The Impacts of International Service Learning on a Host Community in Kenya: Host Student Perspectives Related to Global Citizenship and Relative Deprivation

Abstract

Despite recent calls, research on ISL has focused almost exclusively on learning outcomes for global North students. We know comparatively less about how ISL programs may impact the knowledge and perceptions of student participants from hos t countries in the global South. We examine learning outcomes for Kenyan students who interact with visiting students from a U S university. Using an original survey and a case control design, we compare the responses of students from an ISL pa rtner school with those of students in a nearby control school to explore how program participation influences ideas about global citizenship, viewpoints about the United States and feelings of relative deprivation. Results point to the complexity of ISL programs and their impact on host country participants. On the one hand, we find that ISL partner students show higher levels of global citizenship than control group students. On the other hand, ISL partner students are more likely than the control gr oup to agree with unrealistically positive views of the United States and report greater feelings of relative deprivation. We apply Allport’s intergroup contact theory to interpret these findings and reflect on future directions.

Transnational Solidarity Histories in International Service Learning: A Nicaraguan Case Study

“…While there is a diverse and critical field of literature about international service learning experiences, it has only been recently that studies have begun to examine the experiences of those who host volunteers while they travel (see Balusubramaniam, Hartman, McMillan & Paris, 2017; Collins, 2019; Ficarra, 2019; Grain et al 2019; O’Sullivan et al 2019; Heron 2011; 2015; Larsen 2015; Mogford & Lyons 2019; Mostafenezhad 2014; Reynolds 2014; Toms 2013). By hosts, I mean the communities and organizations who welcome the volunteers to contribute to their work, as well as the families that volunteers often live with.…”

A Narrative Study of South African Community Members’ Experience With an International Service-Learning Program

“…Despite the centrality of reciprocity in the service-learning paradigm (Baker-Boosamra, 2006;Camacho, 2004;Dorado & Giles, 2004;Dostilio et al, 2012;Jacoby, 2015;Le Grange, 2007), several researchers have noted that the current literature has failed to examine the host community's perspective on service-learning experiences (e.g., Bloomgarden, 2017;Blouin & Perry, 2009;Chapa-Cortés, 2019;Crabtree, 2013;d'Arlach et al, 2009;Miron & Moely, 2006;Mogford & Lyons, 2019;Schroeder et al, 2009;Tryon et al, 2008). In order to understand whether ISL programs are genuinely just, fair, and inclusive, more researchers must explore host community perspectives.…”

Educating for the Environment: The Role of the Host Destination in Education Travel Programs

“…Furthermore, there is also a concern about the program's impacts on local prices and rents [33]. Moreover, students who engage in service projects in these areas for which they lack the requisite skills or language ability can cause problems, demand more time from host organizations, and sometimes harm the very communities they intended to help [32,39,40].…”