Compiled by Christie Donahue for the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies as background information for supporting student organizations with projects in the LAC region. May-September 2013
Annotated Bibliography: Best Practices in International Engagement and Student Organization Support Resources Compiled by Christie Donahue for the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies as background information for supporting student organizations with projects in the LAC region. MaySeptember 2013 Table of Contents Concepts...................................................................................................................................... 2 …ServiceLearning and Alternative Breaks.............................................................................. 2 …International Service .................................................................................................................... 5 Supporting Students in: ......................................................................................................... 6 …Education Abroad .......................................................................................................................... 6 Student Organizations that Advise on Education Abroad ............................................................. 8 …Alternative Breaks and ServiceLearning.............................................................................. 8 Institutions with Alternative Breaks .................................................................................................... 10 …International ServiceLearning .............................................................................................. 10 UniversityReported Roles in Supporting StudentLed Initiatives Abroad ................ 12 Best Practice Guides for Education Abroad and Alternative Breaks .................. 13 Other Training and Group Dynamics Tools........................................................................... 16 Evaluating Education Abroad ........................................................................................... 17 Models from Higher Education Institutions ................................................................ 17 Northwestern................................................................................................................................... 17 Florida International University ............................................................................................... 18 Bard College ..................................................................................................................................... 18 Tulane University ........................................................................................................................... 18 Duke University .............................................................................................................................. 19 St. Norbert College ......................................................................................................................... 20 It is "important to be involved on a personal level—to feed the hungry, work directly with the poor, be of service in the world. But service alone is not enough. Be ready, also, to tackle the root causes of injustice, to demand new policies and to embrace advocacy.” -Messinger, 2009 http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/june17/bacca- 061709.html)
Transcript
Annotated Bibliography: Best Practices in International Engagement and Student Organization Support
Resources Compiled by Christie Donahue for the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies as background information for supporting student
organizations with projects in the LAC region. May-‐September 2013
Table of Contents
Concepts ...................................................................................................................................... 2 …Service-‐Learning and Alternative Breaks .............................................................................. 2 …International Service .................................................................................................................... 5
Supporting Students in: ......................................................................................................... 6 …Education Abroad .......................................................................................................................... 6 Student Organizations that Advise on Education Abroad ............................................................. 8
…Alternative Breaks and Service-‐Learning .............................................................................. 8 Institutions with Alternative Breaks .................................................................................................... 10
Best Practice Guides for Education Abroad and Alternative Breaks .................. 13 Other Training and Group Dynamics Tools ........................................................................... 16
Evaluating Education Abroad ........................................................................................... 17 Models from Higher Education Institutions ................................................................ 17 Northwestern ................................................................................................................................... 17 Florida International University ............................................................................................... 18 Bard College ..................................................................................................................................... 18 Tulane University ........................................................................................................................... 18 Duke University .............................................................................................................................. 19 St. Norbert College ......................................................................................................................... 20
It is "important to be involved on a personal level—to feed the hungry, work directly with the poor, be of service in the world. But service alone is not enough. Be ready, also, to tackle the root causes of injustice, to demand new policies and to embrace advocacy.” -Messinger, 2009 http://news.stanford.edu/news/2009/june17/bacca-061709.html)
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Concepts Tapia, Maria Nieves. “‘Servicio’ and ‘Solidaridad’ in South American Spanish.” In Service in the 21st Century, 139–149. Service Enquiry 3, 2003. http://www.service-‐enquiry.org.za/downloads/service_enquiry1.pdf#page=147.
This article explores the best translations and difference in interpretations between English and Spanish for key words associated with service and solidarity.
…Service-‐Learning and Alternative Breaks Bringle RG and Hatcher JA. “Implementing Service-‐learning in Higher Education.” The Journal of Higher Education. Vol 62. No 2. 1996. pp. 221-‐239.
This article provides a background of and best-‐practices for service-‐learning in higher education—the Comprehensive Action Plan for Service-‐Learning. It recognizes that the plan does not include suggestions for program development or evaluation. The following figures include sample recommendations for institutional and faculty activities.
Piacitelli, Jill, Molly Barwick, Elizabeth Doerr, Melody Porter, and Shoshanna Sumka. “Alternative Break Programs: From Isolated Enthusiasm to Best Practices: The Haiti Compact.” Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement 17, no. 2 (2013): 87–110.
Sumka, Shoshanna, Melody Porter, Molly Barwick, Joanne Dennis, Elizabeth Doerr, and Jill Piacitelli. “Increasing Impact through Alternative Break Compact Models.”
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presented at the International Service and Higher Education, Washington University in St. Louis, April 1, 2011.
This publication and presentation broadly reflect on the development of Alternative Breaks and best-‐practices identified through the development of a long-‐term partnership between higher education institutions and Haitian organizations called the Haiti Compact.
Definition: Alternative breaks are “programs in which students travel locally, nationally, and internationally to conduct direct service while focusing on targeted social justice issues.”
The report estimates that 68,000 students from campuses across the United States participated in alternative breaks in 2012, providing an estimated 622,000 hours of service.
Origin: “Student-‐led service initiatives, now known as alternative breaks, began in the late 1980s and early 1990s as part of an overall surge of interest in institutionalizing community service on college campuses (McHugh, 2004).”
Pedagogy: “Although not much has been written about alternative breaks specifically, the pedagogical model is consistent with critical service-‐learning, which promotes education through a social justice lens (Bowen, 2011; Doerr, 2011; Mitchell, 2008).”
Purpose: “The aim of alternative breaks is to contribute volunteer hours to communities in need through an asset-‐based approach, and to positively influence the life of the alternative breaker.”
Methods: “On an alternative break, a group of college students (usually 10–12 per trip) engage in volunteer service in a community away from home, typically for a week to three weeks, during time off from school (students’ fall, winter, spring, weekend, or summer school breaks).” “Alternative break trips focus on a particular social issue, such as (but not limited to) poverty, education reform, refugee resettlement, or the environment.”
