Short-Term Travel Abroad To Uganda & Guatemala: A Preliminary Assessment Of Student Transformative Learning

Authors

  • John Wood, Ph.D. University of Central Oklahoma
  • Jarrett Jobe University of Central Oklahoma

Keywords:

travel abroad, transformative learning, students

Abstract

 

ABSTRACT

We take a cumulative case studies approach to explore transformative learning in the areas of service learning, global competencies, and leadership through travel abroad course trips to Uganda (May 2016, 2017) and Guatemala (March 2017). These courses took students on service learning trips to educate and develop their knowledge and experiences related to the Central Six learning tenets at the University of Central Oklahoma. Student’s primary emphasis for these experiences was the completion of a service focused project in partnership with a local organization. In addition to these projects, students engaged in cultural learning activities and programs focused on local customs and experiences. In Uganda, students partnered with St. Monica’s Tailoring School/Sewing Hope Foundation to support their educational and civic efforts in the communities of Gulu and Atiak. In Guatemala, students partnered with Habitat with Humanity’s Global Village program. In both tours with different students, we assessed whether students have exhibited indications of expanded perspectives by conducting a post experience, transformative learning assessment tool and by looking for evidence in student journaling using our Student Transformative Learning Record (STLR) rubric. We compared the trips to better assess their transformative potential for students. The research is valuable as little to no work has examined pairing transformative learning and short-term student travel abroad. We do find indications of transformation in students on both trips, especially through global and intercultural awareness.

Author Biographies

John Wood, Ph.D., University of Central Oklahoma

John Wood, Ph.D. is an associate professor of public administration in the MPA program at UCO. He teaches class mainly about the local level focusing on leadership, policy, management and sustainability. In 2016, he won the Liberal Arts’ New Faculty of the Year Award. Wood is President of the Oklahoma Conference of AAUP and on the ICMA Sustainable Communities Committee. He is the former vice mayor of Guthrie, Oklahoma, formerly chairing Guthrie’s finance and street committees. In this role, Wood also served on the ACOG board and vice chair of the Garber-Wellington Aquifer advisory board. In addition to his teaching and service, Wood published the edited volume Taking Sides:Clashing Views in State & Local Government, as well as 13 peer-reviewed articles in areas of government ethics, public administration and environmental policy. He has also traveled to 35 countries, served in the USMC during the Gulf War in 1990-91, and is married to his beautiful wife, Bonnie.

Jarrett Jobe, University of Central Oklahoma

Jarrett Jobe currently serves as Executive Director of Student Leadership Programs at the University of Central Oklahoma where he also serves as an adjunct professor in political science and leadership. He also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma where he teaches courses related to international relations, particularly the United Nations. At UCO, he developed the Global Service Leadership Study Tours and has taken students to Peru, South Africa, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Uganda, Cuba and Costa Rica. He also taught courses for the military in Germany, Belgium, Italy and the United Kingdom. He holds a Bachelor’s of Forensic Science from the University of Central Oklahoma and a doctoral degree in Political Science from the University of Oklahoma. He has been recognized as a “20 under 35” Edmond community leader, a journal record “40 under 40“, awarded the President’s Award for Leadership and Civic Engagement at UCO, was awarded the Global Citizens Award in 2016 from the New World Experiences Foundation and currently serves on the UCO Alumni Board, serving as past President. He has received several grants for academic work including an OU Presidential fellowship to study abroad in France and represented UCO as a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) intern. His philanthropic interests include the Oklahoma Regional Food Bank, Pros for Africa and Habitat for Humanity.

References

Barczyk, Casimir, Nancy Davis, & Lynn Zimmerman. 2012. “Fostering Academic Cooperation and Collaboration through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: A Faculty Research Abroad Program in Poland. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching & Learning 6 (2): 1-19.

Brookfield, S. 2012. “Critical theory and transformative learning.” In E. W. Taylor & P. Cranton (Eds.) Handbook of transformative learning theory: Theory, research and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass: 131-146.

Cannon, Elizabeth and Carmen Heider. 2012. “A Study Abroad Program in Tanzania: The Evolution of Social Justice Action Work. Humboldt Journal of Social Relations. 34: 61-84.

Chieffo, L. and Griffiths, L. 2004. Large-scale assessment of student’s attitudes after a short-term study abroad program. Frontiers: The International Journal of Study Abroad, 10; 165-177.

Cranton, Patricia. 1994. Understanding and promoting transformative learning: A guide for educators of adults. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Cranton, Patricia. 2006. Understanding and promoting transformative learning. 2nd Ed. Sand Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Cranton, Patricia, Heather Stuckey, and Edward Taylor. 2014. “Survey of Transformative

Learning Outcomes and Processes Based on Theoretical Principles.” Retrieved from

www.transformativelearningsurvey.com.

