpose of the present study is to explore the extent of the effect of service-learning course on teacher candidates' sense of belonging and the feeling of adaptation to the new community.

Method

Design

Thus, using auto-ethnography, the researcher of this study invites the reader into the experiences of service-learning rather than interpreting or analysing them. In the literature, narratives are used broadly in exploring service-learning experiences (e.g. Coffey, 2010; Furco, 1996; Selmo, 2015). Through this approach, researchers gain a vibrant picture of the relationships between time, space, and connections within service experiences (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990). Narrative methodology requires students to reflect on their lives simply by writing. Thus, writing about their experiences, contributions, feelings, and thoughts on service-learning, teacher candidates are led to describe and interpret what they did and learned in a broader way by integrating their thoughts and experiences with their academic background (Selmo, 2015). In other words, this method helps teacher candidates connect what they learned in faculty courses with what they experienced in real life settings by incorporating new learning in coherent story forms.

Participants

Data collection and analysis

The data presented was aggregated over three semesters and two universities. The course was opened by the same instructor in the 2014-2015 fall, and 2015-2016 spring and fall semesters, in one public and one private university. The data of the present study was collected by the same instructor with the same syllabus and data collection instruments. At the first meeting of the course, teacher candidates were asked to respond to an entry-characteristics reflection paper. It contained six questions on demographic information, their feelings and experiences toward the Cyprus community and Cypriot life, and their social responsibility experiences, if any, before taking the course. The course was designed as a two-credit course with one theoretical and two practical lessons, which constituted almost 10% of the semester among other courses. Students met with the instructor 50 minutes every week in the theoretical portion of the course, and the instructor presented the theoretical and philosophical background of service-learning and discussed chaos theory, butterfly effect, and important quotations like "I have a dream", and why teacher candidates should engage in service-learning activities. Furthermore, students were presented with significant social events or projects around the world like Bob Geldof's "Live Aid", Betty William's "Community of Peace People" and Turkan Saylan's "Snowdrops - educating the girls in Turkey".

Teacher candidates searched for a social responsibility project topic during the first two weeks of the semester. The students who were influenced by these people's or organisations' projects, tried to identify a project that would meet the needs of the community where they were living. They went out into streets, schools, playgrounds, libraries, and even cafes and restaurants to try to get to know the community. They took notes and submitted the project proposal with an additional plan B. After getting project approval from the course instructor, faculty dean, instructor, and students started to complete paper work and bureaucratic procedures as needed. In most cases, as Northern Cyprus is a very small place and everybody knows one another, and the European University of Lefke has some prestige in the region, a phone call from the university was enough to get an acceptance and permission to start. The projects in the field lasted between four and six weeks depending on the scope and workload of the project. During the process, teacher candidates submitted weekly progress reports. Each week, the instructor visited the project field sites, held semi-structured interviews with students and took field notes. At the end of the semester, the students were required to complete a reflection paper synthesising their experiences, reactions, and emotions during the service-learning. The guiding questions were parallel to those they responded to at the beginning of the semester. In addition, they narrated their own stories as a final assignment.

Content analysis was employed as a means of organising and understanding the qualitative data. The participants' stories and thoughts on their experiences were determined based on the procedures of content analysis; the data were first coded regarding "varying-sized words, phrases, sentences or whole paragraphs" (Basit, 2003; p.144) and then categorised into meaningful units (Miles & Huberman, 1994), after reading each narrative paper and transcribed interview data three times and applying an inductive and deductive analytical approach. All data were gathered in Turkish. The findings of the study are presented as codes, categories and direct quotations from students, translated from Turkish to English.

Projects

Project name	Activity
Redesigning facilities for pediatric oncology	Redesigning an empty room with just white walls as a play and breakfast room decorating with colourful furniture, toys, and wall art.
Planting tree festival	In total 1255 trees were planted and irrigation supply was established in three different parts of North Cyprus.
Dental health awareness project in primary schools	Brushing techniques taught by use of materials, songs and dance in six schools.
Introducing children to musical instruments	In cooperation with a professional classical music orchestra, introduced classical music instruments to children of four schools.
Clean up the world projects	Cleaning and trash removal Gemikona?õ coast and Kyrenia forest.
My playground is sooo beautiful	Redesign, decoration, and renewal of three playgrounds.
Establishing school libraries	Book donation campaign for two primary schools.
My fabulous school *	Redesign, decoration and renewal of five primary school buildings and developing instructional materials.
Audiobooks of Turkish Cypriot literature	860 works of Cypriot literature was audio recorded for visually handicapped Cypriots.
Special education special production	Serving a vocational course of traditional Cypriot handcrafts in ceramic, felt, and bead productions for mentally handicapped people.
Children's festival	Design and implement children plays to make them happy on children's day.
Science festival	Made 20 different fun science experiments on university campus to make children of five primary schools love science.
Kite festival	Teach how to design and fly kites to children.
Family participation with Saturday art	Introducing children to different types of art - marbling, ceramic, and mosaic-integrated with family participation activities.
Cyprus music culture inventory	Documentation of Turkish Cypriot folk music.
* This project received an award as the Best Community-Service Project from the Turkish Community Service Foundation in 2016.