Leadership Preparation: For several months before the trip, student leaders engage in a training course on leadership and social justice education. They develop skills in reflection facilitation, conflict management, non-‐formal curriculum development, communication, and asset-‐based approaches to volunteerism.
Pretrip: “Through education, community partner orientation, and skill-‐specific training, students learn about relevant social issues in the weeks leading up to the break, as well as the context in which they will be serving and the hard and soft skills required for their work. To this end, the student leaders plan issue-‐based educational sessions that focus on a variety of topics, including the sociocultural history of the region or country, background of the organization(s) with which students will work, and language skills. Additionally, students engage in pre-‐trip reflection activities in which they critically examine their prior knowledge of the issue as well as their potential biases about international development or the people with whom they will work. This pre-‐trip orientation process is necessary to urge students to begin thinking critically about their positionality in relation to the issue and the community with which they are working.”
During: “During the trip, alternative break groups complete projects in partnership with nonprofit organizations in their host communities, which may range from construction to awareness-‐raising to assisting in a soup kitchen, for example. Concurrently, students engage in critical reflection—a dialogical process that “stimulates the learner to integrate observations and implications with existing knowledge and to formulate concepts and questions to deepen the learner’s understanding of the world and the root causes of the need for service” (Jacoby, 1996, p. 10). The reflection process is central to the critical
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service-‐learning pedagogy expected of quality alternative break programs. Critical reflection is contextualized within the service project and site. Through the continuous cycle of experiential learning and the dialogical process of reflection, students are challenged to think and react critically to problems faced by members of the communities with which they are involved. This process is rooted in Dewey’s theory of experiential learning (Giles & Eyler, 1994).”
Posttrip: “Being immersed in diverse environments enables participants to experience, discuss, and understand social issues in a significant way. Through reflection, students make connections between their pre-‐trip education and their experiences on the trips themselves. Critical reflection enables students to examine how their own identity relates to larger issues of structural inequality, power, privilege, and oppression. The intensity of the immersion experience increases the likelihood that participants will transfer their on-‐site experience back to their own communities, academic work, and career plans after the alternative break ends. Break Away calls this process reorientation; others might call it post-‐trip activism or continued engagement. The focus on post-‐trip engagement has the potential to expand the impact of breaks from the projects and the trips to a lifelong transformation for those involved.”
Expected Outcomes: • “alternative breakers gain the knowledge and experience to become ‘active citizens,’
a term used throughout alternative break programs to describe those who take educated steps toward valuing and prioritizing their own communities through their life choices.”
• “alternative break participants return and immediately go into action: they create campus organizations related to the social issue, raise funds for the nonprofit organization with which they worked, and commit to internships within the nonprofit sector.”
• “For many participants, this deepened commitment to volunteering in their local community leads to a shift in their academic path.”
Criticism: “International volunteerism in general has come under fire recently for its potential to do more harm to a community than good.”
• “International community partners may host students with low levels of language skill and cultural knowledge, which leads to increased use of the communities’ resources and time to support student workers.”
• “There is also the potential for students (or volunteers) to develop paternalistic and ethnocentric attitudes through service relationships.”
Elizabeth Kathleen Niehaus. “Alternative Break Programs and the Factors That Contribute to Changes in Students’ Lives.” University of Maryland, 2012.
Purpose: “To explore the extent to and ways in which student participants in Alternative Break (AB) programs report that their AB experience influenced their intentions or plans to volunteer, engage in advocacy, or study or travel abroad, or their major or career plans. Additional analysis explored the specific program characteristics related to the influence of the AB experience on students’ lives in these six ways, and differences between domestic and international AB programs.”
Results: “Students overwhelmingly do report that their AB experience influences these outcomes, and there are a number of program characteristics related to the influence of the AB programs. The extent to which students were emotionally challenged and able to connect their AB experience to larger social issues, the frequency with which students
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wrote in individual journals, the amount students learned from their interactions with community members and other students on their trip, and the comprehensiveness of the reorientation program after returning to campus were all significant, positive predictors of all or most of the outcomes explored. Finally, an international program location was significantly related to the influence of the AB experience on students’ intentions or plans to study or travel abroad.”
…International Service Bringle and Hatcher, “International Service-‐learning” Chapter 1 International Service-‐learning: Conceptual Frameworks and Research. Series on Service-‐learning Research. Vol 1. 2011.
This Chapter conceptualizes ISL and reviews the research. The remainder of the book is a compilation of research on the field of ISL.
Sherraden M, Stringham J, Sow S, & McBride A. “The Forms and Structure of International Voluntary Service.” Voluntas. 2006. p. 17.
This background article conceptualizes the various forms of international voluntary service and defines global civil society. It breaks out international service into the categories of IVS for international understanding and IVS for development aid and humanitarian relief as individuals or groups and short or medium to long-‐term.
“Global Citizenship Education for Learning and Volunteering Abroad.” Journal of Global Citizenship & Equity Education 2, no. 1 (2012). http://journals.sfu.ca/jgcee/index.php/jgcee/article/viewArticle/62.
This special edition of the Journal of Global Citizenship & Equity Education examines global learning programs, particularly those going to less developed countries, through the lens of Canadian programs and other research.
The introduction by Tiessen and Epprecht introduces the opportunities available to college and university students, the potential impact of the programs, and global citizenship education.
Jorgenson and Shultz critique the trend among institutions of higher education to create global citizens in their article “Global Citizenship Education (GCE) in Post-‐Secondary Institutions: What is protected and what is Hidden under the Umbrella of GCE?”. It identifies the motivations and the variety of programs developed to promote GCE and calls for “a broad approach that is founded not only on common understandings but strives to build on disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary (…) programs that might generate a creative and emergent pedagogical space for transformed social realities in a globalized world.”
