“Vorrei Prendere Il Treno!” (I Want to Take the Train): A narrative about how one Inclusive Recreation Services study abroad course helped students to understand challenges people with disabilities confront while traveling abroad

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Alexis McKenney, EdD, CTRS
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Americans With Disabilities Act ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Art And Culture ◽  
Recreation Services ◽  
Narrative Format

It was Florida International University's most unusual study abroad course this year. Compared to most study abroad programs that focus on art and culture, the Inclusive Recreation Services course, taught in Miami, FL; Florence, Italy; and Paris, France, focused on challenges people with disabilities confront while traveling. In addition to learning about disability groups, attitudes about disabilities, accessibility and recreation programming, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, this class included a review of, and comparison to, Italian and French disability laws, as well as hands on experiences designed to give students a perspective gained from experiencing challenges associated with accessing buildings, roads, and public transportation in cities with extensive histories. This article provides a description of select learning activities and information learned presented in a narrative format.

Americans Learning Gamelan in Bali

2020 ◽  
pp. 113-132
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A Clendinning
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Performing Arts ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Direct Involvement ◽  
Music Making ◽  
Educational Tourism ◽  
Hands On ◽  
Dance Instruction

The chapter analyzes the development and scope of educational tourism programs in the performing arts, including collegiate study-abroad programs, in the context of the Balinese tourism industry. The programs—which include hands-on music making and dance instruction, lectures and workshops, and visits to performing arts events and tourist sites—feature elements of both educational and leisure tourism. Through an examination of several different models for such “edutourism” programs, the chapter suggests that while they capitalize on presenting an “authentic” experience of Balinese-ness for participants, they also provide distinctive opportunities for foreigners to transcend the conventional tourist role via more direct involvement in Balinese community events and by treating and compensating teachers as professionals.

scholarly journals Curating Cartographies of Knowledge: Reading Institutional Study Abroad Portfolio as Text

2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Julie M. Ficarra
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
International Education ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Political Complexity ◽  
The World ◽  
The U.S

The professionalization of the field of Study Abroad has led to an increase in research on the student experience as well as macro-level analyses of institutional ‘best practices’ for program development and implementation. Yet what has been largely ignored is the international education epistemology embedded in the curation of what I refer to as institutional study abroad portfolios (ISAPs) - the compilation of study abroad programs focusing on specific disciplines or learning activities in particular parts of the world. In this paper, I argue that by using ISAPs as a unit of analysis we can uncover political complexity that is often obfuscated both by institution-level policy analysis as well as program-level evaluation. I present an ISAP analyses of three post-secondary institutions in the U.S. that illustrates how ‘common sense’ geographical and disciplinary pairings come to produce ‘hidden curriculum’ which results in problematic and potentially unintended cartographies of knowledge legitimization.

scholarly journals Enhancing Intercultural Competence: Can it be done without Studying Abroad?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lata Krishnan ◽  
Lan Jin ◽  
Charles Calahan
Keyword(s):  
Service Learning ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Intercultural Learning ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Studying Abroad ◽  
Study Abroad Program

Participation in intensive, immersive, service-learning study abroad programs with intentional intercultural activities embedded in the course curriculum has been shown to enhance cultural competence as measured via the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI®) (Krishnan, Masters, Holgate, Wang & Calahan, 2017; Krishnan, Lin & Benson, 2020). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relative impact of embedding intercultural learning activities on students’ intercultural competence when included in an on-campus course compared to a study abroad program. The intervention group consisted of 34 students enrolled in the on-campus course which incorporated intentional intercultural activities. Forty-one students who did not take the course comprised the control group. Comparison of the pre- and post-IDI® scores showed a significant increase in intercultural competence in the intervention group and no change in score in the control group participants. Qualitative data supported these findings. The increase in group mean score is slightly lower than group mean score increases in study-abroad students. Results indicate that incorporating intentional intercultural learning activities in an on-campus course can be an effective mechanism for students to enhance intercultural competence without travelling abroad.

