Marvell, A and Simm, D (2023) Promoting education, solidarity and engagement through international fieldwork: facilitating emotional responses to enhance transformative learning. In: XX ISA World Congress of Sociology, 25 June - 1 July 2023, Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract
International fieldwork offers significant opportunities for experiential learning and forming “global” citizens, however, there are physical and socio-psychological challenges as well. Students are confronted with unfamiliar environments, mild culture shock, challenging physical and climatic conditions, the stresses of group work, intensity of field presentations, and fatigue during field trips, which can influence their affective domain. This results in differing individual behaviours, perceptions and performances of students. By placing students in unfamiliar locations, they demonstrate solidarity, through being challenged by “others”. This presentation examines how students’ emotional intelligence can be utilised through innovative pedagogies to make sense of the encounters experienced by students (and staff) during international fieldwork. Using a case-study of undergraduate fieldwork in Barcelona, Spain, we examine how the use of student-led peer teaching and learning, facilitated by tutors, and supported by self-reflectivity exercises, can be harnessed to facilitate students’ altruistic learning. This approach also helps students' resilience to cope with the challenges as well as the opportunities. The use of reflective field diaries is a powerful tool not only for enabling students to observe and record what they encounter but also to reflect on the meanings and positionality before, during and after being immersed in "place". Our studies show how the effective integration of peer learning with self-reflectivity enhances students’ emotional intelligence and resilience, a deeper understanding of a sense of place, with the potential to achieve transformative learning.
| Item Type: | Conference or Workshop Item (Paper) |
|---|---|
| Subjects: | G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > G Geography (General) L Education > L Education (General) |
| Divisions: | School of Sciences |
| Related URLs: | |
| Date Deposited: | 03 Apr 2024 14:25 |
| Last Modified: | 03 Apr 2024 14:25 |
| URI / Page ID: | https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/16181 |
 |
Request a change to this item or report an issue |
 |
Update item (repository staff only) |
Tools
Tools
