Research Article

What Qualities Make an Effective Professor? Responses From A Selective Sample of “Semester a Sea” Students

Nilufer P Medora^1*, Craig E Ullom² and Kenneth Gaither³

¹Professor and Certified Family Life Educator, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach, California, USA

²Professor, Independent Consultant & Fulbright Specialist, Sarasota, Florida, USA

³Professor and Dean, Department of Communication Studies, Elon University,100 Campus Drive Elon, North Carolina, USA

Submission: January 6, 2024; Published: January 24, 2024

*Corresponding author: Nilufer P Medora, Professor and Certified Family Life Educator, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, California State University, Long Beach, Long Beach, California, USA

How to cite this article: Nilufer P M, Craig E U,d Kenneth G. What Qualities Make an Effective Professor? Responses From A Selective Sample of “Semester a Sea” 002 Students. Psychol Behav Sci Int J. 2024; 21(4): 556066. DOI: 10.19080/PBSIJ.2024.21.556066.

Abstract

Millennials are expressing a high interest in engaging in international travel. Study abroad programs at universities and colleges offer unique experiences to students by providing life-long personal and professional benefits such as personal growth, cultural awareness, employability, new language skills, creativity, social network development and other benefits [1]. Personal and professional benefits of studying abroad are correlated with positive experiences that study abroad programs offer. Studying abroad engages and affects participants’ self-esteem, worldviews, personal development, cultural interests, and influences decision-making processes [2]. Globalization and Internationalization are powerful and emerging influences that influence higher education. To be competitive in the global arena, universities need their students to be flexible, adaptive, cognizant of different cultural norms and practices, and comfortable to effectively communicate with people from different contexts and environments[3]. International education, most commonly known as, “study abroad” refers to traveling internationally for educational purposes. The Institute for International Education (IIE, 2017) has defined study abroad students as those who receive academic credit from their home university after returning from the educational experience overseas. Study abroad is often described as a definitive, life-altering, and defining experience. Those who have participated in, or facilitated an overseas learning experience can attest to this [4-7].

Keywords: Semester at Sea; Personal Growth; Cultural Awareness; Employability; New Language Skills; Creativity; Social Network; Globalization; Internationalization; Flexible; Adaptive; Cognizant; Study Abroad; Ideal Professor; Enthusiasm; Strong Communication Skills; Global Studies

Abbreviations: IIE: Institute For International Education; ELT: Experiential Learning Theory; Tbc: The Behavior Checklist; SAS: Semester At Sea; AAC&U: American Colleges And Universities; ACE: American Council On Education

Introduction

Study abroad programs have given their academic institutions a platform to foster and promote international education and global citizenship. Students acquire skills to function in an interconnected society. Within study abroad, a variety of programs, including short-term study abroad programs, exchange programs, experientially based educational travel, one-year study abroad programs, internships, service-learning programs, and language immersion programs, etc. are being promoted.

It is important to note that all participants in the study abroad program are learners, including the students, faculty leader(s), and staff (if any). The program facilitator’s role is to ensure that the surroundings are safe and the physical, socio-emotional, personal, intellectual needs of the students in the group are met. Both the students and the facilitator will need to adapt to their new local surroundings and norms [8]. This study focuses on a semester-long, educational travel study abroad program, called, “Semester at Sea”, based on global learning, cultural immersion experiences, and experiential learning, which is intended to provide a comparative worldview that is consistent with the tenets of global citizenship. The educational travel program has to be grounded by a pedagogical framework which (1) ensures academic rigor; (2) establishes and measures learning outcomes, and (3) ascertains whether or not the proposed goals of the program are achieved [9]. Educational travel consists of travel-based, experiential programs that provide the students with the opportunity for active involvement and immersion within the host country [9]. When this is paired with a sound pedagogical framework, educational travel programs can serve to create a transformative educational experience in which students are able to reconsider and reshape core issues from a global perspective [10]. This type of learning in an international context tends to engage students with more and bigger questions, and can lead to a shift in the students’ values, beliefs, behaviors, skills, and attitudes.

Objective

The primary objective of this study is to examine the impact professors have on experiential learning of students during the “Semester at Sea” voyage. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effects of cultural immersion and experiential learning for undergraduate students in eleven countries on four continents. The qualitative question that the students were asked was, “How did your SAS professors influence your voyage?”

