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While it might be said that a nation’s strength comes from its people, a growing concern is finding ways to increase civic and social responsibility. The pro-social development of youth and the social responsibility of teachers can be nurtured by incorporating more structured civic engagement activities at the classroom level. This study sought to understand how teachers within The Bahamas internalized their participation in civic awareness activities, and how they were influenced by the curriculum they teach. This convergent, intervention mixed methods study explored the systemic nature of how the increased civic awareness of teachers could be a mechanism for influencing their students’ pro-social development. Participants for this study included 81 educators from The Bahamas from both government and private schools. A three-part professional development workshop about community-based teaching and learning and service-learning were developed and presented to PreK-12 educators in The Bahamas. A one group quasi-experimental, pretest/posttest research design was employed to investigate the influences of this intervention on teachers’ personal and professional lives. The quantitative data collection instruments included a demographic survey, the Civic Minded Professional (CMP) Scale (Hatcher, 2008), and the Social Justice Scale (Torres-Harding, Siers, & Olson, 2012). Qualitative data were collected through open-ended survey responses, workshop written documents, and interviews. Quantitative and qualitative data were integrated using the Pillar Integration Process (Johnson, Grove, & Clarke, 2017). Key findings included: participants becoming more civic-minded professionals after the professional development; social responsibility development and positive effects on participants’ personal development; increased awareness and shifts in beliefs and thoughts regarding one’s role within society. This study can provide insight into the connection among curriculum, instructional design, and civic engagement. By being introduced to the service-learning pedagogy through the professional development, teachers can construct learning environments alongside their students where both parties can build skills that have the potential to strengthen communities.
Advisor: | Starratt, Gerene K. |
Commitee: | Winkle, Carter A., Hall, Pamela D. |
School: | Barry University |
Department: | School of Education |
School Location: | United States -- Florida |
Source: | DAI-A 81/12(E), Dissertation Abstracts International |
Source Type: | DISSERTATION |
Subjects: | Curriculum development, Social studies education, Caribbean literature |
Keywords: | Civic awareness, Civic-mindedness, Service-learning |
Publication Number: | 28002725 |
ISBN: | 9798662384408 |