Impact of family literacy service-learning projects on pre-service teachers’ knowledge, skills, and identities

This study aimed to explore the impacts of pre-service teachers’ participation in a service-learning project focused on involving family members in literacy activities. Participants were 45 pre-service teachers enrolled in an early childhood education course that included a family literacy service-learning project. Their perceptions of their knowledge, skills, and professional identities were assessed via surveys administered before and after their participation in the service-learning project. The surveys included both Likert scale items and open-ended items. Results indicated that participation in the family literacy service-learning project significantly improved pre-service teachers’ perceptions of their knowledge, skills, and identities as future teachers. Our findings suggest that teacher preparation programs can include family literacy service-learning projects in their coursework as a way to support the development of pre-service teachers’ abilities to successfully engage with families around their children’s literacy development.