LOREN INTOLUBBE-CHMIL

CAROL ANNE SPREEN

ROBERT SWAP

INAUGURAL ACADEMIC SYMPOSIUM

APRIL 14 , 2011

Assessing Outcomes for Transformation and Citizenship in an International Education Setting

For more information please see:www.esavana.org

Internationalization, Transformation, Civic Identity

Research Question(s)

How does collaborative cross-cultural coursework operate as a model for transformative learning related to competencies and civic identity development in higher education?

---how do undergraduate participants talk about civic learning and civic identity development within an international education context?

---to what extent do participants relate these experiences to future aspirations?

---to what extent does institutional rhetoric and practice promote transformative learning?

Purpose of the Study

To understand the experiences of participants within an international education setting and how their perspectives are linked to transformation and civic identity development.

 

ESAVANA Consortium

Eastern/Southern Africa Virginia Networks and Associations (ESAVANA) Evolving and expanding international consortium for more than a decade

Guiding Principles: Relationship, Respect & Reciprocity

Foundational coursework:

Ethics, Practices & Protocols of International Research (January Term)

100 U.S. students and 40 southern African colleagues

People, Culture & the Environment of Southern Africa (Study Abroad)

114 U.S. students and 32 international students

Community-based research projects

Methods

Document Collection and Analysis Institutional Mission statement Commission on the Future of the University Virginia 2020Interviews Three interviews with 5 undergraduate participants; one interview

with 1 undergraduate participant (cohorts 2007-2010)(electronic, in person, and skype)

One interview with 3 institutional partners ; two interviews with 1 institutional partner (cohorts 2002-2010)

(electronic) Illustrative documentation (reflection journals, articles for

publication, grant reports) Modified survey instrument for undergraduate participants who

were not part of the 2009 evaluation

Methods

Course documents Syllabi Course descriptions Articles

2009 Formative Evaluation (archival data) PCESA study abroad course Pre/post surveys In-region and post travel interviews Qualitative coding of reflection paper assignments (pre/post) Field notes

Relationship to ESAVANA Participant Description (Self Report)

Pseudonym

Jterm 2009, PCESA 2009(IRES 2009)

Rising 4th year, engineering, white, male, middle class

Jabba

PCESA 2008 Sociology 2010, white, Canadian-born, non-traditional student, female

Paige

Jterm 2010 Rising 3rd year, Bio/Environmental Science, female

Nola

Jterm 2009, PCESA 2009 Rising 4th year, History/Econ. male Garth

PCESA 2009, Jterm 2010(IRES 2009)

Midwestern university, rising junior, Environmental Science/French, female

Janis

PCESA 2004, 2009Jterm 2009, 2010

Motswana, university researcher (Biology), entrepreneur, male

Nikon

PCESA 2007Guest Lecturer Jterm 2008, 2009

Middle Eastern, female, post-graduate (UVa), entering medical school

Cora

Jterm 2009 PCESA 2009,2010

South African, university faculty and researcher (Agriculture), community

organizer, male

Peter

Jterm 2010/PCESA 2010(IRES, SAFARI2002-2010)

Mozambican, university faculty and researcher (Forestry), female

Maria

PCESA 2007(IRES 2007-2010)

Midwestern university, university faculty and researcher, male

Paul

Findings

Institutional Goals and MissionReactivity/responseIncrease in academic community engagement initiativesTension with regard to the value of academic community engagement

Language of the CINE ConsortiumCourse Documents: cross-cultural, experiential, engagedTestimonials: Influence, distal outcomesInstitutional Partners: Constructivist teaching, learning, and

research;ongoing contribution to pedagogy and practice

Participant NarrativesMotivation/pathways for involvementTransformationCivic identity/citizenship

ESAVANA Consortium Model for Teaching, Learning, and Research

Transactional

Teaching

ESAVANA

Learning

Transformational

Motivation

Action

Research

Extrinsic

Intrinsic

Proximal

Distal

Transformation

Constructivist Teaching, Learning & Research “I have learned a great deal about student experiences and interactions” “Joint multidisciplinary work is more productive that individual work as it allows for discussion and interaction”

“ The opportunities for learning and for intelligent borrowing were just too many”

Constructing Transformation “I am more hesitant to speak before I think…and I am more open to learning from mistakes, even in everyday life”

“I was always good at school, I never questioned it much…now I see my education focusing more on experience” “My relationship with water will never be the same…” Restoration “ I learned that I am no less foreign in [the local] low-income housing [community] than I was in rural Africa”

Citizenship

Kinship “We all connected well, whatever it is that ‘we’ were”

“I was anxious to return to my dog and my life and my shower. .. [but] there was something here that felt like home”

Paige and kinship ties with Zimbabwean family

Social Responsibility “My responsibility was to strengthen the ties between my University and the local community”

Jabba and African/U.S colleagues: co-authorship, mutual advocacy, and mentorship

The Network

2009-10

20082007

2004

Jabba

Peter

Nola

Janis

Garth

Cora

Paul

Maria

Nikon

Paige

ASB ADDSB

IRESESW

B

Links and Future Directions

LinksTransdisciplinarityCitizenshipInstitutional Goals and AssessmentAccountability

Future DirectionsExpanding constructs of competenciesEvaluation of January term 2011Civic Incubator

Model

Acknowledgements

NSF IRES Grant 0623522 Dissertation Acceleration Fellowship, Office of the Vice

President for Research Jefferson Public Citizens & Academic Community Engagement,

Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost University of Venda Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation

Centre & the Global Sustainability Club Universities of Witwatersrand and Johannesburg Universidad Eduardo Mondlane Undergraduate, graduate student, faculty, administrative and

community member colleagues Friends of ESAVANA, with special acknowledgement of Mr. T. Sieg