‘Transformational’ learning experiences will now be more accessible thanks to new federal grant
International study programs at U of G provide students with the opportunity for personal and academic growth.
Through engaging with local communities and livelihoods, students are able to make connections with what they are experiencing first hand while fulfilling course learning outcomes.
International study opportunities are more than just getaway excursions, they are once-in-a-lifetime learning experiences that open students up to new perspectives and ways of thinking.
“You’re certainly going to meet people and see communities that you wouldn’t see if you were just on a paid package tour,” said Dr. Craig Johnson, an international development and political science instructor at U of G.
Johnson will be leading a program in summer 2022 called the Ecuador Field School: Sustainable Livelihoods and Global Environmental Change. In the past, the Ecuador field school introduced students to the many challenges associated with adopting livelihoods that are both sustainable and ethical for local communities.
“This is in the context of both environmental changes—like climate change and biodiversity loss—and economic changes that are occurring in the region,” Johnson told The Ontarion.
In 2020 and 2021, all international study programs were cancelled due to the uncertain future of the global pandemic. However, even before the programs were cancelled, only about 11 per cent of Canadian university students and three per cent of Canadian college students enrolled in international study programs during their academic experience, according to a U of G news release.
U of G has recently expanded its international study opportunities for the upcoming semesters. Now that COVID-19 restrictions have loosened, educators around the world are once again able to facilitate these programs.
In an effort to increase the enrollment of students in international study opportunities, U of G received an approximate $1 million grant from the federal government through Canada’s Global Skills Opportunity program. The funds will go towards the university’s international summer field schools and the study abroad programs.
The Global Skills Opportunity program offers grants for students interested in enrolling in international learning programs. Specifically, the grants are provided to Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) students, students with disabilities, and students who show financial need.
“We are delighted to be able to reduce barriers, increase supports and provide funding that will allow more U of G studentsto have transformational experiences abroad,” said Dr. Lynne Mitchell in a U of G news release. Mitchell is the director and international liaison officer at the university’s Centre for International Programs.
“I guess the word ‘transformational’ could sound a bit cliché when we talk about study abroad in that ‘it changed my life’ kind of way, but that’s not my intent,” Mitchell told The Ontarion.
Mitchell makes the comparison to Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning, which states that an individual’s thought process changes based on new information and perspectives. A person’s perception of what may be normal and reasonable changes based on new learning experiences.
“Transformative learning happens when we have to consider things that are outside our established learning frameworks and entertain ideas that challenge our preconceived notions. Well-supported study abroad is a natural fit for transformational learning,” Mitchell said.
International study programs offer learning opportunities that are not necessarily possible in traditional classroom settings. Johnson attests to two unique experiences that are offered in field schools specifically.
— Dr. Lynne Mitchell
The first is the opportunity for students to develop a relationship with the instructor. Students spend weeks on end living and learning with their instructors, which is an uncommon experience for students in their undergraduate career.
Secondly, students are able to learn firsthand about the livelihoods and concepts that are outlined in the course. Engaging with the communities that are described in your textbook is an unmatched learning experience.
“You just don’t have that same kind of insight until you’re actually there and experiencing it,” Johnson said.
International field schools also provide students with the opportunity to meet and befriend not only people in the local communities, but also other students enrolled in the program. International study programs attract a wide breadth of students in varying fields of study.
“I think one interesting mix of the dynamic is that the students that go are very different. Last time, in 2019, we had a large number of non social science and humanities students. People in animal biology, zoology, chemistry, and biochemistry,” said Johnson.
Though the Ecuador field school is labeled as a social science program, it is open to students of all disciplines, exposing them to new learning experiences and opportunities to meet students in different programs.
“Studying abroad provides an opportunity for students to encounter difference and learn about themselves and other ways of being in the world,” said Mitchell.
The Centre for International Programs designed pre-departure and re-entry programs that assess students’ development of intercultural skills while studying abroad.
“Specific intercultural skills include: understanding your own biases, the ability to see things from another’s perspective, and being able to integrate differing perspectives for better outcomes,” said Mitchell.
Another crucial part of ethical international travel and study is the practice of respecting local ecosystems and cultures. In international field schools, students are encouraged to “reflect critically about the relationship between what we do in our lives and how it affects other people living in other parts of the planet,” said Johnson.
Johnson advises scholars to foster open and transparent communications with local communities about their research and academic intentions, while also doing as much as possible to understand the expectations and values of the communities they visit.
With the reopening of international study opportunities, many students may be wary of the challenges that the global pandemic could pose to the delivery of experiential study programs.
Restrictions on travel have begun being lifted as the administration of vaccines becomes widespread. However, the pandemic still forces organizers to plan ahead, more so than they have in previous years, according to Johnson.
“The government of Canada requires proof of vaccination for air travel, so all our students will have to be fully vaccinated to study abroad. We are optimistic, but the health and safety of students always comes first and we’ve let students know that the situation can change quickly. Even before the pandemic, our office has always monitored world events and advised students accordingly and we will continue to do that,” Mitchell said.
If plans go accordingly, students who enroll in these programs will have the opportunity to change their perspectives for the better.
“My colleague in Ecuador put it well: an experience like this kind of opens your eyes, and it gives you all sorts of new questions that you never had before.” Johnson adds, “It also fosters that sort of connection with people living in a very different part of the world, and a very different socio-cultural environment.”
A version of this article appeared in print in The Ontarion issue 192.1 on Jan. 4, 2022.
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