Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility in Physical Education Teacher Education: A Service-Learning Application

Service-learning has gained popularity in physical education programs as a way to prepare pre-service teachers to work with culturally diverse students. The chapter contributes to this growing movement developing a conceptual framework for the development of a service-learning program fit to meet (a) the learning needs of low-income children and families; (b) the education, training, and socialization needs of preservice teachers; and (c) the design requirements of best practice interventions. A research- and theory-driven application of service-learning through the teaching personal and social responsibility pedagogical model is overviewed in reference to one physical education teacher education program. Lessons learned from the implementation of this model are discussed, as are implications for practice. Improvement science is offered a methodology that can help researchers develop the responsiveness of these initiatives while also furthering the research base of the field.