Student’s Learning in Overseas Long/Medium-Term Participatory Program to Developing Countries (A Case Study of “the International Volunteers” in Kwansei Gakuin University)

Abstract

The learning experience in overseas provides not only educational opportunities but also impacts for students’ personal growth. They can have good chances to think globally which they have not done before. Meanwhile, teachers and staffs are always searching for program contents, teaching methods and materials to educate undergraduates, and then encourage them to be globally-minded individuals. Now a challenge is the way how we can help developing those students effectively. Kwansei Gakuin University (Center for International Education and Cooperation) wasawarded both “Go Global Japan Project (GGJ)” and “Top Global University Project (SGU)” by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT).It has been engaged in global competency education and practiced with the International Volunteers Program. Through close monitoring and careful observations,the university learned that the students who completed their volunteer activities in developing countries could really expand their capabilities such as awareness for poverty gap, historical view points and cross-cultural understanding. In this article, while introducing two different theoretical concepts; Situated Learning by Lave and Wenger and Problem-Posing Education by Freire, the author finds out what and how impact students’ capability and what is lying down behind those changes.