Huish advocates for the restructuring of medical education programs that offer international service as electives in response to student desires to serve abroad and to build their resumes in his article, “The Ethical Conundrum of International Health Electives in Medical Education”. He highlights two ethical dilemmas of “individual hubris of Northern medical students” and “structural dependency from resource-‐poor to resource-‐flush settings.” Referring to the state of existing resources for students preparing for IHEs, “It seems unfortunate that among the many materials available, so precious little space is dedicated to global health mentorship and pre-‐departure training that the modules aimed most specifically at first time travellers offer pedestrian travel advice and little deep ethical training.” Recognizing that a lot more than a pre-‐departure course is needed to truly
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develop understanding, Huish suggests making ethics and answering these overarching questions the curriculum for pre-‐departure training, providing examples of successful programs that followed a similar model.
Tiessen’s article “Motivations for Learn/Volunteer Abroad Programs: Research with Canadian Youth” reports on a study among Canadian youth who studied in the global south. It found that many motivations are associated with personal growth “(testing an academic background or career choice, skills development, language acquisition, cross-‐cultural understanding and even the desire to help others)” and reflects on the appropriateness of the use of international development funds to support Canadian students’ personal growth.
Christie Donahue. “Student-‐Led International Service-‐Learning: Exploring the Intersectionality of Student-‐led Organizations, Service-‐learning, and International Education.” Student Paper, University of Michigan, 2012. http://issuu.com/christiedonahue/docs/donahuec_c_student-‐led_internationa
This paper reviews the existing intersections of international service and higher education, international voluntary service and service-‐learning, and student-‐led organizations and service-‐learning and identifies the growing significance of student-‐led international service-‐learning. It identifies best-‐practices and resources in the individual and combined fields, discusses the implications of student-‐led service and international service, and recommends professionalization of the field of student-‐led international service learning through increased research on student-‐led service organizations, the difference between access to, access of, and utilization of existing resources for student organizations, the use of critical intergroup dialogue as a student method for building and fostering community partnerships, and community service as a form of community intervention.
Supporting Students in:
…Education Abroad Bill Nolting, Debbie Donohue, Cheryl Matherly, and Martin Tillman. Internships, Service Learning, and Volunteering Abroad: Successful Models and Best Practices. NAFSA Association of International Educators, 2013. This book is a manual for education abroad practitioners with a special focus on Internships, Service Learning, and Volunteering Abroad. It is the compiled work of practitioners who specialize in the field and uses case studies to illustrate the best-‐practices described. The chapters focus on advising, administering programs (split into work or internship and volunteer or service-‐learning), career impact and global workforce development, assessment, budgeting and funding models, and the future for the field.
Anderson, Amy Eileen. “Orientation Models for Summer Education Abroad Programs and the Development of Intercultural Competency.” ProQuest, UMI Dissertations Publishing, 2009.
This is a dissertation, reporting on a study about intercultural learning and engagement outcomes resulting from short-‐term education abroad programs in response to different pre-‐departure orientations (control group remained on campus). Data was collected using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), student journals, trip reports, and personal interviews. The findings “indicate that students who participated in semester-‐length pre-‐departure orientations had the highest net intercultural development gains among the three groups.” The author calls for additional investigation into “the complexity of the individual
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student experience, the role of faculty and staff in fostering learning outcomes, and pre-‐departure preparation in developing intercultural competency in undergraduates.”
Bridges, Donna, Franziska Trede, and Wendy Bowles. “Preparing Students for International Placements: Developing Cultural Competence, Ethical Practice and Global Citizenship.” Accessed May 12, 2013. http://www.csu.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/377384/International-‐experience-‐SiT_final_report.pdf.
This article presents findings of research conducted at Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Australia about best practices for preparing students for international experiences, including developing intercultural competence.
It articulates the importance of preparation for intercultural and international experiences:
The need to provide structured and strategic teaching and learning strategies cannot be understated due to the danger that non-‐facilitated experiences can nurture or even strengthen stereotyping and racist attitudes. Poor intercultural competence can also lead to embarrassment, misunderstandings, unproductive work (Mohan et al, 2004), frustration and intercultural conflict (Le Roux, 2002). (p.5)
Roles that academics take on to prepares students vary widely, including organizer, mentor, supervisor, accompanier, and more.
Preparatory activities included varied widely from simply providing necessary travel and safety information to thorough curriculums for the development of intercultural understanding. For example:
• “Provides basic travel information, travel warnings and risk minimisation, coping with culture shock, developing appropriate expectations for the experience and ambassadorship. This program does not include an intercultural education component…” (p.9)
• Structured intercultural preparation with a literature review, project, essay, and class discussions around “theories, the current level of knowledge around development, the role of tourism in cultural change, economic change, the responses of local communities to that and the models for achieving it,…ethics, the philosophy of it [environment, society, culture, the economy, the tourist experience…” (p.9)
• A focus on social justice and equity, reading cross-‐cultural literature, human rights, globalisation, anti oppressive practices, history, and language. (p. 9)
• Veterans coming to speak with students, prior students talking with students, a student-‐focused class discussion, and conducting orientation within the country. (p.10)
Recommendations for more effectively preparing students for international placements included:
• creating a ‘minimum requirements’ list focused on developing intercultural competence without reinforcing ‘negative cultural associations’
• providing professional development and adequate resources for staff • researching students’ perceptions of their intercultural experiences and teachers.
Some of the recommended ‘minimum requirements’ were: • having explicit purposes for the international placement that link to the course and
professional development; • reflection; • including preparation for the socio-‐political-‐cultural and historical context;
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• discussing integrating into host country values and practices; • and staying connected with the home institution during and after placements.
Student Organizations that Advise on Education Abroad Several institutions have student organizations that aim to support students interested in education abroad. The following is a list of several examples. • Badger Student Travel • GLOBE at DePaul • DU-‐IT at Drake • Go Abroad Club at IUPUI • Global Ambassadors at Penn State • PASSPORT: the Purdue Association of Student Study Abroad Participants and Other
Recent Travelers
…Alternative Breaks and Service-‐Learning Cipolle, Susan Benigni. Service-‐learning and Social Justice: Engaging Students in Social Change. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010.
