Queer Students, International Service-Learning, and Inclusivity: Insights into Identity, Activism, and Learning

This qualitative study examines the experiences of LGBTQ students involved in international service-learning, exploring the possibilities, positive impacts, and complexities of navigating LGBTQ identities while participating in international service-learning. Analysis of their experiences yielded three themes that played an important role shaping their experiences: balancing their stance as learners and as activists, viewing their LGBTQ identities as assets as well as objects of structural barriers, and navigating language to make sense of their context and make themselves understood. These findings have implications for how universities and community partners prepare, train, and support students before, during and after their experiences abroad.

Simulation Enhances Soft Skills Among Inter-Professionals Participating in an International Service-Learning Experience to a Resource-Limited Country

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended. Introduction:Soft skills are the hallmark of a master healthcare provider. One of the most effective ways to teach soft skills to healthcare providers is through service-learning. Evidence suggests that adding simulation as part of a service-learning team's pre-departure training (PDT) will better prepare them to resolve ethical and cultural dilemmas often encountered in resource-limited countries, plus facilitate soft skills. We hypothesized that simulation could improve soft skills of physical and occupational therapy students and clinicians providing rehabilitation services on a one-week service-learning experience in Guatemala. Methods:A convenience sample of 21 physical and occupational therapy students and clinicians who participated in four 1-hour PDTs were included in this qualitative study using grounded-theory methods. Training consisted of didactic, reflective and simulation components designed to introduce self-awareness, team-building, cultural knowledge, and to support trip preparations. Four debriefings were recorded using open-ended questions with a thematic approach around the concepts of preparedness and cultural adaptability, which represented the dependent variables. The independent variable was a 20-minute simulation emphasizing cultural and socio-emotional challenges of the host community. Results:Six themes emerged: confidence, empathy, communication, mentorship, self-knowledge, and cultural competency. The themes described were core elements of empowering the participants towards advocacy and process improvement. As a result of the simulation experience, participants in this study were better able to respond to distressing situations encountered on site, and they expressed the service-learning experience, supported by the PDT simulation, stirred significant maturation. Discussion and Conclusion:Simulation is useful for developing self-regulatory skills, especially in response to culturally novel, emotionally-charged situations. Simulation for enriching international service-learning experiences is recommended as best practice to prepare healthcare providers in facing ethical and cultural demands of resource-limited countries.