You’re Supposed to Care: Faculty Motivations to Incorporate Service Learning into Community College Classrooms

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the motivations that cause some faculty in community colleges to embrace and actively pursue service learning pedagogy in their classrooms. It also identified the catalysts that move faculty to action in implementing this approach to instruction. The qualitative phenomenological case study approach was used to hear the stories of eight faculty members representing different areas of discipline in eight different campus locations in a Midwestern statewide community college system. Four primary themes and two sub-themes were identified through this study. The primary themes were (a) pedagogical connections to previous school experiences and personal and family values, (b) passion and commitment each faculty member had for this approach to instruction, (c) persistence of the faculty participants to use this approach despite the many barriers they faced, and (d) pleasure these faculty members get from watching their students perform in a service learning setting. The identified sub-themes were (a) bottom-up approach to instruction and (b) ability to take risks with instruction.