This book reports experiences, research findings, and conclusions by the author with respect to service-‐learning and social justice and it is aimed at educators interested in supporting service-‐learning with a social justice orientation. The first section of the book describes the social justice model for service-‐learning which includes phases of becoming committed to service, becoming committed to social justice, and developing a critical consciousness. The second section offers strategies for engaging students in social change through service-‐learning and includes a chapter for higher education institutions on critical consciousness development and another chapter with program development strategies. An appendix includes additional teaching and learning resources.
Mitchell, Tania D., and Susan Benigni Cipolle. “Challenges and Possibilities: Linking Social Justice and Service-‐learning.” (2010). http://www.freepatentsonline.com/article/Michigan-‐Journal-‐Community-‐Service-‐Learning/274027617.html.
This is a summary and review of limitations of a book by Susan Benigni Cipolle, entitled Service-‐Learning and Social Justice: Engaging Students in Social Change, about a model of service-‐learning based in a social justice orientation.
Mitchell points out that “Cipolle devotes an entire chapter advocating for institutional support of service-‐learning. Beginning with a deliberate program design, moving to staff (“service-‐learning coordinator”) and financial support, and concluding with the institution’s mission, Cipolle argues that the key to a strong service-‐learning program, and especially one focused on social justice, is institutional support. I believe the emphasis on institutionalization, evidenced by increasing membership in Campus Compact and the creation of the Community Engagement classification by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, is one that seems to have been embraced by much of the field, though it is useful to have the focus on institutional support and program sustainability outlined so clearly in the text.”
Mitchell commends Cipolle for highlighting “the very important role of the service-‐learning coordinator in making sure that effective community engagement work happens. From the development of community partnerships to successful fundraising and grantwriting, from faculty development to assessment and evaluation, Cipolle makes it clear that a service-‐
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learning coordinator is essential to building and sustaining a successful program.” (p. 96)
Mitchell identifies the limitation that the pedagogy is based on Cipolle’s own experience developing programming for mostly “white, sheltered, middle-‐class, single, without children, un-‐indebted, and between ages 18 and 24” and needs to be adaptable to a more diverse audience.
Bowman, Nicholas A., Jay W. Brandenberger, Connie Snyder Mick, and Cynthia Toms Smeldey. “Sustained Immersion Courses and Student Orientations to Equality, Justice, and Social Responsibility: The Role of Short-‐Term Service-‐Learning.” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning 17, no. 1 (2010): 20–31.
This article reports a study that compares student outcomes in 3-‐credit service-‐learning courses with a few hours of immersion per week throughout to those taking a 1-‐credit course with a single, sustained community immersion experience of 2-‐7 days. The study evaluated student learning outcomes using the following scales: Situational Attributions for Poverty, Openness to Diversity, Responsibility for Improving Society, Empowerment View of Helping, Belief in a Just World, Social Dominance Orientation, and Self-‐Generating View of Helping. The results showed that learning outcomes were similar between the 3-‐credit and 1-‐credit courses which supports the hypothesis that course structure is an important factor in student learning, not only the amount of time spent in the community. “An intensive and educationally effective community engagement experience should also integrate academic content into real-‐world experiences, take students out of their comfort zone for a sustained period of time, and be designed to achieve identified learning goals.” The course structures studied “included a sustained community immersion experience that was primarily student-‐led; this immersion was preceded by and followed with several classroom sessions, which provided opportunities for structured reflection and academic integration.”
North Carolina Campus Compact. “Alternative Service Experiences/Alternative Break Resources” based on notes from NC Campus Compact Alternative Service Experiences Institute 2013. June 18-‐19, 2013. http://www.elon.edu/e-‐web/org/nccc/ASEInstitute2013.xhtml and http://www.elon.edu/images/e-‐web/org/nccc/List%20of%20Destinations%202012-‐13.pdf
At the NC Campus Compact Alternative Service Experiences Institute, participants discussed challenges and best practices associated with alternative service experiences.
The participants identified challenges that alternative service groups face, including student recruitment/especially males, marketing, fundraising, transportation, student versus faculty leadership, defining the trip based on social issue, not location.
They identified best-‐practices for effective training of student leaders. As a result, North Carolina Campus Compact created a webpage with compiled resources. Some best practices included a leadership retreat, advising, and training that allows leaders to practice and discuss topics like:
• Why we do this? • Group dynamics • Reflection • Logistics • Emergency preparedness • Volun “tourism” • Cross-‐cultural communication • Green education
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• Simple living • Social justice education
Some best-‐practices for reflection include training participants for reflection before the trip, having daily group reflections on site, writing a reflection essay post-‐trip, personal journaling during the trip, post experience project idea sharing, informal reflection throughout the trip, and using social media like blogs, twitter, etc.
They identified a variety of fundraising tools from Krispy Kreme fundraisers and bake sales to online/crowdsourcing like www.gofundme.com.
Participants brainstormed marketing and recruitment strategies including potential audiences for recruitment like service-‐learning courses and majors that require service, effective tools like chalking and tabling.
Institutions with Alternative Breaks Break Away. “List of Break Away Chapter Schools.” Google Maps. Last Updated May 18, 2012. Accessed September 28, 2013. http://goo.gl/maps/z8sXG
This Google Map pinpoints approximately 160 chapter schools of BreakAway and includes a breakdown of the number of spring, winter, and summer break trips and domestic versus international trips.
International Volunteers for Peace,www.ivp.org
Pybus, Victoria. The International Directory of Voluntary Work. Oxford, UK.: Vacation Work, 1997.
Youth Service America’s Servenet (U.S.site bank),www.servenet.org
…International Service-‐Learning
Kiely, R, and A Kiely. “International Service-‐learning: What? Why? How? Workshop.” In NAFSA: Association of International Educators 58th Annual Conference. Montreal, Canada, 2006.
