S. K. Tambyah*, K. Mukhopadhyay*, L. LIM, & Y. T. J. ONG
College of Alice & Peter Tan
*kankana.m@nus.edu.sg; rc3tsk@nus.edu.sg
Mukhopadhyay, K., Tambyah, S. K., Lim, L., & Ong, Y. T. J. (2024). Personal growth narratives: Voices from community-based experiential study trips [Poster presentation]. In Higher Education Conference in Singapore (HECS) 2024, 3 December, National University of Singapore. https://blog.nus.edu.sg/hecs/hecs2024-kmukhopadhyay-et-al/
SUB-THEME
Opportunities from Engaging Communities
KEYWORDS
Experiential learning, personal growth, professional development, mixed methodology
CATEGORY
Poster Presentation
EXTENDED ABSTRACT
This poster presents the personal growth narratives of student participants in short-term overseas experiential learning (Kolb 1984; Moon, 2004; Roberts, 2012; Backman et al., 2019; Lovett, 2020) programmes. Their voices are captured through focus group discussions (FGDs) and open-ended survey questions, which are part of a larger research study funded by the Ministry of Education. Using a mixed-method case study design, the study aims to understand students’ learning processes and outcomes of the community-based experiential study trips conducted as part of a residential college’s curriculum for over a decade.
METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS
Student participants were from different (STEER) (India, Balkans, Myanmar, Botswana, Nepal) from 2012 to 2020. They participated in six FGDs and completed an online vignette survey to share their perceptions on the different community-based learning aspects of the programme. The research team engaged in close readings and coding of the FDG transcripts and the responses to the vignette survey, particularly the key questions on personal growth (Figure 1) from the two data sets. Preliminary analyses indicated two emergent themes that define the construct of personal growth, which also demonstrated that students have experienced substantial personal growth with enduring effects beyond the duration of the programmes.
Figure 1: Questions on personal growth from FGD and Vignette Survey (open-ended question)
APPLICATION OF THE KNOWLEDGE GAINED
Students shared how the community-based experiential learning expanded their perspectives and facilitated the application of knowledge in their professional and personal endeavours after they have graduated. Some examples include “(integrating) methodologies like design thinking and asset-based community development in my daily life” (Nepal, 2018), “(thinking) deeply about how we can tap on community resources and to empower people within their own communities” (Mynamar 2018) and “looking” at societal issues and institutions with greater curiosity” (India 2018).
Several participants detailed the practical application of knowledge acquired during the study trips to their academic and career-related projects. For example, a participant from STEER Botswana who is now an educator shared the following:
DEVELOPING PERSONAL AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
There was an overwhelming sharing of how meaningful interactions with partner communities have broadened their worldviews and changed their mindsets. These experiences allowed them to “practise (their) curiosity” (FGD 3) during the trips and deepen their cultural awareness, empathy and social responsibility. One participant compared being “open and deliberate in understanding different perspectives” (FGD 3) when in the study trip from the filtered reality that s/he experiences in social media. This in turn encouraged them to take multifaceted approaches towards decision-making and become better at critical thinking after the trips. Students were also able to “understand the human psyche better” (Myanmar, 2019), and to “empathise with all sides of a conflict and focus on the similarities of the struggles faced by all sides.” (Balkans, 2019). Embracing new cultural perspectives was invaluable in developing global relationships, as an understanding of culturally different communities can help to “guide decisions and planning for bilateral discussions”. (Botswana, 2018)
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Educational experiences rooted in community-based learning offer a powerful and effective method by which to prepare students as life-long learners. Our findings illustrated how the community-based nature of the overseas experiential learning enabled the acquisition of knowledge and translatable skills, which could be applied in personal and professional contexts. The findings confirm how students understand the value of such engagements and their role in helping them contribute productively to society.
REFERENCES
Backman, M., Pitt, H., Marsden, T., Mehmood, A., & Mathijs, E. (2019). “Experiential Approaches to Sustainability Education: Towards Learning Landscapes.” International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, 20(1), 139-156. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-06-2018-0109
Flood, L. D. (2019). A new way forward for social justice researchers: Development and validation of the social justice behavior scale. Research in Educational Administration & Leadership, 4(2), 303. http://dx.doi.org/10.30828/real/2019.2.4
Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential Learning. Prentice Hall Books.
Lovett, K. (2020). Introduction: Listening and Learning from Experiential Learning Educators. In Lovett, K. (eds), Diverse Pedagogical Approaches to Experiential Learning: Multidisciplinary Case Studies, Reflections, and Strategies (pp. 1-11). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42691-0_1
Moon, J. A. (2004). A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning: Theory and Practice. Routledge.
Roberts, J. W. (2012). Beyond learning by doing: Theoretical currents in experiential education. Routledge.