The potential for Transformative travel, Intercultural Maturity and Global Citizenship at an educational tourism institution: The case of an International Folk High School in Denmark Tourism Master
Author
Nielsen, Mia
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2020
Pages
94
Abstract
I en globaliseret verden, hvor interkulturel kompetence og miljøansvarlig adfærd er stadig vigtigere, undersøger dette speciale en international folkehøjskole i Danmark som ramme for uddannelsesturisme. Formålet er at belyse, hvordan en sådan skole kan fungere som platform for transformativ turisme og bidrage til de studerendes interkulturelle modenhed og globale medborgerskab. Med et konstruktionistisk, enkeltcases-design bygger studiet på semistrukturerede kvalitative interviews med nuværende og tidligere elever med forskellige kulturelle baggrunde og anvender tematisk analyse. Analysen peger på, at højskoleoplevelsen kan være socialt og personligt transformerende: mange deltagere rapporterede øget åbenhed, mindre fokus på nationalitet, færre stereotyper, en stærkere oplevelse af verdens indbyrdes forbundethed samt større tilbøjelighed til at handle bæredygtigt; flere identificerede sig som og handlede som globale medborgere og udviste tegn på interkulturel modenhed. Samtidig peger studiet på væsentlige forbehold, herunder et tilfælde af øgede stereotyper, risikoen for en intention–handlingskløft i transformativ turisme og globalt medborgerskab samt at disse begreber kan være paradoksale, ekskluderende og forankret i vestlige værdier. Specialet positionerer folkehøjskoler som en lovende, men underbelyst, form for uddannelsesturisme med potentiale til at danne interkulturelt modne og globalt orienterede borgere, samtidig med at der anbefales en revurdering af retorik og værdisæt fra ikke-vestlige perspektiver og opfordres til yderligere forskning. Da folkehøjskoler sjældent er forstået som turismedestinationer, bidrager studiet originalt som en pilotundersøgelse.
In a globalized context where intercultural competence and environmentally responsible behavior are increasingly vital, this thesis examines an International Folk High School in Denmark as an educational tourism setting. The study explores how such a school may function as a platform for transformative travel and contribute to students’ intercultural maturity and global citizenship. Adopting a constructionist, single-case design, the research draws on semi-structured qualitative interviews with former and recent students of varied cultural backgrounds and uses thematic analysis. The analysis suggests that the International Folk High School experience can be socially and personally transformative: many participants reported greater open-mindedness, reduced salience of nationality, fewer stereotypes, a stronger sense that the world is interconnected, and increased inclination toward sustainable action; several identified with and acted as global citizens, and showed signs of intercultural maturity. At the same time, the study notes important caveats, including an instance of increased stereotyping, the risk of an intention–behavior gap in transformative travel and global citizenship, and the possibility that these concepts can be paradoxical, exclusive, and grounded in Western values. The thesis positions Folk High Schools as a promising yet underexplored form of educational tourism with potential to cultivate interculturally mature, globally minded citizens, while recommending reconsideration of rhetoric and reassessment of value frameworks from non-Western perspectives and calling for further research. As Folk High Schools have not typically been framed as tourism destinations, the study offers an original, pilot contribution to the field.
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