This document details the research and experience-‐based responses to the following questions:
• What is service learning? • Why is service-‐learning a valuable form of pedagogy and research? • How to faculty and staff start and maintain effective global service-‐learning
programs?
The how-‐to guide includes information for institutions divided into three phases: before, during, and after. The before section discusses models of service-‐learning program development, the role of strong relationships with a collaborative relationships and a long-‐term vision for sustainability in successful program development and implementation, site visits, and pre-‐departure orientation. The during section emphasizes the significance of reflection and provides resources and best-‐practices for facilitating meaningful reflection, even after the program is over. The after section outlines re-‐entry strategies, evaluation, recognition and reporting. A set of appendices provides checklists for developing service-‐learning programs and identifying models, templates for approval and evaluation, and a reflection activity.
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Building a Better World. “GSL Tools and Syllabi.” Building a Better World. Accessed March 24, 2013. http://criticalservicelearning.org/wiki/gsl-‐practice-‐research-‐wiki/gsl-‐tools-‐and-‐syllabi/.
The Building a Better World Wiki provides links to resources for Global Service Learning practitioners on the topics of course planning and program development, syllabi models and templates, reflective practice of cross-‐border power and privilege, global citizenship and civic engagement, notions of service, development, philanthropy, and best practices in community partnership, and integration of reflection in courses and programs.
Sara Grusky. “International Service Learning: A Critical Guide from an Impassioned Advocate.” American Behavioral Scientist 43, no. 5 (February 2000): 858–867.
This article aims to encourage critical inquiry and improved programming for international service-‐learning. The author digs into challenges associated with the field, including:
• The multiple and conflicting goals of the many stakeholders including students, faculty, in-‐country government or non-‐governmental organization sponsors or community partners, and the families and communities where students travel.
• Encouraging critical analysis and reflection around issues encountered abroad (i.e. poverty, gender politics, perceptions of money, perceptions of power, and perceptions of U.S. citizens)
McKinnon, Tamara, and Gerard Fealy. “Core Principles for Developing Global Service-‐Learning Programs in Nursing.” Nursing Education Perspectives 32, no. 2. Global Service Learning (March/April): 95–101.
This article reflects on service-‐learning literature to identify seven key principles (The Seven Cs) of global service-‐learning. In particular, it aims to outline standards for the development of programs for nursing students. The Seven Cs are compassion, competence, curiosity, courage, collaboration, creativity, and capacity building.
Woolf, Michael. “Not Serious Stuff? Service-‐Learning in Context: An International Perspective.” Frontiers: The Interdiciplinary Journal of Study Abroad 17, no. 2 (Fall 2008): 21–32.
This article explores the border between service-‐learning and volunteerism, critically examining the status of service-‐learning as a pedagogy for teaching despite the lack of institutional support and academic understanding of what it is and the impact. “At the heart of this dilemma lies the fact that service-‐learning is ‘often little more than just institutional community service.’4” (p. 22). The article also identifies the dangerous tendencies in international service-‐learning toward idealism and a missionary attitude. It also highlights the benefits of deep community engagement.
Reisch, Rebecca A. “International Service Learning Programs: Ethical Issues and Recommendations.” Developing World Bioethics 11, no. 2 (August 2011): 93–98. doi:10.1111/j.1471-‐8847.2011.00299.x.
This article highlights ethical challenges in international service learning programs associated with global health. It outlines the goals, benefits, and ethical issues encountered in international service learning by academic programs, students, faculty, host communities, and local clinicians and caregivers. Finally, it recommends ethical guidelines for international medical service learning before, during, and after the trip.
• Before the trip, the author recommends becoming familiar with the socioeconomic, cultural, and historical context of the country and community; discussing informed
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consent; and identifying existing services in the community. Other pre-‐trip guidelines include clarifying learning objectives, requiring a minimum level of proficiency in the local language, actively involving the host community in preparations, and considering an appropriate group size.
• During the trip, students should not perform procedures that they have not been trained to perform and should be adequately supervised by a local clinician since they may encounter conditions that they have not seen before. Professional behavior and the perceptions of excessive tourist activities should be discussed before the trip and adhered to during. The sustainability of the work should also be considered.
• After the trip, students and faculty should review and record learning outcomes and there should be future trips.
Camacho, Michelle Madsen. “Power and Privilege: Community Service Learning in Tijuana.” Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning (Summer 2004): 31–42.
This article explores the subjectivity of contact with communities and how to teach service-‐learning students about power relations and perception in the community. The author bases her study on a service-‐learning trip to Tiajuana, Mexico and identifies student outcomes through their written work. Themes she found about student perceptions during the trip included constructing of self and other in which students identified differences between themselves and the community, feelings of foreignness in which the students felt like “the other” or a sense of displacement, and examination of subjectivities in which students critically consider the differences between themselves and the community and search for the root causes of those differences. The conclusion discusses the important role of faculty leaders in warning students about the potential for perpetuating power differences.
A realization of power differentials is clearly an important step in beginning to dismantle the hierarchy of social relations between server and served. The trajectory begins with faculty members who, as role models, highlight their collaborative efforts with local communities. In the classroom, faculty must carry over this “collaborativist perspective” to their own students. This means acknowledging our own limitations and biases and speaking openly about issues of Whiteness and other dimensions of privilege. Ira Shor (1996) argues, “power-‐sharing [in the classroom] repositions students from being cultural exiles to becoming cultural constituents, from being unconsulted curriculum receivers to becoming collaborative curriculum-‐makers” (p. 200, cited in Ochoa & Ochoa, 2004). The writing and sharing of personal narratives can be one departure point to examine such dimensions of subjectivity. Storytelling, or “counter-‐stories” (stories that center dimensions of privilege) are tools that can be used by students to “unpack” their experiences with service-‐learning. (pp. 40-‐41)
The author also advocates for a sustained service-‐learning experience rather than a single drop-‐in experience. “Many students feel inadequate, uncomfortable, or out of place in the community service learning context. They need a sustained experience, with conscientious reflection, to be able to move beyond the ‘tourist gaze,’ to embrace collectivist efforts, and begin to have a lived experience of learning.” (p. 41)
University-‐Reported Roles in Supporting Student-‐Led Initiatives Abroad Van Toll, L. University of Wisconsin-‐Madison. (2013, June 18). Email interview by C Donahue. Institutional support for student-‐led initiatives.