Findings

Initial thoughts and feelings

Categories	Themes	Codes	Observations
Positive thoughts and feelings	People	Warm, sincere	63
		Respectful	27
		Good	27
		Hospitable	27
		Unprejudiced	9
	Location/ place	Peaceful	90
		Heaven	54
		No traffic jams	16
		Safe	18
	Life style	Easy to live life	47
		Freedom	9
		Modern	9
	Total		441
Negative thoughts and feelings	People	Stiff	54
		Seeing Turkish students as money	54
		No food culture	29
		Not helpful	27
		Do not like Turks coming from Turkey	26
		Lower standard of hygiene	16
	Location/ place	Underdeveloped	63
		Transportation problems	37
		Expensive	36
		Neglected	18
		Accommodation problem	17
	Lifestyle	Boring	108
		No social activities	91
		Slow pace of life	8
	Total		674

Analysis of the first written service-learning reflection indicated that Turkish teacher candidates had both positive and negative thoughts towards Northern Cyprus. However, as summarised in Table 1, the negative thoughts and feelings towards Cypriots, the place they live in and the lifestyle in Cyprus were stated more frequently than positive thoughts and feelings. According to the data, teacher candidates thought that Cypriots are warm, good, hospitable, unprejudiced, and respectful to others. However, students reported more often that Cypriots are stiff, consider Turkish students as 'walking Euros', have no food culture, have a different (lesser) sense of hygiene, are not helpful, and do not like Turks [Turks that come from Turkey]. One female student noted that "Yes, they are helpful and warm but I know they are helpful as long as they make money from us." Another student continued to explain "I think that if they do not make money from us, they will not behave in a similar manner, be never ever helpful again."

As a second theme, teacher candidates reported their thoughts and feelings on the locations where they live. Their positive feelings about living in Northern Cyprus were that it was peaceful, a kind of heaven, there were no traffic jams and it was safe. One female expressed her feelings as "I feel myself in a heaven; it is quiet, peaceful and safe. I never need to close my window, I feel comfortable when I go to coast at nights in late hours." However, there were more negative thoughts describing Northern Cyprus as underdeveloped when compared with Turkey, with accommodation and transportation problems, it was expensive, and neglected. One male student answered the prompt by noting that:

The life in Cyprus is interesting. When talking about 'life', it is not only eating, drinking, and sleeping but many other things it includes. Life should provide opportunities of self-actualisation psychologically, physically, and spiritually. Unfortunately, Cyprus is far from this picture, it is just a small, underdeveloped village.

Theory into practice

Teacher! I am in a shock! People, here, are surprisingly helpful; they adopted our homework as their own project, and they work really hard to complete it!

Villagers donated some money so that we could arrange our festival offerings; they came to the hill where we will arrange the festival, helped in digging the holes, carrying 1000 saplings up above the hill, and used their own cars to solve our transportation problem for three days.

Teacher, as we had so much fun and gained experience during our own project, to be able to come together with children again, we get some responsibility in Science Festival. Thus, we came to help to our friends.

Final narratives

During the fourteen-week study, I surprisingly watch[ed] the change in my thoughts about Cypriots. Firstly, I thought that they [are] never like Turkish people, and would never help us during the projects; then I realised that it was just my bias towards Cypriots. I am ashamed of myself.

At first, my opinion was 'Cypriots are too stiff.' However, after working together in decorating and renewal of the Village Women School, Cypriots' help made me think that I had to change my biased thoughts.

