Moving Toward Critical Service Learning as a Signature Pedagogy in Aboriginal Communities: Why Good Intentions are not Enough.

Abstract

This study examines the experiences of student teachers that participated in a service-learning program working in Indigenous communities throughout Alberta. The intent of this study is to share what student teachers experienced as they combined formal theoretical knowledge and course content with community-based praxis. Initial results point to a synergistic relationship between the length of service learning and the depth of critical reflection. Those education students who were able to shift their understanding of the educational gap from a deficit perspective to recognition of their own gaps in knowledge are often those who think, act and perform with integrity.