Canadian university student experiences participating in a health promotion without borders : excursion to Mongolia

Abstract

Health Promotion Without Borders (HPWB) has facilitated International Service Learning (ISL) excursions for Canadian students at Laurentian University (LU) since 2001. During this time, over 80 students have received academic credit for their immersive work promoting health in developing countries. Despite the number of students that participated in the HPWB Program over the years, no research has explored the experiences of these students during their ISL excursions. Furthermore, there was a gap in the ISL literature related to the experiences of participants during their immersive international excursions. Therefore, I participated in a HPWB excursion to Mongolia and analyzed my own experience using an autoethnographic method, and I then thematically analyzed the journals of three of my fellow HPWB group members using a case study method. Overall, although both my group members and I found the excursion to be positive, we experienced a process of navigating different instances of cultural dissonance that emerged during our immersive excursion. I wrote six narratives that explored some of the cultural dissonances that I experienced while in Mongolia. Four themes were also identified within the participants’ journals related to their experiences of cultural dissonance. The results of this research may benefit the HPWB Program Coordinator, other similar ISL programs, and future students, as they plan their excursions through enhanced training, preparation, and field techniques related to cultural dissonance.