Seeing privilege, being humble: Exploring student accounts of gratitude, humility and privilege through global travel

• In Event: The Experiences of Underrepresented Students in Study Abroad

Proposal

Students participating in study abroad programs are frequently challenged to reassess their worldviews and further develop their sense of self. Among the different outcomes of study
abroad, research suggests an association between study abroad and enhanced personal growth
(Dolby, 2007), independence (Hadis, 2005), clearer self-concept (Adam, Obodaru, Lu, Maddux,
& Galinsky, 2018), and self-efficacy (Cubillos & Ilvento, 2013). This paper is based on a four-year study (2016-2019) of the K-12 District of Columbia Public Schools’ (DCPS) Study Abroad Program and students’ learning, identity, development, and global competence. The District of Columbia Public Schools is a large urban district with more than 48,000 students in 115 schools. About 86% of DCPS students are from non-white backgrounds, and 77% are economically disadvantaged (DCPS, n.d.-b). More than 1,400 middle and high school students have participated in the DCPS Study Abroad Program since its inception in 2016 to 18 countries
(including a globally-focused trip to New York City). 70 students were included as interview
participants during annual case studies carried out from 2016-2019. While analyzing interview
transcripts and coding for themes of global competencies (Boix-Mansilla & Jackson, 2011) and engagement (Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris, 2004) we also identified an emergent theme related to students’ feelings of gratitude in Global South locations (Germann, 2017).

Students spoke at length on identity changes they saw in themselves using words such as
gratitude, appreciation, humble, thankful and privileged. In the students’ statements they reflect on the inequities they have witnessed in their own lives. By seeing their own privileges for the first time, both by direct observation and by noticing examples of others, students develop what they describe as increased gratitude and humility. Looking at qualitative data from student interviews, multiple students reported seeing benefits and privileges that they had previously ignored. The inequities these students have witnessed in their own lives may make them more susceptible to understanding the injustices of differential resources and situations in places that they visited. In this paper we explore the development of students’ notions of gratitude, humility, and global citizenship; how these feelings of gratitude and humility relate to global citizenship; and using existing literature as well as student statements, postulate longer-term outcomes.

Authors

• Stephanie Gonzalez, George Washington University

• Laura Engel, George Washington University