Mediating global citizenry: a study of facilitator-educators at an Australian university

Abstract

Research concerned with global citizenry in tourism is often focused on the potential outcomes of educational travel on the global competencies of student travellers. The experiential learning of educational travel – increasingly represented by short-term, faculty-led programmes – can be transformative for students. It is argued that educational travel shifts the focus of young people from a narrow or self-oriented position, to a broader and more encompassing global perspective to become socially aware and responsible global citizens. Whilst such outcomes of educational travel are evidenced in academic literature, an aspect of educational travel that has been overlooked concerns the mediation of global citizenship. This qualitative study investigates the role played by university staff who facilitate short-term educational travel, finding that, in addition to playing a key role in curriculum delivery and programme logistics, university staff are active in global citizenship education through the mediation of student experiences in unfamiliar cultural contexts. The role of academic staff in educational travel can be compared, theoretically, to that of a tour guide. Educator-facilitators are central to developing the global competencies of students and nurturing global citizenship.

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