Duncanson-Hales, Christopher. 2014. “International Experiential Learning.” In Effective Social Learning. Nathan Loewen, Christopher Duncanson-Hales and G. Brooke Lester. Minneapolis, MN: Augusburg Fortress Publishers.

Harrigan, Anne and Virginia Vincenti. 2004. “Developing Higher-Order Thinking through an Intercultural Assignment: A Scholarship of Teaching Inquiry Project.” College Teaching 52(3): 113-120.

Ingraham, Edward C.; Peterson, Debra L. 2004. Assessing the Impact of Study Abroad on Student Learning at Michigan State University. Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad,10; 83-100.

Jobe, Jarrett. 2017. “'See the World, Serve the World' – Transformative Learning and Short-Term Study Abroad." https://blogs.uco.edu/tts/see-the-world-serve-the-world-transformative-learning-and-short-term-study-abroad/

Johnston, Joseph and Jane Spalding. 1997. “Internationalizing the Curriculum.” In Handbook of the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Comprehensive Guide to Purposes, Structures, Practices and Change. Ed. Jerry. Gaff, James Ratcliff, and Associates. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, Publishers.

Kiely, Richard. 2005. A transformative learning model for service-learning: A longitudinal case study. Michigan Journal of Community Service-Learning. 12(1): 5-22.

Herrick, Clare. 2010. “Lost in the field: ensuring student learning in the ‘threatened’ geography fieldtrip.” Area 42(1): 108-116.

Hullender, Ren, Shelly Hinck, Jeanneane Wood-Nartker, Travus Burton, and Sue Bowlby. 2015. “Evidences of Transformative Learning in Service-Learning Reflections.” Journal of the Scholarishp of Teaching and Learning. 15(4): 58-82.

Lawrence, R. 2012. Transformative learning through artistic expression: Getting out of our heads. In E. W. Taylor & P. Cranton (Eds.) Handbook of transformative learning theory: Theory, research and practice. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass: 471-485.

Mezirow, J. 1975. Education for Perspective Transformation: Women's Reentry Programs in Community Colleges. New York: Center for Adult Education Teachers College, Columbia University.

Mezirow, J. 1978. "Perspective Transformation". Adult Education Quarterly. 28 (2): 100–110.

Mezirow, J. 1991. Transformative dimensions of adult learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Mezirow, J. & Associates. 2000. Learning as transformation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pires, Mark. 2000. “Study-Abroad and Cultural Exchange Programs to Africa: America's

Image of a Continent.” African Issues, Vol. 28, No. 1/2, Study Abroad in Africa, pp. 39-45.

Rennick, Joanne. 2015. “Learning that Makes a Difference: Pedagogy and Practice for Learning Abroad.” Teaching & Learning Inquiry, 3(2): 71-88.

Rowan-Kenyon, Heather T. & Elizabeth K Niehaus (2011) One Year Later: The Influence of Short-Term Study Abroad Experiences on Students, Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 48:2, 213-228.

Scott, S. M. 1997. The grieving soul in the transformation process. In P. Cranton (Ed.), Transformative learning in action: Insights from practice (pp. 41-50). New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 74. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Sellgren, Katherine. 2011. "English students should study abroad, says minister." BBC News http://www.bbc.com/news/education-14306817. Retrieved 2017-09-09.

Selingo, Jeffery. 2003. “What Americans Think About Higher Education.” The Chronicle of Higher Education. May2, A10-A16.

Stuckey, Heather, Edward Taylor, and Patricia Cranton. 2013 “Developing a Survey of Transformative Learning Outcomes and Processes Based on Theoretical Principles.” Journal of Transformative Education. 11(4):211-228.

Taylor, E. 2000. Analyzing research on transformative learning. In J. Mezirow (Ed.), Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress (pp. 285-328). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Thies, Cameron. “How to Make the Most of Your Summer Study Abroad Teaching Experience.” PS: Political Science and Politics, 38(1): 83-87.

Wasserman, I. and Gallegos, P. V., 2009. “Engaging Diversity: Disorienting Dilemmas that Transform Relationships.” Pp. in Innovations in Transformative Learning: Space, Culture, and the Arts, eds. Beth Fisher-Yoshida, Kathy Dee Geller, and Steven A. Schapiro. New York: Peter Lang.

“What Statistics Show about Study Abroad Students.” University of California, Merced. http://studyabroad.ucmerced.edu/study-abroad-statistics/statistics-study-abroad Retrieved 2017-09-09.

Wolcott, S. & C. Lynch 2001. “Task prompts for different levels in steps to better thinking.” http://www.WoldcottLynch.com (retrieved December 20, 2017).

Yin, Robert. 2014. Case Study Research: Design and Methods. 5th Ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Downloads

Published

2020-07-01

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 1 (2020): Special Issue on International Experiences

Section

Special Issue Research Articles

License

All published works remain the copyright of the author, and are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:

  • Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attributions-ShareAlike 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  • Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) following the journal's published version of the work, as it can lead to productive exchanges and greater citation of published work.