This article is a reflection on my experience leading sustainability-themed study tours to China and South Korea from 2015-2017. I suggest that traditional classroom settings are insufficient for fostering deep, existential reflection required for understanding International Relations.

Short-term overseas field programs present an unparalleled opportunity for undergraduate students to engage with the complexities of international learning, offering intellectual, emotional, and experiential growth far beyond conventional classroom settings. However, such programs are also fraught with challenges—both anticipated and unforeseen—that educators must address to ensure students derive meaningful, transformative outcomes from their time abroad.

Insights from the anthology Fieldwork as Failure: Living and Knowing in the Field of International Relations, along with reflections on travel-based learning subjects I have led to China and South Korea, underscore the need for reframing setbacks, cultivating adaptability, and encouraging critical self-reflection to prepare students for the realities of field-based education, and to come away from their travel experience with newfound knowledge and wisdom.

At the end of the article, I present to educators a three-stage process for embedding reflective practice learning into a study travel program, including pre-departure, in-country and post-travel activities.

Expectations vs reality

At the heart of these insights lies the critical tension between expectation and reality. As highlighted by Katarina Kušić and Jakub Záhora in Chapter 1: Fieldwork, Failure, International Relations, students often embark on short-term field programs with idealised visions of cultural immersion or research breakthroughs, only to encounter logistical, structural, or interpersonal challenges that disrupt their preconceptions. For example, Lydia Cole argues in Chapter 7: Tears and Laughterthat a romanticised notion of “meaningful connections” in fieldwork may falter when interactions remain distant or superficial.

Yet, these seeming roadblocks do not preclude deep learning. Even seemingly impersonal exchanges, when reframed as opportunities for observation and reflection, offer valuable insights. Such dissonance must be recognised as integral to the learning process. Katarina Kušić recommends in Chapter 13: I Don’t Know What to Do with Myself that educators should prepare students to embrace these moments as “productive ruptures”, where failure becomes fertile ground for personal and academic growth.

Identity and access

Equally important is the role of identity in shaping access and interaction during field experiences. In Chapter 2: Fieldwork, Feelings and Failure to Be a (Proper) Security Researcher, Jan Daneil explores how researchers’ identities—whether related to nationality, language skills, or cultural positioning—mediate their experiences and engagement in the field. For undergraduates, grappling with these dynamics can be both alienating and transformative.

Before leading study abroad programs as an academic, I experienced the study abroad journey as a student.  My first trip overseas to South Korea in 2002 as an undergraduate exchange student was the greatest experience of my life, but it was also a lesson in the pitfalls of travelling to a place one has no clue about.  I arrived in Seoul on a cold February morning with a big suitcase and hubristic ignorance of the country that would be my adopted home for the coming five months.  Because of my ignorance, I found the culture shock particularly difficult to deal with. Negotiating this experience for me was an important rite of passage. 

Educators must foreground issues of identity and positionality, encouraging students to adopt a reflexive approach that fosters resilience and self-awareness. Similar challenges emerge in travel-based learning contexts, as faculty navigate sensitive topics such as race, gender, and religion to prepare students for encounters with unfamiliar cultural settings. Such preparation is essential not only to safeguard students’ emotional well-being but also to ensure they engage ethically and empathetically with local communities. There is indeed a rich interplay between the baggage that each student brings to the study abroad experience in their own unique mix of personal background, life experience and self-perception, and the realities they interact with on the ground in their host country.

Emotional and empathic challenges

Emotional struggles further punctuate the overseas learning experience, with culture shock, disconnection, and moments of discomfort can overwhelming inexperienced travellers (see Sezer İdil Göğüş in Chapter 3: Negotiations in the Field). Instead of pathologising these emotional responses, educators should frame them as opportunities for growth, encouraging students to lean into discomfort as a space for reflection and learning.

As observed in our China and South Korea study tours, overseas travel frequently provokes what education researcher Jack Mezirow terms “disorienting dilemmas”—moments of profound discomfort that challenge individuals’ worldviews and compel existential reflection. The most profound transformational learning arcs occur when the original disorienting dilemma is intellectually and emotionally challenging, calling into question the learner’s deeply rooted assumptions and sense of self.

By navigating unfamiliar environments, students are pushed to re-examine their assumptions about themselves and their relationship to the world, a process akin to what I analogise as a “shamanic journey” to an alternative reality. Here, the metaphor of the shaman—who traverses diverse realities to restore balance—proves particularly apt for sustainability-themed programs, where students must reconcile competing environmental, cultural, and political discourses.

