ERIC Number: EJ1459903
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2325-5226
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Short-Term Transformative Impacts of a Service-Learning Study Abroad Program
Journal of Human Sciences & Extension, v12 n1 2024
Universities are increasingly working to better prepare students for success in the workforce and increasingly advocating high-impact learning experiences. This case study explores the short-term impacts on students who participated in a short-term service-learning study abroad program in Ireland through a lens of Transformative Learning Theory. Data collection consisted of (a) a preparticipation interview, (b) a follow-up interview, and (c) participant observation. We found evidence of all four tenets of Mezirow's Transformative Learning Theory: (a) refining meaning schema, (b) learning new schema, (c) transforming schemes, and (d) transforming perspectives. Emergent subthemes related to service-learning or personal growth were discovered within each of these tenets. We concluded that while this program was not intentionally designed with Transformative Learning Theory as a means to deliver an educational curriculum, there are transformational learning aspects inherent to study abroad as well as service-learning. Based on this study, we offer recommendations for best practices for facilitating service-learning study abroad programs and for future research.
Descriptors: Study Abroad, Service Learning, Transformative Learning, Foreign Countries, Educational Benefits, Outcomes of Education, Program Effectiveness, Student Attitudes, Student Experience, Individual Development
School of Human Sciences, Mississippi State University. PO Box 9745, Mississippi State, MS 39762. Tel: 662-325-6861; Fax: 662-325-8188; e-mail: jhse@ext.msstate.edu; Web site: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/jhse/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ireland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A