Theoretical Frameworks for Study Abroad

The Transformative Learning Theory and the Experiential Learning Theory

Researchers Strange and Gibson[11], suggested there are two theories, the Transformative Learning Theory and the Experiential Learning Theory, that can be utilized to study the effectiveness of study abroad programs. The Transformative Learning Theory was developed by Jack Mezirow in the 1990s. This theory hypothesizes that adult learners tend to change their ways of thinking, biases, and prejudices, “through reflection, active listening and placing themselves in uncomfortable situations” [11]. Study abroad experiences take the student out of their comfort zone and exposes them to situations and cultural understandings which are out of the norm and beyond their everyday life experiences [12]. Transformative learning is thereby created, cultivated, and nurtured through a process of reflective thinking, and new frames of reference [13] or new world perspectives [14]. These scholars added that knowledge attained may be transformative [15] and more meaningful, if the knowledge attainment is combined with active, “hands-on” experiential learning. The Experiential Learning Theory was originally developed by Kolb [16] and adopted by Strange and Gibson[11] and emphasizes that students and faculty should reflect on what is learned during the course(s) taken in the study abroad program. The students then need to summarize in their minds what was learned. Strange and Gibson [11] specified that the Experiential Learning Theory helps students and faculty to provide assistance in developing “the type of action-oriented experience that is likely to induce transformation”. In other words, the Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) aids with how we can develop the type of action-oriented experience that is likely to introduce transformation. The ELT is used widely in the study abroad literature and has a significant impact on the students’ ability to understand global and multifaceted problems [17]. It is important to bear in mind that study abroad usually involves active learning, but this does not imply that experiential learning has occurred, because some programs do not allow students critical time for interaction and reflection [18].

Montrose [19] specified that study abroad “providers” and administrators often don’t have a grasp on what experiential learning is and how it can be applied to improve the content and structure of a study abroad program. Experiential learning has the potential to play a significant role in the information that students take from study abroad programs. Hence, it is important that the university administrators, study abroad staff, and instructors comprehend the potential holistic outcomes of their programs and how they are best achieved [20, 21]. While all study abroad programs have the potential to provide experiential learning, unmonitored study abroad experiences can be “mis-educative, based on the idea that all types of education will have some type of impact and that no form of education is neutral [18]”. McKeown [22] specified that many programs lack structure including faculty-student engagement, group discourse, and reflective exercises. These researchers [18,22] argued that reflection, critical analysis, synthesis are essential elements if programs are to reach their full potential. Tarrant [21] agrees with the two earlier researchers that where programs are experientially structured, there is a high propensity that students will achieve a different worldview by the end of the program. Angular and Gingerich [18] specify that the experiential learning gives students the opportunity to test recently understood concepts of their lived experiences, providing a more grounded method for acquiring knowledge. They add that study abroad and experiential education are natural partners, as they both intend to empower students and embrace the belief that education is achieved through social transformation.

In an effort to prepare the students for real-word challenges, study abroad program facilitators need to develop international curricula, service-learning opportunities, cultural immersion activities, and programs that foster global learning. Perry et al. [23] mentioned that study abroad programs provide a learning site for students to experience, grapple with, reframe, and reflect on issues that are global in nature creating a transformative experience that leads to a shift in perspective, awareness, and worldview. Furthermore, Perry et al. [23] added that it is of paramount importance that the study abroad leader/facilitator create a link between study abroad experiences and critical reflection. They emphasized that, “without the critical reflection experiences, study abroad experiences would be ordinary experiences, and consequently will not provide the opportunity to modify and shape perspective, and understand the meaning and make sense of the experience. It is this reshaping, reforming, and reimaging of material learned that serves as the point when transformative learning occurs” [9]. Dwyer and Peters [24] specified that study abroad programs provide students with personal growth, intercultural development, education, and career attainment. Perry, Stoner, and Tarrant [25] specified that short-term study abroad programs legitimize the educational value of this experience as, “a source of transformative learning through concrete, real-world experiences and critical reflection”.

Benefits of Study Abroad

The benefits of different study abroad programs have been well-documented. These benefits include improved language development and intercultural competence, increased global understanding and appreciation, gaining independence, identity achievement and improved career and employment opportunities [4,7,22,26-29]. Study abroad programs can increase a students’ self-confidence, independence, global competency, and open-mindedness [4,30]. Results of other studies show that study abroad participants are more likely to be marketable in international settings and moreover, study abroad advances their careers [3,31]. One student commented “I think experiences like these can add great value to those in the teaching profession and all the people developing an international perspective of the world”. Another SAS student from the study specified, “ I became more aware of different cultures and ways of life, and I saw America from the perspective of non-Americans, which opened my eye to how and what we say affects the world”.

