INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC SERVICE LEARNING: VETTING VOLUNTEER SERVICE SITES TO REDUCE COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION IN A STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM

This is a mini-case study of vetting foreign volunteer organizations in Amsterdam for a study abroad program and for insuring that the personal learning environments created by volunteering students are supportive and provide positive learning experiences. The personal learning environment (PLE) includes the volunteer service site, the study abroad classroom and the healthcare system in the country being studied. The content of the course offered in the study abroad program is a comparison of the healthcare system of the Netherlands with the United States system. This study was initiated in an effort to better understand and quantify the benefits of study abroad in the context of a multicultural world. Although anecdotal evidence abounds, there has been little quantifiable research on the skills and traits that students develop as a result of studying abroad and how these skills apply to life today. This study is a first step in identifying and measuring intercultural communication skills of students. Early in the planning for this study abroad program, a focus group of graduate students in the Masters in Healthcare Administration (MSHA) program was formed to explore Academic Service Learning in a study abroad program. In that focus group, several barriers to student participation were identified including, personal safety while in a foreign country and anxiety about communicating in an unfamiliar language in a foreign country. Engagement and participation have direct impact on the development of skills such as student leadership, adaptability to new and changing situations as well as learning how to successfully engage in the culturally diverse field of healthcare. The identification of organizations and volunteer sites willing to engage in the student's learning in a foreign country requires the vetting of both the larger centralized volunteer placement organizations that matches volunteers, services and the actual site where the volunteer service is provided. A Semi structure interview format was developed to collect detailed information on each volunteer site. These interviews where used to analyze the findings. The data collection team conducted 4 central volunteer agency director interviews and five (5) staff interviews at 5 service sites over a 3-day period. Semi structured interview forms were completed during and after each interview and stored by each team member in a data file. These files were maintained in a central database and were used in the preparation of the tables in this study.