Transformational learning through study abroad: US students’ reflections on learning about sustainability in the South Pacific

As leisure studies and higher education more generally embrace the themes of sustainability and global citizenship, it is important to investigate educational initiatives that purport to achieve these goals. Using transformational theory of transformative learning, this study examined the experiences of 150 US university students who participated in three interdisciplinary short-term study abroad programmes that focus on sustainability in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. The programmes are highly experiential with the curriculum structured around modules targeted at a particular destination, visited on a specific programme. At the conclusion of the programmes, the students were asked to reflect on their experiences in response to four open-ended questions. The data were coded by the research team, and guided by the tenets of sustainability and transformative learning theory. Four themes were identified: a new sociocultural understanding; a new connection with the natural world; economic considerations; an...