Study outlines how teachers can better help students by examining own identities during study abroad program

LAWRENCE — As summer break draws to an end, teachers are preparing their classroom for a new school year. To better understand their students, teachers can benefit from better understanding themselves. New research from the University of Kansas has found that when student teachers examined their own identities — including race, ethnicity, gender and social class — during study abroad, they developed stronger empathy with students.

For nearly a decade, Hyesun Cho, professor of curriculum & teaching, has led a summer study abroad program in which student teachers teach English as a foreign language in Korean high schools. She and Josh Hayes, doctoral candidate and graduate research assistant, led research in which they had the student teachers conduct identity journey mapping, which consists of visual maps and written narratives, during their internships in Korea. Findings showed the activity allowed them not only to better understand themselves but also make deeper connections with their Korean students that led to more meaningful educational experiences for both groups.

In a pair of studies, published in The Educational Forum and the International Journal of Multicultural Education, respectively, Cho and Hayes led KU students in exploring their Korean-American identities as well as gender identities. The student teachers completed visual identity maps and also wrote about those identities, explaining how they had experienced racism or sexism throughout their lives, and how they reflected on their experiences while teaching English in all-girls high schools near Seoul.

“Study abroad is an eye-opening and even a life-changing experience for college students. But it can also be stressful because it forces students to deal with things like culture shock in a new environment,” Cho said. “We wanted to create a safe space for all of them to explore their multifaceted identities by ensuring that their voices can be heard and their experiences are validated in the context of study abroad.

Through the identity journey maps, student teachers expressed the challenges they  faced in their upbringings and educational experiences, while bonding with the Korean high school students they were working with during the study abroad program.

“Many times, students said in educational settings, they usually were not given a chance to be self-reflective,” Hayes said. “We found that differences between how participants drew their maps for their classmates and how they wrote their narratives to us. It gave them a lot of agency in how they present themselves to their peers and the instructors. The narratives were more private and gave us real insight into how we can support them in things like dealing with culture shock.”

Furthermore, in exploring their own identities, the participants regularly reported how it helped them develop a closer connection with the students they were teaching. Many noted how they were close in age to the students or that they faced similar family pressures or expectations. That, in turn, led them to feel empathy for the students that drove them to want to make deeper connections and help them truly grasp the curriculum.

In both articles, the authors noted that better understanding themselves also inspired the participants to reach out to the students outside of the classroom and take more interest in them as individuals whom they wanted to learn more about and help succeed.

“They were able to share their own experiences and make connections with the Korean students,” Hayes said. “They were also able to bond with them and build deeper relationships and have stronger, more meaningful interactions. The engagement they got to have helped them become more aware of how they move through certain spaces, not only in language acquisition, but in life in many different perspectives. It cultivated a critical cultural awareness.”

Cho and Hayes, who both taught English in Korean schools before conducting the research project, said the study abroad experience in general can help students develop self-awareness and intercultural competence across disciplines. Students taking part in the Teaching English in Korea, or TEIK program, are not just education majors, coming from such varied disciplines as psychology, business, social work and biology. Alumni from the program have gone on to work in Korea and other countries, or to apply the lessons in seeking higher degrees. Cho and Hayes are currently recruiting participants for next summer’s program and note students who are accepted will receive Freeman Foundation Scholarship for their internship in Korea.

The authors also note in the publications that this exercise in personal identity can work beyond study abroad classrooms. Nearly all teachers will work with learners from diverse backgrounds and life experiences different than their own, and any educator who wants to create an inclusive classroom in K-12, higher education or in various disciplines could benefit from self-reflection in personal identity and that of their students.

“I believe this practice of identity journey mapping is meaningful and important because it requires people to think about how they navigate educational spaces with a sense of agency and creativity. Teachers can do this activity to get to know their students better and support them in any educational settings,” Cho said.