Karen L. Parker

Enhancing Christian School Experiences for Pre-Service Teachers Through Service Learning Partnerships

This article gives an overview of service learning as it relates to the integration of faith and learning for a pre-service teacher candidate. A survey was given to pre-service, education candidates who were completing a service-learning project in a local Christian school. Results from the survey indicate that all major elements of service learning in a faith based institution were achieved to include agreeing on a mission, having administration buy-in, candidate learning, and an awareness of faith and learning. In addition teacher education candidates were more likely to work in Christian school after having been exposed to this experience. The research supports the importance of providing a variety of experiences that integrate faith and learning.

Character Traits Depicted in Newbery Medal Books from the 1920s through the 2000s.

Readers readily identify with characters in literature; therefore, educators must be acutely aware of the overt and underlying messages conveyed in Newbery Medal books. In this quantitative content analysis with a qualitative component, the researchers employed nonparametric measurements to examine Newbery Medal books from the 1920s to the 2000s to quantify the frequency of positive Biblical and negative opposite character traits exhibited through the thoughts and actions of characters in Newbery Medal books as well as the emergent moral themes of each book. A new system of classification for Newbery Medal books has been proposed to provide the American Library Association with an alternative method by which Newbery Medal books categorized.