Cross-Cultural Course and Service-Learning Study-Away: A Means to Transformative Learning

Course-based, service-learning, study-away opportunities for university students can result in transformational learning for students. Within the context of Mezirow’s transformative learning theory (2008), this study explored university students’ perceptions of a course-based, service-learning, study-away experience in a culture greatly different from their own. Students participated in a semester-long course with a spring break service-learning study-away experience in the Zuni Pueblo, an indigenous community in New Mexico. Data included individual and group reflections during and after the trip as well as post-graduation (i.e., 3.5–4.5 years after the course). Student reflections indicate that course-based, service-learning, study-away experiences for university students, especially one that provides cross-cultural experiences, can result in transformative learning that may have lasting personal and professional effects. The results of this project may be used by faculty and administrators in academia to provide creative, comprehensive, and transformational intercultural opportunities for students, helping to create leaders in their fields.