Preservice Education Professionals’ Identity Development During a Short-Term Study Abroad Experience

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Development and Identity in Multicultural Contexts (Table 7)

Abstract

Given the diversity of the K12 student population (National Center for Education Statistics, 2024), education professionals need to be trained to effectively serve students holding a variety of identities (Ball & Ladson-Billings, 2020). To do so, educators must first have a critical consciousness regarding the impact of their own identities on their everyday experiences and their practices in the classroom. This qualitative study aimed to understand how college students’ experiences during a week-long study abroad experience in Latin America informed their development as future K12 teachers and speech language pathologists. Our research question was, How does a short-term study abroad experience impact students’ perceptions of their own personal and professional identities in the field of education?

Authors

• Kristabel Stark, University of Vermont

• Shana J. Haines, University of Vermont

• Jessica Strolin-Goltzman, University of Vermont