The global and the local: Programs that predict critical thinking and cultural appreciation development in students
Date
2018
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Association for Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement
Abstract
Increasingly,
colleges and u
niversities across the U
nited
States
are encouraging students to study abroad
,
citing enhanced
cultural appreciation and
critical thinking skills as intended
outcomes. However, on every
campus
, there
are
students
who cannot participate in learning
-abroad opportunities because of visa,
financial, familial, or other personal reasons. At the same time, some students are more drawn to
opportunities for engagement in their own communities
than outside the United States.
This article
discusses a
study
that
focused on student outcomes for alumni of domestic and
international programs
designed to be cross
-cultural and experiential in nature.
The findings
suggest that U
.S.-based service
-
learning opportunities that are inten
tionally experiential and contain cross
-cultural elements may be just as
effective
in developing students
’ cultural appreciation and critical thinking skills
as international
experiences
. Results
also
indicate that programmatic elements may be as strong of
a predictor of student
outcomes as location.
Description
item.page.type
Article
item.page.format
Keywords
critical thinking, international service-learning, cross-cultural appreciation, United States, university students
Citation
Johnstone, C ., Soria, K., Bittencourt, T. & Adjei, M. (2018). The global and the local: Programs that predict critical thinking and cultural appreciation development in students. International Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Community Engagement, 6 (1) Article 8