Transformative Pedagogy in Occupied Palestine: International Student Discoveries and Awakenings

Abstract:The article reports on international student perspectives concerning transformative pedagogy through their participation in field trips organized by the Palestinian and Arabic Studies Program at Birzeit University. Students visited historic, religious, and contemporary sites including a Bedouin village, mosques, marketplaces, the site where Jesus was baptized, a Palestinian refugee camp, and farms in the Jordan Valley. The field experience component of the Palestinian study abroad program was examined through pilgrimage curriculum, a journey of discovery to historic and sacred sites. Through analysis of interviews with students from Australia, France, Germany, and Japan, three transnational educational researchers analyzed student discoveries, awakenings, and shifting perspectives to theorize pedagogical features of transformative learning for future educational exchanges for a more just, peaceful, and inclusive world.