Actually, at first, although I realised the importance of our project, I thought that no one will care what we would do, and our project will not affect the people. However, I experienced the opposite. While we were cleaning the coast, truck, bus, and automobile drivers crossing the highway congratulated us by using their horns, shaking their hands, and applauding. I was surprised and happy. An old woman stopped her car and started to help us in cleaning. A very old man parked his car on the coast and came to us just to congratulate. That day, for the first time, I thought to myself that 'What beautiful people you have, Lefke'.

I had always thought that they hate us Turks. However, after I took this course, I had to revise my thoughts, and rethink what others told me about Turkish Cypriots' behaviours; it was a big lie and it was a fusty bias! All of the Cypriots that we met or had to communicate with during the project behaved toward us as if we were their own children. That was a huge shock for me.

While carrying on our project, the biggest problem was the transportation since our project school was 10 km away from our dormitories; we did not have our own cars; and the school service buses' schedules did not fit to our working hours. To complete all the decoration and renewal process in the school, we needed to go to the place at least 8 times. At first, we took the cab - it was really expensive - and shared the fee among the group members. When we called the taxi cab for the third time, the taxi driver did not take any money. It was really surprising, but we were very happy since we had not found any sponsor for the transportation expenses yet. By the way, we painted all the exterior walls of the school just in three days. School director appreciated our good job and decided to help us more. She made the school service car available to take us from campus and bring us to the project school. Our hardworking style and quality work changed people's point of view of us and solved our transportation problem.

This project introduced me to primary schools, teachers, and parents in Cyprus. My belief was 'they neglect primary schools.' Thus, at first, I thought that they would never spend the effort to make their school 'fabulous'. However, with this project, I witnessed their effort, they never neglected their schools, and they only waited for the hero that would take the first step. And that step was our project. I am proud of myself.

Before starting the project, we needed to complete many paper and bureaucratic works. To me, it was impossible in Cyprus. I thought that we could not achieve any of the projects on time since the pace of life in Cyprus was too slow. We got a very quick appointment from the mayor! In my hometown in Turkey, it was nearly impossible to contact with the mayor as a university student. He helped us a lot; completed all the paperwork in just a week and we could start our project quickly.

I learned that life in Cyprus actually was not that boring. The boring thing was only in our minds. If we wanted not to be bored, we could find a way. However, it was too late for me to realise this. I wish I had taken this course three years ago, then I would have learned how to entertain myself and develop my skills. This project taught me how to find a way of reaching art or explore different types of activities. Additionally, I admitted that there were lots of opportunities to entertain yourself on such a small island if you knew how to search for them.

I wish I would have taken this course before. Thanks to the course, we entered the archive of Bayrak Radio and Television, visited many libraries - I did not know there were many public libraries in Cyprus. Furthermore, we interviewed some musicians and important bands. We visited museums with music group Kõbrõs MŸzik Yolcularõ. I had never been in Cyprus that much before. I think our project was the longest one. Thanks to the project, we had been in a different part of Cyprus in each week. I saw a lot of new places. It was so much fun for me. There were many places to see and many cultural things to do in Cyprus. Unfortunately, I realised this in the last semester of my Cyprus life."

Discussion

This research explores how service learning activities led teacher candidates into more positive and more participatory views about a community new to their experiences. Teacher candidates also reported that they learned that the best way to thrash out causes and come up with solutions is to conduct dialogue and cooperate with the members of the community. During the projects, teacher candidates experienced how community and especially municipal officials were ready to provide help not only in improving the physical facilities of the schools (e.g., My Fabulous School project, My Playground is Sooo Beautiful project) but also in helping children themselves in developing new learning and values (e.g. Children's Festival, Science Festival, Kite Festival, Planting Tree Festival, Dental Health Awareness project in primary schools, Introducing Children to Musical Instruments project, Clean Up the World project).

Teacher educators should often question their effectiveness in cultivating socially intelligent teachers. This paper also attempts to open a discussion of an essential goal of effective teacher education: cultivating social responsibility (UNESCO, 1998). The community-service course helped students connect what they learned in theoretical courses with what they faced in real settings. In this 'learning-by-doing' approach, students socially constructed their own knowledge and excitement for service-learning. At the same time they connected with a new community, its problems and possible solutions, by "drawing lessons from the experience of performing service work" (Campus Compact, 2003, p. 7).

