Chapter 10: Teachercorps: Transforming Teacher Education Through Social Justice, Service-Learning, and Community Partnerships

TeacherCorps is a partnership program at the University of New Mexico (UNM) among the Department of Teacher Education faculty, the Community Engagement Center staff, and several elementary and secondary schools located in federally designated “pockets of poverty.” We work with these teacher candidates as TeacherCorps members as they complete their teacher preparation coursework, field experience, and serve as members of AmeriCorps. The goal of TeacherCorps is to provide a transformative learning experience for Teacher Education candidates. The program prepares these future teachers to provide community-based service-learning experiences for K–12 students who utilize both university and community assets to address critical community-identified needs. Each candidate also earns work-study dollars and volunteer hours toward an AmeriCorps Education Award. The guiding principles of the TeacherCorps experience include a three-pronged approach of Academics, Community Engagement, and Leadership Development. Several key themes guide the TeacherCorps program and are interwoven throughout the teacher candidates’ field experiences, reflection sessions, and professional development workshops. These themes include community-based service-learning and civic engagement; antiracism and social justice; partnerships with families, community leaders, and community-based organizations; and interdisciplinary teaching methods. This chapter provides the theoretical underpinnings of the program juxtaposed with qualitative research that evaluates the TeacherCorps members’ preparation conducted through this approach. We, as researchers, found that as a result of their service in TeacherCorps, the participants developed their understanding of how to implement community-based service-learning in their classrooms, teach through the lens of social justice, focus on the assets of a community, and engage parents and community members in student learning.