Facilitating Global Citizenship Through Short-Term Study Abroad Programs

Facilitating Global Citizenship Through Short-Term Study Abroad Programs Michael A. Tarrant, University of Georgia Lisa Chieffo, University of Delaware David Shallenberger, SIT Graduate Institute

Facilitating Global Citizenship Through Short-Term Study Abroad Programs: Case Examples in the South Pacific Michael A. Tarrant Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor University of Georgia Athens, Georgia

Political Context § Our future security depends on a citizenry with a worldview § 1 in 6 American jobs tied to international trade § <5% of college students study abroad each year § ~20% of Americans hold a valid passport § Global problems require global thinking § Social and biophysical dimensions § Context without boundaries

Consortium Model § University of Georgia (since 2001) § Consortia (various, since 2005) § § § Arizona State University California State Long Beach Clemson University East Carolina University North Carolina State University Oregon State University Penn State University of New York, ESF and Brockport Texas A&M University of Florida University of Montana Virginia Tech

Students Studying Abroad in the South Pacific on Consortia Programs

Studies Abroad in the South Pacific: Concept and Development § Mission § To nurture and foster a global citizenry: A respect for the diverse cultures and environments of the world in which we live and belong § Theme § Sustainable development: Humans and the natural environment § Approach § Mix of social and biophysical sciences with educational travel that includes: § ~25% classroom instruction § ~75% field instruction § Programs § § Antarctica Australia Fiji New Zealand

Delivery Mechanism and Learning Approaches § Experiential and classroom § Cultural and environmental field activities § Inter-disciplinary and crosslisted courses § Modular-based learning § Significant writing component § Community interactions § Family homestays § Community-based service learning

To What Extent Does Participation in the Study Abroad Programs Nurture Global Citizenship? § Global citizenship § Obligations to act in an environmentally sustainable manner (to reduce our ecological footprint to sustainable levels) § Global citizens are not simply international by reason of their world travel but as a result of their civic responsibility toward global (primarily environmental) issues

What is a Citizen? § “Justice” is used to distinguish between a community of citizens and that of humans § A “Good Citizen” accepts a political obligation to act in a just and fair manner § A “Good Samaritan” acts out of a duty

Types of Citizens (Westheimer & Kahne, 2004) § Participatory citizens § Active membership in civic/community groups § e. g. , organize food drives § Personally responsible citizens § Recycles, gives blood § e. g. , donate to food drives § Justice-oriented citizens § Challenges and explores root causes of injustice § e. g. , consider why people are hungry and acting accordingly

Types of Global Environmental Obligations § Justice-oriented citizens will tend to score higher on environmental citizenship § Participatory citizens will score higher on their support for policy initiatives § Personally responsible citizens will score higher on ecologically conscious consumer behaviors

Methods § Sample § 320 students from 10 universities § Programs § Australia or New Zealand, May – June, 2008 § Analysis § MANOVA

Results Non-citizen Personally Responsible Citizen Participatory Justice. Citizen oriented Citizen Pre-test N=55 N=157 N=68 N=40 Env. Citizenship 1. 34 1. 94 2. 10 3. 24 Policy Support 11. 71 13. 54 12. 99 14. 18 Env. Conscious Consumer 33. 34 39. 86 38. 22 45. 16 Env. Citizenship 24. 48 30. 66 30. 73 34. 16 Policy Support 11. 56 14. 38 14. 65 15. 48 Env. Conscious Consumer 41. 14 52. 05 51. 08 52. 89 Post-test

Discussion § Justice-oriented citizens generally produced the highest scores on all measures § Non-citizens exhibited the lowest scores on all measures § Participation in the study abroad program strengthened the differences between citizens and non-citizens

Conclusions § If educational travel programs are to respond to Congressional calls to foster global citizenry, they should be academically and logistically structured to focus less on promoting personal responsible citizenry (e. g. , recycling, volunteerism) and more on a critical assessment of the justice issues surrounding global environmental problems and actions to redress the injustices (associated with justice-oriented citizens)

Conclusions (cont. ) § Study abroad programs that empower students to address social problems through a critical assessment are not only more likely to nurture real social change and justice but, in so doing, promote actions at multiple levels: § consumer-oriented decisions § policy support § environmental citizenship

Facilitating Global Citizenship Through Short-Term Study Abroad Programs: Impacts on Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes Lisa Chieffo Associate Director Center for International Studies University of Delaware Newark, Delaware

Study Abroad at Delaware § 4 -1 -4 calendar (5 -week January term), abroad and on-campus courses offered § Almost 1, 500 UD students abroad in 08/09; over 80% on January programs (1250 in 2009) § Over 40% of undergraduates (population 15, 000) study abroad § About 80 UD programs annually, 65 in January, all faculty led, representing 75% of academic departments

Research Question What impacts (if any) does a month-long study abroad program have on students, with respect to global citizenship?

