Personal shift : the potential for transformative learning in youth through international service education programs

Abstract

This interdisciplinary research paper explores the potential for transformative learning in senior school students who participated in a cultural immersion experiential education program offered by St. Michaels University School (SMUS) in Victoria, BC, Canada. In applying grounded theory methodology and narrative analysis to 12 semi-structured interviews I conducted with SMUS students and alumni who had partaken of the experiential program, I discovered learning and transformation of consciousness themes in their comments. From these findings, I have created a transformative learning process theoretical model that outlines the phases of transformational change or a personal shift experienced by the students and alumni during and following their international service trips. Among the insights I have gained from this study is the presence of each student's recognition of his or her maturation or growing up that occurred concurrently with his or her transformative learning process.