Study abroad programs are desirable experiential learning opportunities that can enrich the lives of students and faculty alike. One faculty facilitator commented, “I know something new every single time I go, and my horizons are broadened: Getting to share that kind of experience with students who would never otherwise be exposed to, is tremendously rewarding to me [32].”Even though study abroad programs are known to have personal, social, academic, and professional benefits, researchers [33] specify that simply visiting another country is not considered to be study abroad. Only study abroad programs that have the experiential and immersion component in the program provides such an impact. The goals of study abroad programs are often not defined appropriately, and there is a lack of studies that have measured the outcomes or what was accomplished in the program in a meaningful manner [20].

Researchers agree that programs that are well designed can provide learning outcomes that go beyond the impact of the traditional classroom lectures [22,29,34]. These outcomes include personal development [35, 36], increased functional knowledge [22], and the development of inter-cultural competencies [37]. Finally, study abroad programs can teach cultural sensitivity, global awareness [36,38], and global citizenship [29].In addition, study abroad programs are considered to be “high impact” programs, because students and faculty invest time and energy over an extended period of time that has positive effects on student engagement in educationally purposeful behavior [39]. Kuh [39] identified “diversity and global learning” as one of the ten types of experiences that contributed to transformational educational opportunities that were available to undergraduate students.

Review Related to what Students Think Good And Effective Qualities Instructors Must Have

Psychologists and researchers have attempted to study teaching effectiveness for several decades [40,41]. For the most part, researchers have relied on self-reported evaluations of professors from students. Researchers often asked students to identify and differentiate the qualities between “ideal” professors and “mediocre” professors across a range of personal qualities as well as course instruction, teaching style., and mode of lecture delivery. Educators frequently specify that teaching is one of the most difficult jobs that anyone can have and yet it can be very rewarding [42]. There is general consensus that what faculty members do in their teaching matters (Kezar & Maxey, 2014; Umbach & Wawrzynski, 2005), in how they interact with students and how they design their courses. Kezar and Maxey [43] listed the positive outcomes related to these interactions, including students developing leadership skills, critical thinking skills, self-confidence, and persistence in completing their degree. Researchers [44] stressed the importance of good professors and specified that the quality of good professors is one of the most important factors in the provision of high-quality education. Pozo-Munoz et al., [45] and Marzo-Navarro et al., [46] posited that professors are the main actors in a university exercising the most significant determinant of students’ satisfaction in higher education. The relationship between college students and their professors has a significant impact on the quality of student experiences at the university and later in their choice of a career. Likewise, the personality of the instructor strongly influenced the “likability” of the instructor. Researchers [40,44,47] specified that students remarked that a professor should be approachable, funny, caring, and easy to work with. The students found approachability, enthusiasm, clarity, topic expertise, clear presentation style, and reasonable workload were qualities that were highly desired in an ideal professor. Students also emphasized that the subject matter knowledge that the instructor has [45] about the disciplinary area and expertise of the professor being organized and the instructor responding quickly [48], were of paramount importance.

Other researchers concurred that the knowledge and expertise of instructors were of significant importance. The students specified that their “ideal professor” provided students with clear expectations [49] of what was being taught and had clear requirements for all the assignments. Ashworth [50] found that good college professors and students agree on four attributes that make up a good professor including understanding, caring, engaging, and being knowledgeable about the subject matter. One of the primary goals of college professors is to teach new information about a subject or to change the way students currently think about a topic. If the students are misinformed about a topic, it is the instructor’s job to provide information to help the student understand the concept clearly. To do this, the professor has to consider two important issues. One element is how that student receives the information from them, and how the information is being delivered [51]. In a study of general education classes, students ranked, “communication of ideas and information” as the most crucial item that an ideal professor must be able to do [52]. The college instructor is responsible for the “tone” of the classroom, the types of assignments given, and the involvement of the students in the class discussions. The instructor’s personality reflects who the person is inside the classroom and outside the classroom [51]. Many students today are working and putting themselves through school. Researchers have specified that one of the most important core qualities of an instructor described by students is empathy of the instructor [53], particularly when it pertains to the busyness of the students’ lives and their family commitments [54]. The students also indicated that building rapport with the instructors and the instructor exhibiting empathy and caring, being emphatic and knowledgeable about the subject matter were significant aspects of the professor’s personality that they desired [50].