Dilemma Given that: § the number of students and programs is very large, § students are enrolled in a wide variety of courses, § most are not enrolled in a foreign language course (though many are), § programs are located across the globe in both rural and urban settings, § the range of program conditions is great (housing, mobility, interaction with host culture), and § faculty directors have different program goals: What can we measure that applies to all students? and How can we measure it?

Solution § Look for general impacts (changes from pre to post) in areas of knowledge, skills, and attitudes (applicable to all disciplines and sites) § Pose a few specific foreign languagerelated questions § Design a short instrument (31 Likert scale items, 2 short answer) § Incorporate into required online predeparture orientation quizzes § Incorporate into required postprogram evaluation (linked to University-wide Discovery Learning Experience)

Result § Quantitative and qualitative pre - and post-sojourn data from over 1200 students on over 50 programs (January 2009) § 98% return rate § Electronic data collection, retrieval, storage § Ongoing data collection for subsequent years § Limitations: § assessment is self-reported § no on-campus control group § in-house instrument (untested beyond UD)

Findings: Knowledge I am able to give examples of at least two cultural taboos at my host site. %

Findings: Knowledge I can discuss with confidence at least two historic events that are important to the population of my host site.

Findings: Skills I am able to ascertain whether a member of the host culture is annoyed with me.

Findings: Skills I have been able to adapt at my program site with less access to a cell phone and/or e-mail than I am used to at home.

Findings: Attitudes Having to learn how things work in a new environment this term has stressed me out.

Findings: Attitudes Being in an environment where I don’t understand the local language makes me nervous.

Findings: Language Self-Assessment I am able to communicate on at least a basic level with the inhabitants of my host country who don’t speak English. (asked of students who were not taking language courses and who studied in countries where English is not the principle language)

General Conclusions § Change can happen! Significant differences between pre and post responses for 28 of 31 items § Change may not be dramatic across a group—often a shift of one category § Starting point can be surprising § Numbers cannot tell the whole story—must be accompanied by qualitative data (analysis to come) § There are trade-offs! § Complex, interdependent factors make inquiry and analysis challenging § § prior study abroad or other intl. travel major foreign language background program characteristics vis-à-vis host culture

Facilitating Global Citizenship Through Short-Term Study Abroad Programs: Qualitative Research with Adult Learners David Shallenberger Professor of International Education SIT Graduate Institute Brattleboro, Vermont

As Scholar-Practitioners We reflected over a period of 15 years on the impact of short-term travel study programs for adult learners. We put together a series of competencies that we witnessed (including global citizenship”). We wanted to hear the voice of our students’ longitudinal reflections.

ICF Competencies Our initial research suggested six competencies that adult learners develop on short-term travel study: 1. To understand appreciate cultural differences. 2. To understand the historical, economic, social and/or political connections between societies. 3. To be a “global citizen. ” 4. To see oneself differently. 5. To see the world from another’s perspective; to be open to other ways of being. 6. To learn to enter into new cross-cultural settings in a new and better way.

Competencies of a Global Citizen A competent global citizen must be able to: § Look at issues multi-dimensionally; § Be open to interpretations beyond those that come most immediately because of background and home culture; § Perceive interconnections and responsibilities that extend beyond family and neighborhood; § Express interconnections with others in a nonjudgmental way.

The Purpose of the Study § What kinds of impacts, if any, do travel course participants report after 1 -14 years, from their experience? § Open-ended responses – in their own words.