Implications for practice and policy

Second, alternative teacher certification programs (pedagogical formation programs) do not offer a service-learning course in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Considering the findings of the study, it is beneficial for teacher candidates to take and experience such kinds of course before being assigned as a teacher. Since faculties be unable to readily add or drop any courses from pedagogical formation programs, teacher educators may adopt service-learning to as a supplement to their current pedagogy. Service-learning can make students "aware of issues and problems of equity, equality, power, voice, and resources in education" (Carter-Andrews, 2009, p. 274). It is recommended that instructors require teacher candidates to attend and carry out service-learning projects in practicum courses to help prepare them as more qualified and socially engaged teachers and role models.

Third, at the course level, learning experiences are most effective when students reflect systematically on their own learning. In this study, by narrating their service-learning stories, teacher candidates drew new learning, consciousness, and values from their experiences. Therefore, teacher educators are encouraged to build reflective methods into field-based learning opportunities such as narratives in service-learning courses, as they help teacher candidates in meaning-making about the community and its multiple textualities (Kirkland, 2014). Furthermore, as happens in many contemporary teacher education programs, service-learning courses are typically led by instructors who expend effort to make connections between universities, schools and communities through which academic subjects, skills, and values are taught (Selmo, 2015). Organising a service-learning course can become a powerful professional development experience for instructors as well.

In summary, the present study contributes to our understanding of service-learning in teacher education in several ways. The paper enriches the service-learning literature by adding new methodology and understanding through student narratives and reflections. It also contributes by exploring an experiential learning example for adapting to a new community, which is reported in the literature as a significant challenge for new teachers. For the international reader, this research has another lesson. In this global era, many institutions offer programs for international students. Service-learning courses and community engagement activities could be used to help cultural newcomers to adapt and adopt the new life and to make friends in a new cultural setting which will help reduce homesickness and thus, increase success (Swenson Goguen, Hiester & Nordstrom, 2010; Knutson Miller & Gonzalez, 2016).

Further research

Conclusion

References

Arkun, S. & Seferoglu, S. S. (2010). Gen�çlere topluma hizmet bilinci kazandırma ç�alışmaları: Üniversiteden örnekler uygulamalar. 7. Eğitimde İyi Örnekler Konferansı, 17-18 Nisan 2010, Sabancı Üniversitesi, İstanbul.

Bandy, J. (2016). What is service learning or community engagement? Center for Teaching, Vanderbilt University. https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/teaching-through-community-engagement/

Basit, T. (2003). Manual or electronic? The role of coding in qualitative data analysis. Educational Research, 45(2), 143-154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0013188032000133548

Boss, J. A. (1995). Teaching ethics through community service. Journal of Experiential Education, 18(1), 20-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382599501800105

Bringle, R. G., Clayton, P. H. & Hatcher, J. A. (2013). Research on service learning: An introduction. In P. Clayton, R. Bringle & J. Hatcher (Eds), Research on service learning: Conceptual frameworks and research, vol. 2A: Students and faculty (pp. 3-25). Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.

Bruner, J. (1983). Child's talk: Learning to use language. New York: Norton.

Bruner, J. (1991). The narrative construction of reality. Critical Inquiry, 18(1), 1-21.

Campus Compact (2003). Campus Compact's introduction to service-learning toolkit: Readings and resources for faculty (2nd ed.). Providence, RI: Brown University.

Cansaran, A., Orbay, K. & Kalkan, M. (2010). University-community bridge: Service learning to society. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 1687-1693. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2010.03.966

Carter-Andrews, D. J. (2009). "The hardest thing to turn from": The effects of service-learning on preparing urban educators. Equity & Excellence in Education, 42(2), 272-293. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10665680903060261

Cho, M. (2006). Artistically serving: A study of the Lake County's arts-based service learning program. Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, Florida State University. http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu%3A182042

Chubb, J. (2012). The best teachers in the world: Why we don't have them and how we could. Palo Alto, CA: Hoover Institute Press.

Coffey, H. (2010). "They taught me": The benefits of early community-based field experiences in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), 335-342. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.09.014

Connelly, F. M. & Clandinin, D. J. (1990). Stories of experience and narrative inquiry. Educational Researcher, 19(5), 2-14. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X019005002

Dewey, J. (1916). Democracy and education: An introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: Macmillan.

Dewey, J. (1938). Education and experience. New York: Colliers.

Ellis, C. & Bochner, A. P. (2000). Autoethnography, personal narrative, reflexivity: Researcher as subject. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2nd ed., pp. 733-768). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Ernest, P. (1998). Social constructivism as a philosophy of mathematics. SUNY Press.

