​Integrative and Transformative Learning in Education Abroad

What kinds of learning can learners take away from an education abroad program? High quality education abroad programs should be both academically sound and culturally relevant (). The "and" in this statement is significant as it highlights a fundamental characteristic of all applied and experiential learning: the learning generated through these experiences is inherently integrative and potentially transformative. This page introduces integrative and transformative learning concepts and connects them to the work of fostering global and intercultural learning outcomes. 

Integrative Learning

Integrative learning is "learning that is greater than the sum of its parts." ().  The American Association of Colleges & Universities (AACU) defines integrative learning as "an understanding and a disposition that a student builds across the curriculum and co-curriculum, from making simple connections among ideas and experiences to synthesizing and transferring learning to new, complex situations within and beyond the campus" ().  ​​
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Education abroad, when thoughtfully designed with both academic expectations and cultural relevance, fosters integrative learning across five key domains (see figure): 

• Connecting theories, concepts, and practical examples within individual disciplines or across multiple fields and professions. 
• Building meaningful bridges between general education requirements and specialized major coursework. 
• Developing holistic competencies that engage cognitive abilities (head), emotional intelligence (heart), and practical skills (hands). 
• Linking classroom knowledge with real-world applications in personal, civic, intercultural, and professional contexts. 
• Synthesizing diverse perspectives to develop more nuanced understandings of global challenges. 

Global and Intercultural Learning

Many educators identify global competencies as a desired outcome of study abroad.  Often global and intercultural learning are used interchangeably as if they were synonyms. While both are related thematically, the two areas differ somewhat in terms of the ultimate aims to be achieved in student outcomes.  

Global learning refers to “the process of diverse people collaboratively analyzing and addressing complex problems that transcend borders and engaging in actions that promote collective well-being.” (Landorf & Doscher, 2023).  A focus on global learning outcomes entails an explicit focus on collaborative problem solving including:  

“a critical analysis of and an engagement with complex, interdependent global systems and legacies (such as natural, physical, social, cultural, economic, and political) and their implications for people’s lives and the earth’s sustainability. Through global learning, students should 

• become informed, open-minded, and responsible people who are attentive to diversity across the spectrum of differences,  
• seek to understand how their actions affect both local and global communities, and  
• address the world’s most pressing and enduring issues collaboratively and equitably.”  (AAC&U’s .)

By contrast, intercultural learning, presented as intercultural competence, is defined as: “a set of cognitive, affective, and behavioral skills and characteristics that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts” (). See also: .   

Transformative Learning

​When asked why they teach through education abroad, many educators express a hope that students are transformed by their experience abroad.  In terms of learning, what exactly is transformative learning?  What would we expect to see in a transformative learning outcome?

Transformative learning occurs as the result of a dramatic change in the way a person experiences, conceptualizes and interacts with the world (). To be transformative, it should demonstrate depth [the degree of change/shift], breadth [be manifest across a variety of contexts] and stability [it has become habitual]. Transformative outcomes then are not minor changes but rather reflect a significant degree of change in a person.  

Most frequently, programs seeking to yield transformative learning outcomes focus on changes in one or more of the following six domains: worldview, selfhood, ways of knowing, ways of being, behavior and capacity.  

Global and intercultural learning experiences can result in both transformative learning and integrative learning, however, immersion alone is generally insufficient to achieve these aims. Regardless of the program type (e.g., exchange, internship, research, faculty-led short-term program), student gains are enhanced through intentional design practice and facilitation (; ). This is where an international educator’s embrace of the craft of experiential teaching and learning comes into play.   

​Looking for an illustrative example of education abroad as transformative learning?  Check out: 

• Jarman, M., Burman, M. Purtzer, M.A. & Miller, K. (2022).  Frontiers: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Study Abroad, 34(4), 26-52. 
• Whitehead, D.M., Vandermaas-Peeler, M., Sutton, S., Price, M.F., Patch, K. & Acheson, K. (2024). Mentored-Undergraduate research in global contexts: Integrated high-impact practices for student success. American Association of Colleges & Universities.  

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Sample Activities and Resources to Support Teaching and Learning through Education Abroad

• ​Check out our Teaching and Learning Resource Page. The page includes links to sample syllabi, activities, frameworks and guidelines. 
• Join a Forum Community of Practice. 
• Join us at an upcoming Forum event. 
• Participate in an upcoming cohort of the Global Learning Launchpad.

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Continue Exploring Teaching and Learning with The Forum:

• Educators as Learners & Leaders
• Education Abroad as a High-Impact Practice
• Where’s the Learning in Education Abroad?
• Critical Reflection
• Addressing Unteachable Moments
• Syllabi & Educator Resources