Additionally, students suggested that ideal professors should have a good sense of humor [55], openness to students’ feedback, flexibility, and being willing to answer things in a variety of ways [56]. Finally, students desired professors to be inspirational, well-prepared, helpful, treat them with respect, and to build strong interpersonal relationships with them [49]. In recent years, students have specified in self-written reports what they perceived as desirable and ideal qualities of a college professor should have, and they also identified qualities of a professor that were not so desirable and ideal with regard to personality qualities, classroom behaviors, and course design. Vulcano [57] concluded that students found that the instructor’s knowledge, coupled with creative and interesting lectures, were important ingredients of effective teaching. Revell and Wainwright [58] remarked that students preferred professors who gave engaging lectures, that were understandable, had structure, were organized, and presented with interest and enthusiasm.

The Behavior Checklist (TBC) was developed by Buskist and his colleagues [49] to identify qualities of a good professor [59]. This was later converted to an evaluation instrument. The results indicated that mastery over the subject material, enthusiasm, and having realistic expectations were the most important qualities that students identified in an effective instructor [41,59]. These researchers added that having interesting course lectures and respect for students were also important qualities that good instructors must possess. Kezar and Maxey [43] noted that over the last 50 years, researchers have remarked that faculty-student interaction is the primary factor in promoting student success, particularly among the students of color and the first-generation college students. When the development of leadership skills and critical thinking skills are enhanced, there is enhanced self-worth, more clarified career choices, and increased self-confidence. If the professors talk to students of color or first-generation students after class, about academic or personal issues, offer simple greetings, and provide advice about jobs, the students felt good and positive.

These students identified four qualities that they appreciated in professors:

• Faculty members that are approachable and personable

• Faculty members were enthusiastic and passionate about their work

• Faculty members who cared about students personally

• Faculty members who served as role models and mentor [43].

Furthermore, students want to feel respected and taken seriously by their instructors, when instructors make time for them, demonstrate care through personal attention or respond quickly to an e-mail, the student feels valued. When the students feel isolated or alienated from faculty or develop poor relationships with them, there are adverse outcomes including: less motivation, lower aspirations, and less satisfaction with college, a lack of engagement, less probability of completing college, a lack of engagement with studies and less student success. Finally, students specified that if the posted office hours were not observed by the faculty, the students believed that faculty did not want to interact with them.

Faculty Perceptions of Effective Teaching

Although student perceptions of effective teaching are more commonly assessed, researchers have also examined the professor’s perspective of what qualities an effective professor must have. For example, Keeley et al., [59], examined effective teaching practices. Professors who received national teaching awards were identified and included in the sample and were asked to identify the most effective teaching practices. These professors remarked that enthusiasm and establishing good rapport with students contributed to excellent teaching practices [59]. The qualities of effective teaching have also been studied in cross-cultural contexts. Researchers concluded that excellent teaching differed minimally in the Eastern and Western cultures. The most desired qualities in the Eastern and Western cultures are approachability, knowledge and mastery over course content, enthusiasm, teaching critical thinking skills, and strong communication skills.

Perceptions of Ineffective Teaching

Busler et al., [60]constructed a typology of poor teaching qualities by asking students “What constitutes a poor teacher”? The participants emphasized that being disrespectful of students and using assignments that were not related to the course, were hallmarks of a poor instructor. The students added that unrealistically high expectations, lack of knowledge about the topic that is being taught, poor communication skills, and lack of approachability were ingredients of ineffective teachers [60]. Cox [61] specified that good and effective educators impact their students’ life personally and professionally in a positive manner. He added that outstanding teachers have high expectations of their students, they use a sense of humor in class, they are knowledgeable in their field, and they are consistent.

Method

Semester at Sea Program

The Semester at Sea (SAS) program is a semester-long study abroad program conducted on a cruise ship that has been converted into a floating university with classrooms, a library, a student lounge, swimming pools, a fitness center, and other academic amenities. SAS is a multi-country study abroad program offered on a ship open to students of all majors emphasizing global comparative study. On each study abroad voyage, there are approximately 600 students, 200 crew members, 6 staff members who are responsible for sponsoring athletic events, recreational games, enforcing timely returns to the ship, ensuring discipline on the floor that they are assigned to, and 30 internationally, knowledgeable faculty members from various disciplines. They spend the semester visiting ten to eleven countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and North America. The SAS program aims to provide real life experiences to the students via field classes, SAS-sponsored excursion, self-guided excursions, that promote cultural immersion, cultural diversity, experiential learning, service-learning, and provide a sense of community.

