A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF MULTIPLE STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES

For many decades school groups have actively engaged in experiences outside the classroom. More recently, school-led tourism has expanded to include international school trips especially undertaken by schools in developed, (Western), neoliberal nations. Whilst these trips traditionally focused on foreign language and cultural learning they have diversified to include a wide range of curriculum-related subjects and extra-curricular activities. However, the growth in participation in these trips has not been matched by academic attention or analysis. This thesis addresses the dearth of research by exploring the justifications, motivations and experiences behind international school trips and how learning is perceived and positioned within these trips. The inclusion of the active voice of multiple stakeholders (i.e., young people, their parents and school leaders) is a new way of appraising international school trip experiences. This qualitative study involved twenty-three focus group interviews (six with parents, nine with young people and eight with school leaders), carried out in six New Zealand secondary schools that had groups either preparing for or recently returned from an international trip. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data and three global theme