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- Creators: School of Social Transformation
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
The number of undergraduate students participating in short-term experiences in global health (STEGHs) abroad has increased dramatically in recent years (Eyler 2002, Drain et al. 2007). These experiences, in tandem with classroom learning, are designed to help students master skills related to global health competencies, including cultural humility and sensitivity, collaborating with community partners, and sociocultural and political awareness. Although STEGHs offer potential benefits to both students and to sending institutions, these experiences can sometimes be problematic and raise ethical challenges. As the number of students engaged in STEGHs continues to increase, it is important to better understand the impact of these programs on student learning. Current ethical and best practice guidelines for STEGHs state that programs should establish evaluation methods to solicit feedback from students both during and on completion of the program (Crump et al. 2010). However, there is currently no established method for gathering this feedback because of the many different global health competency frameworks, types and duration of programs, and different models of student engagement in such programs. Assessing the quality of a STEGH is a profoundly important and difficult question that cannot be answered as succinctly and quantitatively as classroom performance, which has more standard and established assessment metrics. The goal of this project is to identify the most appropriate and useful assessment metric(s) for determining educational quality and impact for STEGHs at ASU by comparing a typical quantitative evaluation tool (pre-post survey with brief open-ended questions) to a more in-depth qualitative method (key informant interviews). In performing my analysis I seek to examine if the latter can produce a richer narrative of student experiences to inform ongoing program evaluations. My research questions are: 1. What are the current qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods available to assess student learning during short-term experiences in global health? 2. How can current methodology for assessing student experiences with short-term experiences in global health be adapted to collect the most information from students? 3. How do student knowledge and attitudes change before and after their short-term experience in global health? Why is understanding those changes important for adapting programs? My end goal would be to use these new, optimal assessment methods for gathering student perspectives and experiences to adapt pre-departure trainings and post-experience debriefings for study abroad programs, both of which I believe will lead to more sustainable partnerships and a healthier understanding of global health work for students.
ContributorsHale, Brittany Ann (Author) / Jehn, Megan (Thesis director) / Wutich, Amber (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
An ever increasing number of university students partake in study abroad opportunities. Extant research has measured the effects of such experiences on the students who participate in them. Nonetheless, this research tends to rely on comparative analyses between study abroad participants and control groups of students who do not travel abroad. Furthermore, data are often retrospectively collected and are thus subject to individual retention, which may entail significant limitations. This research attempts to subvert these limitations by using a pre- and post-test methodology coupled with qualitative analysis. The study consists of in-depth qualitative interviews with nineteen participants who partook in a semester abroad at the Rothberg International School at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In contrast to previous research which has attempted to ascertain general effects, the aim of this research is to measure the effects of study abroad on individuals’ conceptions and perspectives as they relate to the Israel-Palestine situation and the groups involved. The results indicate that the participant group which consisted of both Jewish and non-Jewish individuals did, in fact, demonstrate changes in their perceptions and perspectives at the conclusion of their study abroad experience. Specifically, the majority of individuals reported more critical views of the Israeli state and its governmental policies in addition to demonstrated increases in empathetic sentiment towards Palestinian individuals. The results are discussed in relation to future research which perhaps could be utilized to further promote perception change and subversion of dominant narratives by fostering intergroup openness and interaction.
ContributorsRawls, Ariel (Author) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis director) / Fontinha de Alcantara, Christiane (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This thesis project examines the ethical considerations within study abroad programs at Arizona State University through the use of a survey of past study abroad students and analysis of research in the field. Topics of consideration include environmental impact and sustainability, impact on local economies, history and current events of the host country, laws and rights of the students, politics and religion, and social norms, values, and beliefs, among others. Through this analysis, a pre-departure guide has been created in order to ensure that topics of responsible travel are easily accessible to students in study abroad programs.
ContributorsArehart, Spring (Author) / Fette, Donald (Thesis director) / Zeiher, Caroline (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This project includes a travel blog made while studying abroad in Dublin, Ireland during spring semester of 2020. The blog is called Sierra Sage and can be found at https://sierrasage.travel.blog/. The project also includes data and analysis from six paid advertisement campaigns made on Google and Facebook/Instagram. The blog includes 24 blog posts targeted toward students interested in study abroad and/or travel, and each campaign on both platforms applies to a separate blog post written as part of the project. The paid advertisements were completed using funding from Barrett, The Honors College.
ContributorsPoore, Sierra Sage (Author) / Bonilla, Luis (Thesis director) / West, Maureen (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12