There and Back Again: Perceived Long-Term Effects of a High School Immersion Abroad Experience

238 Pages·2015·0.81 MB·English

by  Nora A. Flom

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Education Doctoral Dissertations in Leadership School of Education
Summer 7-22-2014
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Nora A. Flom
University of St. Thomas, Minnesota, [email protected]
Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.stthomas.edu/caps_ed_lead_docdiss
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Flom, Nora A., "There and Back Again: Perceived Long-Term Effects of a High School Immersion Abroad
Experience" (2014). Education Doctoral Dissertations in Leadership. 52.
https://ir.stthomas.edu/caps_ed_lead_docdiss/52
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Running Head: THERE AND BACK AGAIN

There and Back Again:
Perceived Long-Term Effects of a High School Immersion Abroad Experience

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. THOMAS

By
Nora A. Flom

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

2014
THERE AND BACK AGAIN ii

There and Back Again:
Perceived Long-Term Effects of a High School Immersion Abroad Experience

We certify that we have read this dissertation and approved it as adequate in scope and quality.
We have found that it is complet e and satisfactory in all respects, and that any and all revisions
required by the final examining committee have been made.
THERE AND BACK AGAIN iii

ABSTRACT
This qualitative phenomenological case study examined the perceptions of young adults
regarding the effects of an approximately month-long immersion abroad experience in
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, in which they participated when they were adolescents. School
staff from Mexico who worked with these students were interviewed to help identify and
articulate the context in which the adolescents studied and lived while in Mexico. Former
sojourner participants recalled their memories of their attitudes and experiences before, during,
immediately after, and long after the trip. Additionally, former sojourner participants were
invited to share five photographic images they considered emblematic of the trip; their narrations
of those images contributed to the data.
Evidence indicated that school staff constructed a context heavily emphasizing the social
environment in which students studied and lived. Evidence also indicated that former sojourner
participants believe the trip, in conjunction with other experiences, contributed to their seeking
other international experiences, pursuing international careers or careers that required
intercultural skills, and establishing significant intercultural relationships.
THERE AND BACK AGAIN iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am profoundly grateful to many people for their support, encouragement, and patience
as I worked to finish not only this dissertation but the many steps that led to its beginning and
completion. First, I want to thank Dr. John Holst, the chair of my dissertation committee, and the
members my dissertation committee Dr. Deborah DeMeester and Dr. Jean-Pierre Bongila. Their
knowledge, expertise, and guidance are invaluable.
I am so very grateful to my husband, Matthew. His unwavering love, faith, care, and
nurturing allowed me to celebrate, struggle, rest, and fight again in pursuit of this achievement. I
am also grateful to my sons Erik and Jon, whose encouragement, independence and
responsibility helped to make the successful completion of this endeavor possible. Thank you to
my parents, who although they are no longer alive to celebrate with me, instilled education as a
value that never diminishes.
Without the work and friendship of my colleagues in Mexico, some of whom participated
in this study but many of whom did not, none of the experiences described here would ever have
been possible. For their vision and tireless efforts in cultural understanding, I am forever
indebted. No pueden imaginar lo que han hecho por mí y por mis alumnos. No hay palabras que
describan el agradecimiento que siento. Gracias por su solidaridad y su amistad.
Finally, thank you to Cohort 21. Our entrance into the program may have been
unconventional, and our road may not always have been smooth, but they have become my
support, my inspiration, my teachers, and my friends. I hope I have given to them at least a
portion of what they have given me.
THERE AND BACK AGAIN v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv
Chapter One: Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1
Statement of the Issue ................................................................................................................. 3
Significance of the Issue ............................................................................................................. 3
Chapter Two: Review of the Literature .......................................................................................... 5
Related Literature Regarding the Practice of Study Abroad ...................................................... 6
Relevant and Related Literature Regarding the Effects of Study Abroad ................................ 12
Study Abroad and Intercultural Competence ............................................................................ 16
Socialization, Identity and Study Abroad ................................................................................. 19
Transformative Learning and Study Abroad ............................................................................ 21
Critical Literature, Globalization, Language and Study Abroad .............................................. 26
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 30
Chapter Three: Analytic Literature ............................................................................................... 32
Theoretical Framework of Cognitive Development and Identity ............................................. 32
Theoretical Framework of Critical Pedagogy ........................................................................... 40
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 45
Chapter Four: Methodology .......................................................................................................... 47
Phenomenological Case Study .................................................................................................. 47
The Case.................................................................................................................................... 50
Data Collection and Analysis.................................................................................................... 51
Validity and Ethical Considerations ......................................................................................... 60
Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 64
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 65
Chapter Five: History and Educational Approach of Renovar Language Institute ...................... 66
History, Philosophy, and Growth of Renovar ........................................................................... 66
Renovar’s Work with Adolescents ........................................................................................... 71
Recruitment of Student Participants ......................................................................................... 72
Experiences and Perceptions of the Renovar Staff Participants ............................................... 73
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 81
Chapter Six: Findings Regarding Student Perceptions Prior to and During the Trip ................... 83
Student Participant Perceptions: Prior to the Trip .................................................................... 84
Student Participant Perceptions: The Trip Itself ....................................................................... 94
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 112
Chapter Seven: Findings Regarding Perceptions of Effects of the Trip ..................................... 115
Student Participant Perceptions: Immediate Effects or Consequences of the Trip ................ 115
Student Participant Perceptions: Long-Term Effects of the Trip ........................................... 119
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 155
THERE AND BACK AGAIN vi
Chapter Eight: Theoretical Analysis ........................................................................................... 157
Piaget, Cognitive Development, and Student Experience ...................................................... 157
Identity Development.............................................................................................................. 163
Critical Pedagogy and Student Perceptions, Attitudes, and Behaviors .................................. 186
From New Experience to Conscientization ............................................................................ 191
Chapter Nine: Conclusion and Recommendations for Further Research ................................... 193
Implications for Leadership .................................................................................................... 195
Recommendations for Practice and Further Research ............................................................ 196
References ................................................................................................................................... 200
Appendix A: Former Study Abroad Participant Guiding Questions .......................................... 217
Appendix B: Guiding Questions for Instructors or Staff at Renovar Institute ........................... 219
Appendix C: Consent Form—Former Participants..................................................................... 220
Appendix D: Consent Form—Staff at Renovar .......................................................................... 224
Appendix E: Student Participant Recruitment Brochure ............................................................ 230
THERE AND BACK AGAIN 1
Chapter One: Introduction

