Educational Perspectives and Teaching Styles of Faculty Who Lead International Service-Learning Experiences

Abstract

Background and Purpose. Many professional physical therapist (PT) education programs are adding international service-learning (ISL) opportunities to their curricula as a way to address the increasingly global nature of the profession. There is a paucity of physical therapy literature addressing ISL, with a particular deficiency related to ISL faculty. The purpose of this study was to describe faculty demographics, teaching styles, and educational perspectives, and to compare faculty who provided ISL experiences for physical therapist students with those that did not.Subjects. The subjects included 205 faculty of physical therapist education programs; 23% led ISL.Methods. Subjects were recruited through 2 professional listservs and data were gathered via a commercial web-based service. Faculty with and without ISL experience were compared on demographic variables, teaching style, and educational perspective. Measurement tools included standard demographic inquiries, the Grasha and Riechmann-Hruska Teaching Style Survey, and a researcher-developed educational perspective questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to explore characteristics predictive of participation in ISL.Results. Subjects' most common teaching style was Personal Model/Formal Authority/Delegator and a Professional focus was the most commonly identified educational perspective. Familiarity with key ISL education authors was limited. There was no relationship between ISL involvement and teaching style, but a relationship was identified between ISL involvement and the Critical perspective. The factors in this study were not predictive of ISL participation.Discussion and Conclusion. In general, faculty ISL experience did not differ from their colleagues without experience. However, study findings can inform, and provide rationale and support for existing and future ISL programs. This study also provides a context for encouraging the discussion and exploration of faculty teaching styles and educational perspectives.Key Words: Physical therapy faculty, International service-learning, Teaching style.BACKGROUND AND PURPOSEInternational service-learning (ISL) is popular throughout higher education, and many professional physical therapist (PT) education programs are adding ISL opportunities to their curricula.1 Development of these ISL experiences aligns with student interest as well as the increasingly global nature of our profession.2 Globalization is influencing health care, and physical therapists are likely to encounter marked diversity in any setting in which they practice. Indeed, the 21st century has seen the profession of physical therapy taking a more global stance and positioning itself for enhanced international awareness and collaboration.3 Therefore, providing opportunities for physical therapist students to experience diversity and increase their cultural competence is critical. One way to address these issues in academic programs is to provide ISL opportunities, which may help to develop skills and attributes that enhance students' preparation for practice in this culturally diverse and global health arena.Before exploring ISL further, differentiating it from service learning (SL) is appropriate. Seifer4 defined SL as structured learning experiences that combine community service, explicit learning objectives, preparation, and reflection. (p274) Service-learning conducted in international settings is referred to as ISL; ISL conceptually and pedagogically grew out of SL. There is a sizeable and growing body of SL literature; in contrast, there is a remarkably limited body of ISL literature. This study was conceptualized in the context of SL and ISL literature.Many prominent educational theorists and researchers have explored important pedagogical issues associated with SL at the college level. Issues that have been explored include authenticity,47 higher-order thinking,811 theoretical support,6'8 reflection,1214 key features of campus-community partnerships,1422 and student outcomes such as general impact,4·1728 citizenship and service levels,29'30 and application of course content. …