Fowler, J. (2008). Experiential learning and its facilitation. Nurse Education Today, 28(4), 427-433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2007.07.007

Furco, A. (1996). Service-learning: A balanced approach to experiential education. In B. Taylor (Ed.), Expanding boundaries: Serving and learning (pp. 2-6). Washington, DC: Corporation for National Service. http://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slceslgen/128/

Furco, A. & Root, S. (2010). Service learning: Research demonstrates the value of service learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(5), 16-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171009100504

Gökçe, N. (2011). Sosyal bilgiler öğretmen adaylarının topluma hizmet uygulamalarına ilişkin değerlendirmeleri [Social studies teacher candidates' opinions about the practice of community service]. Uluslararası İnsan Bilimleri Dergisi, 8(2), 176-193. http://www.acarindex.com/dosyalar/makale/acarindex-1423936373.pdf

Gredler, M. E. (1997). Learning and instruction: Theory into practice (3rd ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Holsapple, M. A. (2012). Service-learning and student diversity outcomes: Existing evidence and directions for future research. Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning, 18(2), 5-18. http://hdl.handle.net/2027/spo.3239521.0018.201

Hutchison, D. & Bosacki, S. (2000). Over the edge: Can holistic education contribute to experiential education? Journal of Experiential Education, 23(3), 177-182. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382590002300310

Jarvis, P. (2004). Adult education and lifelong learning (3rd ed.). London: Routledge Falmer.

Joplin, L. (1981). On defining experiential education. Journal of Experiential Education, 4(1), 17-20. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382598100400104

Kearney, S., Perkins, T. & Maakrun, J. (2014). A transformative experience: A short-term cross-cultural service-learning immersion to Kenya. Issues in Educational Research, 24(3), 229-240. http://www.iier.org.au/iier24/kearney.html

Kesten, A. (2012). Öğretmen adaylarının ve öğretim elemanlarının bakış a�çısıyla topluma hizmet uygulamaları dersinin değerlendirilmesi. Kuram ve Uygulamada Eğitim Bilimleri, 3(12), 2125-2148. http://www.kuyeb.com/tr/makale.asp?ID=711&act=detay

Kilgo, C. A., Pasquesi, K., Sheets, J. K. E. & Pascarella, E. T. (2014). The estimated effects of participation in service-learning on liberal arts outcomes. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 2(1), 18-30. http://journals.sfu.ca/iarslce/index.php/journal/article/download/78/21

Kirkland, D. (2014). "They look scared": Moving from service learning to learning to serve in teacher education - a social justice perspective. Equity & Excellence in Education, 47(4), 580-603. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2014.958967

Knutson Miller, K. & Gonzalez, A. M. (2016). Short-term international internship experiences for future teachers and other child development professionals. Issues in Educational Research, 26(2), 241-259. http://www.iier.org.au/iier26/knutson-miller.html

Küçükoğlu, A. (2012). Ögretmen eğitiminde topluma hizmet uygulamaları: Deneyimsel bir öğrenme yaklaşımı. Uluslararası Türkçe Edebiyat Kültür ve Eğitim Dergisi, 1(4), 214-226. http://dx.doi.org/10.7884/teke.115

Lindsay, A. & Ewert, A. (1999). Learning at the edge: Can experiential education contribute to educational reform? Journal of Experiential Education, 22(1), 12-19. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382599902200103

Matthews, P. H., Dorfman, J. H. & Wu, X. (2015). The impacts of undergraduate service-learning on post-graduation employment outcomes. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 3(1). https://journals.sfu.ca/iarslce/index.php/journal/article/view/109

McKibben, B. (2007). Deep economy: The wealth of communities and the durable future. New York: Holt Company.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary (2016). Definition of community. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community

Mooney, L. A. & Edwards, B. (2001). Experiential learning in sociology: Service learning and other community-based learning initiatives. Teaching Sociology, 29(2), 181-194. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1318716 [also at https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/iatl/funding/fundedprojects/strategic/genderedknowledges/themes/experientiallearning/mooney.pdf]

National Assessment of Educational Progress (2013). Achievement Gaps. http://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reading_math_2013/#/achievement-gaps

Nicotera, N., Brewster, S. & Veeh, C. (2015). Civic activity and well-being among first-year college students. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 3(1). https://journals.sfu.ca/iarslce/index.php/journal/article/view/125

Nolet, V. (2009). Preparing sustainability-literate teachers. Teachers College Record, 111(2), 409-442. http://www.tcrecord.org/library/abstract.asp?contentid=15177

Oakes, J., Lipton, M., Anderson, L. & Stillman, J. (2015). Teaching to change the world. NY: Routledge.

