Disorienting Experiences during Study Abroad: Reflections of Pre-service Teacher Candidates

Source: This article was published in Teaching and Teacher Education, Volume 27, Issue 7,
Author(s): Roopa Desai Trilokekar, and Polina Kukar, "Disorienting Experiences during Study Abroad: Reflections of Pre-service Teacher Candidates", Pages 1141–1150, Copyright Elsevier (October 2011).

The current study examines the study-abroad experiences of pre-service teacher candidates at the Faculty of Education, York University, using transformative learning theory.

Teacher candidates face disorienting experiences while studying abroad; students reported facing racial dynamics, “outsider” status, risk-taking behavior and power relations.
This influences their ability to develop empathy for ethnically diverse students.

Students’ utilized a variety of reflection opportunities; however, critical self-reflection imperative for transformation requires greater awareness of one’s frame of reference.
Clearly, racial and ethnic identities shape study abroad experiences and outcomes.

Future studies need to examine how students’ specificities shape the realization of study-abroad goals for pre-service teachers and their ability to develop global consciousness and to work towards an equitable and just society.