Emplacing Berlin: Digital Itineraries and Short-term Study Abroad in the City

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Apgar
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Digital Maps ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
The City

As destination of choice for many short-term study abroad programs, Berlin offers students of German language, culture and history a number of sites richly layered with significance. The complexities of these sites and the competing narratives that surround them are difficult for students to grasp in a condensed period of time. Using approaches from the spatial humanities, this article offers a case study for enhancing student learning through the creation of digital maps and itineraries in a campus-based course for subsequent use during a three-week program in Berlin. In particular, the concept of deep mapping is discussed as a means of augmenting understanding of the city and its history from a narrative across time to a narrative across the physical space of the city. As itineraries, these course-based projects were replicated on site. In moving from the digital environment to the urban landscape, this article concludes by noting meanings uncovered and narratives formed as we moved through the physical space of the city.

Support for the Americans With Disabilities Act Among Nondisabled People

2021 ◽  
pp. 104420732110231
Author(s):  
Carli Friedman ◽  
Laura VanPuymbrouck
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Americans With Disabilities Act ◽  
A Priori ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
The United States ◽  
Limited Participation ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Relationship

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) opened the doors to access and enhanced the civil rights of people with disabilities. However, a lack of accessibility to all segments of society continues throughout the United States and is frequently described by people with disabilities as a leading cause for limited participation. Beliefs and attitudes regarding disability can affect critical decisions regarding inclusion and people with disabilities’ civil rights. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore support and opposition to the ADA among nondisabled people. We had the following research questions: (a) What is the relationship between disability prejudice and support for the ADA? and (b) When controlling for disability prejudice, what other factors lead people to support the ADA? To do so, we examined secondary data from approximately 13,000 participants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Findings from this study revealed that people who oppose the ADA are significantly more prejudiced toward people with disabilities than people who support the ADA. Understanding and becoming aware of attitudes and prejudice toward persons with disabilities can be a first step toward dispelling such beliefs and possibly a priori step to achieving the intent and spirit of the ADA.

scholarly journals The Ebb and Flow of Study Abroad: A Comparative Analysis of PRC and International Students in Taiwan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 5844
Author(s):  
Amy Roberts ◽  
Gregory S. Ching
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Study Abroad ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Term Study ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Short Term Study ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Cross Tabulation ◽  
Pacific Community

The dialogue about study abroad is a contemporary trend. Since 2011, enrolments from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have gradually increased and PRC students have now become one of the largest groups of incoming study abroad participants in Taiwan. In this study, investigators explored the characteristics of PRC students in comparison with other international students studying in Taiwan universities. Data were collected from 1870 study abroad students. Data collected include the various study abroad goals, prior study abroad experiences, the Short-term Study Abroad Situational Change Survey, the revised East Asian Acculturation Measures, the Study Abroad Acculturative Hassles, and their overall study abroad satisfaction. Data analyses included computation of the mean, frequency, cross-tabulation of respondents’ responses for identified questions, and various group comparisons. Implications suggest that the characteristics of PRC students are valuable and potentially transformative markers for sustainable cross-strait ties. Study abroad programs in Taiwan are noted as one piece of the emerging discourse for sustainable co-existence between Taiwan and the PRC. As such, PRC study abroad participants along with faculty and students in Taiwan universities have an opportunity to play a role in reshaping future exchanges as well as transforming themselves into stewards of a trans-Pacific community.

Africa-to-Africa: A Responsible Alternative to Study Abroad for 21st-century African Scholarship

2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 61-64
Author(s):  
Mohamed Saliou Camara
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
21St Century ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Conventional Study

African scholars and activists often suggest that study-abroad programs to Africa be transformed to include an Africa-to-Africa exchange component. Their argument often includes discussion of the possibility that conventional study-abroad programs might perpetuate a colonial relationship between rich nations and those of the African continent rather that developing new relationships among African citizen diplomats. The following is an excellent overview of this debate.

Without Crossing a Border: Exploring the Impact of Shifting Study Abroad Online on Students’ Learning and Intercultural Competence Development during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yingjie Liu ◽  
Thomas Shirley
Keyword(s):  
Study Abroad ◽  
Intercultural Competence ◽  
Cultural Exchange ◽  
Competence Development ◽  
Study Abroad Programs ◽  
Online Study ◽  
Curriculum Redesign ◽  
Online Format ◽  
The Impact

While all higher education was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, study abroad programs were uniquely challenged by the associated restrictions and limitations. This case study integrates a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) pedagogy approach and virtual reality (VR) technologies into the curriculum redesign process to transform a business study abroad course into an online format. Using VR technology, U.S. students and their international partners in Germany, Brazil, and India created and shared cultural exchange virtual tours. The redesigned online study abroad course engaged students in active learning activities and cultivated students’ intercultural competence development.

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