Feeling Silly and White: The Impact of Participant Characteristics on Study Abroad Experiences

Background

As countries around the globe become more connected via social media, and more frequent travel, it is a cultural imperative that our students know more about the other inhabitants of this planet. Stohl (2007) argues that globalization will present increasing socioeconomic and political burdens which will have to be addressed by the next two generations in a manner unheard of since World War II. The efforts toward global awareness, internationalization, and global education must extend beyond the “cultural awareness” pedagogy which often provides shallow content. Villegas and Lucas suggest that key to preparing culturally responsive educators is the exposure to and exploration of the cultural backgrounds of their students. However, others suggest cultural awareness is not, by itself, sufficient. In fact, educators must not only investigate the diverse cultures of the world and the students they serve, but examine their understanding of their own cultural identities and the intersections between culture, privilege, power, race, and gender (Gay, 1999; Sleeter, et al., 2004; Villegas & Lucas, 2002). Freire (2000) describes this acquisition of understanding as critical consciousness.