Undergraduate+community-based-learning+abroad

Download a PDF of this page ** Undergraduate community-based-learning abroad: Maximizing impact ** Lisa Folda, Lecturer, Johns Hopkins University [lfolda@jhu.edu]

Daniela Lewy, Research Associate, Johns Hopkins University [dlewy1@jhsph.edu]

Eric Rice, Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins University [ericrice@jhu.edu]

Erin Masterson, graduate student, Johns Hopkins University [emaster3@jhsph.edu]

**Keywords:** South Africa, Uganda, undergraduate students, public health, program evaluation

**Track:** Global community engagement and comparative studies

**Format:** Poster presentation

In the 2011-2012 academic year, Johns Hopkins University (JHU) offered two new undergraduate programs abroad that emphasized service-learning and community engagement: (a) a public health program centered on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa and (b) a program in Uganda that examined rural and urban child health and education challenges and interventions. This poster presentation offers a comparison of the two and a discussion of the impact on the participating students.
 * Summary **

The first program included 14 JHU students who participated in the Public Health Studies Program Abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. This program was a partnership between JHU, the University of Cape Town (UCT), and 5 local non-governmental organizations. Key program characteristics intended to benefit students included:


 * Length of the program (6 weeks)
 * The stable, on-going relationship with a single organization and site preceptor
 * Integration of academic and experiential learning

The second program included 14 students from JHU and 7 students from Makerere University (Uganda) who participated in a new joint study-abroad program focused on child development in Uganda. Participants engaged with local researchers, practitioners, community members, and peers to critically examine initiatives serving children. The program aimed to strengthen the institutional relationship between JHU and Makerere and also foster individual student relationships and global citizenship through meaningful cross-cultural interactions. The program further employed Brown’s recommended conditions to reduce potential biases and increase effective peer-to-peer learning (Brown, 1995).

Program evaluation results suggest:


 * Orientation and teambuilding matter.
 * Degree of mutuality was a key component in both programs.
 * A delicate balance must be struck between the academic and experiential components of programs, and students sometimes require assistance in making the connections.
 * Programs benefit from intentionally including ways that students can co-construct knowledge with their hosts.

Brown, R. (1995). //Prejudice: Its social psychology//. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
 * References **


 * To access materials from this session please click on the file link(s) below:**



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