Empowering education: integrating Design for change and Service-Learning for socially committed learning experiences

This study explores the use of Service-Learning (SL) through the Design for Change (DFC) methodology, which is based on design thinking. The initiative facilitated collaboration between pre-service teachers and students with intellectual disabilities, who worked together to update teaching resources for cognitive diversity. By following the DFC phases—feel, imagine, do, evolve, and share—the pre-service teachers’ projects cultivated empathy, creativity, teamwork, and critical thinking. Additionally, pre-service teachers documented their process and the project’s impact through digital portfolios, offering valuable insights into the transformative potential of this approach. Both the pre-service teachers and the educators working with the students with intellectual disabilities provided highly positive feedback on the experience. The integration of SL and DFC proved effective in promoting social responsibility and experiential learning. This model offers significant value for pre-service teacher preparation programs, equipping future educators to address current educational challenges.