Suchergebnisse

Global education is becoming increasingly important in
higher education institutions in the United States. Concurrently, service-learning is
another educational activity becoming more popular in higher education institutions.
Very little research has been done on the impact on the community from a
service-learning perspective, especially as a part of a study abroad. The purpose of
this study was to explore the impacts of a short-term service-learning study abroad
program on the community partners (organizations) where students completed
service-learning. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with leaders of
organizations in Ireland who hosted students from the University of Florida during a
study abroad program. Data were interpreted using Enos and Morton's (2003) campus and
community partnerships framework. Results revealed both transactional and
transformational outcomes. Long-term impacts included cultural exchanges, the skill
level of students, and moving partnerships forward. Recommendations for practice and
research are provided.

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
pre-participation 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.