Developing a Social Justice Professional Identity: Academic Service Learning in the Roles and Functions Course

Abstract

There is little guidance in the literature regarding how to develop a social justice professional identity of preservice school psychologists. The purpose of this manuscript is to begin to answer this question: How can a social justice professional identity framework be used to infuse social justice into a school psychology course for preservice school psychologists? To answer this question, this manuscript (a) describes the course design to illustrate how a social justice professional identity framework combined with experiential learning components was used to infuse social justice themes into the introduction to school psychology course for preservice school psychologists; and, (b) presents the findings of the course’s evaluation efforts using an embedded case study. The framework based on research was used to design the course, which specifically included multiple opportunities for self-reflection and the practical experience of service learning (SL). Students perceived SL positively, that it influenced learning outcomes and was beneficial to themselves and profession. The community partner perceived the relationship as helpful and useful.