Study Abroad | Global Minded Professor

Study Abroad Scholarship & Courses Taught

Ecuador Study Abroad 2023

Approaches to Health and Wellbeing in Ecuador (2023)

This study abroad course explores social determinants of health and the innovative ways in which Ecuadorian communities and groups organize and respond to address service gaps and barriers to wellbeing. Together, participants will examine the social determinants within their broader political, cultural, and economic contexts, emphasizing their impact on the country’s most vulnerable populations (e.g., indigenous communities, women, rural families). The course will enable students to reflect on their own perspectives and observe the social and cultural context of Ecuador through an immersive learning experience using service-learning as a key experiential tool.

Community-Based Participatory Study Abroad

Study abroad experiences offer important benefits for social work students and faculty, including global awareness, practice skill development, and enhanced multicultural competence. Short-term study abroad programs are most feasible but typically lack depth of engagement with host communities and may perpetuate existing systems of power and privilege. We proposed a model of community-based participatory study abroad with 6 components: (1) shared power, (2) co-learning, (3) reciprocal benefits, (4) empowerment, (5) community-grounded processes, and (6) sustainability. This model is community-driven and social change oriented, addresses power and privilege, and emphasizes fundamental social work values. We used a study abroad course initiative in Kenya to illustrate each principle, and we conclude with a discussion of implications for teaching and student learning. To learn more, read the full-text article.

Guatemala Study Abroad 2020

Health Disparities and Community-Driven Development in Guatemala (2020)

The course was grounded in two Guatemalan communities: San Miguel Escobar and the villages surrounding Lake Atitlan. We prepared to engage with members of each community through service-learning projects, shared meals in community members’ homes, community-led tours, and informally throughout our stay. All course activities including service-learning projects were determined collaboratively in partnership with our Guatemalan community partner organization De La Gente. Unfortunately, our travel to Guatemala in mid-March 2020 was canceled shortly before departure due to covid-19, and the remainder of the course was offered remotely.

Expect the Unexpected

Given the United States’ population changes and the increasing impact of globalization, international context and experience in the MSW curriculum are essential. Gaining popularity as a vehicle for such experience are short-term international courses, defined as educational trips outside the United States lasting from 1 to 3 weeks. To achieve desired outcomes, courses must include both strong course curriculum and pedagogical approaches that support learning from experience and critical reflection. In this article, we describe our short-term international MSW school-supported course methodology. We use three critical incidents to illustrate tensions and challenges inherent in MSW study abroad programs. Finally, we offer three pedagogical approaches to deepen and enhance learning in short-term international courses: experiential learning, transformative learning, and decolonizing pedagogy. To learn more, read the full-text article.

Kenya Study Abroad 2018

Social Development, Social Policy, and Community Empowerment in Kenya (2018)

This study abroad course explored the interrelationships between social development, social policy, social services, and the ways in which communities organize and respond to address policy and service barriers and gaps. We examined these things within the specific social, economic, political, and cultural context of Kenya. The course introduced students to the historical context of Kenya, Kenyan ways of viewing social problems and social justice, and Kenyan social policy, social service organizations, and community organizations including self-help and women’s empowerment groups. We once again partnered with socially responsible tourism organization The Village Experience. The course was centered around the service-learning projects and grounded in two rural communities in Kenya: Mbita and Shela. We spent multiple days in each community, and students engaged with community members through service-learning projects and informally throughout our stay. All course activities including service-learning projects were determined collaboratively with community partners in Kenya based on community-identified priorities.

Kenya Study 2015

Social Development, Social Policy, and Social Services in Kenya (2015)

The purpose of this course was to broaden students’ knowledge of social development, social policy, social services, and social work issues—and how these are influenced by the social, economic, political, and cultural context of Kenya. The course supported students to (a) reflect on their own perspectives and (b) study and observe the social and cultural context of Kenya through an immersive learning experience using service-learning as a key experiential tool. Central to the course were the service-learning projects taking place in the rural communities of Nakuru and Mbita, where the instructor had previously developed partnerships through collaboration with The Village Experience. We spent 5-6 days in each community, in addition to traveling elsewhere in Kenya, so students had multiple days of engagement with the same community members. The course activities and service-learning projects in particular were designed from the ground up in collaboration with our community partners in Kenya. It was the design of this course, three years in the making, that inspired the development of the Community-Based Participatory Study Abroad Model, described in this article.

South Africa/Netherlands Study Abroad 2009

Social Welfare Policies and Programs in South Africa, the Netherlands, and USA (2009)

Development of social welfare policy is shaped by social, political, economic, and cultural forces within a society and among societies at any given time. This course focused on understanding the impact of these forces using the development of contemporary social welfare in the Netherlands and South Africa as study cases. Its purpose was to broaden students’ knowledge of social development, social policy, social services, and social work issues and how these are influenced by the social, economic, and political and cultural context of each country, and to compare those policies and issues to what we know to exist in the U.S. The course provided an introduction to the interconnected historical contexts of the Netherlands and South Africa, ways of viewing social problems and social justice in each country, and social policies, social service organizations, and educational institutions of each country. The course examined social policies and programs through the lenses of two themes: youth and health (in particular, HIV prevention and sexual health). My experience co-developing and leading this course with my colleague Dr. VeLure Roholt inspired us to write the “Expect the Unexpected” article.