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UW-‐Madison has student organizations that lead volunteer initiatives abroad, usually in developing countries. The University tries to support student organizations by encouraging them to purchase health insurance and attending an orientation. They must work with the study abroad office to be eligible for credit and scholarships. Services are available to individuals or groups. The study abroad office reaches out to faculty members to explain the services available and the liability they have. In cases where students do not seek credit, the study abroad office has limited ability to know what the students are doing.
de Campeau, Raine. St. Catherine University. (2013, June 18). Email interview by C Donahue. Institutional support for student-‐led initiatives.
St. Catherine University has recently tried to create a more centralized system for education abroad in which students and faculty would apply through the Office of Global Studies. “While that is going well with the academic programs, it has been tougher with regards to the "volunteer" organizations. For reasons of staffing and resources, the line in the sand for us has been, if you will receive credit for it then it needs to go through us, leaving the volunteer category and without formal oversight.”
Almost 1/3 of St. Catherine students are Nursing majors whose programs cannot accommodate full semester study abroad so many turn to short term academic programs and health-‐focused volunteer organizations for international experiences. The Office of Global Studies may only find out about participation in these programs if students seek credit or recruit other students to participate. The office informs students “about the need for comprehensive medical and emergency insurance, which they can purchase through our office. Beginning this August, as part of the Nursing orientation, we will be providing a list of reputable volunteer organizations to encourage students to choose from that list.” The Office of Global Studies would like the Nursing department “to take a more proactive role in engaging students in conversations about the ethical dilemmas that can occur during these types of experiences.”
The respondent identified the following resources: • The Forum on Education Abroad’s Standards for undergraduate students on health
programs abroad • The University of Minnesota’s GAPS Program: Global Ambassadors for Patient Safety,
which walks students through various steps and ends with a certificate and vow. • Child Family Health International webinars
Best Practice Guides for Education Abroad and Alternative Breaks Sita Syal, and Carrie Tamarelli. “Student Travel Resource Guide: Building a Rocking Project Team and Planning a Life-‐Changing Trip Abroad.” University of Michigan College of Engineering, January 2013.
This resource guide was developed by student leaders at the University of Michigan College of Engineering to compile best-‐practices for students leaders coordinating group trips abroad. The guide includes resources and student knowledge about how to lead a project team and tips for student leaders before, during, and after a trip. It especially focuses on procedures for student organizations with trips sponsored by the College of Engineering, which has special preparation protocols to support student travel. The guide also touches on health and safety during travel, making the most of the experience, record keeping, and
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recommendations for connecting with and co-‐designing projects with local partners. Further, it provides recommendations for post-‐travel debriefing, reporting, and continued communication with community partners.
UM Students, and Center for Global Health. “UM CGH Student Handbook for Global Engagement.pdf.” University of Michigan Center for Global Health, November 2010.
This resource guide was developed for students, by students and focuses on Global Health research and other forms of international engagement by individuals or groups at the University of Michigan. The chapters highlight Ethics of Research Abroad including community engagement, impact, and sustainability; Project Development with International Partners which highlights stages from planning through evaluation; Guidelines for Professional Behavior Abroad including comments on competence, confidentiality, collaboration, cultural sensitivity, and personal time; Global Citizenship and Advocacy through engagement with a variety of stakeholders; and Logistics of Research and Service Abroad.
Office of Campus Life, Community Service Center, American University. “Guide to Planning an Alternative Break Trip.pdf,” 2007. http://www.american.edu/ocl/volunteer/upload/Alt-‐Break-‐Manual.pdf
This exceptional manual details steps for students leading alternative breaks. The contents include and Introduction to Alternative Breaks, Organizing and Alternative Break, On the Trip, and Post Trip with appendices.
Student initiated Alternative Breaks “are initiated, planned, and developed by individual students or student clubs. They must be approved by the Community Service Center and comply with university policies and procedures. Student trips must be accompanied by a university employee (faculty or staff). This guide is designed primarily for student-‐initiated trips sponsored through the Community Service Center.” (p2)
Criteria: “Trips are reviewed for approval based on the following criteria: • The social justice theme is clearly articulated. • The social justice theme is represented in proposed itinerary and activities. • The proposal is well planned and well thought out. • The trip is feasible. • The trip is safe. • The students or staff have connections to high-‐quality local organizations,
individuals, or trip service providers. • The students and staff or faculty are well qualified”
The AU AB groups use an “eight session” preparation model that includes: introductions and expectations, theme information (socio-‐economic, political, and cultural contexts, social justice, or other themes), trip details, cross-‐cultural training including general and site-‐specific concepts, culture shock, a guest speaker, a State Department briefing on regional information, and a packing meeting (p21-‐23). The guide also includes outlines for on-‐site orientations, debriefing and reflection sessions, post-‐trip re-‐entry orientations, post-‐trip activism and community involvement, trip evaluations, and follow-‐up and thank you letters.
BreakAway. “Eight Components of a Quality Alternative Break.” Accessed December 12, 2012, from http://www.alternativebreaks2013.org/philosophy/8components/.
Break Away: the Alternative Break Connection, Inc. “ActiveCitizenContinuum,” n.d.
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Break Away: the Alternative Break Connection, Inc. was founded at Vanderbilt University in 1991 by students aiming to connect and train campuses in best practices for alternative breaks and to connect community organizations with student organizers. The vision is for a society of active citizens, outlined in the “Active Citizen Continuum.”
