Global Consciousness in a Global Service-Learning Program to Costa Rica

• In Event: Building Intercultural Competence Through Service-Learning and Experiential Education Abroad

Abstract

This narrative inquiry examined undergraduate students’ development of global consciousness in a short-term service global learning program in Costa Rica. The photo journal narrations of four participants were analyzed with the lens of global consciousness. The findings indicate that participants developed their awareness and understanding. At the service site, a bilingual school, participants noted attitudes of teachers and students that created a relaxed, caring, and open learning environment. Each participant’s exploration was grounded in their lived experience, which is evidence of a disposition for global consciousness. This study supports global service learning as a promising pedagogical practice for raising teacher candidates’ global consciousness of belief systems that may lead to inequities in education.

Author

• Michelle M. Ohanian, Mount St. Mary's University