The Impact of a Study Tour to Lao PDR: A Comparative Study of Interactive Type and Collaborative Type
2018 Volume 48 Pages 72-85
Details
2018 Volume 48 Pages 72-85
The purpose of this research is to investigate how a study tour to Lao PDR, a developing country in Southeast Asia, impacted university students in terms of their own path and learning achievement. As a research methodology, questionnaires are given, and interviews were conducted with the students after returning from the tour. Moreover, in order to know what type of study tour gives a stronger impact to the students, this research compares two types of study tour, a university-leading study tour（interactive type）and student-leading study tour （collaborative type）．The interactive type primarily aims to interact with children and university students, and the collaborative type aims to actively interact with local villagers to complete an independent project.
The three major questions given to the participants are as follows; what kind of changes are brought to the students’ lives and educational path after returning from Laos, what they learned through the activities in Lao PDR and what actions were taken after participating the study tour.
As results of research, regarding their own path, it was found out that the students from collaborative type programs show higher aspirations for their career and seek another opportunity for foreign experience. In addition, regarding their learning achievement, collaborative type participants achieved deeper learning of developing countries as well as recognized their needs and actual experiences. Moreover, returning from Lao PDR, the collaborative group showed more positive reactions, such as participating in internships and studying abroad. Reviewing these findings, the collaborative type, the active learning style of study tour which promotes independence, gave more impact to the students. So much so that even the university-leading study tour can successfully impact the students by making them set up their own goal-based projects and giving them initiative to be involved in activities with local people.
