Study Abroad Advisor

Third World Advising

Helping Students Select Appropriate Programs

Even the most traditional study abroad programs often supplement classroom instruction with such activities as field trips or independent study projects. Other go much further and place field learning at the very core of the learning strategy. Organizations such as the School for International Training, the Center for Global Education, the Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA), and the School for Field Studies have gained national prominence for their experiential approach.

Experiential programs have particular appeal for study in Third World countries. Whereas students in traditional classroom programs rub shoulders mostly with people who by global standards are privileged (whether other Americans in the program or local university students), experiential programs acquaint participants firsthand with a set of social realities that are far more typical of the host country. If study abroad in general is life-changing, experiential programs in the Third World tend to be doubly so.

Powerful though they are, however, such programs are not for everyone. They do not require the same traits for success as a summer of language study in France or a year of regular classes in an Australian university. And they present additional challenges to the study abroad adviser.

Here are some suggestions for dealing with experiential programs in the Third World, both in pre-application advising and in the selection process.

1. Make students aware of the programs available and watch for qualities that make students especially likely candidates for them.

In the initial advising contact, mention such programs even to students who have inquired only about more traditional formats or destinations. Sometimes merely identifying less conventional options can be enough to pique interest.

Mention such programs even if they do not seem to be the right match at this moment. Planting the seed now can affect students' decisions later in their college careers.

Be alert to "stepping experiences" in students' background. Independent travel, high school exchanges or language tours, short-term study abroad programs, or even local internships or community service often expand students' horizons, heighten their self-confidence, and open them to new challenges.

Explore students' values and learning objectives. Students with strong social concerns or with a serious desire to clarify their own values and examine their own place in the world may be especially good candidates.

Ask students to talk about their learning styles. Some students who are very good in a traditional classroom setting may find experiential learning difficult; others who have been only marginally successful may suddenly blossom.

2. Be well informed about experiential programs in the Third World, and help the interested student locate the right program.

Don't assume that all Third World destinations require a great sense of adventure and a willingness to endure hardship. Argentina is not Chad, and New Delhi is very different from an Indian village. Especially if your own international experience has been limited to industrialized countries, be careful not to be overprotective.

Similarly, make students aware of the great variety of learning formats. Some programs require a great deal of emotional maturity and toughness--for example, those that place students in individual internships or research projects away from the group setting. Other programs may be ideal ways to open a student's eyes to the wider world--for example, a group study tour during January interim.

Be sure that a student is not considering a program only because it's in the Third World or only because it uses experiential pedagogy. The right student for these types of programs will want both.

Don't ignore the selection factors that also apply to more conventional programs: length, timing, cost, language of instruction, eligibility requirements, that fit with the student's major and/or learning objectives, eligibility standards, etc.

3. Once the student has identified a program of potential interest, help them check out the match. Think of this step as part not only of advising but also of selection and even of orientation.

Check to see how realistic the student's expectations are about the physical and social challenges the program will entail. Although some students may be excessively optimistic and require a dose of reality, others may have an exaggerated view of the hardships they will face.

Be sure the student understands the program's academic expectations. Many programs are extremely demanding, and it is no service to the program to send a student who has enrolled under the mistaken belief that it will be "easy."

Although many programs do require considerable independence and emotional toughness, watch out for students who will rebel against rules, behavioral norms, schedules, and assignment deadlines. Students must understand that many field study programs are highly structured.

Don't let the student underestimate the importance of social skills. Group dynamics are more important to many field-based programs than to most traditional classroom programs. Warn students about how much emotional energy they will need to put into relations with others, whether internship supervisors and colleagues or classmates in a field study team.

4. If you are involved in selection, be thoughtful about what traits are needed for the particular program.

Read the transcript carefully and discuss it with the student. Watch especially for such warning signs as an erratic pattern of grades (which might hint at some emotional instability) or a lot of Ws and Is (which might reflect weak commitment and poor follow-through).

Don't be obsessed with GPA. It's not a great predictor of success even in traditional classroom-based study abroad programs. Moreover, we know enough about differences in learning styles to know that students who do well in formal, structured classroom learning will not necessarily thrive in field learning situations, and vice versa.

Ask for non-academic information. Community and volunteer work are sometimes more relevant than classroom performance. Letters of recommendation from outside the academic community can help greatly.

Watch how students react to the application process. Do they complain about paperwork? Do they get discouraged easily? Do they want you to do everything for them?

Try to probe the student's tolerance for ambiguity. Viewed through North American eyes, life in the Third World can seem quite unstructured. Time has a different meaning, spontaneity reigns supreme, and even the best-organized projects have a way of taking unintended turns. Such a setting can be vexing to students with a high need for closure.

Be alert to latent racism, condescension, or missionary zeal. Begin early to combat a language of "helping" (as opposed to "learning from" or "working with").

Encourage humility. Students who want to learn about people in a village or a squatter settlement rather than from them may be insufficiently open to the sort of co-learning that many programs foster.

Conversely, beware of students who have romanticized everything about the Third World, who think traditional societies understand what our overly technological civilization has forgotten. Such students will be crushed when they discover things they don't like about the host culture.

Try some questions like the following: What are your expectations of this study abroad office? Of the experience as a whole? Of facilities in the host culture? What do you know about the host culture? How do you plan to learn more before departure? What do you think you could learn from working in groups? On your own?

Finally, don't be overconfident in your judgment. There is much to be said for putting the onus of responsibility for selection on the student. We then become advisers, not gatekeepers. If we help students develop the most accurate understanding of the program possible, they will generally screen themselves out if the match is wrong.

CHIP PETERSON is Coordinator of Foreign Studies Programs at the Univ. of Minnesota-Minneapolis. This article is adapted from materials presented at a NAFSA-sponsored workshop, Experiential Study in the Third World and Beyond, in August 1994. The author thanks Caroline Erickson, Barbara Kappler, and Margaret Warpeha for their contributions.