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Abstract
Short-term study abroad is the fastest growing area of international education and there is increasing interest in the role of modified applications of this form (e.g. faculty-led, field/environmental, and/or educational travel) in influencing global citizenship. Using an empirical database of over 650 students registered for a study abroad course in sustainable development offered in Australia and New Zealand, we explore the effect of short-term educational travel programs on environmental citizenship. We also identify differences among key student characteristics (past study abroad experience, gender, and program destination) in influencing citizenry. Results show that participation in the educational travel program significantly moderates (decreases) the difference in environmental citizenship scores for first-timers (vs. those with past experience in study abroad) and program destination, but increases the difference in environmental citizenship for males vs. females. Implications for destination image and national brand marketing of environmental-oriented educational travel programs are discussed.
Notes
1. It is unknown what per cent of faculty-led, short-term study abroad programs include an educational travel component, but anecdotal evidence suggests it is most, if not virtually all.
2. Some have raised concerns over the conversion of environmental education into education for sustainable development, leading to fundamental changes (and possibly constriction) in the philosophical direction of, what has become, an established field (see, e.g. Jickling and Wals Citation2008).