Jafari and transformation: A model to enhance short-term overseas study tours

An increasing emphasis on university internationalisation, global citizenship education and outbound mobility experiences (OMEs) has seen international study travel become a key staple of tertiary education. University students undertake learning experience for academic credit overseas for a period shorter than a semester under the guidance of an academic staff member. OMEs may involve student service learning or be tour based and can occur in either single or multiple destinations. In the mid-1980s less than half a million students worldwide spent part of their degree in another country, compared to some three million students in 2011 (Rizvi, 2011, p.693). Australian university students are part of this global trend with participation in OMEs at record numbers. In just three years, the number of students studying abroad increased from 15,058 in 2009, to 24,763 in 2012 (Department of Education, 2014). During the same period, the growth of shortterm OMEs, often less than three weeks, outstripped the traditional semester or year-long exchange. In 2012, OMEs became the major form of outbound mobility with 8,570 Australian students participating (Olsen, 2013, p.14). Dwyer (2004) suggests study abroad programs of at least six weeks are required to maximise learning outcomes. Despite this reservation, the popularity of short-term OMEs continues to grow. In Australia, federal government funding sources, such as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s New Colombo Plan (NCP), provides funding for a range of OMEs, including many short-term study trips.