Intimacy and distance

In-country immersion in another society is a full-spectrum learning experience.  Students become completely engaged in the subject material just by being immersed in the alternative reality of the host country.  Unlike in the classroom, where students can coast through a class with minimal concentration, adapting and surviving in an unfamiliar environment requires their full sensory attention, for the entire duration of their stay.  They inevitably engage emotionally with their host society and the people and places they visit

The reflective dimension of field programs cannot be overstated. Translating lived experiences into academic outputs—whether through presentations, essays, or creative projects—often simplifies or distorts the complexities of the field (see Danielle House in Chapter 11: Researching the Uncertain). Educators should guide students to critically engage with their interpretations, acknowledging both the value and limitations of their analyses.

Similarly, as Renata Summa argues in Chapter 12: What Might Have Been Lost, balancing personal narratives with analytical rigour requires an emphasis on positionality over perfection, encouraging students to document their growth as learners rather than striving for polished academic outputs. These reflective practices align closely with the successes observed in travel study programs, where returning students continue to explore field-based topics in their academic and professional pursuits, demonstrating the enduring impact of such immersive experiences.

Real-world constraints

Yet, as educators facilitate these transformative learning journeys, we must also contend with the structural and logistical constraints inherent in short-term programs (see Johannes Gunesch and Amina Nolte in Chapter 5: Failing Better Together?). From curfews and health concerns to cultural etiquette and group dynamics, these practical challenges often impede idealised plans. Nonetheless, such limitations can themselves become sites of learning, teaching students’ adaptability, patience, and humility.

For instance, the teacher’s reflections on student misinterpretations of local realities in travel study programs underscore the importance of critical reflection and dialogue in preventing entrenched misconceptions. Students must learn to recognise and deconstruct the power dynamics embedded in their observations, avoiding simplistic or appropriative portrayals of the cultures they encounter.

In the host country, students are necessarily compelled to grapple with divergent lifeways and perspectives as an inevitable consequence of being there, of satisfying their everyday needs, in addition to explicit structured learning activities and itinerary visits. This space of interplay between self and place is the source of a disorienting dilemma which study abroad creates and which is the gateway to the arc of transformative learning and personal growth that study abroad is explicitly intended to trigger.

Reflection and growth

In reflecting on these moments of deep existential journeying that inevitably seem to materialise in-country for our study tour participants, I realised that there was something powerful in these experiences that we could tap into, bringing students into the space of deep reflection necessary to explore the profound questions posed by their experiences.

The broader implications of short-term field programs extend beyond individual experiences, fostering global citizenship and enduring connections with communities across borders. Travel-based learning courses succeed not only in advancing academic knowledge but also in equipping students with life skills—planning, navigating unfamiliar spaces, and engaging diverse perspectives—that prove invaluable long after the program ends.

For many, such experiences are a rite of passage, offering a shamanic-like transformation that builds confidence, resilience, and a renewed sense of purpose. Moreover, these journeys enable students to reflect on their own lives, cultures, and privileges through the lens of cross-cultural engagement, catalysing deeper understanding and self-awareness.

Final thoughts

Short-term overseas field programs, while challenging, hold immense potential to reshape undergraduate learning by integrating failure, adaptation, and reflection as central pedagogical tenets. Educators must prepare students to navigate the complexities of identity, cultural dissonance, and structural constraints while encouraging them to reframe setbacks as opportunities for growth.

By fostering an ethos of resilience, reflexivity, and global citizenship, these programs can inspire students to confront uncertainty with curiosity and emerge transformed—equipped not only with academic insights but also with the emotional and intellectual tools to engage meaningfully with the world.

Reflective practice learning activity

In a study abroad program, students are consciously seeking an initiatory experience by leaving the safe space of their ordinary lives to travel somewhere different and unknown. Here I conceptualise the in-country phase as an initiatory death-rebirth process, which is book-ended by a preparation phase prior to departure and an integration phase once the in-country journey is complete. 

With that in mind, this reflective activity is designed to accompany students throughout the arc of their travel-based study program, encouraging critical self-reflection at three key stages: before departure, while abroad, and after returning home. The activity is structured to deepen students’ understanding of their experiences, cultivate adaptability, and connect personal growth with academic insight.

Stage 1: Pre-departure expectations and positionality mapping

Before embarking on their study travel, students often carry idealised expectations and implicit assumptions about themselves, their destination, and the nature of field-based learning.

By engaging in pre-departure reflection, students can identify these preconceptions and explore their own positionality—how their identity, background, and knowledge might shape their interactions and observations.