Students attend classes in a variety of disciplines while the ship sails at sea. When the ship docks at a port, no classes are held. Courses in approximately 20 to 22 different academic disciplines are offered every semester. Every course has an in-depth field-class component that students are required to take. Additionally, students take a mandatory interdisciplinary core course entitled, “Global Studies.” This course provides an integrated and interdisciplinary introduction to each country that will be visited on the itinerary. The course examines the country’s past and present history, traditional and changing political systems, traditions, customs, values, and culture. The course is expected to prepare students for excursions and activities in the country where the ship is going to dock. The Global Studies class is expected to assist students expand their understanding of the world cultures and life in the selected countries on the itinerary. As part of this program, students are encouraged to think critically about their own society and global change. Specifically, pre-and post-port lectures are held to better explain intercultural competency, and global understanding (https://www.semesteratsea.org/voyage/ fall-2020/courses/) to the students.

Prior to arriving at port, students receive a pre-port briefing regarding the culture and cultural milieu of the country that they are about to visit. Upon arriving at the Port of Call, special guest speakers who are community leaders, or someone from the American embassy will make a presentation about the culture, and the social norms of the country Students are encouraged to travel on the Semester at Sea-sponsored excursions, or participate in independent travel within the country and participate in the required field classes for the courses they are taking.

Participants

Participants ranged in age from 18 to 23 years old (M = 20.23, SD 1.09), and the majority were female (n=63, 87%). Most participants were White (n = 52, 71%), followed by 11 percent who were Latino, and 8 percent who were Asian. Additionally, two students stated that they were African American, and one student identified as Pacific Islander. The remainder of participants belonged to two or more races (n = 5, 7%). Over half (60%) of participants were born in the United States, and all participants had previously traveled abroad.

Data Collection and Analysis

This study used a qualitative design, where students responded to an open-ended survey. The three questions that they were asked were: “On a scale from 1 to 5, how would you rate the impact of the Semester at Sea program”? The second question that was asked was: “What do you think of the professors that taught you on the ship during the Semester at Sea program? What impact did they have on you? Three researchers used qualitative content analysis techniques to analyze responses under the pre-determined categories of personal, academic, social, and professional impacts. Each written response was assigned a code based on dominant messages in the response. Multiple codes were assigned to a response when more than one theme was conveyed by a student. The researchers independently analyzed the data, and then the researchers (they) met to compare their coding. When there were differing interpretations, these differences were discussed, until consensus was reached. Once the researchers reached agreement with their analysis, an overall understanding of each theme was generated by integrating codes.

Results

To examine our research question, qualitative analyses were conducted. This study examined the impact of professors who taught in the study abroad program, “Semester at Sea”. The responses of the students were categorized into four categories: Professors enhanced the students ‘Academic Influence and Encouraged Reflection’’, professors made the program “Memorable and Valuable”, professors taught students how to “Broaden Their Experiences/ Horizons” and finally, the role the professors played in increasing the students’ “Participate in the Local Culture/Global Experiences” A majority of few students mentioned that the program had a significant overall impact on their immediate and long-term goals. They specified, the program was a, “life altering experience for me”, and “the program had a significant impact on me in every way.” Most students reported themes that were specific to these categories: Professors enhanced the students ‘Academic Learning and Encouraged Reflection’’, professors made the program “Memorable and Valuable”, professors taught students how to “Broaden Their Experiences/ Horizons” and finally, the role the professors played in increasing the students’ “Participate in the Local Culture/Global Experiences”.

As can be seen from Table 1, most students specified that their professors impacted them with “Academic Acquisition and Increased Global Reflection”. For example, one student reported, “My professors and class topics helped me focus on learning more in each country, rather than just doing activities.” Another student specified, “My professors added layers of knowledge to my understanding of the countries/cultures making them more understandable and complete.” A third student emphasized, “Professors gave me knowledge about the countries and what to do and what not to do.” Finally, a student reported, the professors influenced us all the time, but most importantly, they helped us with the “reflections” after the stop at the ports”.

The next commonly reported theme was the role that professors played in making the SAS voyage “Memorable and Valuable Experience”. One student commented that “the professors on the ship were very passionate, knowledgeable, and inspiring. This made the SAS voyage very memorable.” Another student reported that the voyage was memorable because the professors, “helped me to keep an open mind, facilitated interesting conversation about each port, and added a sense of humor to everything she did.” A third student specified “It is a very special experience to live with professors on the ship, you feel more connected to them because you are sharing this experience with each other. This voyage was a very memorable experience for me.

