IN-PERSON Prague Research & Teaching Conference

Abstract

Institutional mandates around Indigenization and internationalization have proliferated across the Canadian Higher Education (CHE) landscape in the last two decades. These have been accompanied by calls both to decolonize curricula and to integrate more robust global or inter-cultural dimensions into CHE teaching and learning. Consistent with the principles of research-informed teaching within the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, this inquiry explores the potential of Study Abroad experiences to effect innovative and transformative learning that simultaneously promotes decolonization and inter-culturalism. Focussing on graduate-level Study Abroad classes in Ireland, Jamaica and New Zealand, the inquiry is framed by the following research questions: Can Study Abroad effect transformative learning towards decolonization and interculturalism? How can Study Abroad facilitate personal and professional growth for Educational Leaders in racialized contexts? A multiple case study approach drawing on qualitative data framed by Mezirow’s transformative learning theory constituted the methodology. Themes emerging from the data included the potential of Study Abroad to disrupt previous assumptions regarding historical processes and to enable learners to reconceptualize those understandings; the capacity of Study Abroad to facilitate relationship-building beyond what would normally be possible in highly segregated societal contexts to advance cross-cultural understanding; and the importance of institutional and instructor strategic planning to ensure appropriate funding and recruitment. The study highlights the unique potential of Study Abroad to enable transformative learning among Educational Leaders working in societal contexts where substantial change is warranted, confirming the capacity of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education to advance social justice.