Manifestations of Transformative Learning

It is common for study abroad participants, including in short-term programs, to describe their time abroad as “transformative” and a period of intense personal growth. However, the contents of this transformation are often treated by administrators and students themselves as inscrutable, with the fact of having developed intercultural skills and “worldly” knowledge taken for granted. Using multiple data sources within an interpretive framework, this study focuses on the manifestations of transformative learning to provide insights for international curriculum development. Data was analyzed inductively and thematically. The findings point out that change emerged in the forms of (1) intercultural learning and sensitivity development, (2) learner expectations and behavior alteration, (3) ideological reconstruction or transition, and (4) academic and professional orientation conversion or refinement, suggesting that even short-term programs can lead to in-depth and broad transformation.