This paper will consider the relationship between engaged pedagogies and the development of what is referred to as independent skills, as well as active citizenship. The significance for their development in the context of the Irish teaching and learning context will be sketched, particularly at first and second level. In particular, the author will make reference to the Open Spaces for Dialogue and Enquiry Methodology (OSDE) which was developed at the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ) at the University of Nottingham. The author's experience of engaging with this particular approach, especially as it pertains to the development of independent thinking skills and active citizenship will be discussed. It will involve a case study, as well as findings from a questionnaire that was distributed to the Open Spaces for Dialogue and Inquiry Network.

This paper examines pre-service teacher outcomes associated with service learning in domestic and international settings. Participants included upper-division, undergraduate-level pre-service teachers who participated in service learning experiences in either local, domestic settings (Orange County, CA) or international settings (Shanghai and Changshu, China). Outcomes initially considered included academic achievement, civic engagement, career goal clarification, and the development of cultural competencies. Pre/post-experience surveys and course reflections were analysed to identify within and between group differences in participant reports. Findings indicated positive outcomes across contexts in respect to academic achievement and opportunities for career goal clarification. The international service learning context appeared to facilitate enhanced outcomes in relation to development of professional skills and strategies as well as personal development. The international service learning context was also generally rated by participants as more 'impactful' than the domestic service learning context.

Many universities around the world are using service learning in courses to enhance their students' mastery of course content and commitment to social justice. Teacher education faculties have additionally experimented with service learning as a way of providing authentic field experiences at inner city schools for their teacher candidates. This study explores a different version of service learning-teacher candidates' uses of service learning as a teaching methodology during their student teaching placements.

This paper will consider the relationship between engaged pedagogies and the development of what is referred to as independent skills, as well as active citizenship. The significance for their development in the context of the Irish teaching and learning context will be sketched, particularly at first and second level. In particular, the author will make reference to the Open Spaces for Dialogue and Enquiry Methodology (OSDE) which was developed at the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ) at the University of Nottingham. The author's experience of engaging with this particular approach, especially as it pertains to the development of independent thinking skills and active citizenship will be discussed. It will involve a case study, as well as findings from a questionnaire that was distributed to the Open Spaces for Dialogue and Inquiry Network.

This paper takes up the notion that service learning might be understood as a 'third space' (Bhabha, 1990, 1994; Soja, 1996) in teacher education. In work with young people designated as 'at risk' in and out of school, the metaphor of the third space evokes a hybrid, in-between, disruptive space that can operate to disturb normative or deficit perceptions and to disrupt pre-service teacher subjectivities. The 'third space' also draws attention to the centrality of embodied space and place in pedagogical encounters. This paper describes three of the service learning strands in the suite of opportunities available to secondary pre-service teacher at the University of Western Sydney, and, using participant reflections on these placements as data, it begins to trace material and metaphoric articulations of third space in teacher education.

This paper considers the prospects for sustainable service/community based learning as an element of a civic engagement strategy within the context of teacher education. It draws on findings of a study of the policy, process and practice of embedding civic engagement in the higher education curriculum in Ireland and the author's experience implementing service learning in initial teacher education. The significance of underpinning rationale, as exemplified in academics' orientation to civic engagement, is explored. The benefits to be gained from strategic alignment with institutional and national policy developments are highlighted. A typology of organisational arrangements for service/community based learning is offered to help explore the relationship between complexity, sustainability and potential for reciprocity. Certain features of the context of teacher education - the focus on development of values and dispositions, the centrality of civic values to the profession and teacher educators' familiarity with the practice of reflection - bode well for the prospect of a sustainable pedagogy which reflects the values associated with reciprocity, diversity and social justice. The inherent challenges associated with developing and maintaining collaborative partnerships, however, may limit the potential for mainstreaming service/community based learning within the curriculum for all student teachers.