Taking a Critical Pedagogical Look at Travel-Study Abroad: “A Classroom with a View” in Cusco, Peru

Abstract

The importance of preparing students for citizenship in a global society is well recognized in teaching sociology. Although options have emerged to facilitate such pedagogical experiences, few concentrate on maximizing students' experiences in non-English-speaking nations. How can we help sociology students get the most out of an experience in a foreign language society if they do not speak the language? I propose a critical pedagogical approach to travel-study abroad by presenting a case study of a unique three-week intensive class taught in Cusco, Peru. Following Kaufman's (2002) four-point model of critical pedagogy, I recommend that understanding, reflecting, analyzing, and engaging in social action can help structure the application of critical pedagogy to travel-study abroad in sociology. My research suggests benefits of such an approach, including working with a native educational institution, pairing sociology and Spanish students, and using home-stay families as informal teachers. I conclude by offering suggestions for faculty interested in creating a travel-study abroad course, to a developing nation in particular.

Cuba Study Abroad: A Pedagogical Tool for Reconstructing American National Identity

“…They also participated in field trips to the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution, the National Assembly of People's Power, the Women's Federation, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Education, the Fernandez Ortiz Foundation, the Martin Luther King Center, and other Cuban social and political organizations. While previous studies have placed emphasis on separating those learning activities considered “academic” from those considered “cross‐cultural experiences” (Laubscher ; Hoffa and Perason ; Forbes ), we agree with Manley's () assertion that such a division is artificial. Rather, we recognize that both in‐ and out‐of‐class activities serve student learning.…”

Music, symbolic interaction, and study abroad

“…Students also had the opportunity to dedicate a large amount of time to a special academic focus. Such a focus, when mixed with daily opportunities to learn about, reflect on, analyze, and engage in meaningful social action about music, strengthens the learning process (Fobes, 2005). Finally, they became empowered by sociological knowledge itself.…”

“…During the six weeks, I took students to relatively expensive and comfortable destinations, such as Montreux, Switzerland, as well as to economically deprived destinations, including isolated minority (Hungarian and Gypsy) villages in Serbia and Transylvania where, through homestays with families that do not have air conditioning, cable television, or even indoor plumbing in many cases, they could experience firsthand how ''the other half'' lives. Music aside, the homestay aspect of the program put students in a unique situation where they spent two days and two nights with families that did not speak English, thus compelling a reliance on role-taking and self-reflexivity that many teachers of sociology have called for in the past (Fobes, 2005). Thus, I organized the program as an antidote to the more typical summer-abroad program in which students often engage in relatively superficial interactions with the host culture and bring home rather stereotypical images of other countries/peoples (Tusting, Crawshaw, & Callen, 2002).…”

The Short-Term “Bridge Model” Study Abroad Program: Peacebuilding in Latin America

“…"internationalizing the curriculum" and equipping students with the ability and awareness to engage as global citizens (Fobes 2005;Jacoby and Brown 2009 (Fraga, Givens, and Pinderhughes 2011, 3-4). The literature has recognized the positive effect that international education can have on students even years after their experience.…”