The Study by the Numbers § 14 courses over 14 years § Students took the courses between 1 and 14 years ago. § About 80 “non-bouncing” email addresses § 31 survey responses § 10 follow-up interviews

Findings § Respondents represented 10 courses replied, with 1 – 5 students from each course. “How would you rate the impact of the travel study program(s) on your personal or professional life? ”

Self-Description of Impacts § § § Change of perspective or worldview Change in educational or professional goals Learning about another culture Personal growth, especially in self-confidence Intrapersonal insight

The Most Frequently Cited Impact: Change in Perspective. . . reflecting on this now, I think the El Salvador experience was the turning point that helped me realize that--even though I'm only one person--I can make a difference in the lives of people (and myself) by making myself aware of local and global issues that affect the lives of people worldwide and sending letters or responding to calls of action

The Most Frequently Cited Impact: Change in Perspective It changed my perspective of the world community and gave me access to a broader conversation that is inclusive of world dynamics

The Most Frequently Cited Impact: Change in Perspective I learned that it is critical to our survival that we interact with other cultures to learn from their past, collaborate in the present, and mentor each other for a better future.

The Most Frequently Cited Impact: Change in Perspective [The travel course] provided me with profound insights into my own world view. . . this situation forced me to begin questioning my deeply held beliefs

The Most Frequently Cited Impact: Change in Perspective It made me have a perspective of being a very small part of the whole global environment I knew that I was completely different after I got home--the person that was there and the person who came back. I felt I had grown up , ten years of learning in that one trip

Seeing One’s Own National Identity The travel courses are an incredible opportunity to get out of the "narrowness" of some aspects of American culture and truly reflect on how the greater part of the world lives in both its challenges and its joys.

Seeing One’s Own National Identity Prior to our trip to Geneva, I had this kind of black and white world view, I’m a European. I’m going home When we were in Geneva and I started observing my American colleagues, I became profoundly aware of those cultural nuances and differences and that initiated my reflection mode and I’ve been in this self-reflection mode ever since. As I was going deeper and deeper into my own thinking I started questioning my own thinking my own conditioning, my own reactions to my environment, and gradually I returned to the States again and it just continued and I felt this incredible growth that happened over time.

Changing One’s Goals [The travel course led me to] change my educational and professional goals. Instead of following a narrowly defined path of fulfilling others' expectations, I gained courage to follow my own dreams and aspirations. . .

Changing One’s Goals B efore [this course], I had his predetermined path. When I came back, the whole world changed for me and I discovered some sides of myself that I wasn’t aware of before It took me to a totally different path. . . I am still on this journey and I still don’t know where it is going to take me next.

Changing One’s Goals It created a desire for me to pursue public service and a graduate degree. I worked with refugees for about two years.

Other Impacts § Experiencing oneself: “. . . the biggest impact was personal. The program gave me insight into my own sense of worth and what I could accomplish. ” § Experiencing new cultures: “. . . [I was able to] experience new sites, people, adventures, foods, languages, etc which makes me more educated and well versed in the world around me. ”

Findings relative to ICF Competencies After they had completed the free-form section, we asked them to rate their growth on the ICF competencies 1. To understand appreciate cultural differences. 2. To understand the historical, economic, social and/or political connections between societies. 3. To be a “global citizen. ” 4. To see oneself differently. 5. To see the world from another’s perspective; to be open to other ways of being. 6. To learn to enter into new cross-cultural settings in a new and better way.

Findings relative to ICF Competencies 1: Appreciate cultural differences 2: Understand connections between societies 3: Be a “global citizen” 4: See oneself differently 5: See from another’s perspective 6. Enter a new experience in a new way

Cautions § Note everyone had profound growth. At this point, individuals remarked back upon: § Personal conflicts (with other students and the professor-leader): “When I went to China, I was the ass of the group. I was upset over a lot of things. ” § Lack of willingness to commit: “. . . [to] provide what I'd call in-depth cultural ‘literacy’. . . would have taken more in-depth study than I invested in the program. ”

In Closing § Global citizenship is a multi-factor and difficult-to-define competency. § Profound growth can happen as a result of short-term travel study. § It only begins with the experience itself. § We need multiple ways to research and understand it.

Contacts Michael A. Tarrant Director, Studies Abroad in the South Pacific Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources The University of Georgia Athens, Georgia, USA 706 -542 -9713 tarrant@uga. edu pacific. uga. edu Lisa Chieffo Associate Director Center for International Studies University of Delaware Newark, Delaware, USA 302 -831 -2852 lchieffo@udel. edu www. udel. edu/international David Shallenberger Professor of International Education SIT Graduate Institute, a program of World Learning (formerly School for International Training) Brattleboro, Vermont USA 802 -258 -3522 David. Shallenberger@sit. edu www. sit. edu/graduate