Host Community Voices and Community Experiences: Tanzanian Perspectives on a Teacher Education International Service-Learning Project

Abstract

Teacher education programs are increasingly integrating aspects of international service-learning (ISL) into student experience. While studies about teacher-candidate experiences are published, less is known about the effects of these ISL initiatives on the host communities. There is a need to hear from and integrate host community voices into all dimensions of the ISL experiences. We honor the voices of ISL host participants by turning our attention to those involved in an ongoing ISL project in Tanzania. Our analysis is grounded in our experiences as ISL practitioners and teacher educators. We utilize the concepts of Freire and Dewey to provide an understanding of ISL in teacher education that emphasizes how dialogue with host participants increases understanding of local contexts and promotes reciprocity as a form of learning from one another. This study concludes with the implications, both negative and positive, associated with integrating ISL into teacher education programs

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