The third category was the professors “Broadened my Experiences/Horizons”. A sampling of the results suggests that statements such as, “They challenged me to learn outside the classroom. They encouraged me to apply what I learned in the classroom, to experiences in the country”. A second student said “The professors opened my eyes to problems and issues in the world, that I had no idea about”, A third student commented, “The professors introduced me to all the inequalities in the world. This showed me how lucky I was to be living in the U.S.” Finally, one student said, “I learned from their personality, career path, and passion for knowledge”. I now feel comfortable asking their perspective(s) when I am confused about something. The last category was entitled, “Participated in the Local Culture and Enjoyed Global Experiences”. There were fewer responses in this category than in any other categories. One student commented by saying, “My professors kept the classes oriented by the countries that we were traveling to. This helped keep us not only interested, but educated about what to expect, and how to respond in each new country we visited. Another SAS student reported, “My professors made sure that I was successful, and they helped me make more sense of my experiences. Another student stated, “My professors forced me to look into cultures with deeper meaning”. Finally, a student commented, “My professors gave me cultural information that allowed me to understand the culture better.”

Discussion

Most of the published research so far has been conducted on what qualities make an effective professor and what qualities the students find dissatisfactory and disturbing. This study is unique in that it investigates what type of impact the SAS professors had on the students enrolled in the course, during the one-semester voyage on a sailing ship. When the SAS students were asked the question, “How did the SAS professors that you had for your courses influence you”? As outlined above, the responses of the students fell into four broad categories:

“Academic Influence and Increased Global Awareness”, “The Voyage was Memorable and Valuable”, “They Taught us how to Reflect and/ Make Global Experiences Meaningful”, and “Professors Helped us to Participate in the Local Culture and Became a Global Citizen”. This qualitative study reported in this paper is a segment of a larger study that was undertaken with the Semester at Sea students to access their feelings about global mindedness [62] and cultural sensitivity [63]. The pre-test and post-test design was used. Questionnaires were distributed to students during the first week of classes after the voyage started, and the post-test questionnaires (same questionnaire) was distributed at the end of the voyage. The results of the analyses indicated that the participants’ global minded scores increased significantly and were higher towards the end of the SAS program. This suggested that cultural immersion experiences and interactions with the local people, the cultural excursions, being exposed to local markets, interacting with the local people, and service-learning activities increased their global mindedness and cultural sensitivity.

Academic Acquisition and Increased Global Awareness: Visiting 11 different countries on 4 different continents, taking a Global Studies class from international scholars, participating in field programs which were part of the SAS courses, taking the SAS excursions, or doing independent travel is bound to enhance one’s global awareness and culturally sensitivity. Based on the responses of the students, it appears that a majority of the students, responded that their professors gave them an academic overview of the places that they were going to visit and also prepared them for academic and cultural challenges that they might encounter. This is exemplified by a comment from one SAS student who mentioned that “My professors added layers of knowledge to my understanding of the countries/cultures, making them more understandable and complete”. Another student pointed out that, “The professors gave me knowledge about the countries, and then told me what to do and what not to do”. From the students’ comments, it appears that the students had a good and thorough preparation regarding the field courses that they were going to attend and the countries that they were going to visit on the itinerary. From the students’ comments, it also appears that they were globally competent and well-informed about the countries that they were visiting. Through the practicum component of the course, the students were culturally immersed in the local culture, where they got to experience the local food, lifestyle, and the unique habits of the local people. The learning was thorough, meaningful for the students and allowed the students to reflect on the experience(s) after the field class was over. One student commented, “Each professor explained new perspectives prior to the ship docking and allowed us to reflect on our experiences, this helped us to digest and evaluate the chaos we just went through”.

Professors Made the Voyage Memorable and Valuable: From the students’ comments in this category, it appears that a large majority of the students gave very complimentary comments to the professors who taught courses of the ship. The SAS program is well known for attracting and hiring internationally acclaimed professors who have traveled extensively, are leaders in their area of specialization, have experience teaching students overseas, are familiar with the social and cultural conditions of the countries on the itinerary and have a passion and desire to be with college students in different venues. The professors who taught courses on this SAS voyage seemed to have these qualifications and hence the SAS students specified that they had a memorable and valuable voyage.