The Break Away model is defined by the Eight Components of a Quality Alternative Break:
• Strong Direct Service: Programs provide an opportunity for participants to engage in direct or "hands-‐on" service that addresses critical but unmet social needs.
• Orientation: Participants are oriented to the mission and objectives of both the break program and the host agency or organization with which they will be working.
• Education: Programs establish and achieve educational objectives to give participants a sense of context and understanding of both the region in which they will be working and of the problems they will be addressing during the break.
• Training: Participants are provided with adequate training in skills necessary to carry out tasks and projects during the trip. Ideally this training should take place prior to departure, although in some instances it may occur once participants have reached their site.
• Reflection: During the trip, participants reflect upon the experiences they are having. Applying classroom learning and integrating many academic disciplines should also occur. The site leaders should set aside time for reflection to take place, both individually and in a group setting.
• Reorientation: Upon return to campus, there should be a re-‐orientation session for all participants where they can share their break experiences with one another and
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with the greater campus community and are actively encouraged to translate this experience into a life-‐long commitment to service.
• Diversity: Strong alternative break programs include participants representing the range of students present in the campus community. Coordinators should recruit, design, implement and evaluate their program with this end in mind.
Alcohol and Other Drug Free: Programs must be aware that issues of legality, liability, personal safety and group cohesion are of concern when alcohol and other drugs are consumed on an alternative break. Programs should provide education and training on alcohol and other drug related issues as well as develop a policy on how these issues will be dealt with on an alternative break.
Other Training and Group Dynamics Tools Building a Better World. “Define Global Service Activity,” n.d.
An activity that challenges participants to think about what global service means.
Storti, Craig. Culture Matters: The Peace Corps Cross-‐Cultural Workbook: The Peace Corps Cross-‐Cultural Workbook. Peace Corps (US), 2011. http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=nAkETFZjpH4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=%22information+services,+or+for+additional+copies+of+this+manual,+please+contact%22+%22the+generation+of+ICE+materials,+reprints,+and+training+materials.+They+also%22+%2220th+Street,+NW,+Sixth%22+&ots=hjuTIT9gR7&sig=IrHqHcMlKfHlHe0LX6ZOlMnY3jg.
This Peace Corps manual is designed to train and support Peace Corps volunteers as they enter into a new culture. It includes information, case examples, quotes, and personal reflection activities associated with cross-‐cultural engagement. The sections are intermixed with information about the Fundamentals of Culture—The Concept of Self, Personal and Societal Obligations, The Concept of Time, The Locus of Control, and Comparing American and Host Country Views. The Chapters include: Understanding Culture, American Culture and American Diversity, Styles of Communication, Culture in the Workplace, Social Relationships, Adjusting to a New Culture, and Continuing Your Learning.
Office of Student Activities, American University, The Source, “Being a Group Facilitator”, “Groups Process”, “Consensus Decision-‐Making”, “Icebreakers”, http://www.american.edu/ocl/activities/policies_procedures/Student_Services_Manual/Chap_TOCs/Chap__7_TOC.html.
Arnold, Rick, and others. Educating for Social Change. Toronto, Ontario: Between the Lines and the Doris Marshall Institute for Education and Action, 1991.
Coover, Virginia. Resource Manual for a Living Revolution. Philadelphia: New Society Press, 1985.
Paige, R. Michael, Andrew D. Cohen, Barbara Kappler, and Julie C. Chi, and James P. Lassegard. Maximizing Study Abroad. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 2004.
Reddy, W. Brendan, and Clenard C. “Chip” Henderson Jr., eds. Training Theory and Practice. Arlington, Va.: NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, 1987. San Diego: University Associates, 1987.
Silberman, Melvin L. 101 Ways to Make Meetings Active: Surefire Ideas to Engage Your Group. San Francisco: Jossey-‐Bass/Pfeiffer, 1999.
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Vella, Jane. Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach: The Power of Dialogue in Educating Adults. San Francisco: Jossey Bass, 1994.
Evaluating Education Abroad Simm. “Evaluating Student-‐led Learning Abroad.pdf.” presented at the Royal Geographical Society, London, 2011.
Presentation about student-‐led field work, includes characteristics of student-‐led learning as “active learning and interactive teaching, deep learning and understanding, ethos of shared learning, building knowledge rather than as an end product, increased responsibility and accountability for student’s own (and others’) learning, increased sense of autonomy in the learner, interdependence between the teacher and learner, mutual respect within the teacher-‐learner relationship, reflective approach.” It proceeds with a case example of undergraduate student-‐led international fieldwork abroad in which students reported recognizing their skills, feeling relaxed, finding the teaching accessible, feeling responsible for peers’ learning, a sense of mutual respect, feeling empowered and enthused, active learning, recognition of changes in group dynamics, appreciation for a varied itinerary, and distractions associated with field-‐learning.
Foster, Patricia A. “An Evaluation of a Short Term Service Learning Study Abroad Program to Ghana, West Africa.” Dissertation, Edgewood College, 2011.
This dissertation reports the findings of an evaluation of the University of Wisconsin-‐Platteville’s short-‐term service-‐learning study abroad program. The evaluation, conducted by the author, assess the impact, advantages, and disadvantages of short term study abroad for participants and for the sending institution which aimed to expose students to diverse ideas, people, and global thinking. The scope is a short-‐term trip to Ghana, led by the author, and qualitative and quantitative data collected about the 7 student participants. Foster reports a change in attitudes and behavior or participants as a result of the program.
Models from Higher Education Institutions
Northwestern The Center for Global Engagement (CGE). Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies. Northwestern University. Accessed September 28, 2013. http://www.cge.northwestern.edu/
The Center for Global Engagement arose from a student led international service program and the student identified need to support students engaging in global service and education. ”CGE is a comprehensive student support center dedicated entirely to improving undergraduates’ abilities to address global poverty and inequality. […] CGE connects students to a network of individuals and organizations at Northwestern and around the world. We are actively shaping a new generation of experienced, effective, and compassionate global leaders in a variety of fields.”
