Hearing the community voice in the process of teacher education and experiential learning

Abstract

This paper attends to an under-researched area of experiential learning (EL), namely eliciting the voice of community partners on how and why EL might mediate teaching and learning processes in the professional and personal development of teachers. There is limited research on how the recipients of service learning and EL view that service. Stemming from a Faculty of Education’s decision to make EL a mandatory component on its undergraduate and postgraduate teacher training programmes, this mixed-method study draws on interview and survey data elicited from 26 community partners and NGOs. Findings demonstrate how community partners and community knowledge plays a powerful role in the preparation of the teachers of tomorrow and how reciprocity can be achieved through boundary crossings.