Emotions, Vulnerability, and Dependency in Student Research Abroad: An Ethics of Care Toolkit
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36366/frontiers.v35i1.570Keywords:
Care ethics, Emotions, Vulnerability, Dependency, Study abroadAbstract
While leading students to Thailand for an eight-week undergraduate research experience, we observed challenges in stacking the high-impact practices of study abroad and undergraduate research and became compelled by the usefulness of an Ethics of Care approach to facilitate the kind of transformation these practices can have for students. We observed students during the trip and conducted interviews with them after the trip. From those observations and interviews, we conclude that Care Ethics is particularly helpful for mitigating the risks of emotional exhaustion, for navigating dependency and vulnerability, and for re-framing student difficulties in positively transformative ways. Faculty can facilitate the advantages of high-impact practices by: treating emotions as pedagogical sources for learning; acknowledging dependencies; identifying vulnerabilities; devoting attention to how public and private spaces are framed; and cultivating care as a feminist and anti-racist practice.
Abstract in SpanishMientras guiábamos a un grupo de estudiantes a Tailandia para una experiencia de investigación de pregrado, observamos desafíos al combinar prácticas de alto impacto. Combinabamos los estudios en el extranjero e investigación de pregrado, y para enfrentar los desafios que surgieron, adoptamos un enfoque de ética del cuidado. Observamos a los estudiantes durante el viaje y realizamos entrevistas con ellos después del viaje. A partir de esas observaciones y entrevistas, concluimos que la ética del cuidado es particularmente útil para mitigar los riesgos del agotamiento emocional, para navegar por la dependencia y la vulnerabilidad, y para reformular las dificultades de los estudiantes de manera positivamente transformadora. El profesorado puede facilitar las ventajas de las prácticas de alto impacto al: considerar las emociones como fuentes pedagógicas para el aprendizaje; reconocimento de las dependencias; identificación de las vulnerabilidades; atención a cómo se enmarcan los espacios públicos y privados; y cultivo del cuidado como práctica feminista y antirracista.
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