The CGE-‐sponsored experiential learning program is The Global Engagement Studies Institute (www.gesi.northwestern.edu), which “combines rigorous academics, professional work experience, and international service learning.” It includes a 7-‐day pre-‐departure learning summit with courses in International Development Theory and Community Consulting Practice; historical, political, and cultural information from country experts;
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language training; team-‐building exercises; and panels on development topics with specialists from the field. While in-‐country for two months, students live in homestays, are supported by in-‐country partners, and work with organization leaders to advance the organization’s mission. Upon returning to the U.S., students participate in a 3-‐day final reflection summit with students from the other sites, comparing and processing their individual and group experiences and thinking about how to respond to their experience by networking with professionals in the field. Finally, GESI students become part of the Alumni Network in which CGE supports students to find internships, jobs, and projects to continue engaging in the fields they care about.
The Center for Global Engagement also mentors “co-‐curricular student groups that think critically and act responsibly with regard to the international issues they care about. Such groups host yearlong programming that engages a vast network of undergraduates through student-‐led photo exhibits, conferences, seminars, workshops, service trips, and more.”
Florida International University Center for Leadership & Service. “Global Civic Engagement Student Advisory Board.” Florida International University. Accessed September 28, 2013. http://leadserve.fiu.edu/index.php/global-‐civic-‐engagement-‐student-‐advisory-‐board/
Florida International University (FIU) is partnering with Wells Fargo “to expand global awareness and community engagement by supporting student-‐led projects.” FIU hopes that every “graduate is exposed to educational opportunities to achieve the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of global citizenship through a focus on global learning.” The Global Civic Engagement Student Advisory Board is tasked with facilitating the application, selection, implementation, evaluation, and outcomes reporting of student-‐led service projects that address a global issue in the local community and with developing and presenting trainings to support student groups through the process.
Bard College Center for Civic Engagement. “Student-‐Led Initiatives.” Bard College. Accessed September 28, 2013. http://www.bard.edu/civicengagement/tls/
Bard College believes “in each student’s ability to take complete ownership of his or her own work” and supports student-‐inspired civic engagement through the Trustee Leader Scholar Program. TLS supports 25-‐30 student projects and offers leadership workshops, guided reflections, program development, and administrative coordination. “TLS workshops ensure that students consider the community impact of their programs, while challenging them to also explore the personal meaning of their work.” The program promotes engagement rather than service and values long-‐term programs. “The TLS elements of project ownership, College support for taking risks, and encouragement to think and act boldly can serve as replicable and sustainable models for national and international institutions.”
Tulane University Huck. “Latin American Studies and Service-‐Learning Local-‐Global-‐Local – A Pedagogy for International Service-‐Learning.” PowerPoint, Roger Thayer Stoke Center for Latin American Studies at Tulane University, n.d.
Service-‐learning became a graduation requirement and The Center for Public Service was created in response to a change in the mission of Tulane University after Hurricane Katrina.
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This presentation introduces a Local-‐Global-‐Local model for service-‐learning in Latin American Studies that includes a service-‐learning experiences as part of a larger, themed curriculum in contrast to “stand alone” service-‐learning models. Applicants were encouraged to have had exposure to Latin American course content like an introductory course. The program included 3, 3 hour mini-‐seminars before the trip that introduced students to service-‐learning theory, a crash course on Costa Rica and New Orleans, and a preparatory assignment from the community partner. In Costa Rica, participants had 2 hours of class, an hour of group reflection, and 3-‐4 hours of community service each day. Upon returning to New Orleans, students were required to support the orientation of the following year’s group, they were nominated to become Public Service Fellows, and the program was meant to encourage students to engage in the local community and develop a connection between the local and international partners.
Duke University Hart Leadership Program. “Service Opportunities in Leadership.” Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University. Accessed September 28, 2013. https://www.regonline.com/custImages/290000/298631/March31-‐1100_FromPrep_Blount.pdf and http://hart.sanford.duke.edu/sol/
“Service Opportunities in Leadership (SOL) is a nationally-‐recognized, intensive twelve-‐month leadership program for Duke undergraduates that combines academic study, community-‐based research, critical reflection, and mentoring. SOL is a research service-‐learning (RSL) program that includes a preparation (gateway) course in the spring; a collaboratively designed research project with a community partner in the summer; and a follow-‐up (capstone) seminar in the fall.” The gateway course focuses on leadership, value conflicts, and public life across borders. The community-‐based research in the summer includes service, research, and critical reflection. The capstone course focuses on adaptive leadership, a pedagogy defined by the courage to ask questions about and face complex, systemic problems; that builds adaptive capacity in groups/institutions; and requires a lot of context. It uses “critical reflection that cultivates quality of attention, develops insight, tests ideas, and takes action.” “The Letter Home” is a tool used by the SOL that evokes
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strong, honest emotion, is “concrete and specific”, shows and doesn’t tell, describes people and things.
St. Norbert College Study Abroad Process. St. Norbert College Study Abroad. DePere, WI. http://www.snc.edu/studyabroad/experiences/returnees.html
The St. Norbert College Study Abroad website offers an interactive, step-‐by-‐step guide for students interested in studying abroad that includes summaries, links to pages, and Prezis. The first page includes a 4-‐step “Getting Started” guide with links to resources about programs, advising, passport information, finances, and other basics. Steps 5-‐7 of the pre-‐departure process are outlined on the “Apply” page and include summaries of the necessary documents, application review, and post-‐acceptance procedures, including pre-‐departure handouts and a study abroad handbook (Resources & Links). Transitioning to the “Currently Abroad” page brings additional information about course registration, credit, and a common study abroad blog. Finally, the “Returnees” page includes information about a re-‐entry evaluation and survey, a re-‐entry event, how to share experiences, a section about reverse culture shock that includes challenges and tips, and tips for how to go abroad again.
