Educating for Global Citizenship through Service-Learning: A Theoretical Account and Curricular Evaluation

The last decade has witnessed substantial increases in US university study abroad programming. Related, there has been a demonstrable spike in university administrators and faculty members suggesting that their institutions prepare students for global citizenship. Yet few institutions have offered a clear conceptualization of what global citizenship is, how they educate for it, or how they measure their progress in that effort. This dissertation addresses the relative dearth of applicable theoretical constructs by offering one such construct, suggesting the specific educative process by which it may be encouraged, and discussing initial efforts evaluating its success. Its three primary contributions are: (1) a particular articulation of global citizenship that draws on existing theoretical approaches while insisting on integration with or development of strong mechanisms for application, (2) clarification of the educative process by which that articulation and practice of global citizenship may be encouraged, and (3) the development and testing of a quantitative instrument for better understanding and evaluating global citizenship and civic engagement. A pre- and post- survey is employed to develop an index of global civic engagement and awareness measures among students (1) not participating in global service-learning, (2) participating in global service-learning without a deliberate global citizenship education component, and (3) participating in global service-learning with clear attention to the integration of a global citizenship curriculum. The findings, buttressed by analysis of related qualitative data, suggest that integration of a carefully developed and articulated theoretical and practical approach to global citizenship education is essential if universities are to be successful in their efforts to create global citizens. Perhaps less intuitive and more alarming, the findings indicate that exposure to study abroad programming absent deliberate global citizenship education efforts may serve to merely reinforce stereotypes, create situations where severe cultural shock and withdrawal are likely experiences, and otherwise serve to cause young US citizens to shrink from rather than engage with the world. Taken as a whole, the analysis suggests the outcomes of many efforts to globalize campuses and create global citizens are unclear at best and that clearer conceptualizations, educative processes, and evaluation efforts are needed