In 1998, I began teaching Spanish in the Pine Bluff School District (not its real name.
Except for towns or pueblos in Mexico, all subsequent person and place names are pseudonyms.)
Early in the next school year, I got an e-mail from a teacher at a different school in the district.
Would any Spanish teacher in the district be interested in leading the month-long language and
cultural immersion trip to Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico? “Me! Me! Pick me!” was my reply.
That summer, with my own two elementary-aged children in tow, I led a group of 14 students
aged 14-18 to the Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera—the City of Eternal Spring. Students spent
their mornings in small groups with language and culture instructors, my own two sons were
cared for by a Mexican non-English speaking nanny, and I spent my time in literature and
culture-based classes with other adults.
Since that time, I have led six similar trips with adolescents and one with adults to the
same place, Renovar Language Institute. Through this experience I have grown immensely on a
personal as well as professional level. My Mexican colleagues and friends have been invaluable
sources of information and insight. Though I could perhaps write a whole dissertation about my
personal experiences, I will settle at this time for sharing just one “Aha” moment that I
experienced during my third trip, the summer of 2002.
I had begun teaching at Archbishop High School (AHS), a suburban Catholic high
school. In our department, we were going through a curriculum revision cycle. While in Mexico
with a group from AHS that summer, I requested help writing the curriculum for our Spanish 3
classes. I spent many hours one-on-one pouring through Hispanic short stories and non-fiction
articles. The man working with me was Bernardo, a professional artist and former official
photographer for the state of Morelos. He offered a wealth of personal experience and
THERE AND BACK AGAIN 2
knowledge that went far beyond what I was reading in our textbook, more than once enthralling
me with personal stories about the political or cultural figures that were profiled.
At one point, he said something that profoundly moved me. He told me he sometimes
forgot I was not Mexican, and I was surprised at the depth of my reaction. I told him I wished I
could express how much that meant to me. I knew I wore my Whiteness as a mask I could not
take off, and no matter how much I knew or how much Spanish I spoke or how closely I wanted
to identify with my Mexican friends, I felt like I only caught glimpses of the life behind the
facade we are shown. Bernardo understood, and we spent a great deal of time discussing our
mutual masks and how we behave and what we say in the presence of the other.
On my walk home with my sons that afternoon, I was still very reflective and moved by
our discussion. Once we got back to “our” house, I got my boys involved in something and
retreated to my corner of our room. My thoughts swirling, I remember feeling a cross between
profound shame for our collective White cultural arrogance and profound gratitude for this
unique access to this type of friendship. I felt deeply convicted that our cultural awareness
training in the United States was sorely lacking, and the idea of tolerance was profoundly
insulting. We must go beyond teaching tolerance. We must go beyond even the idea of respect.
What we needed was not just to bring other voices to the table and make room for them as one
would make room at dinner for an unexpected poor cousin. What we needed to do is to work as
equal partners in the pursuit of a more just global community. We needed to approach the dialog
from what Paolo Freire would call a “radical position” of humility (Freire, 2003).
This, then, led me to the question of what knowledge do we lack as persons from this
United States English-speaking culture? What knowledge, skills and insight do the Mexican
people have that we need to know? As a White, suburban adult woman, what am I missing?
THERE AND BACK AGAIN 3
Statement of the Issue
Now, years later, I find myself almost having backed into the question again. I have taken
dozens of students abroad for three to four weeks at a time. The oldest of my first group are now
in their mid- to late-twenties; the youngest of those from the most recent trip recently started
college. Some of those students have maintained contact with me. Several former participants
have gone on to more subsequent journeys or studies abroad, in Spanish-speaking countries as
well as into other countries.
My central question revolved around this: years after their initial educational immersion
trip abroad, how do former cultural sojourners feel the month-long journey they took in high
school impacted them? Other questions I wanted to understand are: did the trip influence their
college choices? Their majors? Their professional decisions? Does it affect how they perceive
people who are “different?” In short, what did they take away from the experience that enriched
their knowledge, skills, and insight? Did they get below the cultural surface? What did they
learn, did it change them, and if so, how?
Significance of the Issue
Globalization and global education are buzzwords that education professionals hear and
must address. In higher education, colleges are increasingly offering study abroad programs
because of the benefits these types of programs offer in developing a competent global citizen or
employee. High school study abroad programs like American Field Service (AFS) International
Programs, Youth for Understanding, or Education First (EF) promise to help students break
down language and cultural barriers (AFS, 2011; EF, 2011; YFU, 2001). In a world that is
becoming increasingly economically, socially, and politically interconnected because of