ERIC Number: EJ1011680
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2013-May
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
Reference Count: 25
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1527-9316
Experiential Learning: Exploring Its Long-Term Impact on Socially Responsible Behavior
Caulfield, Jay; Woods, Treesa
Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, v13 n2 p31-48 May 2013
Today's students are exposed to world events that require considerable
cross cultural understanding and recognition that education is far more than
learning facts about specific disciplines and diverse groups while sitting in a
classroom. For the past several decades, research in education has repeatedly demonstrated that adults learn effectively through experience. However, does experiential learning, when designed specifically to heighten awareness of a significant social problem, evoke socially responsible behavior specific to that problem in the long run? Employing a qualitative longitudinal research design involving 25 graduate students as participants, this study explored that question. Findings indicated that 94.7% of participants who reported a high impact learning experience when participating in experiential learning while enrolled in a graduate class also reported engaging in socially responsible behavior because of that learning experience. In some instances, the socially responsible behavior continued for as long as three years after the class had ended. (Contains 4 tables.)
Descriptors: Experiential Learning, Social Responsibility, Graduate Students, Program Effectiveness, Urban Areas, Poverty, Sustainability, Semi Structured Interviews, Social Problems, Student Attitudes, Attitude Change, Consciousness Raising, Knowledge Level, Qualitative Research, Longitudinal Studies
Indiana University. 755 West Michigan Street UL 1180D, Indianapolis, IN 46202. Tel: 317-274-5647; Fax: 317-278-2360; e-mail: josotl@iupui.edu; Web site: http://www.iupui.edu/~josotl
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A

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