GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES INSTITUTE INC (GPI) |
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Resources Assessing progress in global learning and development of students with education abroad experiences Larry
A. Braskamp, David C. Braskamp, Kelly Merrill A pretest-posttest design was selected to measure changes in students’ global perspective over the period of one semester abroad. 245 students from ten different programs sponsored by five different institutions completed the Global Perspective Inventory (GPI), which measures three major domains of global learning and development. Two scales for each of the three major domains — cognitive, intrapersonal, and interpersonal— were constructed to measure each of the three domains. (A more complete description of the GPI is included in Braskamp, Braskamp, and Merrill, 2008.) The differences between the pretest and posttest means on the six GPI scales of the 245 students enrolled in all education abroad programs and centers in the spring of 2008 are presented below. Differences (changes from the prettest to the posttest) on five of the six GPI scales are statistically significant at p <.001, i.e., students have statistically higher posttest means of all scales, except Knowing.
*p< .05; **p<.01; ***p<.001 We concluded that while students did change on five of the six dimensions of holistic student development, they progress more on some dimensions than in others. Cognitive changes in knowledge of international issues were more apparent and evident than growth in having a more complex sense of self and more intense relationships with others unlike them. The evidence supports the generalization that while the various EA programs are successful in fostering global learning and development, program leaders and faculty can more intentionally create in and out of classroom conditions that deliberately foster a global perspective. That is, formal didactic classroom instruction or experiences alone such as travel and social encounters are insufficient in guiding students to think with more complexity and to view themselves as global citizens with a sense of responsibility. Recently in EA, more pedagogical strategies, based on active learning such as internships, field trips, service learning activities, are becoming a part of the curriculum. What may still be missing however is the necessary integration of experiences and reflection. Experience integrated with rigorous and critical, constructive, and creative thinking may help students learn and develop even more holistically. Education abroad is ideal for creating an optimal global learning and development environment for students, one that brings valued added to whole student development. References Braskamp,
L. A., D. C. Braskamp & K. C. Merrill (2008). Global Perspective
Inventory King,
P. and M. B. Baxter Magolda. (2005). A developmental model of intercultural
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