Broadened my Experiences and Horizons: The American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has identified global learning and service-learning as high-impact educational practices for over a decade [64]. When a person travels, they are always learning new things because they are exposed to a new culture, new people, new surroundings, different types of food, people, landmarks, languages, lifestyles, etc. This appears to have a deep and profound effect on most individuals, and they tend to grow intellectually, socially, ethically, and morally. They become less ethnocentric and more open and tolerant of cultural differences. By visiting new countries, students gradually get to know the meaning of globalization and internationalization. One SAS student commented, “My professors opened my eyes to problems and issues in the world that I had no idea about, e.g., Agent Orange. Another student reported, “I did not know who made my clothing, because most of my clothing comes from China. It was a humbling experience to know the names of those who made my clothing”. The students in this study seemed to indicate they experienced personal growth, professional development, and an enhancement of cultural competencies. These findings are consistent with the findings of other studies[65].

Many of the courses offered in the SAS program had a service-learning component. Findings from the literature [66] reported that service-learning assists students to gain a better and deeper understanding of and connection to topics learned in the classroom. The SAS professors were constantly informing the students to think “outside the box” and be less ethnocentric. Global learning/study abroad, and service-learning are identified as high-impact educational practices that enhance learning, and personal and professional development [67]. International service learning has been defined by Hartman and Kiely [68] as a community-driven service learning that employs structured, critically reflective practice to better understand human dignity; self; culture; positionality; socio-economic, political, and environmental issues; power relations; and social responsibility, all in global contexts. Experiential learning provides one model to explain how people learn by traveling. Travel is also a source of transformative learning [69] and all travel can be transformative to the traveler and to the host [70]. Researchers pointed out that many of the students’ most transformative experiences occurred outside the classroom, when they visited museums, interacted with locals, visited places of worship, or heard a guest speaker make a presentation. Intellectual, cognitive, and global intelligence has been found to be a benefit of study abroad [71- 74].

Participated in Local Culture and Had a Global Expe­rience

This section had the least number of responses. Since most of the SAS students were from Western countries or were immigrants to the West, the places that were chosen for the students’ participation in the local culture was done carefully and judiciously to ensure that they did not have too much of a culture shock or get ill. The students were repeatedly told to make sure that they were flexible when they took on an activity. Unexpected changes in the weather, including places that do not have fans or air conditioners, housing conditions, toilet facilities, food, space, sleeping arrangements, interactions or lack of interactions with hosts, and the schedule can cause participants distress and negatively affect their adjustment to the new country. In spite of the learning curve which was steep for the students in their new environment, they did amazingly well, and it was obvious that both the host, and the students benefitted from the experience.

Some of the activities that were included in this category were: Staying with a family in a hut overnight, eating with them, sleeping with them, and using the minimal bathroom and shower amenities that they had, participating in an elderly get together session that met once a week and the students served them food. They communicated with the elderly people with the help of a local translator. Other students went to recreational gatherings in the local Town Halls and learned dancing and puppetry from the local residents, while still others accompanied a Chinese lady to a local market, bought vegetables and meat. The host and the students cooked a meal at the host’s home, and they ate together in the host’s home. These are just a few examples of what is included. For example, some of the responses in this category included, “The professors gave me cultural information that allowed me to understand the culture better”. Another student commented, “My professors encouraged me to be engaged in the local culture and apply the things I learned in class while I was in a specific country.

Implications and Recommendations for the Future.

Based on the results of the study, it can be suggested that it is of paramount importance that the professors and administrators of the “Semester at Sea” program prepare students for international travel by having pre-departure meetings. Students’ limited travel experiences and knowledge demonstrates ignorance and underdeveloped travel competencies. It is challenging for students to understand the difference between travel within the U.S. and international travel. Through past SAS students’ website testimonials, information included in their blogs, and information on SAS websites, the students got to know more details about international travel [36]. SAS students are given a detailed orientation for three days prior to the start of the program, on the ship, about the semester long program. Orientation meetings are very crucial to students because they give students information about the countries they will be visiting. The preorientation meetings give significant information for the on-site courses and programs as well. Educators and administrators should make study abroad programs a vital component of a student’s undergraduate curriculum. As part of a larger study, the researchers administered a global mindedness questionnaire before the study abroad program started and towards the end of the program. The scores for global mindedness were significantly higher at the end of the short-term study abroad program than they were at the beginning of the program. This could suggest that the students’ horizons need to be widened because they may have limited knowledge and travel experiences in other parts of the world.

