Long-term transformative learning from short-term outbound mobility programs and the connection to government’s soft power initiatives

In this paper we describe the long-term impact of engagement in a short-term outbound mobility program (OMP) that connected Australian preservice teachers with Malaysian preservice teachers at an education institution in Kuala Lumpur. The university program was funded in the first iteration by Australia’s Study Overseas Short-term Mobility program and subsequent iterations by the New Colombo Plan. These grants are a government soft power initiative that partners Australian students with colleagues in Indo-Pacific countries to further Australia’s influence in the area. This qualitative research focuses on the transformative learning of graduate teachers who participated in a two-week OMP as undergraduates. Transformative learning occurs when new experiences challenge individuals’ prior knowledge, beliefs, practices, and basic assumptions about things, prompting them to reflect and consider new ways of thinking and being. Our research followed the Australian teachers up to seven years after they completed their Bachelor of Education program to learn what transformative learning from their engagement in the OMP was realised in their current teaching practice as a result of the government’s soft power initiative.