Service-learning and Effective Personality in Physical Education preservice teachers

Abstract

The development of the “Effective Personality “, understood as a construct in which personality traits with effective behaviour in professional or academic contexts are related, is postulated as one of the goals of the 21st-century university training. According to this approach, the Service-Learning (S-L) is a pedagogical method that could meet these needs by focusing on the application of academic skills in real contexts. This paper, raised from a mixed research approach, arises in order to know whether the S-L contributes to the development of the “Effective-Personality” of pre-service teachers of the area of Physical Education. The study presented was carried out at Jaume I University (Spain) and analyses the results of a S-L program implemented by a group of second grade pre-service teachers. The quantitative analysis concludes significant differences, in favor of the experimental group, in the comparison of the overall results of the Effective Personality Test for University Students. Moreover, the qualitative study approach aligns and complements the quantitative results, favouring a better and more contextualized understanding of them.