The more the students realize that they don’t know, the more eager they are to find out more while they are on the excursions which are part of the SAS program. As students begin to reconstruct their opinions and ideas, new attitudes, and norms are formed. These are the first steps to becoming a globally competent person [75]. “Specific sites, experiences, and interactions must be carefully planned to afford students the greatest opportunities to experience differences in cultures”. The type and amount of cultural immersion the students experience play a crucial role in the students’ understanding of global complexities and cultural differences [75].

Requiring the students to maintain a journal is highly recommended because students can express their positive and negative feelings and emotions that they experience at different times during the voyage. The expression of thoughts in a journal and writing a reflection paper allows students to link their recent experiences to a change in their behavior and attitudes. Montgomery and Arensdorf [75] remarked that anecdotal data demonstrates that students comprehend, emphasize, and are accepting of other cultures and they do understand the complexity of international travel. The Global Studies class that all students are required to take when they register for the Semester at Sea program should continue to be offered, so that the students and faculty are well informed and well versed with the history, geography, culture, and politics of the countries they will be visiting as part of the program. The instructor teaching this class, should have very good command of the subject matter, an interesting teaching style, a sense of humor, and an interest in what he/she is teaching.

Doing an assessment at the completion of the program is essential and necessary. “Determining what was learned, and to what extent it was learned, is essential for future planning and refinement of efficacious study abroad experiences [12].”

Dwyer and Peters [24] reported that their students suggested that their educational experiences were positively influenced, and their career path choice was clarified after completing the study abroad program. When study abroad courses, incorporate a service-learning component, the richness of the experience is exponentially enhanced. Students who are given the opportunity to engage and interact with professionals, clients, business partners, during a study abroad program, reported higher course comprehension, increased satisfaction, and enhanced career selection. More university deans and administrators need to realize the significance of study abroad programs. Savishinsky [76] mentioned that faculty members who conduct study-abroad programs put in a lot of time, energy, planning, and effort to plan and conduct a study-abroad program. From the faculty members’ perspective, they develop better relationships with their students, enjoy the excitement that students have when they learn or see something new, and they are satisfied when they see changes in the students’ behaviors. In spite of the fact that many students described the study abroad program as a once in life-time experience, and a life-changing experience, faculty members are rarely rewarded or compensated for their work by administrators or the academic institution.

As a matter of fact, the American Council on Education (2016) stressed that only 10% of institutions included international engagement in the promotion and tenure decisions. For this reason, many faculty members are hesitant to offer study abroad programs, considering the time, effort, dedication, responsibility, and commitment these programs take. This is especially relevant to the ethnic minority students. The results of this study also suggest that offering classes on “families and ethnic diversity” and “international families” is not the same as the students actually going overseas and being culturally immersed in the foreign country with locals. We strongly believe that more opportunities should be given to first-generation and ethnic minority college students through scholarships, funding, and PELL grants so that they can take advantage of the study abroad programs offered on their university campus [77-79].

Participating in study abroad programs in an important phenomenon in today’s world of increasing globalization and industrialization as these experiences have the potential to increase understanding and global conversations between individuals and nations. Within the context of this research, it is apparent that studying abroad creates global minded and culturally aware students. Based on the results of this study, it appears that participating in the Semester at Sea program greatly enhances undergraduate students’ experiences. The results seem to suggest that the effects of the study abroad program vary widely and are personal in nature. For many students the program increased their academic abilities and taught them how to reflect on issues and events, for others the voyage was a very memorable and valuable experience, some students commented that the voyage broadened their horizons, and finally some students mentioned that they were able to participate in the local culture and enjoy the global experience that the voyage provided [80-82].

Summary

This was a qualitative study which was conducted with students enrolled in the Semester at Sea program. The question that the students were asked was, “What did you think about the professors who taught on the “Semester at Sea” program? The results suggested that the qualitative results fell under four broad themes: the professors helped the students make academic gains and increased their global awareness; taught them to make the voyage meaningful and valuable; they taught the students how to make the global experiences meaningful; and the professors helped the students to participate in the local culture and become a global citizen. The category that had the maximum number of responses was, “Professors helped with Academic Gains”, followed by, “Professors made the Voyage Memorable and Valuable Experience”, followed by “Professors Broadened their Horizons”, and finally, “Professors Encouraged Students to Enjoy the Local Culture and/Participating in Global Experiences”. Most students specified that participation in the SAS program was a life altering experience and they were very thankful and fortunate that they were able to avail themselves of this opportunity.

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