1a. Expectation mapping exercise

Ask students to write a 500-word reflective piece outlining their expectations for the program. Consider the following prompts:

1. What do you hope to achieve, learn, or experience during your time abroad?
2. What assumptions are you making about the culture, people, or environment you will encounter?
3. How do you imagine your own background (nationality, education, language skills, etc.) might influence your experiences and interactions?

1b. Positionality statement

Guide students to write a short “positionality statement” (200 words) where they critically reflect on their identity and how it might shape their field experience.

Encourage students to consider their own cultural, social, or academic lens.

1. Example: How might your position as a student, traveller, or visitor impact how others perceive you or how you interpret what you observe?

1c. Pre-departure discussion

Organise a group discussion where students share parts of their reflections. Foster a safe space for students to challenge their assumptions and explore how expectations might differ from reality.

Stage 2: Journalling the disorienting dilemmas while in-country

Field-based travel often presents unexpected challenges, such as culture shock, logistical hurdles, or dissonant encounters, which can provoke discomfort or frustration. These “disorienting dilemmas” are powerful opportunities for growth, as they encourage students to critically re-evaluate their worldviews.

By maintaining a reflective journal while abroad, students can document these moments, fostering awareness and adaptability.

2a. Daily reflective journalling

Each evening, students will write a brief reflective journal entry (150-200 words) focusing on one key experience from the day. Encourage them to address the following prompts:

1. What happened today that surprised, frustrated, or challenged me?
2. Why did I respond the way I did?
3. What assumptions or expectations were disrupted?
4. How might this experience offer me a new perspective or lesson?

2b. “Failure as learning” reflection

Midway through the program, ask students to write a short reflective piece (300 words) about a moment they felt they “failed” or fell short of expectations.

Encourage them to reframe this experience as a productive rupture, exploring the following questions:

1. What can I learn from this setback?
2. How has this experience reshaped my understanding of the culture, my role, or the nature of fieldwork?

2c. Group sharing session

Hold a group reflection circle (ideally halfway through the trip) where students are invited to share one of their journal reflections or discuss a moment of challenge.

Emphasise that shared struggles are part of the learning process, building a collective sense of resilience and mutual support.

Stage 3: Integrating the experience after the trip

Returning home often brings a mixture of reverse culture shock, nostalgia, and a need to reconcile the field experience with everyday life. This stage allows students to critically integrate their learnings, bridge personal reflections with academic insights, and articulate how the experience has transformed their perspectives or goals.

3a. Reflective integration essay

Prompt students to write a 1,000-word reflective essay that synthesises their learning journey.

Encourage them to revisit their pre-departure reflections and travel journals as a starting point. The essay should address the following key questions:

1. How did your expectations align with or diverge from the reality of the experience?
2. What disorienting dilemmas or challenges did you encounter, and how did you grow from them?
3. How has this experience reshaped your understanding of yourself, your positionality, and your role as a global citizen?
4. What insights did you gain about the academic themes or cultural issues explored during the program?
5. How will you carry forward the lessons learned into your academic, professional, or personal life?

3b. “Visual reflection” presentation

Ask students to create a short presentation (5-10 minutes) incorporating a visual component—such as photographs, sketches, or artefacts—that represent key moments of their experience.

The presentation should critically reflect on the personal and academic growth gained, avoiding superficial narratives or romanticised depictions.

3c. Group debrief and celebration

Hold a post-program debrief where students share their visual presentations.

This session should celebrate their growth while encouraging open dialogue about challenges, insights, and unresolved questions.

Teaching notes

Coordinating and facilitating teaching staff should pay attention to the following…

Scaffolding reflection: Provide regular opportunities for students to pause, share, and process their experiences through group discussions, written tasks, or creative outputs. Reflection becomes more meaningful when it is ongoing rather than confined to the final stage.

Safe and supportive environment: Ensure students feel comfortable sharing challenges or perceived “failures” without judgement. Frame setbacks as integral to learning, encouraging students to embrace discomfort as a catalyst for growth.

Encourage criticality: Prompt students to move beyond surface-level observations or simplistic interpretations. Encourage them to grapple with complexities, positionality, and power dynamics in their reflections.

Outcomes

By engaging with reflective practice across the pre-departure, in-field, and post-return stages, students will develop the intellectual agility, self-awareness, and resilience necessary to make the most of their travel-based learning.

This structured reflection cultivates not only academic insights but also personal transformation, equipping students to engage with the world as critically reflective global citizens.