“This raises a potentially paralyzing question. If the most experienced researchers and development workers in the world can still rue their ethical gaffes in the field and can still demonstrate confusion over responsibilities and obligations, then how can even worse gaffes and confusion be avoided or minimized among the neophytes we dispatch into work-study program?”
Epprecht, 2004 p. 693 in “Work-study abroad courses in international development studies: Some ethical and pedagogical issues”
What are the Ethical Challenges of Volunteer/Study Abroad?
Is volunteer/study abroad ethical? How can the desire to learn another culture while providing your assistance to an organization be unethical? What ethical dilemmas do you think you (or a volunteer/student) might be faced with in working/volunteering/studying overseas? What is the difference between an ethical dilemma and culture shock? The topic of ethics in international experiential learning is complex and involves a wide array of issues. The readings in this module will introduce you to various ethical debates and dilemmas associated with the practice of volunteering and studying abroad. They also analyze ethics from various perspectives such as those of the student/volunteer, what they perceive is unethical and how they might act in such a situation; what consequences host communities and organizations might face as a result of perceived unethical situations; the unequal distribution of benefits within the practice of volunteer/study abroad (as discussed in the critical reflections module) and how this is unethical; as well as, the ethics in terms of the global power structures in development and the Global North versus the Global South. This module of ethics also compliments previous modules. When reading the required chapters and articles think back to cosmopolitanism and global citizenship. What does it mean to ‘do no harm’? How should students (re)act in situations they perceive to be ‘unethical’? If for example you report corporal punishment of a child as child abuse what does this mean for the local disciplining the child? What does this mean for the child? What consequences (good or bad) does the community deal with as a result of a volunteer/student’s (re)actions? The readings will also provide recommendations towards volunteer/study abroad becoming more ethical. Such as the teaching of ethics to students prior to departure. Preparation, reflection and debriefing are discussed by all the authors as crucial to the student’s learning and their experience in the field. But does this training alone ensure a student/volunteer will know how to act appropriately in difficult situations?
Perhaps being ethical comes down to not going abroad. As Huish suggests in his discussion on international health electives, if the objective is to ‘help’ then perhaps there are better alternatives to travelling abroad, which is both costly and largely benefits the affluent student/volunteer more than the hosts. This module on ethics is complex, as the quote by Epprecht above suggests, but it is also crucial that it gets discussed, debated and reflected upon if we are to move towards a more ethical approach to cross-cultural international learning experiences.
Module 5 Required Readings:
In Globetrotting or Global Citizenship? Perils and Potential of International Experiential Learning edited by Rebecca Tiessen and Robert Huish, 2014, University of Toronto Press.
Chapter 7 by Desrosiers and Thomson – Experiential learning in challenging settings: Lessons from post-genocide Rwanda.
Chapter 8 by Huish – “Would Flexner close the door on this?” The ethical dilemmas of international health electives in medical education.
Additional readings: You can find the PDFs for these readings through the uOttawa library database.
Epprecht, M. (2004). Work-study abroad courses in international development studies: Some ethical and pedagogical issues. Canadian Journal of Development Studies. 25(4). 687-706.
Tiessen, R., Kumar, P. (2013). Ethical challenges encountered on learning/volunteer abroad programmes for students in international development studies in Canada: Youth perspectives and educator insights. Canadian Journal of Development Studies. 34(3). 416-430.
Suggested Readings:
Abedini, N., Gruppen, L., Kolars, J., and Kumagai, A. (2012). Understanding the effects of short- term international service-learning trips on medical students. Academic Medicine. 87(6). 820-828.
Gammonley, D., Rotabi, K., Gamble, D. (2007). Enhancing global understanding with study abroad: Ethically grounded approaches to international learning. Journal of Teaching in Social Work. 27(3/4). 115-135.
Ong, F., Pearlman, M. Lockstone-Binney, L., King, B. (2013). Virtuous volunteer tourism: Towards a uniform code of conduct. Annals of Leisure Research. 16(1). 72-86.
Activities:
Watch the two videos by Desrosiers and Thomson and Huish available on Blackboard Learn.
Discussion Questions:
Should students interested in and international experiential learning opportunity have to go through some sort of ethics review board similar to that of research ethics?
What are the differences and/or similarities between ‘culture shock’ and unethical? The readings gave example of student’s perceptions of unethical situations such as corruption, sexual orientation, child discipline, gender roles, and others. Where is the line between cultural differences and unethical?
Do you think pre-departure training the focuses on ethics can adequately prepare you for the various situations you will encounter abroad and how to appropriately deal with them?
Desrosiers and Thomson discuss the importance of reflection throughout the student’s time abroad as a way for them to think through situations and better understand them. Have you used reflection as a method of dealing with and learning from unsettling situations? Do you feel it can help mitigate potentially unethical responses?
What do you think of Huish’s suggestion that the way in which international health electives are conducted are in themselves unethical? Do you think there are similarities with general volunteer/study abroad? Is it ethical to travel to the Global South to benefit ourselves and our education and career goals?
Take time to think through these questions. You may have come up with your own questions throughout the readings and video. Please answer one or more of these questions on the discussion board. Please also post at least one question you have from the readings. To earn your full participation marks you must answer one of the questions above and one of the questions posted by your classmates. As well, you must comment on one of your classmate’s answers to a question. In total you should have three separate discussion board posts for this module. It is highly recommended, to keep a dialogue going that you also respond to questions and comments from your classmates who reply to your own comments and questions.