Service-Learning: What Motivates K-12 Teachers to Participate In and Sustain Service-Learning Projects?

This phenomenological study describes the essence of the service-learning experience for the K-12 teacher, specifically exploring teacher motivations for initiating and sustaining service-learning in the classroom. Service-learning is defined as an educational methodology that incorporates student preparation, service to the community, and reflection, with links to the academic curriculum (Billig, 2002). The author and primary investigator for the study was a former K-12 teacher with experience implementing service-learning in a secondary setting. Co-researchers were six K-12 teachers who had implemented service-learning in the 24 months prior to the study. The author interviewed each co-researcher, transcribed the interviews, and used the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen Method of Analysis of Phenomenological Data for data analysis. Three major themes emerged to describe the essence of implementing service-learning from the K-12 teacher's perspective: a) Connections, b) Resonation in the Heart of the Teacher, and c) The Right Fit with a Teacher's Philosophy and Teaching Style. Motivational, rejuvenating, purposeful, gratifying, heartwarming, relevant, exciting, necessary. These are just a few of the adjectives K-12 teachers used to describe their service-learning experiences. There are many rich, textural stories to support these terms. What motivates teachers to implement service-learning? What is the essence of the service-learning experience for K-12 teachers? Why do they continue to implement service-learning even when they are crunched for time, pressured by testing, and inundated with paperwork? The three themes that emerged to describe the service-learning experience for K-12 teachers are Connections (involving students, teachers, parents, administrators, the curriculum, and the community-at-large), Resonation in the Hearts of Teachers, and the Right Fit with the Teacher's Philosophy and Teaching Style.