Patel, N. V. (2003). A holistic approach to learning and teaching interaction: Factors in the development of critical learners. International Journal of Educational Management, 17(6), 272-284. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540310487604

Pirpir, D. A., Büyükaktar, Ç. G., Çi�çeker, C. Y. & Er, R. K. (2014). Okul öncesi öğretmenliği bõlümünde okuyan öğretmen adaylarinin topluma hizmet uygulamalari dersine ilişkin algilari [Pre-school teacher candidates' perception of community service application course]. Kastamonu Eğitim Dergisi, 22(2), 539-554.

Pritchard, F. F. & Whitehead III, G. I. (2004). Serve and learn: Implementing and evaluating service-learning in middle and high schools. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers, Mahwah, New Jersey.

Quay, J. (2003). Experience and participation: Relating theories of learning. Journal of Experiential Education, 26(2), 105-112. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382590302600208

Ramey, L. (2013). Engaging learners in community service learning to enhance teacher preparation curriculum. Journal of Sustainability Education, 5. http://www.susted.com/wordpress/content/engaging-learners-in-community-service-learning-to-enhance-teacher-preparation-curriculum_2013_06/

Riger, S., LeBailly, R. K. & Gordon, M. T. (1981). Community ties and urbanites' fear of crime: An ecological investigation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 9(6), 653-665. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00896247

Rocheleau, J. (2004). Theoretical roots of service-learning: Progressive education and the development of citizenship. In B. W. Speck & L. S Hoppe (Eds), Service-learning: History, theory, and issues. Praeger Publishers.

Schwandt, T. A. (2014). The SAGE dictionary of qualitative inquiry, 4th ed. SAGE.

Selmo, L. (2015). The narrative approach in service-learning methodology: A case study. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 3(1). https://journals.sfu.ca/iarslce/index.php/journal/article/view/98

Sleeter, C. (2008). Equity, democracy, and neoliberal assaults on teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(8), 1947-1957. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2008.04.003

Speck, B. W. & Hoppe, S. L. (2004). Service-learning: History, theory, and issues. Westport, CT: Praeger.

Stoecker, R. & Tryon, E. A. (Eds.) (2009). The unheard voices: Community organizations and service learning. http://www.temple.edu/tempress/chapters_1800/2023_ch1.pdf

Swenson Goguen, L. M., Hiester, M. A. & Nordstrom, A. H. (2010). Associations among peer relationships, academic achievement, and persistence in college. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice, 12(3), 319-337. https://doi.org/10.2190/CS.12.3.d

Ugurlu, Z. & Kiral, E. (2011). Ögretmen adaylarının topluma hizmet uygulamaları dersinin işleyiş süreci ve kazanımlarına ilişkin görüşleri. [The process of teacher candidates service-learning and the views relating with the attainments] 2nd International Conference on New Trends in Education and Their Implications, 27-29 April, Antalya, Turkey. http://www.iconte.org/FileUpload/ks59689/File/130.pdf

UNESCO (1998). World declaration on higher education for the twenty-first century: Vision and action. http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/wche/declaration_eng.htm

UNICEF (1999). Teachers and communities. UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/teachers/environment/teachers.htm

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Waterman, A. S. (1997). Service-learning: Applications from the research. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

YÖK (2016). Eğitim Fakültesi Öğretmen Yetiştirme Yetiştirme Programları. [Teacher Education Programs] [not found 15 Aug 2017] http://www.yok.gov.tr/web/guest/icerik/-/journal_content/56_INSTANCE_ rEHF8BIsfYRx/10279/49875

Zeichner, K. M., Payne, K. A. & Brayko, K. (2014). Democratizing teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 66(2), 122-135. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487114560908

Author: Dr Tuba Gökmenoğlu is an Assistant Professor in the Dr Fazõl KŸ�Ÿk Faculty of Education, European University of Lefke, Northern Cyprus Mersin via 10, Turkey. She was awarded her PhD from Middle East Technical University in Turkey on Curriculum and Instruction program in 2012. Dr Gökmenoğlu undertook a research fellowship program in Arizona State University 2011-2012. Email: tgokmenoglu@eul.edu.tr Please cite as: Gökmenoğlu, T. (2017). More than just another course: Service learning as antidote to cultural bias. Issues in Educational Research, 27(4), 751-769. http://www.iier.org.au/iier27/gokmenoglu.html